When you’re on the road, it is important to find some time to sit on a stool.
Craft beer has seen a boom in popularity, which has had many benefits. The market has more options for beer than ever before. New styles are being created and rediscovered every day, while old favorites like the IPA have become commonplace. It was a few years ago that the breadth of the King Of Beers — Budweiser — was diminished in significant fashion, when the craft beer segment had greater sales than the once-dominant label.
The pandemic caused a halt to the popularity of microbrews, as well as specialty styles. However, this sector is still growing and flourishing. Smaller breweries have become the norm in the United States, while brewpubs are common throughout the country. The expansion of tastes and choices has led to the growth of many producers and created new jobs. It also helped revitalize certain areas. For travelers, it is also a pleasant option.
You can often find specialties from the local area when you travel to this country on business or leisure trips.
Try to Find, You Will Sip
There is a good chance that a brewery will be found in a big city or small township. Even if your burg is not large enough to have an established producer, you will still find local labels available in the restaurants and on the shelves at the grocery store. Exploration and experimentation are the main goals of this column. This column supports the travel drinker as one of the best ways to explore and do it.
National brands were popular because they offered a reliable product, which could be trusted while traveling. Families or businessmen going to new cities could depend they would at least find familiarity with McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Budweiser, Miller Lite, and other brands were popular options because it was easy to know what your food is. But this has been changed, as tastes and styles have evolved and now experimentation is more likely, and better still — options are now available.
People often look for food in a new place when they move to it. I will naturally explore all the options for drinking, but today, these parts are commonly intermixed. You can find local breweries that offer food, or you may be able to get into a restaurant offering multiple taps, with some of them devoted to local choices.
The convenience of having a World Of Beers and Granite City locations just down the street was an advantage while I was at the CPAC Convention in Washington D.C. I would make a point of treating the bar as my satellite office, sampling while writing and during one lunch, sharing bar space with National Review’s Jim Geraghty, as we typed and sipped as we worked.
This expands your travel experience, and creates lasting memories. For example, we recently went to visit our extended family who lived in a smaller town. It was small and unassuming, but I found it. We were delighted to discover that they offered delicious casual dining and had regional beers on tap. We all remember the experience to this day. They have also shared stories about subsequent trips to the spot.
This is an essence to traveling after all — encountering the different options and experiences which are specific to a region, and the local beers are one sure way of tapping into these avenues of discovery. There are many ways to make these discoveries.
Local eateries can be a good way to find new pints, as I mentioned. It seems that bartenders are eager to share information about local beer labels while you’re on the road. You will find them proud of their local brews, and they’ll often offer a list.
You might also find great deals on the retail end of things if you are staying for a long time. Grocers, as well as convenience shops, usually stock beers that are distributed within their area. Allow your eyes to wander through the cooler sections. You’ll find many new or unfamiliar options that you can bring back to the hotel.
There were once major labels that could be found in different parts of the country. These can still provide a feeling of adventure. Genessee is Rochester’s most popular beer. The flagship, Light label and cream ales have been in production for decades. A full-service restaurant is available at the brewery. They also have a variety of taps that are only available in person. The Rochester Experience was full-scale. You could enjoy a sandwich of beef on weck with the pilot batch salted caramel chocolate porter, while admiring the views from the central location.
As most breweries only offer limited-run or sample brews in their tasting rooms, this is quite common. You can really immerse yourself in the culture and create memories. Even if you are in a city for business — relegated to professional meetings while ensconced in a national chain hotel, and not on tour — you can elevate your stay with this simple practice of delving into the brews of the gentry.
While we were only in Jacksonville for the game, the experience of brewing was excellent and even the disappointing game results were mitigated. The hotel had a nearby brewpub that offered good options and had a Spanish-themed menu. Another casual restaurant chain had several local breweries available on tap. I even came across one mass-produced light beer tied in with the Jaguars — Duval Light.
You can make your trip to any city more interesting or even better if you are curious and do some research. Even if the beer itself is not particularly memorable, the quest itself could lead to other experiences, and after all — isn’t that an important part of the trip?
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