coll. - Global Beer Tour

Theres one thing that all beer fans agree on. If you enjoy drinking good beer, there has been no better time to be alive than right now. Over the last ten years in countries across world not just the USA, New Zealand and Australia but also in beers traditional homelands of Britain, Belgium and Germany, and new frontiers in Asia and Africa there has been a revolution in the range and quality of beers produced by small, independent and creative brewers. For want of a better label, it has been called the craft beer movement.

Craft is a term that is increasingly (and occasionally misleadingly) applied to beers. What does it mean? The US organisation, the Brewers Association, defines a craft brewer as being small, independent and traditional. By small, they mean a brewery that produces less than six million barrels of beer per year. By independent they mean a brewer that is less than 25% owned by anything other than a craft brewer. And by traditional they mean a brewer that uses traditional brewing fermentation techniques and ingredients for flavour. Flavored malt beverages, they say, are not beer. See www.craftbeer.com for more details.

Within those parameters, the variety of beers currently being made is nothing short of astounding. The Brewers Association of the US recognises 150 separate styles of beer. There are classics that have been brewed for centuries, such as pale ales and porters, long-forgotten regional specialities that have been recently discovered by the rest of the world, and also delicious new concoctions, fermented in a brewers brain somewhere.

Of the 4600 craft brewers in America, notes the Brewers Association, 95% make fewer than than 15,000 barrels of beer annually. The same is true of other countries: the vast majority of craft brewers are small, local businesses. In the US, 78% of adults of drinking age live within 10 miles of their local brewery. Consequently, local support is vital to their success. Whats notable about the new wave of craft beer is that it has raised the standards of breweries across a country, not just those in or near big cities.

Not all the breweries in this book can be classified as craft. Some have been bought out by bigger companies. Others may already be mainstream brands. But, generally, most the breweries profiled in this book will have been started by a small group of passionate people and it is the dedication and determination of these beer-loving people that has driven this revolution. And in the same way that these people have increased the quality of beer available to us, so they have also pioneered the other key development of the craft beer movement: breweries that we can visit. Many breweries now have taprooms or tasting rooms to welcome beer fans and visiting these venues has become a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon or evening.

This book features a vast range of breweries, from the massive (the Stone empire in San Diego) to the minuscule (Partizan, hunkered under a railway archway in London). Weve preferred the independent to the corporate but with so many craft brewers being bought by multinationals weve not been too prescriptive. What matters to us is the quality of the beer and the visitor experience.

So why go to visit these breweries, taprooms and brew pubs when you can usually buy an ever-increasing range of interesting beers in your local supermarket or bottle shop? There are three main reasons. The first is that craft beer doesnt tend to travel well, at least over long distances. It doesnt like getting too hot or too cold and it doesnt like being shaken around. Beer often tastes better the closer it is to home, especially if thats straight from a tap in a tank in the actual brewery.

The next reason is that with the rapid increase in numbers of small-scale craft brewers in recent years, a lot of great beers are never distributed beyond their home state or city. The chances of finding one of Maines distinctive micro-brewed ales in another country are small. And many traditional beer varieties for example smoky Rauchbier in Germany rarely leave their region. To experience them properly you need to go to the source. Contemporary craft breweries are often started by people passionate about beer and if you want to taste what theyve been brewing you need to go to them because they wont be able to reach you. In some cases (see ) youll even need to queue outside just to buy a case of their most sought-after releases.

And finally, if you want to actually meet some of these obsessed individuals, compare tasting notes, and ask them about their beer or exchange recipes then youre going to have to go on a beer tour.

At Lonely Planet, we approached our Global Beer Tour a little differently. Using our travel resources weve provided details of other sights of interest in the vicinity of each brewery so you can make a day (or a weekend) of your visit. These may be local museums or galleries, more adventurous activities such as hikes or bike rides, or even something as simple but memorable as a great viewpoint. Whether you sample some beer first and then see the sights, or vice versa, is up to you (although wed recommend tackling some of the more physically demanding activities before rewarding yourself with a beer).

What became immediately apparent when researching this book with our worldwide network of beer-loving travel writers (and well-travelled beer journalists) was that the world of craft beer reached far beyond its anglo-centric strongholds of England, Australia and New Zealand, and the USA and Canada. Those regions may have the highest density of craft breweries and may be driving the current vogue for visiting breweries, but venture into Belgium and Germany and youll find fascinating, historic breweries to explore. Other countries, in particular Italy and Japan, are fast catching up with their local craft beer scenes. And further afield we reveal breweries you can visit in countries such as Nepal, Vietnam, China and Ethiopia.

Within each of the 32 countries in this book, weve organised the best breweries to visit by city, which are listed alphabetically. In the entry for each brewery weve suggested the must-try beer, and also recommended local sights so beer tourers can explore the local area and the beer. Theres a world of great beer to taste, now go and discover it!

TIM CHARODY

Ale Catch-all term for top-fermented beer, after the type of yeast used (now there are many more varieties of yeast), see also Lager

Altbier A dark beer from Dusseldorf, Germany

Biere de Garde A traditional style of beer from northern France that is stored (garde)

Bitter A British style of brown beer, mildly flavoured and varying in strength from ordinary to best to extra special

Blonde / Golden Ale A light, gold-hued beer, often a summery choice

Bock A type of German-made lager

Bok A dark beer from the Netherlands

Dubbel A type of Belgian ale using double the usual quantity of malt, making a strong, dark beer