Rooms with a Brew: Brewery Hotels and Inns

Beer lovers in Columbus, Ohio, loved the idea of a brewery hotel so much, they crowdfunded one. BrewDog’s DogHouse features 32 rooms that have their own draft beer on tap and beer fridges in the showers. You can wake up to a beer-paired breakfast and then learn all about brews at the Craft Beer Museum. It’s no wonder they met 70 percent of their funding goal in less than 24 hours!

The Dogfish Head Inn in Lewes, Delaware, gives the DogHouse a run for the money when it comes to carrying out the beer theme. From in-room growlers and barley coffee all the way to the beer-infused soap, they’ve covered every base. Guests can also get VIP tours of the brewery and VIP seating at two of the brewery’s restaurants.

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In Denver, a new hotel and brewery partnership is the stuff of beer lovers’ dreams. New Belgium has opened a brewery on the ground floor of the Source Hotel. We’re talking 2,000 square feet of brewery, including 50 oak barrels for on-site aging of delicious sour beers. And this brewery-plus-hotel combo is not the only one Colorado has to offer – just a couple hours’ drive from The Source Hotel, in Glenwood Springs, you can find Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. at Hotel Denver.

In Oregon, McMenamins offers a number of hotels that have breweries on site. One of the most notable is the Edgefield Hotel, which has a golf course, movie theatre and quite the package for travelers who are looking to enjoy a few beers. Their Beer 101 Package includes lodging for two, two brewery taster trays to try out six McMenamins ales, and a growler of whichever of those you like best.

If you’re more the adventurous type, the Woodstock Inn Brewery in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, has seasonal events, zipline and ski packages. They also offer a memorable Brewer’s Weekend that includes a two-night stay, a collaboration with the brewers to brew a new beer, breakfast each morning, and more.

Turkey Hill Brewing Co. also offers a Brewer’s Weekend Experience. “It was the dream of the owner’s grandfather to have a brewery or distillery on the property, which has been in Andrew Pruden’s family since the early 1900s,” Nebel says. “There just so happened to be an old bank barn on the property. The two-story, 10,000-square-foot brewpub rests atop the footprint of the original 1839 bank barn, but an entirely new structure that does have some pieces and materials from the barn.”

Pruden met local homebrewer Donny Abraczinskas at a party, and the rest is history. Now, the inn offers beer packages and add-ons. “You can have our beer waiting in your room for when ya check in,” Nebel says. “The Brew Pub offers 13 different styles on tap including a beer engine for cask beer and two specialty taps for our barrel-aged and sour programs. There are year-round staples like our Revelation Pale Ale and Barn Dance Blonde, plus an always rotating selection of four-to-five different IPAs and a stout or porter on nitrogen.”

Bed, Breakfast and Beer

There are myriad bed-and-breakfast locations across the U.S. to give you a side of charm with your beer. Hopkins Ordinary Bed and Breakfast in Sperryville, Virginia, is a great example: the restored property from the 1820s is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hosts a nano-brewery in the cellar that uses local barley.

At Fredericksburg Brewing Company’s Bed & Brew, guests get a free pint for each night’s stay at the old, restored 1890s building. The brewery has 11 rooms above the restaurant and one on ground level, so there’s plenty of room (and beer!) to go around.

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And that’s not the only Bed & Brew – Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Nebraska, offers not just a growler but discounted food as well to those staying at their bed-and-breakfast. “We will soon have an add-on option for private brewery tours and a brew with the brewers day where you brew a beer with us,” says Paul Oettinger, head of manufacturing and QA at Pals.

Beer-centric Airbnbs

Breweries across the country are tapping into the Airbnb trend with brilliant rentals just steps away from a pint glass full of bliss. The Brewers Quarters at Sandy Springs Brewing started as a way to make a space that was inviting for travelers. The studio-style room full of exposed brick harkens to the taproom – and best of all, visitors get a full growler of any Sandy Springs beer installed on a kegerator in their room.

Over in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, Riff Raff Brewing Company’s “Got Beer?” Airbnb listing is right above the brewery. Flagstaff, Arizona’s Historic Brewing Company has a similar setup with their “Craft Beer Getaway,” where guests can enjoy over 20 craft beer options on tap as well as a full pub menu at the brewery below. T

The Stones Throw Brewery Guest House in Bellingham, Washington, is one of the more unique brewery Airbnbs. The house has a micro-brewery housed in shipping containers right in the back yard, while the detached garage houses the taproom.

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For a little more space, Oxbow Brewery’s 3-bedroom farmhouse is for rent in Newcastle, Maine. There you can explore the 18-acre property and top it all off with a farmhouse ale. And in Maurertown, Virginia, the Little Ridge Farmstead and Brewery also offers space to hang out on their farm in the Shenandoah Valley.

In the case of Stable Craft Brewing at Hermitage Hill Farm, the farm came first and the brewery later. Owner Craig Nargi recounts the story of how the Waynesboro, Virginia, farm went from horses to hops: “My career as a chef, restaurateur and now farmer was a crash course on agriculture. That crash course included witnessing the birth of one our horses, raising a Clydesdale stallion, learning everything about farm equipment, pasture management, water conservation and construction,” Nargi says. “But farming, tending to horses and generally operating the farm was too much. Someone came along and suggested we grow hops. We gave it shot with 100 plants for the first three years. Now we have upward of 800 hop plants and the growing season down to a science.”

In 2018, the farm opened its four renovated employee residences as Airbnb rentals for overnight guests. It’s a hop enthusiast’s dream to see all those hop plants in action. “AgriTourism is not only educational, it’s rewarding to share with people how we do it and why we do things the way do,” Nargi says.

(More: Seek the Independent Craft Brewer Seal)

“We could easily access the taproom from our two-bedroom suite,” Brittany Wilmoth, a recent guest at Stable Craft, says. “Not only was the food and beer amazing, but we were able to sit on the porch and see the luxurious Blue Ridge Mountains which included relaxing and breathtaking views.”

The list of Airbnb breweries doesn’t stop here. Check the map above for the full rundown!

Brewery Resorts Fit for Royalty

For a truly relaxing resort vacation, look no further than Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. An unforgettable food menu paired with a brewery tour is the ideal way for a craft beer-loving foodie to spend a weekend.

“Our farm and destination resort in the Foothills of the Smoky Mountain National Park have been in operation since 1976,” Blackberry Farm’s founder Roy Milner says. “Guests come from all over the world to experience our unique setting and brand of hospitality.” Blackberry Farm’s epic culinary and wine program laid the foundation for their brewery program, which makes a stay at this resort all the more appealing.

(More: Stories Behind 10 Strange Beer Names)

“We offer a full selection of our beers at both of our hotel properties, while also operating the original brewery for small batch projects and our production brewery in Maryville,” Milner says. “Our Barrel House & Taproom opened in January 2019 to offer a place for all to come experience our beers and purchase items to take home.”

Travel up the East Coast to the Von Trapp Family Lodge for a different kind of unforgettable family vacation. The lodge has its own brewery whose beers will have you hearing the sound of music – because, yes, it’s the same Von Trapp family that was featured in the classic movie!

At the Northern Outdoors Adventure Resort in The Forks, Maine, guests can enjoy craft beer on tap at the Kennebec River Pub & Brewery. “We launched our brewery in 1996 because a few of our river guides were beer fans crafting home brews, and we had the perfect setting for a microbrewery on site,” the brewery’s website reads. “Our handcrafted beers are extra tasty after a day rafting, hiking, ATVing or snowmobiling.”

Lagers at Lodges, Cabins & Cottages

Overlooking Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, family-friendly and dog-friendly Grist Iron Brewing Co. is centrally located on the Seneca Lake Wine and Beer Trails. The brewery purchased the land and the lodge with the goal to create the perfect vacation spot.

“Our team’s main goal was to create a relaxing, fun atmosphere and provide a little bit of everything our guests would need: beer, food, entertainment, and a place to sleep it all off. It just made total sense to have a lodging facility on property to help cater to the future guests of the brewery,”  Grist Iron’s guest relations and marketing manager Kate Fuller says. Both the brewery and the lodge have fueled the success of the other, but while the lodge offers a relaxing getaway, the real attraction is the beer.

(Learn: CraftBeer.com Beer Styles)

“We want people to love craft beer as much as we do, so we feature a 10-tap system and brew a variety of year-round, seasonal, and specialty small batch beers on site to appeal to every type of drinker,” Fuller says. “We have an in-house kitchen that turns out a seasonal menu of casual pub-style food that perfectly pairs with all our brews.”

And that’s not all. Grist Iron is 100 percent committed to becoming a beer lover’s paradise.

“We’re also excited to announce that we’re nearing the end of a major renovation of our onsite lodging facility and, once complete, will offer a ‘beer-centric’ lodge with nine modern rooms located less than 100 yards away from the brewery,” Fuller says. “Each guest will receive a free beer when they check in at our reception bar, enjoy a daily continental breakfast, and have canned Grist Iron beer available 24/7 in their in-room mini fridge.”

Boothbay Craft Brewery’s cottages are the essence of a Maine vacation.

Cheers to Camping & Glamping

If you’re looking to connect even more with nature, there are plenty of options for the outdoorsy beer lover, whether you prefer hammock camping or kicking back in a yurt.

“On the farm we have horses-winter greenhouses and a yurt,” says Paul Lorrain, co-founder of Funky Bow Brewing, just outside of Portland, Maine. The brewery is conveniently situated on local snowmobile trails, so it only made sense that they open a brewery. “My wife and I came up with the idea for the yurt together as we have four bands [playing] every weekend and people were always asking if we had campsites. We have been renting the yurt for three years now and are very busy on the weekends. We have guests from all corners of the earth,” Lorrain says.

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“We had a wonderful time in the yurt,” recent guests Clare and Alissa wrote in the guestbook. “We especially enjoyed sitting by the fire and enjoying a few of your delicious brews!”

If you want to completely unplug and go off the grid, pack up your camping gear and head over to the Lilly Pad campground in the woods of Morgan County, Tennessee. There you’ll find log cabins, campsites and plenty of beer.

“Hiking, primitive camping, climbing, whitewater boating, photo opportunities, the peace that comes from being in nature – almost all the encouragement an outdoor enthusiast would need to find themselves in the woods,” Suzi Sutton, manager for the Lilly Pad Hopyard Brewery, says. “The twist in this story is that not only can you find those things but there is also a micro-craft brewery as well!”

Before it was a campsite, the Lilly Pad was a little house in the middle of nowhere owned by Del and Marte Scruggs, next to the Obed Wild & Scenic River National Park. A college friend of theirs needed a place to stay after climbing at the Obed. Twenty years later, this diamond in the rough is becoming ever more popular, especially since it started serving craft beer in 2016.

“Del had always enjoyed brewing his own beer and decided to turn one of the rooms in the newly acquired house trailer into a brew room,” Sutton says. “He only did it for the love of the process and the final product, he was just so good at it that his friends and guests kept drinking all the beer!”

A community fire pit, lawn games and a food trailer that serves pulled pork that Del smokes himself make this campsite more like a home than a place to string a hammock. Last year, they built a stage for monthly live music events, and the campground has hosted “craft-ivity” nights and fundraisers. Even more incredible, the Lilly Pad will soon have its first bath house, complete with three flushing toilets.

“The beers are always good, with eight rotating taps it is hard for a beer lover to not find one they like,” Sutton says. “Blondes to browns and wheats to stouts, always a good IPA or APA on tap, every now and then we get a seasonal surprise brew like a shandy or honey rye ale. The brewers are having fun; it shows in the product and they are always happy to talk brewing with people.”

(More: A Beer Geek’s Travel Checklist)

Can’t decide between a campsite or an inn? Whetstone Station in Brattleboro, Vermont, offers it all: an inn, campground and even an Airstream with a shuttle to take guests to the brewery a few miles down the road. All of these options come to no surprise to anyone who knows the owners.

“We started our hospitality and beer career in lodging,” owner Tim Brady says. “My wife and I purchased an old home in Brattleboro in 2006 and built out a hip boutique inn with a small craft beer bar. Ultimately the success of that small beer bar led to our bier garten, then the restaurant and finally the brewery!”

We know a lot of love goes into crafting a tasty beer, but just as much love goes into the temporary homes these breweries have created for their guests. We can write about them all day, but the best way to truly experience the hops and hospitality at these brewery hotels is to pack your bags and see for yourself. You can download and save the entire guide below to help you plan your brewery getaway.

The post AirbnBeers: Breweries with Hotels, Inns, Camping and More appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

From Conflict Zones to Community Change

Fernanda Menna Barreto Krum and her husband Robert Rivers worked in conflict zones including South Sudan, Lebanon, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia for two decades. Fernanda’s background in trauma psychology led her down a path to help people. Native Montanan Robert left home when he was 19 to build houses in Tijuana, Mexico for the community with a local nongovernmental organization (NGO). The two met in Romania training for an organization called Nonviolent Peaceforce, which aims to protect civilians against violence.

“We’d both had symptoms of PTSD and secondary trauma, burnout,” Fernanda says. “We needed a solid break from that work at that time. And we were together enough that we felt that we wanted a home base — that we hadn’t had for a long time.”

In Brazil, where Fernanda is from, they discussed their plans for the future. How could they settle down, but still make a difference?

“We were having a beer and talking about opening a retreat center,” Fernanda says. “We wanted to continue the work we were doing in the way of sharing our experiences with other people.”

They knew if they opened a retreat center alone, it might not be enough to keep them afloat. They needed a project that could sustain such a center’s educational programs and community outreach. Beer in hand, Robert had an epiphany.

“He looked at the beer and was like, ‘How about a microbrewery?’” Fernanda recalls. “It wasn’t the beer itself, it was the idea of opening a public house where people could sit around a table, enjoy sipping a beer but connecting and talking about the challenge that we as a society and humanity face, which is what is important to us.”

They put together their business plan, started doing their homework, and purchased homebrewing equipment.

“We had never done anything like this in our lives,” Fernanda says.

They decided to open Imagine Nation in Robert’s neck of the woods, Missoula, Montana. Fernanda says the area’s open-mindedness and hundreds of existing nonprofit made it the right choice for the brewery model they envisioned.

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Social Change on Tap

They opened the Center for Community Transformation, a cozy 500-square-foot classroom with a chalkboard, chairs, tables and projectors. Sure enough, the Missoula community has embraced Imagine Nation Brewing and its Center for Community Transformation.

“Four and a half years ago, we started with two events booked in the evenings,” Fernanda says. “Then we started growing to three and four.”

Now, Fernanda says they book that space six days a week on average, including in the afternoons.

When an organization wants to utilize Imagine Nation for an event, she takes the time to help them plan.

“I sit down with each one of them and we build a program and we brainstorm how to maximize the hours they’re there. What’s an activity or program they can offer while we’re raising money?” Fernanda says. “It’s a really open canvas and people are excited about it.”

For example, the brewery recently hosted an event for the Free Verse Project, a nonprofit that engages incarcerated youth by giving them writing workshops. The fundraiser at Imagine Nation is a session of the teachers reading the children’s pieces.

“People would look at each other and just really be touched and moved by it, realizing what’s going on out there with these children,” Fernanda says.

At another fundraising event, refugees performed as a band in support of Soft Landing Missoula, an organization that welcomes refugees families in Missoula and helps them settle in.

“It was a beautiful mixture of culture and celebration and integration of refugee families with the Missoula community,” Fernanda says. Now, it’s an annual event.

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“Imagine Nation Brewing not only offers an incredibly friendly community space where, it must be noted, the brews can’t be beat, but Fernanda and Robert also offer our nonprofit and peacemaking community a kind and experienced sounding board for navigating the very real challenges we all face,” Mary Poole, the executive director for Soft Landing Missoula, says. “Being in their space and interacting with this incredible couple gives me strength and determination in my own path and that we are all in this work together. It is a feeling that is incredibly special and always uplifting.”

That commitment extends even farther into the Missoula community. It’s been important to Fernanda that the brewery be an open, welcoming space for anyone who needs it.

“Imagine Nation Brewing has been such a wonderful partner in hosting our outreach events,” Andy Nelson, operations administer on the board of the Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center says. The last Sunday of every month, the organization hosts a “Queers and Beers” event at the brewery. “The Center has always had a presence with a table of resources and volunteers there to assist with questions for folks needing information. The Gay Health Task Force is there as well offering free HIV, syphilis and Hepatitis C testing for anyone that is interested.”

Every month, Andy and his organization dream up new ideas for bringing in new people, like trivia night, speed friending, Drag Bingo, and a “WarmGiving” event where attendees can bring warm clothing to donate to the local homeless shelter.

The brewery partners with one organization each month for an event called “Taproom Dialogues.” Rather than being in the Center, it’s hosted in the brewery’s taproom, so anyone and everyone can be a part of it. The organization chooses the topic, and a facilitator fosters discussion among a panel of two to three people, with the opportunity for patrons to get up and their own opinion. “That’s how we build civil discourse,” Fernanda says. Topics have ranged from climate change, mental health, refugees and more.

(More: Montana Brewery Inspired by Careful Artistry of Bonsai)

A Better World Through Brewing

Ultimately, Fernanda says she hopes their Center for Community Transformation can be a place to spark connections and engagement around issues that can better their community, their well-being, and the planet. In the war zones they’ve worked in, Robert and Fernanda learned about the importance of finding that middle ground of networking.

“Helping people go beyond what they’re already doing and enhancing their ability to do even better – that’s been the first goal with the space,” Fernanda says.

And that philosophy is apparent from the murals of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the outside of the building to the enthusiastic staff on the inside.

“We don’t hire only taproom servers or a brewer,” Fernanda says. “We hire humans that have some connection with the community work and that mindset.”

Fernanda hopes to help to implement similar programs in public spaces all over.

“I think there are ways of maximizing your public space that you already have, and the community that already goes there, to make that even more impactful besides being a space to sit and have a good beer and connect, or entertain themselves,” Fernanda says. “If other businesses or other public houses would think and implement a little bit of [our] model, I think we could impact communities even more than we already do.”

The post From Conflict Zones to Craft Beer: Imagine Nation Brewing appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

To the Hess family, this is an incredibly important event. Mike and Linda Hess’s 13-year-old daughter, Keely, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma last year. This rare form of bone cancer has meant three major surgeries, multiple skin grafts and the amputation of her left leg above the knee.

“The past 10 months have been brutal on her and our family,” Mike Hess tells CraftBeer.com. “Chemotherapy would be better called ‘chemical warfare.’”

Keely’s treatment has involved 17 rounds of chemotherapy so far. Hess says it’s the only option across the country for patients with osteosarcoma because in the past 35 years, not enough research has been funded to find other courses of treatment.

“We’re talking more than 220 nights over the past 10 months. There have been times we didn’t think Keely would make it. But she is tough and has pushed through. Sometimes we dragged her through,” Hess says.

This week, Keely will get a prosthetic leg and start physical therapy to learn how to walk on it. Her 18th chemotherapy treatment will mark the end of this part of her journey, and she has a whole community of people eager to help her and children like her.

“We’ve seen a really amazing response.” Mike Hess

You see, St. Baldrick’s fundraisers aren’t your typical benefits. At these events, participants volunteer to have their heads shaved to raise money to find research to find cures for pediatric cancer.

“I mean, shaving off your hair is not the same as throwing in a $20 or even just dying your hair temporarily blue,” Hess says. “It’s gone, you’re bald. And we’ve seen a really amazing response from not only within our MHB team but former teammates, friends and even people who we don’t even know. People who are touched by the story and have maybe been touched by cancer in their own lives and want to do something about it in a real, semi-permanent way.”

Their $100,000 goal might seem huge, but Hess says they’ve already raised more than $24,000 in just two weeks. They’re up to 30 participants, including brewery staff and an entire family of six.

“We would all do it again in a heartbeat, and wish we could do more,” Jim Ramsey says. He, his wife and their four sons are all shaving their heads at the event.

(VISIT: Find U.S. Craft Breweries)

“It was sort of a domino effect with each kid joining us one by one — the four-year-old was the only one we had to convince! It’s hard to watch your friends go through something so difficult, and it’s insane that this is 2019 and Keely still got the same treatment plan she would have gotten if it was 1984. We’re hoping with St. Baldrick’s we can help raise enough to fund, fuel and inspire a new wave of research. What we’re doing isn’t much, but every little bit counts.”

And how does Keely feel about all the people banding together to support her cause?

“Keely doesn’t want people to shave their heads because some people’s heads don’t look good when they’re bald,” Hess says, but “she is happy about them donating though and glad they are supporting the research.”

Keely even has a supporter all the way at the brewery’s tasting room in Walnut Creek, where employee Ryan Tedlock will be participating from 400 miles away.

“I decided to shave my head because if a 13-year-old girl is brave enough to face cancer head-on, I think a 30-year-old man can shave his head and raise a few bucks for much-needed cancer research for kids,” Tedlock says. “Me shaving my head is a gesture of standing with them and showing what we can do as brew family and community for good in this world.”

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It’s exactly that sentiment that is driving so much passion at MHB. Hess hopes his brewery’s commitment to this cause inspires craft breweries everywhere to continue to think big when doing good for their communities.

“I would ask them to see how they can rally their fans around these big-ticket, high dollar items. Change the paradigm,” Hess says. “It is my belief that as craft breweries mature, we can not only be social gathering places, but we can also serve as rallying points for important causes, like pediatric cancer, and raise real dollars in a meaningful way.”

If you would like to participate in Mike Hess Brewery’s epic event, or donate to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, click here.

The post Pediatric Cancer Fundraiser Hits Close to Home for California Brewery Family appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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President and owner Scott Hoffman has used his engineering skills to turn his independent brewery into a well-oiled beer brewing machine. From the self-serve tasting wall that collects data to automated cellar equipment, Ono has become a bastion of innovation.

When you walk into Ono Brewing, you’re met with a combination of smart technology and a relaxed, tropical atmosphere. It’s the perfect embodiment of the brewery’s owners. Hoffman and his wife Cyndi have spent more than 20 years in Florida and Hawaii, and they’ve brought the beach straight to their establishment. The brewery has a self-serve tasting room, tropical-inspired beers and live Hawaiian music once a month.

“The spirit of ‘Aloha’ is ever present,” Hoffman says.

(READ: Florida Brewery Builds New Space in Old Roller Skating Rink)

Ono-vation at its Finest

In order to be able to stick his toes in the sand, so-to-speak, Hoffman decided to engineer the brewery to be as efficient as possible.

“I gave myself a design constraint that if I had to be the only person in the brewery, I could do it effectively and efficiently,” he says.

A mini grain silo allows Hoffman to order grain in bulk and not have to sling 55-pound bags of grain for every batch.

“I added load cells to the hopper to make it a scale in order to let us know how much grain was in the hopper. The scale has a ‘data out’ port that will allow me to add the scale data to our database,” Hoffman says.

The brewhouse and cellar equipment are all automated, but Hoffman has set it up so that he can remotely control the equipment if needed.

(TRAVEL: 8 Farm Breweries to Visit this Year)

Smack dab in the middle of the tasting room is a 600-square-foot walk-in cooler that enables the direct-draw draft system. Conveniently, it’s Ono’s main keg storage — but being in the tasting room, Hoffman had to figure out a way to make it quieter. With a combination of duct silencers, variable-speed motors and a custom controller from GreenWize Energy Solutions, the cooler now runs so well, Ono removed more than 530 watts from the process — and it’s nearly silent.

In addition to saving energy, Hoffman and his landlord are also working together to reclaim the brewery’s wastewater to water the property’s lawn.

Taking Ono Brewing’s Tasting Room to the Next Level

With things running smoothly behind the scenes, Hoffman has applied the same engineering philosophy to Ono Brewing’s tasting room.

“We decided on the self-serve tap system so we could gather data on our tasting room,” Hoffman says. “We hope to track this info and trend it next to weather, events, etc. in order to make educated business decisions.”

The incredible innovation goes all the way to the 3D-printed tap handles — and even pneumatic bases that keep tasting room tables wobble-free, a breakthrough that anyone who has leaned on a wobbly table can appreciate.

(READ: Sustainable Brewing in the Heart of Wine Country)

“We also have made two of the five TVs in the tasting room computers by putting Chromebits on them. We routinely allow customers to stream work videos or go on the Internet if need be,” Hoffman says.

Ono Brewing’s tech-savvy operation is also enabling the brewery to give back. The self-serve system allows Hoffman and his wife to donate a portion of their tips to charity each month.

“Since our inception, we have donated nearly $15,000,” Hoffman says. “We have only been open for seven months. As a family- and veteran-owned small business, we feel really proud about this!”

We look forward to seeing what brewing ingenuity Ono has up its sleeve next.

The post Ono Brewing’s Innovative Approach to Brewing Craft Beer appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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We’re not talking about the arts and craft supply. The shimmery substance found in craft beers from Black Cloister in Toledo, Ohio, to Durty Bull in Durham, North Carolina, is completely edible — and absolutely mesmerizing.

“This is how I view the brewing process: a magical experiment with delicious results,” Madeleine McCarthy of Sasquatch Brewery in Portland, Oregon, tells CraftBeer.com. “There are so many ways you can experiment with beer, from the water chemistry, to the strain of yeast, to the plethora of additional ingredients like fruit or vegetation (or even glitter) that make each brew a bewitching experience.”

(READ: Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies of 2017)

So for McCarthy’s first recipe, she bumped it up a notch. She admits she “wanted to make it a little extra.”

She called up her glitter-experienced brewing buds from Pelican Brewing, Bold Missy Brewery and Ground Breaker Brewing to learn from the masters. Thus, Sasquatch’s Gold Dust Woman, a New England IPA, was born.

The New England-style IPA isn’t just hazy and juicy — it shimmers and swirls as if promising good luck to the person who drinks it.

So, what’s the magic ingredient for glitter beer?

“We use only the best, locally harvested glitter from free-range, grass-fed raised unicorns.” Matt Pennisi, Durty Bull Brewing Co.

“We use only the best, locally harvested glitter from free-range, grass-fed raised unicorns,” Matt Pennisi, manager of Durty Bull Brewing Company in Durham, North Carolina, says.

But actually, it’s a food grade, FDA-approved dust that brewers can add to the keg as they fill it with beer.

“The glitter is called Luster Dust, which is made from sugar, maltodextrin and mica-based pearlescent pigments,” McCarthy says. The final result is nothing less than enchanting.

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

It most certainly enchanted Sasquatch Brewery’s customers; it sold out in less than two weeks.

“Most of our regulars work nearby and consist of mainly hardworking dudes. When I bounced the idea off of some of them, they were a little skeptical, but once the beer was released they all wanted a pint,” McCarthy says.

The glitter beer trend came at just the right time, with many local breweries trading green beers for a pint full of a pot o’ gold this year. Glitter beers dazzled Instagram feeds as beer lovers snapped photos of their treasures in craft breweries from Novo Brazil in California all the way to Off Main Brewing in North Carolina.

“I thought it would be fun, and the perfect day to do it was St. Paddy’s Day,” Shannon Fink, the brewmaster at Black Cloister Brewing Company says. “We turned our Irish-style Red, Rose of Shannon, into a Pot O’ Gold version. Way better than green beer!”

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Urban Vines Winery & Brewing Co. in Westfield, Indiana, had a similar notion. “It was a great way to get people to our brewery and the customers who ordered them really liked the look of the beer,” owner Noah Herron says.

Sam Wright, head brewer at Southern Star Brewing in Conroe, Texas, says they added glitter to their Bombshell Blonde for their anniversary party after they saw Austin Beer Works’ aptly-named Mr. Sparkle Glitterbrau beer at a Texas Craft Brewers Festival. 

“We made two kegs of our Bombshell Blonde with cherry juice concentrate and glitter, and they were the first two kegs to be blown at the party,” Wright says. They’ve continued making the brilliant beer for Houston Pride events and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Whether brewers are looking for a holiday twist or a touch of whimsy, one thing is for certain: the beer has to shine on its own — the glitter is just icing on the cake.

“I set out to make a really juicy, hazy, delicious brew and I think I succeeded in just that,” McCarthy says. “The glitter is by no means a way to jazz up a mediocre beer. I wouldn’t have released the beer if it wasn’t just how I wanted it to taste — which is magical, by the way.”

(READ: IPAs and Sour Beers for Spring 2018)

Still skeptical?

“It doesn’t affect the taste of the beer,” McCarthy assures you. “Try a taster or pint of glitter beer — it just might surprise you.”

And you can do just that, because McCarthy let us in on a little secret: Gold Dust Woman will definitely make a return.

The post Glitter Beer Sparkles as Spring’s Craft Beer Trend appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

“We, along with many other breweries, held food, water, and supply drives to collect and donate to those in need,” says Sam Wright, head brewer at Southern Star Brewing Co. in Conroe, Texas. Wright says Hurricane Harvey slowed down beer production, and it was difficult for them to get their beer to the market, but that wasn’t what everyone was focused on at the time.

“The main impact was seeing the damage sustained by our fellow Houston-area residents,” Wright says. “Most of our employees are lifelong Houstonians, and can remember past hurricanes, such as Ike, Allison and Alicia. Harvey was much worse than those, both in total cost to repair, and how widespread people were displaced.”

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

So the community came together, and it’s exactly that attitude that sparked an idea so crazy it just might work: a “daisy chain” to bring Houston-area breweries together with a single strain of yeast. It would start at Southern Star and make its way across dozens of other breweries, bringing them together in much the same way that Houstonians came together for Hurricane Harvey relief.

“The idea came from wanting to see how far it could go, and wanting to see our teams work together to put on pint nights and tap takeovers,” Wright says. “I knew the breweries were able to work together, but I wanted to see how many could pull it off.”

The Houston Daisy Chain Experiment promises to be a grand one. With only two rules — to use the yeast strain from Southern Star and to reference the project’s name on the packaging — the door is wide open for creativity. Each brewery can decide how they want to make their beer stand out in terms of everything from beer style to batch quantity.

(EXPLORE: 75+ Popular Beer Styles)

Before the project has even launched, two dozen independent breweries are showing their support. Aside from Southern Star, these Texas Craft Brewers Guild members have all signed on: 8th Wonder, Eureka Heights, Copperhead, 11 Below, Sigma, Braman, Lone Pint, Town in City, Bearded Fox, Brash, No Label, BAKFISH, Texas Leaguer, Buffalo Bayou, Platypus, City Acre, Holler, Fetching Lab, Whole Foods Brewing, Spindletap, Blackwater Draw, New Republic and Back Pew Brewing.

“Many of the breweries involved (and many who are not participating) held events and food/water/supply drives to raise money for local charities immediately after the storm,” Wright says. “One brewery, 8th Wonder, even sent out their military troop transport truck into floodwaters to rescue people who were trapped in their homes.”

“Houstonians have always put a lot of effort into helping others in need.” Sam Wright, Southern Star Brewing

In that spirit, Southern Star plans to donate $1 per pint sold at the release party on Feb. 23 to the Houston Food Bank. The other breweries will continue to release their individual Daisy Chain Experiment beers throughout the spring.

“When I first came up with the idea, it was mostly about the symbolism of our region’s craft breweries working together to show our unity in our local brewing community. But with the storm, followed by the Astros winning the 2017 World Series (finally!), it turned into more of a show of love for our entire community. Houstonians have always put a lot of effort into helping others in need, especially after major storms,” Wright says.

It’s something you can see in the long lines to volunteer and the way the city never fails to open its arms to those in need.

“I can’t imagine any other industry that would share resources and work together like this,” Wright says.

With a city like Houston holding them up, we look forward to seeing some of the amazing brews these sprout from the Daisy Chain Experiment.

The post Houston’s ‘Daisy Chain’ Yeast Experiment Produces Dozens of New Beers appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

When it comes to camaraderie and community, the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild knows exactly what will bring people together. The organization is tapping into one of the few things that people find just as irresistible as good beer: cute animals.

The NC Craft Brewers Guild is holding Brew to the Rescue, a cooperative competition (which they’ve coined a “coopetition”) featuring one pairing that everyone loves: beer and puppies. No fewer than 15 member North Carolina breweries are pairing up with local animal shelters to see which brewery can raise the most money for homeless cats and dogs. While the organization will declare its winner February 9, it’s clear that everyone wins in this adorable fundraising event.

(READ: New Belgium Brewing Asheville Earns Trio of LEED Certifications)

“This fundraiser was a collaborative idea that sort of bubbled up in the course of organizing the 2017 NC Craft Brewers Conference,” Andrew Lemley, the guild’s executive director, tells CraftBeer.com. “A friend of ours had this hilarious idea to make a beefcake-style calendar with big bearded, tattooed brewers snuggling adorable kittens a Guild fundraiser… it sort of spun out from there. Eventually, we decided to bring the kittens (and some puppies) to our annual conference, with the help of a local animal shelter, AARF Winston. We had a photographer there, Wendy Raymond from Taps & Snaps in Charlotte, and she made great portraits of brewery folk and adoptable pets getting their cuddle on.”

With those puppy-dog eyes staring up at you, how could you say no to this worthy cause? But not everything about this “coopetition” will be kittens and rainbows.

“People can expect some really cute pet photos, and a lot of trash talk on social media. It’s always fun to add a little competitive flavor into any project,” Lemley says.

Gary Brown, founder and head brewer at Boondocks Brewing, is more than ready for the challenge. They’ve teamed up with two of their favorite local rescue groups, The Grateful Dog and Puppies Under Protection.

“We were on board from day one. We are very active in all things related to helping animals and those that devote their time and energy to rescue and adoption activities,” Brown says. “We are accustomed to setting the bar high and succeeding in anything we put our minds to, so we know we are going to set the bar high on this campaign.”

(READ: It’s Beer:45 in Beaufort, One of North Carolina’s Oldest Towns)

And the bar has indeed been set — the donations are already pouring in.

“We have already received donations that exceed our original goal and we have not really started the campaign yet,” Brown says.

But that doesn’t mean the folks at Boondocks Brewing are going to put their feet up and relax.

“We have several bands that are donating their time and talent and our chefs are working on some amazing specials that we will run at the restaurant, with proceeds going to this campaign,” Brown says.

With such enthusiastic support coming from the breweries as well as the communities surrounding them, the NC Craft Brewers Guild’s Brew to the Rescue is putting the fun in fundraiser. With many North Carolina breweries already boasting experience in teaming up for causes and a whole host of animal lovers rallying, this fundraiser promises to be as effective as it will be entertaining.

(TRAVEL: Plan Your Next Beercation)

“We’re proud and honored to work with and around the amazing family that is #NCbeer,” Ray Goodrich of Foothills Brewing says. “The kinship we feel towards our fellow breweries is illustrated not only in friendly ‘coopetition’ like this, but in the support and camaraderie we see exhibited on a daily basis across the state.”

The post Brew to the Rescue: A Win-Win Fundraiser from the NC Craft Brewers Guild appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Libeeration combines Saphir hops with herbs that herbalists claim help assuage symptoms associated with hormonal shifts; herbs like motherwort, lemon balm, chamomile, stinging nettle, mugwort, rose, chickweed and damiana. The result, the brewery’s website explains, is a “gruit style ale that’s golden straw in color with fruity, spicy, earthy flavors.” And it weighs in at more than 6 percent ABV.

“It’s gratifying to see women enjoying Libeeration and celebrating this stage in life,” Portsmouth Brewery co-owner Joanne Francis says. “We anticipated women who were already beer drinkers would be delighted by its complex flavor, but now it’s clear Libeeration is making converts out of folks who didn’t think they liked beer at all.”

(READ: 5 Epic Craft Beer Road Trips)

For Francis, a 57-year-old brewing veteran, this was a personal quest.

“As I aged, I began to feel more and more marginalized and more of an outcast in the business that I worked in, and I knew that a lot of girlfriends had a huge passion for beer, but nothing was really particularly being devoted to this age group, the over-50 woman,” she tells the Foster’s Daily Democrat.

And quite the quest it was.

“It’s taken years to bring this idea to market,” Francis says. Six years, to be exact. “After consulting with women health practitioners and herbalists, our team came up with ingredients believed to relieve symptoms like sleeplessness, hot flashes and mood swings.”

(READ: 7 Breweries Worth a Detour)

However, as Francis emphasizes in her interview with the Boston Globe, the beer does not make any medicinal claims.

Ultimately, Francis says she wants to change the way people think about menopause. “We want to shift the mentality from focusing on the negative aspects of this stage in life, to celebrating the liberating aspects! Fun, crazy, wildly different: that was our goal to reach women who truly what it means to be hot!”

With the second release of this groundbreaking beer, it’s clear that Francis and her partner Peter Egelston have successfully tapped into an unexpected market.

“It’s gratifying to see women enjoying Libeeration and celebrating this stage in life.” Joanne Francis, Portsmouth Brewery

(READ: Women’s Evolving Role in Brewing Beer)

“It’s fantastic to see women flex their purchasing power,” Head Brewer Matt Gallagher says. “An added bonus is the beer is so refreshing and unique that men are loving it too.”

Want to get your hands on this empowering brew? Head over to The Portsmouth Brewery to catch it on draught, or you can pick up the bottles at their retail store location at 56 Market Street.

If you’re not a New Hampshire native, brewery spokeswoman Chelsey Puffer has shed a ray of hope. In a statement to Newsweek she says, “there are some plans for a larger-scale distribution in the works.”

The post New Hampshire Brewery Releases Menopause Beer appeared first on CraftBeer.com.