Chris of thebeergeek.com

“Summer Solstice in Ireland” is the latest Year in Beer episode of One Pint at a Time. This was our ninth trip to Ireland and our second during summer solstice. Summer solstice in Ireland is pretty special – not for any hippie, new age reasons – it’s just really cool to ...

The Year in Beer visits Portland, Oregon in July as we attend the 21st Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Portland is a mecca for craft beer in the United States and the OBF is arguably the best craft beer festival. This will be our ninth time and what keeps us going back ...

As Chris's last post talked about, the weather in County Wicklow left us a bit soggy. Did you know that it rains 175-200 days a year in that part of Ireland? In any case, we tried to the make the most of it and for the most part we succeeded. But ...

I commented to Merideth before we left on this trip that we were probably going to be punished for all the good weather we had last month in Germany. That was the impetus for us leaving an offering to St. Brigid. Unfortunately, the offering hasn't been enough, as we suffer through ...

Since we are in Ireland right now, I have been thinking more than ever about St. Brigid. Something I haven't talked about much is my connection with one of the most beloved saints in Ireland. Known as 'the Mary of the Gael', St. Brigid is known for a great many ...

I think it is said that Ireland has two seasons; rain and no rain. During our time in County Cork, we got to experience both seasons compacted into two days. On Monday, we left the rugged west coast of Clare for the hopefully sunny environs of County Cork.  Our first destination ...

Saturday, Chris and I drove to Doolin, County Clare. Doolin might be our favorite place in all of Ireland. A certain travel personality, whose initials are 'RS', describes it as 'touristy', but we decided that "international" is a better word for it. There are a lot of tourists, but not ...

Last week, I finished a book on the history of the Guinness Brewery. In talking about the death of Arthur Guinness, it mentioned where he was buried... in County Kildare just outside of Dublin. Of course, a light bulb went off in my head. I had the bright idea that ...

Many weeks ago, Merideth posted her Top 10 List. And as promised, here is my version of my best beer experiences. I have to admit that I had the benefit of going to the Berg for a second time and it moved up many spots on my list. 10. Anchorage, Alaska ...

Merideth and I remember fondly some of the small beer events we attended back in the day. Back then, it seemed like every weekend some charity got 20 or so breweries together to have a festival and raise money. While these festivals lacked name recognition and number of breweries, they ...

Yesterday we started our first North Bay beer excursion in 10 years, and so far it has not disappointed. We took the 3 hour drive up to Fairfax for our first stop, Iron Springs. You may be familiar with their beer ambulance that boasts,"Saving lives one beer at a time". Unfortunately, ...

When we were invited to attend the Beerfest in Santa Rosa this coming weekend, we jumped at the chance to road trip it to Northern California. Besides attending the beer festival and seeing old friends, this was a perfect opportunity to add a couple of new breweries to the list. Since ...

The time around summer solstice might be the best time to visit the Emerald Isle. "Why?", you ask? Well, in June, it doesn't get dark in Ireland until well past 10pm, meaning there are more daylight hours to drink beer. And believe me, daylight makes a huge difference in your beer ...

After we finished up the Year in Beer Franconia portion of our trip, we met our friends Ute and Wolfgang of floggingmolly.de in Cologne for the first of three Flogging Molly shows. The next night we saw the show in Munich and Vienna the night after. We were planning on the ...

“Franconia” is the latest Year in Beer episode of One Pint at a Time. Boasting the largest concentration of breweries in the world, almost 300, Franconia is a beer traveler's dream. From the famous breweries of Bamberg to the small family-run village brewhouses, the Franconian beer experience never disappoints. ...