Give the Gift of Beer Travel This Holiday Season

~Learn about beer tour companies that bring you to exciting new locales~

I’m sure just about every one of us could do with a beercation right about now. It’s been a year like no other in recent memory. Virtual happy hours have largely replaced the comradery of the taproom, tavern, and beer garden. No Oktoberfest this year, no local brew fests either. And beer travel, a pastime that has grown in popularity with each passing year, has all but ceased.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. With the lightning-quick development of vaccines against Covid and their hopefully steady rollout, my optimistic bet is that we’ll be travelling again by summer or early autumn. And it just so happens to be the holiday season right now, which always lightens the mood.

It’s been a few years now since I wrote a holiday wish list post. This year I’m going to do something different. Rather than suggest material gifts like stylish hop cone lamps or cool stainless steel kegs, I’m going to shine a light on something less immediately tangible: beer travel — the gift of a singular, memorable experience.

*Here are links to a few of my past posts. I’m sure many a beer enthusiast would love to receive a gift or two from these lists.

The Most Wonderful Time for a Beer

Craft Beer Ideas for the Last-Minute Holiday Shopper

Local Businesses That Take Folks Further Afield

Beer writers have focused plenty of attention on how Covid has taken a toll on the owners and staff of breweries, taprooms, and beer gardens. But we’ve overlooked another segment of the beer industry that has been decimated by the pandemic: beer tour companies. The folks behind these companies are small business owners, and are part of your local community. They have been instrumental in weaving together a larger “global” beer community by introducing their tour guests to beer cultures beyond their doorsteps.

When the pandemic hit, brewery and taproom owners could at least make efforts to stay afloat via deliveries, and curbside pickup. But not tour operators. Travel restrictions brought their businesses to a grinding halt.

Why Travel with a Beer Tour Company?

Under normal circumstances, I’d say just get on a plane or a train and go explore a particular region on your own. I’m a huge advocate of independent travel, and it’s one of the reasons I write all my posts about beer travel. But fancy and footloose isn’t for everyone. And besides, these times are different. Beer travel companies need your support now more than ever.

Beer tours offer distinct advantages over unstructured travel. You don’t have to worry about booking your accommodation at the last minute from a train with spotty wi-fi (something I end up doing all too often), or figuring out byzantine brewery tour listings, or deciphering public transport schedules written in different languages, only to be left waiting in the rain.

Beer tour operators take the uncertainty and stress out of beer travel. They bring guests to particular breweries, taverns, beer gardens, or maltsters on a regular basis and can work around restrictive schedules. What’s more, they’ve developed lasting relationships with the owners of these establishments. That means you might even have Mathias Trum himself presiding over a tasting dinner at his Schlenkerla tavern in Bamberg’s old town.

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Not every company offers the same menu of destinations, activities, accommodations, and options, so dig around on the various websites to find something that suits your budget, beer inclinations, and travel style. Unless otherwise noted, check out each company’s website for a list of tours planned for 2021. I’ve listed the tour companies in alphabetical order.

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BBM! Belgian Beer Me! Beer Tours

Website: https://www.belgianbeerme.com/

German tours: http://bambergbeerme.com/

Stu Stuart has been leading beer tours for over a decade. He got into the tour business when folks taking his Belgian beer appreciation class in Seattle began asking when he was going to take a group over to Belgium. Not a bad idea, he thought. Stu now leads tours to all corners of that country, and has added Germany to the list.

“When you drink beer you’re drinking history,” says Stu. “I enjoy sharing the history of Belgium, especially regarding its status as the battlefield of Europe — from Waterloo in 1815, to Belgium becoming a country in 1830, to WWI, and WWII. All of my tours include some elements of history. Faced with the challenges at a specific point in history, what would you have done? If it all seems a bit overwhelming, well then, let’s just duck into one of Belgium’s many cozy and intimate beer cafes, relax and unwind. After all, we don’t have to solve all of the world’s problems today.”

Stu has also responded to the uncertainty of European travel in 2021 by offering what he’s calling his Signature Series. These tours are “special one-off tours to places we are allowed to travel just in case most of the EU does not reopen in 2021.”

Here’s a list of Stu’s Signature Series tours:

• Southern Arizona: Beer Tour at the More-Than-OK Corral (February 2021). Includes Tucson and the historic copper-mining town of Bisbee.
• Northern Arizona: Standin’ on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona, Beer Tour (March 2021). Flagstaff and Scottsdale, with visits to the Grand Canyon and Winslow.
• Beer Tour of Croatia…Yes, Croatia! (April 2021). Croatia has an emerging beer scene ripe to be discovered. Includes Zagreb and Dubrovnik.
• True North Beer Tour: Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Northern Wisconsin & Duluth, Minnesota (July 2021). Includes the Soo Locks, Tahquamenon Falls, Grand Marais, Marquette, Ishpeming, Ashland, and Superior.

[Click on thumbnail below to enlarge. All images in this gallery © Stu Stuart]

Beer MBA

Website: http://www.beermba.com/

Beer MBA owner Ron Smith puts education and his vast reservoir of beer knowledge front and center: “Beer trips are way more than a business to me, beer is my life’s passion, and sharing it with others is one of my greatest joys.” Ron’s tours of Germany and Belgium “offer the trip of a lifetime to people really interested in not only the beer styles, but the culture, food and more.”

Ron is a longtime Master-ranked BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) judge who has evaluated beer at international pro competitions ranging from the Brussels Beer Challenge and the Aro Rojo in Mexico to the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer in Chicago. Ron also runs a series of courses in Indianapolis on brewing and beer appreciation with a focus on learning about classic world beer styles.

It’s this intensive focus on beer education in an enjoyable setting that, as Ron points out, makes his trips unique. He adds that his tours “create a higher end experience (really nice hotels, lots of great meals included, all tips are covered, often no beer limits at meals, etc.).” Taken together, Beer MBA tours “provide a full experience.” Ron notes that “there is plenty of free time, but I line up lots of options for each day. My guests love that my trips are full like that. If they get tired, or want to do something else, they can skip whatever they want, but few rarely do.”

You can read more about Beer MBA’s three scheduled 2021 trips — Belgium in late July; Germany in early August; Germany and the Czech Republic in early December — at the website above.

Beerwanderers

Website: https://www.beerwanderers.com/

Rich Carbonara is an American living in Munich. He’s an avid hiker, so when he got to Munich, he sought out hiking routes near the city and further afield in Upper Bavaria, Franconia, and the Oberpfalz. It wasn’t long before he discovered that he could join his love of hiking with his love of beer. With breweries and beer gardens in just about every town, Rich started planning his day hikes and longer overnights around which breweries he could visit. His blog Beerwanderers was born. Soon he started offering beer hiking tours to locals and folks visiting Bavaria. I’ve been out hiking with Rich on a few occasions and it’s a blast.

Here’s what Rich has to say about Beerwanderers: “Beerwanderers’ tours focus on taking people to places they wouldn’t typically see and getting to these places in the most immersive way: walking. My tours are not aimed at ticking off top-ten sites but exploring the areas between. Participants often say their hours exploring the countryside were the most memorable of their trips. I take pride in finding beers to fit clients’ tastes, but I don’t shy away from trying to expand those preferences when in areas where there are beers not found elsewhere. I also bring local culinary delicacies to the fore. There’s nothing more rewarding than having someone say thank you for introducing them to something they’d have never tried.”

Tours planned for 2021: Brewing Heartland (10-15 km countryside hike outside of Bamberg to multiple breweries); Pilgrim’s Way to Kloster Irsee (7 km hike to a former monastery/brewery); tours out of Murnau (7 or 14 km hike) with two breweries.

*Rich focuses on day trips with the occasional overnight or multi-day hike. Think of this as an ideal component of an unstructured trip to Germany, or as something to do after you’ve finished up the longer tours listed here. Rich has also written a handy book called Beer Hiking Bavaria.

[Click on thumbnail below to enlarge. All images in this gallery © Beerwanderers]

Gary Tours Europe

Website: https://garytourseurope.com/

I first met Gary Shellman at the GABF in 2013 back when he was a brewer at the now-defunct Mustang Brewery near Oklahoma City. Since then, Gary has spent his time consulting with new breweries in Oklahoma, helping them open up and find their footing. He also managed to find time to start a beer tour company.

When I asked Gary what makes his tours tick, he had this to say: “My tours are highly personalized and go to many sites where others don’t — the hidden treasures that make my tours unique.” The quoted price for many other beer companies’ tours don’t include airfare, but Gary figures this in: “My total tour price for most tours is between $2900-3100 and includes airfare, hotels, transportation, trips and transfers, and a farewell meal on the last night in country. Tour goers pay for meals and beers, and I show them how to trim meal costs substantially.”

Gary plans on running several trips in 2021: “My ‘West to Fests’ tour travels from Cologne through Bamberg to Munich, hitting the three largest festivals outside the Munich Oktoberfest. It’s a 14-day mega tour that takes my tour goers to places no one else visits. I’ll also do my 10-day beer and whiskey tour to Scotland, 10-day tour to Ireland/Northern Ireland, and of course, the 10-day Munich Oktoberfest tour.” As an added perk, Gary offers a $100 discount to customers who refer a friend who also books a tour.

[Click on thumbnail below to enlarge. All images in this gallery © Gary Shellman]

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So there you have it, folks! Give the gift of beer travel to someone you love this holiday season, or treat yourself to a once-in-a-lifetime beercation in 2021.

*Disclaimer: I haven’t been on any of these tours in a formal capacity, but I’ve known all of these fine folks personally or virtually for some time now. I’d love to help them out as we begin to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror.

Related Articles:

The Most Wonderful Time for a Beer

And To You Your Wassail Too: A Historical Recipe for Holiday Cheer

Craft Beer Ideas for the Last-Minute Holiday Shopper

Spreading Good Cheer with a Tankard of Mulled Beer

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