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St. Patrick's Day / Beer / Parades / Chicago River / → All Tags

On St. Patrick's Day, Chicago is the Greenest City of All

Where's the best place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Many would argue New York, with its two-million-person parade, and seemingly a pub with Guinness on tap for every one of them. Boston's got its share of stout-fueled rowdiness as well, but both of these cities are so Irish-fied already that St. Patrick's Day never really feels like that much of a change—just the same pubs with longer lines. Of course you can always go to Dublin for the genuine option, but that's always dimmed by the realization that the streets are filled almost exclusively with drunk Americans--not so genuine after all.

So for the city that puts on the greenest face for St. Patrick's Day, we nominate Chicago.

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Beer / Holidays / → All Tags

Happy Repeal Day

A few weeks back, we told you that the beer industry was pushing December 5, the 75th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, as a natioal day of celebration, but we wondered why few people were partying.

Well now it seems a good few of you have gotten your acts together, and folks coast-to-coast are getting ready to celebrate like it's 1933. Here's our guide to the best Repeal Day parties going down this Friday:

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Beer Travel / Beer / Pubs / → All Tags

Britain Considering Yet Another Booze Ban

And to think we just declared The Hat and Tun London's newest must-visit pub: Officials at the UK Department of Health may recommend a ban on happy hours and drinking games at pubs to reduce excessive and underage boozing. The British Liver Trust, an advocacy group, says liver disease has killed 40 percent more people aged 25-29 this year than last, with more than 4,000 fatalities linked to alcohol-induced liver problems.

The Liver Trust suspects that making drinks more expensive--that is, by banning happy hour discounts--would cause the number of young drinkers to drop. But government health authorities are waiting for a University of Sheffield report on whether prices have a measurable effect on binge drinking before making any final decisions.

If and when the government cracks down on happy hours, don't expect gloomy nights leading up to a ban: When London outlawed drinks on public transport, booze hounds celebrated by hosting raucous parties that ended in 17 arrests and six Tube station closings.

Related Stories:
· Liver Disease Killing 40 Percent More Young People [British Liver Trust]
· Britain May Ban "Happy Hour" as Deaths Rise [AP, via Google]

[Photo: gia_s]

Beer / Beer Travel / Holidays / → All Tags

Beer-O-Days: Who’s Celebrating Cinco De Diciembre?

The beer industry already makes plenty of bank from ale-soaked holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo, but now they’d like us to add one more.

The neighborly folks at the National Beer Wholesalers Association are encouraging Americans to celebrate the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, which is just around the corner on December 5. (Cinco de Diciembre, anyone?)

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the day FDR and Co. said it was legally OK to booze again, and the wholesaler’s group wants you to know:

This anniversary is a great time to recognize the success of the past 75 years of effective, state-based alcohol regulation since the ratification of the 21st Amendment.

In other words... drink up!

Unfortunately, a quick search of the web turns up only one event marking this momentous day, and it’s a policy forum at DC libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. Come on now, people, we can celebrate the rebirth of the nation in a little more style than that! Know of some parties we don't?

Related Stories:
· Celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition on December 5, 2008 [Marketwire]
· Free to Booze: The 75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition [Cato Institute]
· Beer coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: coopgas1]

Beer Travel / Train Travel / Beer / Trains / → All Tags

International Train Travel for Beginners: Ride the Rails Between San Diego and Tecate

San Diego is a pretty cool city, but once you're done with the zoo, the beaches, and the Gaslamp Quarter, you might crave a glimpse of what's beyond the border in Mexico. Sure, you could drive or take a bus to Tijuana, but the wait at the border can be a drag, and TJ has seen its fortunes decline in recent years due to violence among drug traffickers. Fortunately, the LA Times has an attractive alternative: a day trip by train to nearby Tecate. Once or twice a month, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum runs trips from Campo in eastern San Diego to Tecate, about thirty miles east of Tijuana, where visitors tour the eponymous brewery and dine at restaurants around Parque Manuel Hidalgo square. The journey isn't about getting anywhere fast - the train chugs along at a smooth 15 miles per hour for much of the one-hour journey - but serves as a link to the halcyon days of the early 1900's, when the railroad was built to connect San Diego with the fertile Imperial Valley. The trains themselves are a relic from a bygone era. Several impeccably-restored 1930's-era passenger cars that once ferried New Jersey commuters into New York City are now filled with railfans, lager louts, and day-trippers who love the idea of a popping across the border for a nip and a nosh. As for the beer, well, it's nothing to write home about (even at the brewery it's served in cans). But on a hot day in Mexico, when you don't have to worry about driving home, it certainly does the job.

[Photo: LA Times]

Related Stories
· Visit Tecate By Train For Dose of Border Goodwill [LA Times]
· Pacific Southwest Railway Museum [Official Site]
· Cerveza Tecate [Official Site]
· Beer Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Beer Travel / Beer / Winter Festivals / → All Tags

Bring On The Snow

Most beer snobs start toning down their travel plans this time of year, as the chilly weather signals the unofficial end of beer festival season.

But for a small segment of crazy-enough brewheads, ice and snow can't stop the outdoor drinking. Winter beer festivals have been popping up across the country in recent years, and there's one that is just insane enough to make plans for.

The Michigan Winter Beer Fest, featuring 150 varieties of the state's craft beers from 25 of its finest breweries, is being held this year in Grand Rapids. In February.

So if you're used to those lazy summer beer fests, buy yourself some long johns and start training: This one's not gonna be easy.

Related Stories:
· Michigan Winter Beer Fest [Official Site]
· Party Like You're a Michigander at Winter Festivals [Mlive]
· Beer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: stefg]

Beer / Beer Travel / → All Tags

Old and Busted: Italian Wine; New Hotness: Italian Beer

Italy is tasting a little bit like Belgium these days, if a story in Sunday's New York Times is to be believed. For years, Italian food has been inextricably attached to the country's amazing selection of wines, but the past decade has seen a resurgence of beer making. Today the country's northern Piedmont region boasts dozens of craft brewers whose beers pair well with national cuisine and can (almost) stand up to the Trappist and Abbey ales produced in Belgium. It's a trend I can get behind. Look, I love wine, but in nine out of ten situations, my taste buds cry out for hops rather than grapes. It sounds like more than a few Italians agree with me, and the area around Milan is now dotted with breweries and brewpubs that cater to a new and sophisticated class of beer drinkers. You're unlikely to find a table of lager louts at Enoteca Decanter, a beer-themed restaurant in the city, but you will find special food and beer pairings that run from bitter to smokey to sweet and back again. And there's nothing wrong with happy hour at Birrificio Lambrate, where stylish locals and visitors enjoy small plates of zucchini, pizza, fava beans, and fennel salad with samplers of Piedmont beers. For the serious beer geek, there's Casa Baladin, a brewpub and guest house in Piozzo where beer specifically takes the place of wine with dishes such as wild boar seared in cognac, which is paired with a complex barleywine-style beer. If this trend continues, we might just see an Italian brew poured alongside the Flemish, Walloon, and Lambic options at Spuyten Duyvil.

[Photo: The New York Times]

Related Stories:
· Savoring Italy, One Beer at a Time [The New York Times]
· Beer Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Beer Travel / Beer / → All Tags

Brits Complete 24-Year Pub Crawl

Think your 4-block pub crawls are pretty impressive?

Check out this group of Englishmen, who just completed a 24-year-long pub crawl that took them to 14,000 different bars and got them a Guinness World Record.

The Black Country Ale Tairsters (Tasters) stopped by Marston's Pub in Rugley last week after spending a quarter-of-a-century drinking their way through England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, sleeping by the side of the road and raising money for charity at each bar they visited. Oh, they also spent more than $100,000 on beer.

The BBC has some video footage: Don't miss the awesome waistcoats.

Related Stories:
· Giant Pub Crawl Sets Record [BBC]
· Twenty-Four-Year Pub Crawl Hits 14,000 [Spaghetti Gazetti]
· Beer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Spaghetti Gazetti]

Beer / Drinking / Budget Travel / Websites / Travel Websites / Recession-Restaurants-Map / → All Tags

Drinking Through the Recession: Price Your Pints Before You Go

This plummeting world economy means we're all watching our travel budgets a little bit more closely, but if you're anything like us, drinking makes up a disturbingly large percentage of what you spend on the road.

Which is why PintPrice.com comes along just in time. The website catalogs user input to detail the current price of a pint of beer in every country on earth. Large countries have data broken down by city, and you can search for prices in euros, pounds, American and Canadian dollars.

The cheapest country? If you can find your way to Myanmar, brews average just 62 cents a pop. On the other side of spectrum, the average pint of lager in Norway goes for a hard-to-swallow $11.67.

Related Stories:
· The Price of a Pint [Official Site]
· Eating Through the Recession: Truffles for the Masses [Jaunted]
· Oregon Is for Beer Lovers [Jaunted]

[Photo: coda]

Oktoberfest / Beer / Fall Festivals / Jaunted Travel Videos / Videos / → All Tags

Oktoberfest Post-Mortem: The Five Things You Need to Know for '09

Oktoberfest 2008 has come and gone--in Germany at least--but the memories will live on forever. Thankfully, the vomit is easy enough to wash away.

This is a video from inside the Hofbrau tent at the storied Oktoberfest fair grounds in Munich. You can watch "Beer Fest" as many times as you like but nothing, we repeat, nothing can prepare you for the real Oktoberfest.

So to make it easier, we've put together this handy list of rules and tips to remember for Oktoberfest 2009.

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Beer / Fall Travel / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Oregon Is for Beer Lovers

While the attraction for most ale-heads at this weekend's Great American Beer Festival was the 1,800-plus brew list, the festival's not just about getting sloshed: There are also a bevy of awards handed out, and they can reap serious dividends for small breweries.

The prestigious awards span 75 categories, from best fruit or vegetable beer to best coffee flavored beer. The big winner this year: Oregon's hop-heavy breweries, who walked across the podium in Denver again and again. The Beaver State beat out almost all of its larger competitors by taking home nine gold medals and 19 overall.

For those looking to get a taste of just what these Oregonian brewers have going on, the state's Fresh Hop Beer Tastivals offer a chance, coming up in Portland on October 18 and in Eugene on October 25.

Related Stories:
· 2008 GABF Winners [Official Site]
· 2008 Fresh Hop Beer Tastivals [Official Site]
· Fall Travel: Say "Scumps" at the Great American Beer Festival [Jaunted]

[Photo: inajeep]

Beer / Fall Travel / → All Tags

Fall Travel: Say "Scumps!" at the Great American Beer Festival

It's Friday. You've been working and you've just about had it. Unless you're one of those lucky people already at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver this weekend, in which case: We hate you. Now get off the Internet and buy us a pint!

The fest, administered by the Brewers Association, is a brewers' competition and a tippler's delight with some 1,800 beers. But you can't actually get a pint of any of them--instead, they are served in one-ounce tasting portions more familiar to fans of "Sideways" than, well, "Beerfest."

The show is sold out according to its organizers, but for the dedicated drinker Craigslist shall provide. The party runs through Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center.

Related Stories:
· A 750 Mile Taxi Ride For A Beer [Jaunted]
· Boozy Travel: World Beer Festival [Jaunted]
· Beer coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: duggus]