Category Archives: 125 Growler List

Quick Reference Category for the All About Beer Growler List — 125 Places to Drink beer before you die.

Belgium, Part 3: Chimay et Orval

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My most recent visit to my favorite Trappist Breweries (Chimay et Orval) was August 2024. My first visit to both of these was fifteen years earlier in November of 2009 — see my Trappist Thanksgiving Post(s).

Although much remains the same, there have been many changes. Fortunately, they both still make the same great beers.

At first, when I drove down into the valley near Florenville and saw the Abbaye d’Orval, I thought, this is my favorite brewery location in Belgium. However, as I’ve grown older and after a few trips, I’ve found that I favor the Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont. I find that it is less busy with tourists now. If you book far enough ahead, you can stay in the Auberge de Poteaupre. Then walk through the forest to get to the Abbey. It has always been very welcoming and serene.

An added bonus is the Michelin-starred restaurant just around the corner! Ferme des 4 Saisons is wonderful — the food delicious, the service impeccable, and the beer — well. Chimay! Yay!

Now, make no mistake. I love the locale and the beer. But Orval is still my favorite beer, hands down. And a visit to the Valley of Gold is always in order. If you can swing a tour of the brewery, the tour is awesome. The grounds are spectacular — they have a wonderful brewery museum and another art exhibit in the cellar of the monastery. Wow. Maybe it is my favorite after all. Hmmm … so hard to choose.

I guess the best thing for folks to do is to visit both and decide for themselves.

Enjoy! Beer Mentor

Belgium, Part 2: The Hommelbier!

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The continuing story of my 2024 trip to Belgium goes back 25 years earlier! From 1998 to 1999 I was the USAF Commander of a Special Detachment that maintained microwave antennas and towers across Europe. This particular tower was in Houtem, Belgium.

Since I didn’t start drinking beer until 1995, you could say that I was pretty inexperienced in what constituted great beer and the locales associated with it. This tower is only a 20 minute drive from The Abbey of St Sixtus, home of the Trappist beer, Westvleteren. I remember distinctly my guys telling me “Sir, we have to go pick up some special beer and then we’ll be back.” I didn’t realize the significance of this until years later.

However, I fondly remember this place, because my guys challenged me to climb this tower and I agreed. It took my 1.5 hours to get to the top, but you can see that I made it! I did take the elevator back down. I wish I could remember the celebratory beer I had.

I didn’t realize it would be another 10 years before I made it back to this area–by then my beer knowledge had grown exponentially. I knew that Belgium produced some of the best beers in the world and I realized I’d been right there and didn’t know it. I had a plan! I was on deployment to Stuttgart in 2009/2010. I decided that I would spend the Thanksgiving Weekend (25-28 Nov 2009) traveling to all the Trappist Breweries in Belgium–on the first full day (the 26th) we visited three: Orval, Westvleteren, and Westmalle.

Unfortunately, the Westvleteren Cafe (In de Vrede) was closed on that day. I still didn’t know the process for purchasing this beer so we walked around the grounds trying to find information. One of the folks who worked there had pity on us and allowed us to buy 4 bottles of the Westvleteren 12. He then explained to us the process … you have to call the brewery ahead of time to place your order. You were allowed to purchase two cases maximum (at the time). You had to provide the license plate number of the vehicle with which you were picking up your beer. You were to show up at your designated date/time and pick up your beer–cash only. Now that I knew the process, I was determined to get two cases!

Setting aside a lunchtime, I began calling the one number I had for the brewery (no convenient on-line ordering here). After thirty minutes of a busy signal, it finally started ringing. I let it ring. 18 times. Someone finally answered and, thankfully, they spoke English! I was able to place my order. Europeans don’t celebrate the same holidays as Americans–I was able to set my “pick up” for a Tuesday at 1000, which meant I could drive the 7 hours back in time for work on the Wednesday. What I didn’t know at the time is that this was the trip in which I would have the Hommelbier for the first time! Or how significant the Poperinge-area is for Belgian Beers. I arrived on the Sunday and had the Monday to visit the area — to include a hop farm and (finally) the Cafe In de Vrede! I stayed at the quaint (and special) Hotel de la Paix. I fell in love with the area!

Here I am drinking my Hommelbier! The photo above of the machine that says “2008” is a “Hop Pelletizer.” I’m not sure that’s what it’s called, but it is what it does. My camera battery died that morning, and the farmer let me borrow his camera (with my SD card) to take photos. Obviously his date was off. haha. I was able to get my two cases of Westvleteren 12 PLUS a couple more 4-packs with glasses at the Cafe.

The Hommelbier has become one of my favorites. I just enjoy the blend of Belgian Yeast character with the local Hops. I guess the aroma brings me back to the hop yard I visited there and how nice all the people were to me. The Hommelbier has been brewed since 1981 (Originally 15 minutes away in the town of Watou) by Leroy Breweries. It truly captures the character of the local area.

Another brewery a few minutes away from Poperinge is St Bernardus, which used to brew the Westvleteren 12 for the Abbey until they moved the brewing back to the Abbey. St Bernardus now makes the St Bernardus Abt 12 (based on the same recipe).

My next stop in Poperinge was in 2012 (I only had to wait 2 years this time). When my brothers and best friend joined me for a two-week beer tour around Europe, I told them we had to go to this location. It just so happened we stopped through on my birthday! We stayed at Hotel de la Paix and celebrated with them! Another very special time–especially having the opportunity to try beers we just couldn’t get in the US (like the Nunnebier in the photos). The next day, we hit In de Vrede and then continued our journey, solidifying Poperinge and the Hommelbier in my mind as a special place/beer.

Once again, I didn’t realize it would be so long before I was able to visit Poperinge again. However, when my wife and I decided to visit Europe in 2024, I knew I had to share this special place with her! What an awesome time we had in Poperinge. We stayed again at the Hotel de la Paix (where else?) We stayed two nights and both nights enjoyed a great dinner in their cafe. Luckily for me, Leroy Brewery had a marketing event going with the Hommelbier! For each beer you bought, you received a “scratch-off” card with an opportunity to win prizes. I ended up winning twice (or would that be four times since I had the beer too?!) Oh, and the empty glass was a gift when I asked where to buy one!

With the extra time we had in Poperinge, we rented bikes and toured the area. I tried very hard to line up a tour of the Leroy brewery — they closed their original brewery in Watou and had consolidated their operations in Boezinge (still only 13 minutes away). I couldn’t do it, so we booked a tour at St Bernardus! While I was slightly disappointed in the brewery tour, the rooftop cafe was awesome. We did ride by the old Leroy Brewery. Oh, we also rode by In de Vrede (who knew it would be closed on a Friday. Oh well) … all in all, another great trip to Poperinge and the surrounding area!

I’m not sure when, but a sixth trip to Saint Sixtus would be cool … until then, I will enjoy drinking my own version of the Hommelbier in my sweet Hommelbier glass …

Stay tuned … up next — Chimay & Orval!

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

112. t’Brugs Beertje, Bruges, Belgium (#79)

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I’m up to 79 places on the Growler List visits … What a concerted effort! But I am determined to complete as much of the list as I can — all in the name of good beer drinking!

I was able to visit t’Brugs Beertje, number 112 on the list, during a recent trip to Belgium. With around 300 different Belgian beers, it’s a pretty good place to find a winner–the Orval in this picture was a 2013 version … tasty (and was made the last time I visited Orval, which made it even more special)! This place is definitely worthy of a spot on the list.

But, really, if you are going to visit Belgium, I would recommend the other spots on this list first: 1) Orval, 2) Halve Maan Brewery, 3) Cantillon … maybe even the Grand Place in Brussels. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great bar … but that’s what it is. There are other bars in Bruges that we found to be as intriguing and well stocked with beer:

  1. Le Trappiste Brugge

27 beers on tap and a pretty extensive bottle list. Cool cellar bar.

2. De Garre

This place, down a narrow alley, is well worth the visit!

Very cool venue, excellent beers, and great presentation!

There are so many good places with great beer in Bruges. Even sitting on the patio of our hotel, we enjoyed a refreshing beverage and checked out the views.

We didn’t even make it to Halve Maan this trip …

I loved #112 … the bar is quite eclectic, and the beer selection was phenomenal. What a treat to visit Bruges, and this place in particular. If you have a chance to visit here, these places are well worth the visit. Make sure you spend some time walking around the city and taking in the sights — this will make the great beer taste that much better! 🙂

Beer Mentor

New Zealand: The Beers!

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My last (really) belated post … New Zealand Beers! haha. I know, I know … it’s been a couple of years since I was there, but I have some nice photos to spark my memory. I flew into Auckland as my beginning location … and promptly visited The Shakespeare.

Although it was an excellent start to a pretty good beer journey, the focus of this trip was biking, birding, hiking, and major sight seeing, so the beer was added in where it fit and when we were close to civilization … otherwise it was kind of like this — fast, furious, and out of focus! lol

Not a lot of opportunities on the North Island — we were only there for a week — mostly around the National Park at Tongariro … but the South Island … wow. Of course, the first week (or so) on the South Island was a lot of small planes, boating, hiking, and birding.

By the time we made it to Wanaka, we had a chance to catch our breath and enjoy a good beer. Fortunately, this place had several options — we went with Speight’s Ale House — great patio with a view over the lake and an excellent selection of beers!

The IPA, made with New Zealand hops, was very satisfying. I was able to purchase a few more beers to enjoy during our stay and transition travels to Hokitika.

  • Of course, a Hazy.
  • A crisp Pils.
  • I did get to try this North Island brew!
  • This was my first intro to Moa … not my last from them.
  • Celebrating the local birdlife!
Mixed Bag of some Nice beers!

When we left Wanaka, we cruised across the lower Southern Alps and ended up on the West Coast … we staged out of the town of Hokitika — great place! We saw a couple of glaciers, put in some miles on the West Coast Wilderness Trail … and toured a brewery!

Monteith’s is a brewery in Greymouth … the original craft brewery (I think) in New Zealand — now owned by the Heineken Group. The tour was fun and informative and the beers were pretty good — worth a stop when in Greymouth … refreshing!

Monteith’s Brewery Tour!

As we continued our trip back over the Southern Alps, I was able to sample a variety of other beverages when we arrived in Hanmer Springs.

  • These MOA beers were good!
  • Everyone needs one Big Size!
  • Not a beer … but an interesting drink …
  • This was a Rauchbier — very nice!
  • Another Not Beer. lol.
Quite a selection of dark beers along the way.

We enjoyed these different brews around the interior of the South Island … as we made our way back to Christchurch to start our Alps to Ocean bike tour, we stopped at a small brewery near Geraldine — Valley Brewing Company.

They had some pretty tasty beers and excellent food … talk about your out of the way spot!

Finally, during our Alps to Ocean six day bike ride, I had a chance to sample a variety of beers (again) …

  • the MOA beers ended up being my favorite.
The scenery was stunning!

Our final stop was in Oamaru … at Scott’s Brewing Company. The location was beautiful — the beers were good … they matched their beers with their pizzas. Very nice patio.

Stating the obvious — the location made many of the beers special … and not necessarily the other way around! There were four or five outstanding beers … the rest were good to very good — but I wouldn’t complain. Solid beer trip!

Beer Mentor …

60. Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA (#78)

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This entry will catch me up on my Growler List visits … I’ve now made it to 78 out of 125. Whew. What a concerted effort! But I am determined to complete as much of the list as I can — all in the name of good beer drinking!

#60 on the Growler List is the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, CA. I visited this place a few days after visiting Deschutes in Bend, OR in 2019. I loved both places — the difference in the vibe (to me) is that Deschutes is employee-owned (similar to New Belgium) and Sierra Nevada is family-owned … although the people loved working there (Sierra Nevada), you still felt like it was just their job–but what a great job! lol. Fantastic people and awesome beer.

They have a selection of different tours — we took the in-depth one … they showed you around everywhere, answered all my esoteric questions, and generally had a great time doing it. If you can make it to Chico, it’s well worth the stop and visit. Highly recommend!

Beer Mentor

The Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die.

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As I stated in a previous post, All About Beer magazine published a list of 125 places to drink beer before you died … Kind of a bucket list without calling it a bucket list. They published it in 2008 — however, the magazine went out of business a few years ago. So I decided to publish the list here for reference.

You should note that this list is with my modifications — there are a few places on the original list that were 1) closed, 2) defunct festivals, 3) or what I considered “experiential activities”–in other words: subjective. I have bolded those entries and recommend you come up with your own experiences. I’ve also bolded those places that I know have closed (or are defunct)–of those I haven’t visited, don’t know if they are open or not. The entries I have visited have the year visited in parentheses.

The Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die (My Modification)
1Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2016)
2The Grand Place, Brussells, Belgium (2010, 2012)
3U Fleku, Prague, Czech Republic (2012)
4Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, England
5Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany (1998, 2012)
6Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany (2012)
7Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Orval, Belgium (2009) (2012)
8The Gravity Bar, Guinness St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
9Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA
10The Great Canadian Beer Festival, Victoria, BC (2017)
11Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany (1997, 1998, 2001, 2012)
12The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron), Washington, DC (2011)
13Rick’s Café, Negril, Jamaica
14The Market Porter, Stoney Street, London, England (2010)
15Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD (2011)
16Mod: Camden Yards drinking Clipper City on Tap (2007, 2008)
17Mondial de la Bière, Montreal, Quebec
18Horizon’s Café, CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario (2016)
19Mod: Beer Tent, Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville, Ontario (2003)
20Beer Club Popeye, Tokyo, Japan
21The Publick House, Brookline, MA
22Mod: Hahnenfest (Queidersbach, Germany [1995-1999])
23Henry’s 12th Street Tavern, Portland, OR (2018)
24The Hopleaf, Chicago, IL (2013)
25World Beer Festival, Durham/Raleigh, NC (2011)
26Mod: Mardi Gras Festival, Shreveport, LA (1999, 2000)
27Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy
28Zum Uerige, Dusseldorf, Germany (2012)
29Toronado, San Francisco, CA (2017)
30The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England (2010)
31Mod: Cowboys/Redskins Game, FedEx Field, DC (2009)
32Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR (2017)
33The Wynkoop Brewery, Denver, CO (2011)
34Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn, NY
35Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH
36McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel, Portland, OR (2018)
37Atelier am Dom, Cologne, Germany (2012)
38Anchor Brewing Tasting Room, San Francisco, CA (2017)
39The Flying Saucer, NC, SC, TN, AR and TX (2010)
40Arend’s Nest, Amsterdam, Holland
41Mod: Mercury’s, Stone Town, Zanzibar) (2012/2013) (Original entry closed)
42Mod: Great Divide Barrel Bar (Denver) (2016) (Sandlot was always closed)
43Clark Street Ale House, Chicago, IL (2013)
44Mod: Tailgating at a Frankfurt Galaxy Game (1997, 1998)
45Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA (2009)
46The Great Lost Bear, Portland, ME
47The Map Room, Chicago, IL (2013)
48The Blue Tusk, Syracuse, NY (2010)
49Woolwich Arms, Guelph, ON
50Beach Bar at the Atlantis Hotel, Paradise Island, Bahamas
51The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green, London, England (2010)
52Redbones Restaurant, Somerville, MA
53Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney, Australia [2019]
54Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO (2011) [CLOSED – 2021]
55Sleeping Lady Brewery/Snow Goose Restaurant, Anchorage, AK
56In de Wildeman, Amsterdam, Holland
57Andechs Monastery, Andechs, Germany (2010, 2012)
58Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen, Denmark
59Mod: Fruhlingsfest, Stuttgart, Germany (2010)
60Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA [2019]
61Krcma, Ceske Krumlov, Czech Republic (2012)
62Sapporo Beer Garden, Higashi-ku, Japan
63Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI
64Sail and Anchor Brewpub, Fremantle, Australia
65F.X. Matt Brewery Tasting Room, Utica, NY
66Delerium Café, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012)
67Birreria l’Orso Eletricco, Rome, Italy
68Gösser Bierklinik, Vienna, Austria (2012)
69Bariloche Ski Resort, Rio Negro, Argentina
70d.b.a., New York, NY
71Brewer’s Art, Baltimore, MD (2009)
72Au General Lafayette, Paris, France
73Schlenkerla Brewery Tavern, Bamberg, Germany (2012)
74De Hopduvel, Antwerp, Belgium
75Mr. Sancho’s Beach, Cozumel, Mexico
76City Tavern, Philadelphia, PA
77Die Weisse, Salzburg, Austria (2012)
78Halve Maan Brewery, Bruges, Belgium (2012)
79Tinkoff, Moscow, Russia
80Le Bier Circus, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012)
81TY Harbor Brewery, Tokyo, Japan
82Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany (2010, 2012)
83Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
84Goose Island Brewing, Chicago, IL (2013)
85Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2014)
86Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
87Deschutes Brewery & Publick House, Bend, OR [2019]
88Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern, Monroe, WI (2014)
89Icebergs Bar, Sydney, Australia [2019]
90Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium (2012)
91Dogfish Head Ale House, Rehoboth Beach, DE (2010)
92Belgo Centraal, London, England (2010)
93Mod: Big Beers, Belgians, and Barley Wines Festival (Breckenridge) (2015, 2016, 2017) (Other Festival Defunct …)
94Felix in The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong [2018]
95Brasserie Federal, Bahnhof Zurich, Switzerland
96Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam, Holland
97Clark’s Ale House, Syracuse, NY (2010)
98The Shakespeare, Aukland, New Zealand [2019]
99Mahar’s, Albany, NY
100Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver, BC (2015)
101Cooter Brown’s, New Orleans, LA
102McSorley’s Ale House, New York, NY
103Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery, Key West, FL (2007)
104Rose & Crown Pub, Epcot Center, Orlando, FL (2006)
105The Church Brew Works, Pittsburgh, PA
106Brick Store Pub, Decatur, GA (2011)
107Sunset Grille & Tap, Boston, MA
108The Ghost Bar at the Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, NV (2015)
109Norwich Inn/Jasper Murdock’s Brewery, Norwich, VT
110The Gingerman, Austin, TX (2010)
111Library Ale House, Santa Monica, CA
112t’BrugsBeertje, Bruges, Belgium
113beerbistro, Toronto, Canada (2016)
114The Dubliner, Washington, DC (2010)
115John Barleycorn, Chicago, IL (2013)
116Anchor Bar, Buffalo, NY
117Gritty McDuff’s, Portland, ME
118Top of the Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC (2011)
119The Bell, Aldworth, Berkshire, England
120The Golf Tavern, Edinburgh, Scotland
121Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington, DC (2010)
1225 Seasons Brewing, Atlanta, GA (2011)
123Mod: In de Vrede, Westvleteren, Belgium) (2009, 2012) (Original Entry Closed)
124Stumbling Monk, Seattle. WA (2011)
125The Happy Gnome, St. Paul, MN (2014)

Wherever you end up drinking a beer — I hope it is a fantastic experience!

Beer Mentor

Australia: The Beers!

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I know this blog entry is a little overdue — since my trip to Australia was 2019. haha. Oh well — What can I say … the beers in Australia were better than Thailand and Malaysia, for sure!

First, I visited three locations in Australia that were fantastic “beer-drinking” establishments … check it out on this link here. Those places alone made Australia a great stop.

As far as the beers themselves, there were a couple of outstanding ones … and then some ok ones. Typical for most places I’ve been.

However, let’s start before the beginning … we were flying from Kuala Lumpur to Cairns — this required a stop in Singapore — needed a little refreshment at the airport and was able to sample this IPA from Archipelago Brewery (Singapore Craft Brewery). A refreshing, excellent example of an IPA.

Next stop — Port Douglas. Right across from our “hotel” was this cool little pizza place — Rattle n’ Hum Bar and Grill. They had a very nice selection of beers on tap — plus the food was excellent! I had both the 4 Pines and the Wild Yak … decent beers.

Rattle n’ Hum Bar & Grill

The next day, we visited an excellent brewery in Port Douglas: Hemingway’s Brewery. Unfortunately, no tour — but a great stop! Awesome place right on the water. Sweet vibe, really good beers, and definitely worth a visit!

Hemingway’s Brewery

I picked up a couple more to try while in Port Douglas … The Kolsch was nice — The Furphy’s was ok!

Next stop was the Blue Mountains … we were a little bit boring here — same place twice for dinner (plus I added a couple of other beers I sampled on my own). The place we ate was called The Lookout – Echo Point. Of course, when you see the views, you see why we ate there. haha. The beer was ok to pretty good, the food (again) was excellent.

The Lookout – Echo Point

So, from my limited two-week experience, traipsing around the East Coast of Australia, I give the beers two thumbs up! Excellent selection, beautiful locales, and great food.

Beermentor

Beermentor’s Favorite Five!

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These are my favorite five places to visit if you truly want that quintessential beer experience! I can honestly say that I’ve been around the world sampling, tasting, and visiting “beer” establishments — this is my refined list (since I haven’t gotten around to posting my top 100 … lol).

First, here are three criteria/reasons why these are my Favorite 5. First and foremost, it needs to be great beer. I’m not saying it needs to be your favorite or it has to fit in a particular category — nor does it have to be considered “Craft” or “trendy” or whatever. It needs to be great. Great tasting, technically well-done, without any faults or off-flavors. Second, the locale should enhance the pleasure of drinking the beer. There should be something about the place/history/experience that makes you think the beer wouldn’t taste any better than right where you are drinking it! Finally, it should be a place with some permanence/staying power — it shouldn’t be in danger of closing, it shouldn’t be a place you can’t visit without a special pass — it should be accessible to anyone and welcoming to all. This is a tough one — for instance, I was going to include “The Falling Rock Tap House” in Denver — it had been around for over 25 years, was a popular hangout for the After-Great American Beer Fest Crowd, and simply had fantastic beers. Unfortunately, it closed in June of 2021. Sad. Oh well — I will just have to be more careful with my Favorite Five!

One caveat — I’ve been to hundreds of places — but I haven’t been to all places — so my list is a little skewed by the fact that there may be a better place … I just haven’t been there yet. We’ll call this a “living list.”

Another caveat — I won’t list any Festivals here — Those, too, may not be there the next year — and sometimes it is difficult to obtain a ticket, etc. I’m trying to choose places that, while they may be difficult to visit, are accessible to anyone with some effort.

Ok, here we go! Working from #5 up #1 …

#5. Ye Old Mitre, London, England. A place that opened in 1546 and is still going strong probably will be around a while longer. Plus, it is owned by the Fuller Company (former owners of the Brewery, now they simply operate about 360+ pubs in the UK). With an excellent selection of beers on tap (folks in the UK call it “Real Ale”), a cool alleyway entrance and a comfortable atmosphere, it’s well worth a visit.

The Old Mitre, London.

#4. Staffelberg-Klause, Bad Staffelberg, Germany. This one is as far away from the city as The Old Mitre is close to one. haha. The Staffelberg-Klause is a small Bier-garten in Germany — near the city of Bamberg. You may, or may not, be familiar with Bamberg as the city of smoked beers (Schlenkerla). Here’s a map image (with the link here) of where the Bier-garten is located.

It takes a little work to get there — you can’t drive; you have to hike! However, the scenery in the area is stunning. Not only that, there are several Baroque-style Churches in the area, over 100 breweries/brewpubs, and … did I mention stunning views? Here are a few pictures:

The Bier-garten is right behind the small white church.

They have the typical German-selection of beers — Pils, Weizen, or Kellerbier. Either one will be refreshing and the food is good too!

#3. In de Vrede Cafe, Vleteren, Belgium. Next up, a trip to have some of the most elusive beer in the world! Westvleteren 12! In fairness, a very (very) close approximation that is more readily available worldwide is the St Bernardus Abt 12. Also … a wonderful beer! But I digress. Back to “In de Vrede.” Translated, in de Vrede means “in Peace.” Or quiet, solitude; any number of phrases that you would associate with the Monks. The cafe is across from the brewery, but still out in the countryside. Closest city would be Poperinge (the Hop Capitol of Belgium).

The food is wonderful and you can drink all three of the Westvleteren Beers here … a bonus is the opportunity to purchase some as well! The area and the cafe all deserve your consideration for a visit … finally, it’s a pretty short drive to anywhere, all things considered. There are so many things to see, and do, in the area. Visit the Hop Museum, an active Hop Farm, other breweries … explore!

#2. Orval, Belgium.

To me, this is a very special place — Orval is, hands down, my favorite beer. I’ve visited the “Valley of Gold” at least three times. Each time is special. The first time there was late November. We stayed at a small hotel nearby in Florenville. You could have any beer you wanted, as long as it was Orval. A big one, too!

The next day, we lucked out and were able to join a tour group of French Students at the Brewery —

See my post on Trappist Thanksgiving for more details on this tour.

The third time I visited, I was with my best friend and my brothers … an awesome trip. By this time, in 2012, they had improved the whole “Orval Experience” with a wonderful museum … the tour of the grounds was tranquil. I even tasted the Spring Water used to make the beer!

Another trip to Orval in the Fall … wonderful.

We had the tour and retired just up the road to the local restaurant to reflect on the experience and to enjoy a wonderful glass of Orval. Consider it a must for yourself!

The only reason it’s not my #1 is you can’t drink the beer on the premises — However, you can buy a small case at the gift shop!

#1. Bräustüberl Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. Here’s the place on the top of my list … a trip to the oldest brewery in the world — established in 1040 AD! Not only do they have the brewery here, they also have a University devoted to the study of beer. If you make your way into the Bräustüberl, you can drink your fill of the wonderful beers they have available. Plus enjoy some traditional Bavarian cuisine–I do recommend a reservation!

Well … there you go!! My favorite five! I hope you have the opportunity to visit one or two of these places and see if they make it into your top 5 as well!

Enjoy,

Beermentor

87. Deschutes Brewery and Public House, Bend, OR (#77)

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I had decided (previously) to quit trying to accomplish All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List: 125 best places in the world to have a beer” a couple of years ago [Now more than ever since the magazine no longer exists — an excellent article on that here]. However, being a Type A personality who enjoys task accomplishment, I just couldn’t put my incomplete list away. Haha. So, although there are even more challenges now in completing the list, I’m still slowly working through it.

As mentioned in a couple of previous posts, I have made some of my own substitutions for locations/activities that are either: 1) closed, 2) defunct, or 3) “experiential in nature.” So, by my reckoning, when I visited Deschutes Brewery in 2019, it was my 77th place on the list.

Since the Growler List was published in 2008, the original idea was that you would visit the Public House in Bend, Oregon. This is the original brewpub opened in 1988. What an awesome locale! As a family and employee-owned business, you can really feel the passion when you visit the place (and the funky vibe–see photo below of the men’s room mirror). The food is excellent, they typically have Pub-exclusive rotating taps (see pictures below), and plenty of room to enjoy yourself!

Deschutes have done a great job of growing their brewery and they built a beautiful state-of-the-art facility in 2012. We scheduled a tour and took the opportunity for an in-depth look.

It’s just an absolutely beautiful facility, the tour is very fun–you end up in the tasting room at the end (obvious). Great tour guides, great ideas, and well worth a visit–definitely deserved a place in the top 125!

Beermentor

3 Places in 3 Days … 3/125 Places to Drink Beer Before you Die!

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Still following All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List” 125 best places in the world to have a beer.

I found myself in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand … as such I was able to hit 3 of the places in 3 days on the list!

It’s kind of funny … the order I visited these places is their numerical order on the list! They were #53, Lord Nelson’s Brewery and Hotel, #89, Iceberg’s on Bondi Beach, and #98, The Shakespeare Brewery. Let’s start in order.

#53: Lord Nelson’s

This is the oldest pub brewery in Australia along with the oldest licensed hotel. It is in the heart of the historic district and a great location to visit. They have an excellent selection of their own beers–and the bonus was you could do a tasting flight!

I thought the Three Sheets was an excellent Pale Ale.I also recommend the Anileation … the Stout. I had high hopes for the Nelson’s Blood, a porter, but it was just a little off. Everything else was really good.

To include the food.

This was an excellent stop; great atmosphere, very nice beer, and good food … what more do you want in your combination? Definitely deserves a spot on the 125.

#89 – Iceberg’s on Bondi Beach.

Ok, check out this location first and you’ll see why it is on the list.

The building closest to the ocean over there is Icebergs.Here’s a panoramic shot of the beach with Icebergs again on the right.Walking up to Icebergs you get a great view of the pool and the ocean.Looking back to the beach you can see the folks in the water … surfing. This beach is the birthplace of surfing in Australia.

We found a great seat at the bar inside and ordered some lunch and a couple of beers. The beer menu was not extensive, but so what.

This Little Creatures Pale Ale hit the spot and the service was excellent. Very nice folks and the food was very tasty.

I can see why this place is on the list … well worth a stop …

(Here’s a detour for you … we also took the ferry over to Manly Wharf (check my post about MTB’ing on my other blog). The ferry was $15 AUD there and back. It provided excellent views of the opera house on the way there.

After the ride, I enjoyed a nice Corona (haha).

Then we went back to the Wharf and had an excellent meal at the Bavarian Restaurant while watching the sunset. Here’s a couple of shots … I would say that this location rivaled Lord Nelson’s for setting, ambiance, and beer. You never know where the best beer place is gonna pop up!

Ok, finally, #98 — The Shakespeare Brewery and Hotel.

We landed in Auckland, checked into our hotel, and walked over to this place. The Boutique Hotel has been there over 120 years … the bar … i don’t know.

The brewery is the oldest brew pub in New Zealand. They are making really good beers AND they serve them in flights … bonus!

Perusing the menu, I noticed I could also have The Gentleman, a Stout, in the bottle. It was a lovely beer and made the end of our visit to this iconic location memorable.

I can definitely recommend this place too and agree with it being on the list if simply for the fact it is the first brew pub in NZ.

Although moving along what some might consider slowly (I’ve been working on this list for 10 years now), I feel like visiting on average 7+ places a year is pretty good! I’ve completed visits to 74 of the 125 (see my modifications) … only 51 to go … at 7 a year that means I should be finished in the next 7 years! A worthy goal.

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor