Lots of people constantly tell me I am so lucky to get to do all the beer travel and exploring that I do. If you haven't checked out the map on this website yet, it is true I have travelled to many countries in Europe as well as a bit of Canada and the United States. But, here's a little secret, I am not lucky at all and really all it takes is a bit of hard work, saving and planning.
First and foremost, obviously travel of any sort costs money. Money takes time, dedication, and sometimes lots of frugal living (depending on how much you make and your living situation) to accumulate. Unfortunately it is a necessary evil but while you're saving, whether it be for a small day trip or a week long beer travel extravaganza, there are many things you can do to prepare. Personally, I usually put away money every pay check for travel, and all of my empties money goes into a piggy bank for my spending money. When I was saving for Europe, I offered to pickup empties from my family members' homes and return them as well. Every dollar counts and adds up quickly if you are tight with your budget!
Brainstorming places is one of my favourite things to do in preparation for a trip. There's nothing more exciting than finding a place you've never heard of and deciding you have to go there. Keeping a list of ideas, especially for day trips for a rainy day is important to me as many of my brewery travels are spontaneous. For the further away breweries, sometimes I plan my travelling around these. For example, I had always wanted to go to Modern Times in California, so I searched for other breweries and landmarks in the area so I would have more than one reason to go. For example, I had never seen a desert so Death Valley National Park really interested me.
Once you have a list of travel possibilities, you can do some research into which breweries fit with what you want to get out of the trip. For me, I try to make sure the breweries I visit do beer-to-go. If they don't, it is hard as I enjoy doing road trip style beer travelling and bring beer home rather than drink there. I also like to bring beer home to share with my friends, it's fun to give them something that they can't get anywhere else, and usually it comes along with a wild story. Some beer adventures are spontaneous but most of the time, I put a lot of research into which breweries I want to support and explore.
Reaching out to other beer nerds in the area is also a good tool; if you are shy or outgoing this can be helpful whether you meet up with them or just ask which breweries in their area are worth visiting. I think the first pair of beer fanatics that I reached out to about travel possibilities was @coupleofhoppycanucks. They were so kind and loved sharing what breweries were in their area to visit; most online beer friends are just happy to talk about their favourite haunts and often have lots of insight and expert tips about who is a must-visit in their area. You might even be able to beer trade to save cash!
From big trips across the world, or small trips to a local brewery, this is the model I work with. Nothing is more important to me than getting out into the unknown and experiencing everything I can. I love travel, I love beer, and I love sharing that with everyone. So many of my best stories start with a pint in my hand and in a brewery. And I hope with these tips, more of yours can too.