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Coming fast on the heels of the Great International Beer Fest last weekend at Mulligan’s Island in Cranston, another big beer event is nigh, actually a whole week this time, to celebrate the excellence of all things craft beer. An entire week of beer science, knowledge, and tastings? Count us in! American Craft Beer Week runs from May 16-24, and features a nationwide toast on the 17th, and many opportunities to learn about brewing, tasting, and sharing the amber liquid goodness. American Craft Beer Week is a registered trademark of the Brewer’s Association, and helps to fulfill their mission to educate the public about the chemistry of beer, where to find the best beer blogs, how to best pair it with foods, where to find brewery tours all around the U.S.A., and, maybe most importantly, about all the incredible, myriad varieties of suds that exist in our current Beeraissance. Read on to find out some great ways to celebrate craft beers in Rhode Island next week.
1. Of course, visiting your closest local brewery is a simple and exceedingly fine way to celebrate craft beer. When we spoke with Dorian Rave, of Ravenous Brewing, http://www.ravenousbrew.com last year, he stated how important it was to him to be a part of his neighborhood, and for people to know their brewer personally. RI has so many opportunities for you to get to know the people passionately producing amazing beers, and visiting your favorites on regular basis is really the only way to stay in the loop when new ideas come out of the lab and into the glass or growler. Take the time during American Craft Beer Week, and beyond, to visit locals like Proclamation, http://www.proclamationaleco.com Grey Sail, http://greysailbrewing.com Bucket, http://bucketbrewery.com Revival, http://revivalbrewing.com Narragansett, http://www.narragansettbeer.com, Tilted Barn, http://www.tiltedbarnbrewery.com, Newport Storm, http://newportstorm.com, Crooked Current, http://www.crookedcurrentbrewery.com, Long Live BeerWorks, http://longlivebeerworks.com/, Whalers, http://www.whalersbrewing.com/ and Foolproof, http://www.foolproofbrewing.com. With games, samplers, cool merch and glasses, and most importantly, cool, interesting humans passionate about beer to talk to, local breweries are, like, the niftiest places on Earth, and visiting one or many is the number one way to celebrate American Craft Beer Week.
2. A major focus of the Brewer’s Association involves beer’s best friend, food. A visit to their website, http://craftbeer.com, will provide a wealth of information on pairing all kinds of beers with all kinds of snacks. Some of us like to leave that kind of kind of thinking to the professionals, though, so here’s an idea for the week of May 16-22: enjoy brunch, lunch, and dinner in 3 different restaurants that feature great beers! In Rhode Island, you have so many choices in this department, so let your imagination run wild. Maybe it’s breakfast with a Narragansett Del’s shandy at the Ocean Mist, 895 Matunuck Beach Road, Matunuck; or a Two Roads Ol’ Factory and Otter Creek Couch Surfer with pretzels at the Malted Barley, 334 Westminster Avenue, Providence, and 42 High Street, Westerly; or brats, knackwurst and a Spaten at the German Hall, 78 Carter Avenue, Pawtucket; the newest Proclamation or a Coronado with an eclectic brunch at Julian’s, 318 Broadway, Providence; creative Mexican along with an Allagash White or Gaffel Kolsch at What Cheer Tavern, 228 New York Avenue, Providence, or perhaps an ice cold Dunkel along with a perfect steak sandwich at the Charlestown Rathskeller, 489 Old Coach Road, Charlestown. If you have read this blog for awhile, you know that little Rhody has the best food and the kindest restauranteurs. Go out and support your favorite restaurants with a purpose this coming week, and find great beer matches for the dishes you love. You’ll learn something new, and most likely have plenty of fun doing so.
3. Make your own! The Brewer’s Association has materials to share that will help you really understand the chemical processes at work when hops, grains, and yeast do their things and work together with the brewer to create liquid satisfaction. Rhode Island is now home to several brewers’s supply stores, and their proprietors make it their business and pleasure to help new brewers learn the craft. Craft Brews Supplies, http://craftbrewssupplies.com, 1133 Main Street, Wyoming, offers 25 years of brewing experience and a huge variety of the freshest ingredients. Silver Lake Beer and Wine Making, http://silverlakebeerwine.com, 65 Moorefield Street, Providence, has been in business for more that 40 years, and as they say, “if we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” Blackstone Valley Brewing Supplies, http://blackstonevalleybrewing.com, 403 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, offers full guidance through the processes of brewing, and takes pride in their ability to help total newcomers, and also to bring experienced brewers to the next level. They offer a full service shop with all necessary tools and ingredients. Try one of these shops and start your brew. You will have a whole new understanding of the magic of beer.
4. Head to the Packie. Each Rhode Island town and village is close to a package store, and many many, many of these package stores stock great micro and nano brews alongside the Midwestern behemoths. You can most likely mix a six and try a variety of beers. Shopping at the package store is easy on the wallet, allows you to work out your beer and food pairings while honing your kitchen skills cooking for yourself, friends, family, or significant others, and also allows you to take advantage of some of the current beer scene’s high ABVs without having to call Uber, or Mom, for a ride! Click here for a few that we love!
5. Spring is here, and, fingers crossed so it will last, the weather is sunny and beautiful. Why not pack up a basket of lunch or dinner, the dogs, frisbee, surfboards, hockey sacks, hula hoops, a few close friends, and, of course, a cooler full of ice and craft beers, and find your perfect picnic spot? Maybe it’s a beach, maybe it’s a meadow deep in the woods, or one of our great family friendly town or city parks, but you know the suds go down easier with nice fresh air. Or just stay home and cook out on the grill! However you make it happen, craft beers consumed outdoors have been shown to increase appreciation of RI’s natural beauties!
6. Here’s another no-brainer. How many day are there in a week? Seven, you got it. Next question, how many bars are there in Rhode Island? At least a thousand, right? Most Rhode Island bars and lounges in this wonderful time in history serve craft beers. Many of them make it a specialty. Why not make it your job during American Craft Beer Week to enjoy a craft beer in a different bar every day? We’re not stopping you! A great place to start the week might be Doherty’s Ale House http://tappedrestaurantgroup.com/, 446 Tiogue Avenue, Coventry, and 30 Jefferson boulevard, Warwick, as they have a gigantic selection of beers, along with tasty meals. A classic, and early adopter of microbrew culture in our state, is Trinity Brewhouse, 186 Fountain Street, Providence. Cranston’s Brutopia, http://www.brutopiabrewery.com, 505 Atwood Avenue, Cranston, serves Revival freshies, made on premises, and real pit BBQ. Norey’s at 156 Broadway in Newport has done their “beer due-diligence”, they have a craft beer menu that will please even the savviest beer drinker. Check out the menu here! The Mews, http://www.mewstavern.com, 456 Main Street, Wakefield, has had at least 69 on tap since way before it was hip, and offers nightly specials on great micros. While all of these bars have huge selections, you can only drink one at a time, and chances are your corner tap has something special, too. Go out and explore!
7. Find the latest and greatest upcoming beer event! From Craft Beer Festivals to Crafty Beer Runs…there are plenty of events that highlight RI’s love of beer. Here are a few upcoming beer focused events that you can add to your calendar, The WoodRiver Inn is hosting their Tap Takeover during American Craft Beer Week:
Founders Tap Takeover at the WoodRiver Inn May 16th-20th!
8. Our final (and perhaps best) suggestion for a great American Craft Beer Week experience is that you arrange to take a journey on the Rhode Island Brew Bus, http://www.therhodeislandbrewbus.com They offer a variety of tours that are all inclusive and all fun. You’ll be riding along with highly knowledgeable guides, and fellow passengers that are as crazy about beer as you. You’ll visit breweries like Bucket, whaler’s, Proclamation,, Foolproof, and Newport Storm. Once you buy your ticket, everything: tours, testing, transport, water, snacks, games, giveaways, and brewery glasses, is included, which means you can kick back and really enjoy the day, and isn’t that what a beer week is all about? Really enjoying the day, not once, but seven times!
