3 Ways to Have a Mini Beercation at Home
Tasting at The Holy Grale in Louisville, Kentucky Photo: Danielle Lucas
Well, here we are. It’s been months and there’s still so much uncertainty in the world and we’re no closer to traveling freely as we did before. I didn’t expect things to go back to normal this summer but I had hoped some semblance of our former life would prevail. I miss long weekends with friends exploring another city’s history, food, and booze. Bar hopping is such fun when you travel because bars are like community clubhouses where you never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll learn about a place all while enjoying a good beer.
Whether you’re laying low because of the pandemic or maybe you need to save up some cash for a trip in the future, I wanted to share some ideas on how to have a mini beercation at home.
Dive into your cellar for a beer trip down memory lane
Exploring Upland Brewing Company’s barrel room in Bloomington, Indiana
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If you’re like me, you have a cellar bursting at the seams of beers you’ve brought home with you after a trip. I can’t tell you how much I miss Southwest Airlines and their free checked bags! Those were the days. When you’re ready for happy hour after a long workday or when your kiddos go to bed, head to your cellar, and see what gems are hiding down there. You may be surprised by what you find and what memories the bottles stir up.
Related content: Beer & Bourbon Filled Girls Weekend in Louisville
Ryan and I have set up a dartboard in our basement with a record player so we usually go downstairs after Fern’s in bed and play a few rounds and pop a bottle and reminisce on trips we’ve taken together. If you’re solo at home, find a beer that reminds you of a beer trip you took with a friend and call them for a catch-up session. A few years ago I went to a yoga and beer retreat with a friend and tried to remember every beer we tried on that trip. It was absolutely impossible but hilarious to try.
Exploring our beer cellar in the basement.
Something you can do solo or with your partner or friend is to look through old photos from the trip with a beer. We had so much fun looking through photos of a whirlwind trip to Colorado for a friend’s wedding right before we moved to Marquette alongside a bottle of Crooked Stave peach sour that we had in their Denver tasting room.
Have some of America’s best craft beers sent to your door
Did you know that you can get craft beer from all over the country shipped directly to your house? Seriously, I just tried it with Tavour. Tavour is an app that is basically a bottle share club on demand. Tavour has a huge range of rotating beers from small and independent breweries that you can shop with a monthly delivery (with free shipping) or create a custom box for yourself. This service is especially great for beer drinkers that always want to try something new. In the summer, I drink a lot of Goses & Berliner Weisse styles so I chose fruity, kettle sour styles, a stout, and a few IPAs to share with Ryan. Each beer we got was new to us and it’s been fun trying each one.
Craft Beer Sampler from Tavour
If you want to give the gift of good beer, you can shop for special craft beer gift boxes in the app or give the beer lovers in your life a gift card to shop. I’m excited to share a special promo code for my readers! Use EMSONTHEROAD when you shop on the app and get $10 when you spend $25.
When COVID 19 hit the US hard in March, breweries, restaurants, and bars suffered closures for months and major losses in revenue. It’s now July (How is that even possible?) and some states (California) are having to close down bars, brewery taprooms, and restaurants again. Who knows what the rest of this year will bring?
Drekker Passionfruit Sour
Online shopping is the new norm and I love that Tavour is helping craft breweries around the country pivot during the COVID crises online and giving beer drinkers the opportunity to try beers they wouldn’t normally have access to. Growing up in a household of entrepreneurs, supporting local and independent businesses is really important to me. Obviously, please keep supporting your local breweries and bottle shops but if you can, consider shopping online with Tavour to spread the love!
Related content: Plan the Ultimate Beercation in Nashville, Tennessee
Porch parties are our new thing
Have a Virtual Beer Tasting with friends
I know Zoom happy hours were really popular at the beginning of quarantine so if you haven’t tried one yet, now’s the time! Plus they’re the only way (right now) to have a beer with friends that are all over the world. I’m a member of a women’s beer appreciation group called Barley’s Angels and we’ve done a few Zoom happy hours with the Chicago chapter. It’s been fun chatting with other beer lovers to see what everyone’s drinking at home and find out how breweries are doing in other cities in the midst of the pandemic.
Related: Beer & Beaches are Calling in Tampa, Florida
If you can’t go beer tasting with your friends and you want to do something different over your Zoom happy hour, why not try a virtual tasting? The most important thing is to choose a beer that is everyone can find so you can share tasting notes. If you’re in the same region that shouldn’t be too difficult, but if you’re spread all over the country pick a beer that is widely distributed. Most breweries have updated beer finders on their websites but here are some of my favorite summer seasonals that you can find throughout the country:
Dogfish Head Seaquench - Black lime and sea salt
Maui Brewing Co - Pineapple Mana Wheat
Bell’s Flamingo Fruit Flight - Passionfruit and lime kettle sour
Bonus these beers taste like a vacation in a can. Just crack one of these, plop put your feet in a baby pool, and you’ll swear you’re lounging on the beach.
If I can’t be in Maui, I can get some Maui Brewing Co and pretend. 3 Ways to Have a Beercation at Home
