Beer has been said to be the cause and solution to all of life's
problems. European cities like Amsterdam and Munich, known for its
world-famous
Oktoberfest,
may get all the publicity when it comes to the world's best places to
grab a cold one, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the world is
void of drinking hotspots. Whether it's the tiny city of
Bruges, Belgium, or America's booming windy city of
Chicago,
cities all around the world show that there's always time for a tall
one. These cities don't only offer surprisingly large selections of pubs
and bars for your drinking pleasure, but they also make beer drinking
an art form, full of rich history and tradition, that keeps people from
all over the world waiting to sample their best brews. Beer tasting is
not only a favorite pastime of many travelers, it's also a great way to
get to know the locals and many of these locations have pubs prime for
mingling. So, when you head on your next big trip, ditch the fruity
cocktails in favor of a true cultural experience as you enjoy the
world's third (behind water and tea) favorite beverage--beer.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
As the ancestral home of globally recognized beers like Amstel, Heineken, and Grolsh,
Amsterdam serves up dozens of styles and flavors ripe for the tasting.
The city features hundreds of cozy watering holes that serve beer or
pils as the locals call it, in the quintessential Dutch style, with
exactly two fingers' worth of foam at the top. Heineken, Grolsch, and
Amstel are three of the best-known native brews, but a sampling of
artisanal blends and wheat beers from neighboring Belgium are also
offered at Amsterdam's cozy "brown" bars, which are named for their
antiquated, nicotine-stained walls. The Cracked Kettle
is the ultimate one-stop shop to buy your beer, as it stocks more than
500 types of beer and can ship internationally. If you want a place to
sit down, try Café Gollem, which is nearby and offers a selection of nearly 200 beers or Cafe t'Arendsnest,
which has over 100 varieties of purely Dutch beers from 50 breweries,
with an outstanding 30 of them on tap. If your interest in beer goes
beyond consumption, a tour of the Heineken Experience, where tastings
are encouraged may be your best option.
Bruges, Belgium
While
Bruges may not be as large as the nearby capital city of Brussels, what
it lacks in size it makes up for in character and you guessed it, good
beer. This small city is a prime location for beer lovers to sample over
450 unique varieties of Belgian brew that are each served in their own
specialized glasses. The city is steeped in history and none is perhaps
more notable than that of the last active brewery in Bruges, Huisbrouwerij de Halve Maan (the Half Moon brewery). The brewery and its comfortable tavern are located in a quiet part of the city next to the Beguinage of Bruges,
a convent dating back to the 13th century. It was founded in 1856 by
Henri Maes in a building with a long history of beer making and is now
being run by the fifth generation of its descendants. If you're looking
for an authentic Bruges experience, head to Café Vlissinghe,
which is a preserved pub that dates back to 1515 and features a large
selection of local brews. Before you leave, head to the Gouden Boom
Brewery Museum, where they have been producing beer since 1455.
Mexico City, Mexico
While Mexico exports some of the world's best-known labels like Corona,
it is in Mexico City that you will be able to truly taste some of the
country's best centuries-old brews. Regional selections, including
Indio, Victoria, and Superior, are crisp and perfect to enjoy under the
hot Mexican sun. While breweries are rare in the capital city, fun
taverns, mariachi clubs, and bars provide perfect tasting grounds for
inquiring travelers. Be sure to check out local brands like Negra Modelo,
a silky smooth dark lager, and Bohemia, a pilsner-style lager with a
semi-dry flavor. Try to take in the true Mexican experience by sampling
boutique beers by local brewers like Cervecería San Angel and the Santa Fe Beer Company
and head out to experience a bustling night life at one of the region's
many cantinas, including Salon Corona II on Filomeno Mata, La Opera Bar on Av Cinco de Mayo, and La Terraza del Conquistador, which all offer a wide selection of both local and imported beers.
Portland, Oregon
If
the number of breweries in Portland is any indication, natives must
really love their beer. This Pacific Northwest city boasts 28 breweries,
the largest number per capita than any other city in the country.
Central Oregon's Deschutes Brewery
opened its Portland Pub in 2008 and serves good grub along with its
top-notch Black Butte Porter and barrel-aged Abyss imperial stout. For
the biggest party, head to Portland the last weekend of July, when
downtown's Waterfront Park hosts the annual Oregon Brewers Festival,
now in its twenty-fourth year. The festival features over 80 craft
beers of all styles and flavors. However, no stop to Portland is
complete without a visit to Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.,
which helped put Portland's beer scene on the map when it unveiled its
American-style hefeweizen in the 1980s. The brewery produces over
200,000 barrels of bear annually and offers free tours and tastings on
the weekends. You can find their famous creation and about a dozen other
Widmer beers on tap at the Gasthaus Pub, located just across the street from the brewery.
Dublin, Ireland
No
beer list would be complete without a reference to the capital city of
Dublin, where pub culture is like a second religion. Literary
revolutionaries like James Joyce and George Moore were pub fixtures in
Dublin and what beer lover can resist the smooth, creamy flavor and dark
body of Guinness, the
city's finest, home-brewed stout? A tour of the Guinness factory at St
James' Gate is almost obligatory for a visit to Dublin, and travelers
will delight in the requisite free samples at the establishment's
Gravity Bar. Perhaps the most celebrated beer institution is the Porterhouse
and its nine exclusive beers, although local brews are served at
hundreds of authentic pubs throughout the city. Some of the city's top
draws include The Brazen Head, the traditional Stag's Head and the cool Solas,
which has a summer beer garden. Many pubs also feature live traditional
music and walls lined with artifacts from years past that remind you
just how much beer is ingrained in Irish culture.
Chicago, Illinois
This
big city in the Midwest has a lot of brews to go around and a lot of
places to drink them. The city's craft-brew scene is bustling and still
expanding, and while Bud Light may still be the choice beverage at
Wrigley Field, Goose Island's Wrigleyville brewpub
right across the street from the ballpark pours everything from its
original Green Line Pale Ale, to its punchy Bourbon County Stout, which
weighs in at 13.5 percent alcohol by volume. Irish pubs abound in the
area, with Chief O'Neills,
Irish Oak, and Galway Bay all being particularly good examples of
Chicago's ode to the Irish. For another international experience, go
just down the street from Galway Bay to the Duke Of Perth,
which has been called "one of the nicest Scottish pubs this side of the
Atlantic." If you are looking for the best quantity and quality in the
land, head to The Map Room, which
has 26 beers on tap, plus a hand-pump. To call their bottled beer list
extensive would be an understatement and it's safe to say there is
something for everyone. At nearby Hopleaf,
45 beer lines feed the taps with American craft brews and Belgians and
the menu is specially designed to complement the beer. Talk about a
winning combination.
Berlin, Germany
The cultural
capital of Germany is renowned for many things, like its art and
architecture, but perhaps its biggest selling point is its beer. There's
no better way to spend a sunny afternoon in an open-air "biergarten"
enjoying a pint or two with friends and Berlin has many to choose from.
After all, is there any better place to sip Berliner Weisse
(beer with woodruff or raspberry juice_ than in its city of origin?
Though the city is a mecca for beer lovers all year round, August is a
particularly good month to visit, when the first weekend of the month is
devoted to the Bierfestival.
During the festival, the city center turs into a 1.3-mile-long beer
garden, hosting 300 breweries from 86 countries and representing more
than 2,000 different brands of beer. Pratergarten
is the oldest biergarten in Germany at 150 years old and should be a
top stop on your list. Located in the tredy Prenzlauer Berg district,
you can have lunch outside with a cold beer and then spend an afternoon
shopping at the nearby clothing and music stores. For nighttime drinking
and dining, head to Café am Neuen See, which provides candlelit tables
for carrying on into the early morning hours. Proust!
by Amanda Miller, Contributing Author
