Let's be honest: Facebook is mostly trash. But every now and then, the algorithm does you right and you see "The Annual Icelandic Beer Festival" pop up in your feed. The name of the event alone combined three things I love (Iceland + beer + festival) so with only about 4 weeks notice we bought some plane tickets, booked some accommodations, and we were on our way.
Read MoreUpon my first visit to Iceland's capital city in 2015, it was impossible not to notice that it was a city on the rise and well-aware of its tourist appeal. Call it the Game of Thrones effect. Since then, prices have soared even higher and the town is ever friendly to a still-increasing influx of tourists (and their money.)
Read MoreI stumbled upon Plan Bee Farm Brewery with a google search. We were looking for a good day-hike in the Hudson Valley region, and seeing as a cold, fresh beer is probably the best way to end a long day on the trail, the location for our trek would have to be near a brewery (naturally). I don't remember what hike we ended up doing, if we even did one at all, but I found Plan Bee in Poughkeepsie with that search, and reached out via the general email on their website, asking if I could come and do a video about them. A cold call, basically. Co-owner/co-founder Emily Watson responded quickly, quicker than many of my friends respond to my emails, to be honest, and we got a date on the calendar to go shoot.
Read MorePortland, Maine is by all accounts, barely a city. With a population of roughly 66,000 (people), it's really more of a large town by global standards, and yet it's managed to become something of a craft beer mecca in the American northeast. Depending on who you ask, craft brewing has eclipsed other longstanding Maine industries like seafood and timber as an economic superpower; providing local jobs, drawing in tourists, and boosting the state's income by millions.
Read MoreBefore World of Beer sent me to Kansas City, MO on assignment to get to know Boulevard beer better, I had never really been to the midwest (apart from a short weekend working trip to Chicago, which doesn't really count.) It remained a mystery to me, and I was excited to see if everything I'd heard was true - are the people that nice? The barbecue that good? The local pride that real?
Yes, yes, and yes.
Read MoreWhen I was deciding where I'd go after Belgium, I had a few factors to consider. 1) Where could I get home from easily enough, 2) What wouldn't break the bank, and 3) Where had I not already been. And seeing as I only had about 3 days to spend, I actually didn't want to go anywhere I'd really been wanting to visit (Romania, Croatia, Hungary), since I knew that'd never be enough time to see and do everything I'd like.
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