Experiencing a new city in Europe during December is always a quaint idea, given they tend to take on a unique character that in no way aligns with their usual feel. While most people gravitate towards famed Christmas markets in your Berlins and your Budapests, beer nerds can rejoice since many winter-wonderful yet under-visited European cities are beer odysseys, in […]
Situated conveniently on the train line between Prague and other common interrail destinations of Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest, Brno unfairly receives short shrift. This is Moravia in pure time capsule form, with charming 19th century buildings, the remnants of Communism (including a well-integrated Vietnamese population giving the local cuisine a much-needed uplift) and pubs, pubs, pubs. The city is small […]
It’s a richly immersive little bit of the USA, is New England. Maybe because it’s closer to old, O.G. England? It has culture, it has “history” (by North American colonial standards) and it has the softest of water which means they make the softest of beers. It also has a very, very long coastline full of edible sea creatures, all […]
They’re saying Baltic Porter’s not a thing, but you should tell them no – it is a thing, and Riga will prove it. With a rich history of brewing that stemmed from some banter and tension between the UK and the Russian Imperialists in the 1800s, the UK weren’t allowed to do much trade with the region at the time […]
It’s hop harvest season and anyone within a ten mile radius of a hop farm will be able to smell it. For the rest of us, which, let’s face it, is most of us, it’s up to our imaginations, aided by sticking our noses into a freshly poured pale ale. Earlier this summer, however, I found myself in Seattle on […]
“You wouldn’t believe the number of tourists who stick to the bars in sight of their cruise ship. We get barely a trickle up the hill, so we started this shuttle”. Matt, of Alaskan Brewing, stroked his predictably long beard. “I love bringing people up on it, though. Means I can play tour guide a bit too. Did you know […]
Yep, turns out there’s two of ’em. Indeed, the two Portlands perfectly typify the raging debate that has decimated US craft beer nerd-istry for the best part of a decade: Which IPA is better, East Coast or West Coast?