Category Archives: Beermentor’s 50 Places

Refers to my top 50 places in the world worth a repeat trip for beer drinking. Caveat: Has to be a place I’ve actually visited.

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

Beermentor, an “Award-winning” Songwriter

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Last September (2023), my friend sent me a link to an article about a “Beer Contest.” Here’s the link. He said “We should enter!” … I said “Hell’s Yes!” When you click through to the contest, you’ll see that it was put on by Sierra Nevada Brewing. This already piqued my interest! One of my favorite breweries in the US and (as I mentioned in my previous posts) one of my Top 30 places to drink a beer. 

 This particular competition was for their newest brewery–in the Asheville, North Carolina area. So, if you win, you get to 1) go to the brewery and brew a custom beer with the brewers, 2) hang out and drink great beer, and 3) enjoy all the fun that being in Asheville provides (for me Mountain Biking and Disc Golf are two that come to mind).

 We decided to enter. Being my normal “not really into the details” kind of guy, I skimmed the rules and saw we needed to provide a video not longer than 30 seconds. The competition rules stated this was a “Friend’s Reunion” competition to celebrate the history of the 40-plus year-old Sierra Nevada Pale Ale–‘Still the One! that brings friends together.’

 Fortunately, my friend looked a little closer at the rules and found the criteria for the judging. They were: 1) relevance to the theme, 2) creativity and 3) originality. Our first thought was to have a rotating list of pictures of our group of friends from the last twenty-plus years, supported with our version of a “Still the One” song. The two songs i could remember were Shania Twain’s “Still the One” and Orleans “Still the One.” Either one of those two would have worked with some modified lyrics, but we read the rules even closer and realized we couldn’t use copyrighted material. 

 We decided to go ahead and write our own tune–my focus was having a catchy rhythm, keeping in mind the theme of the contest. I cracked open a Sierra Nevada and started strumming my guitar. haha. I came up with this chord progression: G – D – Dsus2 – A to open G, G and repeat. Here’s a link to my initial attempt. Although not fully developed at the time, these are the lyrics that were kind of floating around in my head while I was playing:

  • Crafting it and Brewing it … for a long time!
  • Bringing it and Drinking it … for a good time!
  • Wanting to Remember it … for a lifetime!  (Sierra Nevada.  Still the Beer!)
  • Chugging it or Sipping it … what a flavor!
  • With my Friends enjoying it … All Together!
  • 40 plus and going strong … Classic Pale Ale!

 My friend worked his musical magic on my song, we added the lyrics above, and (after having to change some pictures based on an additional reading of the rules … haha) we submitted it to the contest. Here’s a link to the actual 30-second submission.

We submitted our entry pretty early in the contest window — the site had a scrolling list of the entries. Remember when I said we needed to submit a video? All I saw for the entries from other people were photos. My friend and I both thought these were thumbnails from submitted videos from other entrants. After we had submitted ours, we waited to see our “photo” show up in the list. However, when it showed up, it was a video! Apparently, if I had paid closer attention, I would have seen that you could either submit a video OR a photo. haha. Good thing I didn’t see that, because we might have just submitted a photo. 

On my 60th birthday (!!), the contest ended … we had to wait another three weeks to find out who won. On the 8th of November I was out on a bike ride–I had checked the site that morning to see if they had posted anything–there wasn’t anything there, so I forgot about it. My friend was the actual person to submit the entry–I typed up the text for our written entry to answer the questions for submission: (1) Tell Us Why Your Friends are the Best, and (2) Tell Us Why You All Deserve an Ultimate Friend Reunion Trip to Asheville. He submitted the video and the “essay.” 

That meant he was the one notified — and we won! Woo Hoo! We are heading to the Sierra Nevada Brewery near Asheville for a fun-filled weekend! That’s why I consider myself to be an “award-winning” songwriter. haha. Stand by for the report on the festivities!

Beermentor

Beermentor’s 30 Places

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As I’ve traveled around and sampled beer all over the world, I’ve definitely put together a list of places I would easily visit again. If you are one of the three people who follow this blog (lol), you will know that I was tracking the defunct magazine’s (All About Beer) “Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die.” That list came out in 2008–but over time, it has become a little bit of a Circus. Many of the places closed or changed over time (especially during COVID period). If you follow the brewing industry, I think you would know that the emphasis always shifts–except for those precious few that remain consistent.

I was, at one time, using Untappd to track my stats … It became tedious to me because I was always trying to up my numbers and try different beers — even when they weren’t the beers I wanted! I think I started using it in 2013 and stopped in 2019. By that time, I had recorded over 2100+ beers and had been to 500+ places.

Interestingly, I still ended up drinking what I would consider my favorite beers anyway … the only one I would probably swap out on this list is the “Tripel Wit” at the bottom for a Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.

By replacing the Tripel Wit with the Union Jack IPA, I can then say I’ve been to four of the five breweries associated with my five favorite beers: Orval, West Vleteren, Russian River, and Firestone Walker. My favorite place to visit was Orval (although you can’t drink a beer at the brewer). The only one I haven’t visited yet is the Leroy Breweries — and I hope to do that this year! 

Suffice it to say that when I pick my top 30 places, it is with much experience, enthusiasm, and pleasure–but the list will probably morph as I continue along my beer journey. As I’ve gotten “more experienced,” I find I like a quieter locale–plus I really like to dig into the history, character, and quality of the establishment and the (obviously)–the beers.

This is actually an update to this blog post from 2010. It, too, listed my “Top 50 Places” … up to that point. I’ve reduced my number to 30 — more manageable and it makes it more special. My criteria is still the same for my “30 Places:” 1) I can remember where the place was and can get back there, 2) it’s a place that you can get to to drink beer, 3) it will be a place that, no matter if you’ve been once or dozens of times, you will want to go back when the opportunity presents itself. The specific order to this list is my Top 5 … see that post here, Top 5 runner-ups, top 5 festivals, top 6 breweries, 4 most obscure, and 5 other?

Beer Mentor’s 30 Places: Yes, I’ll have Another one!
1aMy House. IMHO, my brewery produces great beers (and my collection is growing!) … oh, and I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get home after a couple of beers
1bBräustüberl Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. (2010, 2012 x2) – to drink the beer produced here at the oldest brewery in the world! Plus you can sample traditional Bavarian cuisine as well … then walk around the halls and brewery–check out the history.
2A la nouvelle Hostellerie d’Orval, near Abbaye d’Orval, Belgium (2009×2, 2012) – where to drink an Orval near the Abbey. Then head over to the Abbey for a visit to the museum and to pick up your beer. If you are lucky enough, maybe you can figure out a way to tour the brewery … Make sure to visit the Spring in the old Ruins — the source of the water for the brewery …
3In de Vrede, Westvleteren, Belgium near Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren (2009, 2010, 2012) – you can drink (and purchase) all versions of Westvleteren here … need I say more?
4Staffelberg-Klause, Bad Staffelberg, Germany (2010) -You get the local beer on tap here and views that don’t stop … and when you are here, you’ll see why I rank it so high (in Summer/Fall only)
5Ye Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England (2010) .. although a hole in the wall (basically in an alley) … it opened in 1546 …pouring Fuller’s beers. You can feel the history as you stand there drinking your beer.
6Hofbraeuhaus, Munich, Germany (1997, 1998, 2001, 2012) — probably should be in my top 5, but there’s only 6 places there. haha. That’s how good I could count after having a few liters at the Hofbrauhaus.
7The Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012) — Any number of small cafes on the Grand Place will serve you a wonderful beer … a great atmosphere for people watching.
8Kloster Andechs, Andechs, Germany (2010 x2, 2012) – Monks have been serving pilgrims here since 1455 … I have enjoyed each journey I’ve made to this beautiful locale …
9The Long Valley Bar, Cork Ireland (2000) — As I was touring around Cork, I stopped in here for a pint of Beamish … and left with my favorite Beamish Glass. Family-owned Irish Pub … an awesome place.
10Sloppy Joe’s, Key West, FL (Can’t remember all the times) – Let’s just say if the place was good enough for Ernest Hemingway, it’s good enough for me!
11Fruhlingsfest, Bad Cannstadt, Germany (2010) (The second largest (I think) fall festival in Germany (after Oktoberfest) — I place it higher because it was less touristy)
12Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany (1998, 2012) (It would be difficult not to include this festival — just for the sheer spectacle (look at the size of it on the map! … but it also has great beer in one liter steins. lol)
13Aventinus Festival … Schneider Weisse Brewery, Kelheim, Germany (2010) – (this would be my number 1 festival, but it is a hard one to attend — I think it is typically for the employees and local people around Kelheim. We were very lucky to get tickets! If you can’t get tickets, the Weisses Brauhaus is awesome too!)
14Wurstfest, New Braunfels, Texas (2013). Great locale, excellent food/music, and really good beer–still going string since 1961. Worth a trip!
15Great American Beer Festival, Denver, Colorado (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) –– How many different beers can you drink in 3.5 hours? A lot! Remember them all … probably not. You gotta like a lot of people to go to this festival!
16Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium (2010, 2012) – The heart of the Gueuze … an absolutely amazing tour — will be crowded, but worth it!
17Pilsner Urquell Brewery, Plzen, Czech Republic (2012) – Wow. The birth place of the Pilsner — go for the great tour, stay for the great beer! (Fresh from Fass!)
18Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA (2019) – one of the original breweries of the Craft Beer revolution — still making great beer, and the tour is out of this world! Worth a visit!
19Rogue Brewing, Newport, OR (2017) – When you get to ride the “beer train” over to the distillery, you know you’re in the right place! Great experience here …
20Anheuser-Busch Brewery (St Louis, MO) (2012, 2013) / Coors Brewing (Golden, CO) (2011) — I know … big beer … but the absolute scale of these breweries is amazing, and the tours are both really good!
21Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan, Bruges, Belgium (2012) – A great brewery tour — was here for my 49th birthday — they had a sign up for me — the full tour of this place. Incredible. And Bruges is a wonderful city …
22Cellar Bar at the Breuberg Schloss, Germany (1998, 1999) – First of the obscure/hard to get to entries: only really open during the Bagpipe Association of Germany’s Summer School and ending festival. Do it!
23Beer Tent. Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville, Ontario (2003, 2009) – Second Obscure Entry: Excellent during the games — fantastic when all of the Pipe Bands are there celebrating after the ceremony.
24Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA (2009) – small out-of-the-way brewery in Pennsylvania that is worth a trip … or at least it was back in the day! I need another visit to check it out!
25Mercury’s Bar, Stone Town, Zanzibar (2012/2013) – right on the beach looking out over the ocean … the beers are good enough with this view … just not an easy place to get to!
26Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany (2010, 2012) – since 1142 … lol. You can stay here and stumble back and forth to drink great beer! The church, Kloster, and surrounding area is beautiful!
27Jack Quinn Irish Pub, Colorado Springs, CO (Too Many Times to Count) – What can I say about Quinn’s — I went through countless pints of Guinness, played a lot of bagpipes here, and have some awesome memories/stories … if I can just recall them …
28Naturfreunde Haus, Vaihingen, Germany (Many Times) – this one could have been in the obscure list as well … so inviting … awesome food … great Kellerbier! Worth the walk
29The Auberge de Poteaupre, near Chimay Brewery, Belgium (2010 x2, 2012) – Stayed here (I think) three times … excellent food and you can drink ALL of the Chimay beers … to include the Monk’s beer … Beautiful place and a short walk to the Abbey.
30Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD (2011) – this place has live music, a lot of character, and some great beers on tap … so much US History in this area. Worth a visit

Wow, this was a harder exercise than I thought it would be — a huge variety of places that were good that didn’t make the list–however, this list contains the places where I’ve been, with a beer in my hand, and said to myself “could this be any more perfect than this right at this moment?” My only caveat would be that, as time passes, places change. But I would say each of these places would be as special, because I’ve found each visit has always brought its own flavor. Enjoy!

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

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

94. Felix in The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong (#71)

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This is #94 on the list … over 70 places on the list now. Yes, I’m still making my way on the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List” 125 best places in the world to have a beer.

Some of the recent entries have seemed a little “dated.” I know they are great places, but they seem to be a little worn or have lost the “vibe” to newer places. Not The Felix. This is an exceptional bar with a fantastic view of the Hong Kong Harbor.

This bar is on the 28th floor of The Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. If you are familiar with the James Bond films, you will recognize this hotel from Roger Moore’s “The Man With the Golden Gun” movie. However, the Felix didn’t exist when that movie was filmed in 1974. The hotel is known for its fleet of courtesy cars … Rolls Royces. Unfortunately, they didn’t pick us up from our hotel … we had to walk.

The bar doesn’t open until 1730 … but once it does, you ride the elevator specifically for the bar / restaurant. You get to the top, walk into the restaurant and open your mouth to the view, just like everyone else.

I ordered a beer and sat at the bar before we had dinner. It was a special IPA, made locally, with a slang name: “gwei-lo.” It means “pale guy” (or whitey) in English … slang for foreigner. Kind of funny. It was quite tasty though!

We reserved a table by the window to watch the everyday 8pm light show across the harbor. The dinner was ok … you can just visit the bar and enjoy a beer if you’d like. I highly recommend a stop if you are in Hong Kong. Definitely deserves to be on the list!

Oh, finally, what beer goes in must come out. If you go to the men’s room, you have a fantastic view while standing at the Urinal as well. Haha.

Enjoy!

Stumblingpiper

#63: Bruxellensis Festival of Characterful Beers (93) [DEFUNCT]

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Note: Finalizing blogs on “Places on the Growler List.”  

  1. This is #93 on the list … I hit a milestone with this entry … I’m made it over halfway there on the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List” 125 best places in the world to have a beer.

However, this is also a substitution … if you’ve read through my blog, you will see that some of the entries I’ve modified slightly.  There are two types of modifications–first, if the venue is closed, I substitute (what I feel) is an appropriate replacement.  The other is a “suitable sub.”  For instance, I’m not a fan of SEC football, so I substituted another “experience” entry.  I did that for about 5 entries (I think).  This entry, #63 for me, is a substitute for a defunct festival: Bruxellensis.  I’m sad about that because the festival looked very interesting.  My replacement, though, is a fantastic option (I believe).

The Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines Festival (formerly in Vail, CO but now in Breckenridge, CO is incredible.  If you go to just more than the festival — you can spend the whole weekend celebrating beer at this event — all the better.  Sign up for seminars, sessions, cigar tastings, etc, etc.

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This event entered its 16th year in 2017 and you can really appreciate the maturity.  There are scheduled activities starting even earlier in the week and continuing through Sunday.  The basic format is — beer dinners/tastings/seminars/competitions early (Monday through Friday) and then the big Festival on Saturday.  And this is about Big Beers!  How about a 1994 Triple Bock from Boston Brewery?  The Utopias at 28%?

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Many of the craft industries long-time members really go all out in support of this (Dogfish Head, Avery, and the Lost Abbey to name a few (Oh, and Boston Brewery?  see above)).

However, you also get the newer entrants in the industry as well — all focused on big beers or Belgians … and not just big, but great beers.  If you look at the link above and walk through some of the activities, i’m sure you’ll agree … worthy of a place on the list and as a replacement for Bruxellensis.

Finally, this is also on Beermentor’s 100 Places list … now there are two officially, this Festival and Russian River Brewing.  I will be adding my list soon … really.  🙂

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor