I may be a woman and I may be small, but I sure as hell know a good beer, from a bad beer! I thought I had tried beer. That is, until I discovered the world of craft beer.
I've sampled most of the well known branded beers, once you try craft beer, you realise that those aren't even beer at all! They are cheap imitations. Once you have tried craft, it's so hard to go back to the cheap stuff.
I first sampled craft beer in California. What a place to sample the goods. They have so many breweries to choose from!
Going into a brewery isn't like going to a pub for a drink. You get to witness the love and hard work which goes into making beer.
There is SO much CHOICE! First you have to decide what base you want, an IPA, pale ale, bitter etc.
Then it's deciding on flavour, different blends of fruit, chocolate etc. I've even seen pumpkin beer at Halloween.
If you do find it hard to decide, most brewers do a taster 'flight’ which is usually five small glasses of beer of your choice. That way it's easy to find ones you like/dislike.
IPA tends to be a bit strong for me, percentage wise, so I will usually stick with a lighter ale with a fruity infusion. Pineapple sculpin, by ballast point is probably my favourite, if I HAD to chose! Although, I do like a creamy stout now and again. California Creaming at pizza port, California, is pretty damn good!
We were so excited to find that their was a stone brewery now open in Berlin. Of course we had to visit! The stone brewery in Escondido California is amazing. No wonder it hosts so many weddings. It has an outdoor area which has a small lake, where we spotted some turtles! They have live music playing most evenings. The atmosphere is so awesome!! It's very….. Californian! (I am British!)
The stone brewery in Berlin, is equally as stunning. A few evenings a week it screens movies. The food, looked delicious! There is also a gift shop, for all you stone lovers to buy merch.
The experience of visiting a brewery isn't just about the beer. It's the friendly staff, who are all super enthusiastic about beer. Most of them work their as they are eager to learn all about brewing, so that they can eventually make their own. The breweries, are also extremely chill places to hang out.
Craft beer brewing is an art. Not just the beer production itself, but the bottle design…some are seriously artistic! It's so hard to throw the bottles away after drinking!
This is a brewing company, that we came across in Slovenia. A fantastic, company, who use incredible artwork on their labels. This is one example...
I'm glad that craft beer has now made it across the pond and we are gradually seeing more and more brewery's opening up, in Europe! It's the new way to drink. In my opinion, it's better than drinking a £1.80 pint in wetherspoons, sat next to old man Bob, who's been there since 7am, moaning about the weather. But hey that's just my preference!
This weekend, rather than buying a cheap, eight pack of cats wee lager. Opt for a few bottles of craft beer instead. Most supermarkets I've seen have a section dedicated to craft. Check it out!
Peace out.
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