Happy Fourth of July to my American readers… and, I suppose, to my non-American readers, since our colloquial name for Independence Day is quite literally just a date on the calendar. Hope you’re enjoying a relaxing day somewhere enjoyable with a beer in your hand. I intend to be doing the same, but I’m writing this well before the holiday so I can truly take the day to unwind, so I can’t predict what beer will be in my hand. You’ll have to find that out later.
Anyway, I can only hope the beers I have today are as wonderful as the ones I had at Pils & Love at Threes Brewing last Saturday. It was a truly incredible day of Pilsner-drinking from some world-class breweries from around the country and the world. It was a truly memorable moment to have Agostino from Birrificio Italiano pour me a glass of his iconic Tipopils. And it was a good time to connect with old beer friends and make new ones, finally meeting some of the people behind breweries like Good Word and Godspeed and Cohesion and so many others. Though I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t craving an IPA by the end of a 7-hour stretch of Pilsner sampling. Thankfully, I could do that a few blocks away at Wild East before pivoting back to their lagers.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 3,444
Total breweries visited in 2024: 160
Total breweries visited in Austria: 9
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #3111, Beaver Brewing Company, Vienna, Austria (Visited 4-Jul-2023)
I’ve spent many Fourth of Julys outside of the U.S., and I still insist on doing something American no matter where I am. Usually, that involves going to a McDonald’s or finding an American beer, but last year, I marked the day by going to an American-owned and American-inspired brewery in Vienna. If you think that a place called Beaver Brewing Company seems more suited for the upper Midwest than a neighborhood north of the city center in Vienna, Austria, you’d also not be surprised to learn that its founder, David Beaver, hails from Michigan. And it couldn’t be more fitting to visit a brewpub that specializes in American bar food and barbecue along with American-style beers with American hops on the Fourth of July.
Regardless of whether you’re visiting Vienna on our nation’s birthday or on a Football Sunday in the fall, you’ll find yourself right at home at Beaver, and the American-style beers feel far more authentic than attempts by other Austrian brewers (though I’d gladly recommend countless other breweries for lagers). I was glad to stumble upon this place last year, and look forward to finding some other gems like this in other countries I visit on the Fourth of July.
The Doom and Gloom Tracker
Miracously, none of the 2,900 or so operating breweries I’ve visited announced their closure this week. This is not to say breweries I’ve meant to visit but haven’t avoided that fate — including one in Syracuse that was growing hops year-round in their greenhouse.
The Weekly Reader
Heading to the Hudson Valley and Catskills? Here’s a brewery guide. [Keith Hernandez, The Infatuation]
A list of ten great drinking experiences [Jeff Alworth, Beervana]
What happens through the seasons on a hop farm? [David Nilsen, Porch Drinking]
David Bailey never misses [Pellicle]
One Last Thing
Hope you enjoy the holiday (or Thursday), no matter where you are. Whether you enjoy something crispy or hazy or pastry, here’s to enjoying a tasty beer this weekend!
Cheers,
Chris