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Beer

Dec 22
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Top 20 Most Influential Beer Brands

Top 20 Most Influential Beer Brands on the Internet

By Beer No Comments

Think you know which beer companies and brands have the most sway with beer lovers? For the past two years, the Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference has conducted an analysis of the world’s most influential beer brands on the Internet. This includes beer brands, apps, organizations, restaurants, bars, and publications – basically anything that could possibly have to do with beer.  They took three factors into consideration while analyzing the most influential beer brands:

  • Alexa Rating (provides traffic data, global rankings, and other information that can be used to assess a website)
  • Facebook Likes
  • Twitter Followers

Though the big brewing companies are certainly represented, you might be surprised who else made the list.

Here’s how they stacked up:

1.   Heineken
2.   Beer Advocate
3.   Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
4.   New Belgium Brewing
5.   Stone Brewing Company
6.   Bud Light
7.   Budweiser
8.   Coors Light
9.   Miller Lite
10.  Untappd
11.  Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
12.  Rogue Ales
13. Samuel Adams
14. Tie Drink Craft Beer
14. Tie BJ’s Brewhouse
14. Tie Dos Equis
14. Tie BrewDog
14. Tie RateBeer.com
19. Tie Guinness
19. Tie More Beer!

The 2016 edition of this analysis will be released early next year.

So chime in – did your favorite beer brand make the list? If not, tell us who you think should be added for next year.

Jul 02
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Cheers to Great American Beers! 4th of July Beer Recommendations

By Beer, Taste Vacations No Comments

Happy soon-to-be 4th of July! Most of us celebrate America’s Independence Day by heading to a BBQ, enjoying time with friends and family, and watching exhilarating fireworks displays. And typically the drink of choice for the day is a nice, refreshing beer.  To help you pick out some righteous brews, we’ve provided some great American beer recommendations below:

Oskar Blues Brewing

 

 

 

Mama’s Lil’ Yellow Pils by Oskar Blues is a light, crisp sessional pilsner that goes great with a hot summer day.  It starts with a bready flavor and ends with a nice crisp finish accompanied by a light mouthfeel.

 

 

Rogue Ales

 

 

Dead Guy Ale by Rogue Ales & Spirits  is a well-balanced beer with a touch of floral sweetness and a bit of hoppy bitterness. The World Beer Championship Judges describe it as “Deep reddish amber hue. Generous toasty malt aromas and earthy hops follow through on a moderately full-bodied palate with fruity accents and a long spicy hop finish. A delicious hybrid style with bock-like maltiness but ale-like hopping.”

 

 

sierra-nevada-logo

 

Summerfest by Sierra Nevada is a nice delicate, yet complex, summer lager that seems like the perfect “drinking outside” kind of beer.  It’s malty with a kick of citrus and a clean mouthfeel.

 

 

Shock Top Beer

 

 

Shock Top Belgian White by Anheuser-Busch is a medium-bodied Belgian-style wheat ale that’s been brewed with orange, lemon, lime and coriander.  A refreshing American beer to have on hand while flipping some burgers on the grill.

 

 

 

 

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales

 

 

60 minute IPA by Dogfish Head is on the lighter side for an IPA which makes it is a tasty beer to sip while lounging poolside.  It has a complex malt taste that is nicely balanced.

 

 

 

Taste Vacations’ sister company, Zephyr Adventures, is the organizer of the annual Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference.  This year’s conference will be held in Asheville, NC July 17 – 19, 2015.

Jun 26
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Friends on a patio

Private Tours – Vacationing Your Way

By Beer, Food, Taste Vacations, Wine No Comments

Have you ever spent long hours researching the perfect vacation only to find out that the listed tour dates have passed, it doesn’t fit into your schedule or the trip is sold out? Skip the hassle and consider booking a private tour. It’s not hard to fall in love with traveling exclusively with your family or friends, selecting the perfect destination and choosing exactly when you’d like to go. And one of the best parts is that you don’t have to plan the entire trip yourself.  Working with a trip coordinator, you can decide on the general trip criteria and they’ll take care of the details of booking hotels, making dinner reservations, and securing activities.Chile & Argentina - Allan Wright

Private tours can also be a perfect way to celebrate a number of life’s milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, or retirement.  We’ve also seen them successfully used as a way to motivate a team at work by creating a business incentive trip for top performers.

All of our Taste Vacations trips can be booked as private tours – and we won’t charge you extra just because it isn’t part of our public group tours, unless you request additional customized options. We also don’t require you to have large groups in order to book a private tour, with a majority of our trips only requiring a minimum of 4 people.

Sonoma County Wine Tour: Minimum 4
Tuscany Food & Wine Tour: Minimum 4
Basque Country & Rioja (Spain) Food & Wine Tour: Minimum 4
Washington Wine Tour: Minimum 4
Peru Food Tour: Minimum 4
Chile & Argentina Wine Tour: Minimum 6
Belgium Beer Tour: Minimum 6
Kentucky Bourbon Tour: Minimum 8
Napa Wine Tour: Minimum 8

So what are you waiting for? Join us on a Taste Vacations private tour today.

 

 

Feb 18
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Tales of a Beer Hunter in Belgium

By Beer, Taste Vacations No Comments

Beer Hunting in Belgium

“In Belgium, a beer hunter can never rest on his barstool.”

This past August, beer hunter and writer, Joe Wiebe, joined us on a thrilling hunt for the best beer in Belgium.  His account of his journey, Beer Hunting in Belgium, is being featured in this month’s TAPS Beer Magazine.

Though the active trip Joe went on was with our sister company, Zephyr Adventures, the Taste Vacation Belgium Beer tour makes similar stops in the top beer cities and villages in the country – Brussels, Boullion, Ghent, Watou, Brugge, and more. The difference between the two tours is that we don’t participate in the active portion of the trip Joe describes (hiking and biking), and focus on the local culture, food, and, of course, beer.

Set out on your own beer hunt on the Taste Vacations Belgium Beer Tour  July 26 – August 1, 2015, or gather your friends and make it a private tour on a date of your choosing.

Santé!

 

Dec 16
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Belgium Top Beer Tourism Destination

By Beer, Taste Vacations No Comments

Belgium is the number one destination for beer tourism in the world, according to the Vancouver Sun in British Columbia, which just posted an article on Belgium and its beers.

Joe Wiebe, the writer, attended one of our tours there last summer. Although he writes in the article that he attended a Taste Vacations’ tour, he actually attended our sister company Zephyr Adventures’ active Belgium Hike, Bike, & Beer Adventure.

No matter – if you are interested in taking a beer vacation, the article does a good job of giving you that flavor. Please consider joining us on either our Taste Vacations or Zephyr Adventures Belgium tours in 2015:

Taste Vacations Belgium Beer Tour: July 26 – August 1, 2015: This tour does not have the biking and hiking and so focuses on the local culture, food, and beer. We agree with Joe that Belgium is the top destination for beer tourism and this is the only beer tour on our schedule. You can book your own private tour on any date you choose with a minimum of six people.

Zephyr Adventures Belgium Hike, Bike, & Beer Adventure: August 30 – September 5, 2015: This trip combines beer, hiking, and biking but is suitable for most activity levels. The trip ends in Brussels just prior to one of the biggest beer festivals in the world, the Belgian Beer Weekend, so you can combine an awesome tour with an incredible consumer fest.

Photo is from Joe Wiebe and the Vancouver Sun. Brussels’ Restobières features a gourmet menu where beer is an ingredient in every dish.