The Research To Find The Best Breweries and Beer
I have a lot of fun visiting breweries, trying beers, meeting new people, and traveling all around to do these things. It’s truly developed into an exciting hobby. I really enjoy it when people send me tips on breweries and beer. I also am humbled when people ask me for my recommendations on beer and breweries! It is a great feeling to be a “Go To” person for this! Often I am also asked about how I find these places or the beer. Breweries ask sometimes “Where are you from and how did you find us?”. So for today I wanted to talk about my passion for the beer, breweries, and people. I want to let you have a “backstage” look at what my processes are and how I decided where to go and what to do and what to try out.
The truth is there is no one process I have for finding great beer, most of it is a simple search of the internet, followed by word of mouth, books are a big part of finding places too. Sometimes it just comes down to stumbling into a brewery randomly.
The internet has revolutionized how we as humans get information. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 40 years, computers and the internet have nearly taken over every aspect of life. I would say that the majority of my research comes from internet sources. Google tends to be ok for the most part, just type in “Breweries Near Me” and it will show you top results in your immediate area. As good as the internet is, it still has it flaws. Not every brewery nearby will be listed. Advertising is not free, so you have to dig past the top search results sometimes, and sometimes you won’t find the brewery you are standing in front of! It’s happened to me. This is one of the reasons I wanted to start blogging and reviewing Breweries and Beer, I wanted to give those “hidden gems” that are hard to find on the internet a chance to shine and send people their way.
The next process I use comes from word of mouth. Just talking with people. I’m usually shy until I get to know you or once I have had a beer or two. Seriously though, talking with bar tenders at one brewery often leads me, or taking with other patrons, or just everyday conversations. I also have many friends and family that will find a place and recommend that I try it out. This is a fun way of finding new breweries and beer. It’s a big part of why I chose to share my experiences with the world.
Now on to my random finds! This is by far the best, this is the most fun, and usually the most rewarding ventures! If you are going to go have your own ventures, you have to be flexible. If you aren’t, well, you might miss out on things. I love it when I stumble on a random brewery, like when I stumbled into Footbridge Brewery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine! I have not been disappointed yet when I find one that is off the radar, new, or obscure. Sometimes it’s the events in between my beer ventures that I stumble into, like when we walked right into the middle of the Chinese New Years Celebrations in Philadelphia. That’s exactly why it is fun, you cannot always plan things out, sometimes you just need to roll with it and trust your gut.
Good ole advertising, you know sort of the old fashion way to find places in a way. News Papers, Magazines, Online Ads, Social Media Ads, Posters, Flyers, Radio Ads, you know, things like that. Honestly it seems kind of trivial, but sometimes for events such a brewfest, this is the only way to find out about them. So I just keep an eye out.
For the next part of my research it is the oldest way to find things, reading books! It may seem outdated, but the truth is, it is a great source. Sometimes you can track down old breweries that now longer exist, but may have been taken over by another brewery. Often they keep the old recipes and put new labels on it. Maybe it has historic significance. Who knows, but it is a source for me and will remain that way forever. It also serves me as a souvenir from places I have been too.
The last thing I want to mention, and this is the humbling part of all of this, is when people use me as there “Research”. No really, it’s a great feeling when people refer to you for on where to go to have good beer! If I did not do my research, I would not be a source myself. It has taken me years with trips to many breweries, restaurants, bars, brewfest, and shops, and of course lot’s of beer drinking to get to the point where I can say I am an Amateur Beer Expert. So thank you to my fans, friends, and family that look to me for beer advice!
Looking forward, one of the things I will be doing is getting my official title of “Beer Expert”. (At least its looking to the future at the time I am writing this) I really hope to attend official classes to get my self more educated on beer and breweries. I’ll keep you posted!
Doing research into this may seem silly at times, after all it’s just beer. But that is what separates the casual beer enthusiast from those with passion for beer. Keep an eye out for “A Passion for Beer, Part 2”, and remember, go have an adventure and try new things!! Please Drink Responsibly.
