American Beer, theres more on offer than just Budweiser...

Me on a MicroBrewery Tour in Manchester, NH (Millies Tavern)

Driving across the great distances of the united states is thirsty work. So much so that when we arrive in  a destination, often the first port of call is to the nearest Bar or Pub.

One of the great misconceptions i had before i started this trip, was that i'd be forced to drink the standard beers that america is known for back home in england; Namely - Budweiser. 

It wasn't long after i arrived in New York, when i first tried a great Mexican beer i'd not heard of before - Pacifco. Although not an American Beer, it made me aware that there was plenty of good choice out there... 

Ok, i should really confess something.. living in London for a few years meant that i was able to sample the odd american beer that made its way across the pond, Beers such as "Brooklyn Larger' and 'Blue Moon' are now fairly common on the supermarket shelves these days back home..

Anyway, the reason i write this post now is that the popularity of micro breweries has only really become apparent to me, since we got up to the north east and now the mid west.  

Trinity Brew House, Providence Rhode Island.

I think the flash point for me was just the other day in Omaha, Nebraska. Knowing next to nothing about the state its self or of its brewing capabilities. We'd be visiting friends who lived in Lincoln, but didn't really get much of a chance to explore the town or visit any of the brewpubs/breweries. However upon arriving in Omaha a day later, we had the evening to ourselves and thought we'd check out the bar scene in the Old Market District part of the town.

I started the night with a Miller Hi Life. Odd choice you might think, to mention this in a post about craft and local beers. Well without digressing to much i mention this because whilst in Milwaukee a few days earlier, we went to visit the Miller Brewery (mainly because it was free, and offered a healthy amount of free samples at the end of the tour) We both thought of Miller as one of the 'big boys' who taste like 'piss water'. We were both wrong and pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the 'Champagne of Beers' and what with German heritage of the beer, it now has an equal place in my list of top beers with some of the smaller breweries. 

ANYWAY, we then hit up this Cuban style cigar place... odd place to mention again when talking about beers. Well, they had a small selection of local and german beers. I opted to get a taste of the two beers they had on tap from the Empyrean Brewing Co. One being a Light Beer and the Other a dark porter. 

I've always tended to steer clear of the dark porters, as they tend to be bitter, and not as refreshing.. hence why i never considered even trying a Guinness before. This beer changed everything. The Dark Side Vanilla Porter was amazing, a perfect blend of dark roasted hops and a nice subtle aftertaste of Vanilla. This particular beer was brewing in Lincoln, and the brewery offers free tours, was kind of a shame that i hadn't found this whilst in Lincoln and gone to visit the place were it was crafted!

http://www.empyreanbrewingco.com/beers.html

Upon further investigation it would seem that mid-west and the rest of the states for that matter, are fairly well covered when it comes to small craft type breweries..

Brewery Map of the Mid West

I'm not going to ramble on anymore on the subject, if you want to know more about the whole American brewery scene i'm sure a quick google search will provide adequate answers..

Sadly i think i may have missed my opportunity to bring back some of the delicious Porter to the UK (Plus im not sure how bottled beer handles in a pressurised airplane hold?) so i will have to go hunt down some good UK versions.. and maybe see if i can convince a local brewery to try making it!

Thanks for reading.

Adrian