Beer Trips, Beer Tours, Beer Travel for 2008

Beer Trips for 2009 -- A Vacation that Enriches Your Life!

At Beer Trips, we create the ultimate scenarios for beer lovers, introducing you to the history, people, brewing methods, and beer culture of the places we visit. Drink your favorite beers at the breweries. Get behind the scenes and experience the world's great beers at a local level. Discover and indulge in cuisine a la biere... and visit some of the world's great cities.

Below on this page are: a list of trips, some info about life on a Beer Trip, brief descriptions of each trip.

All prices are Land Only, based on double occupancy.
The second number is the supplement for a single room.

San Diego to Santa Barbara on the Pacific Surfliner
January 19-25, 2009
6 nights -- $1795, $395

Escape winter on a this warm weather BeerTrip to beery southern California. We'll begin in San Diego where we'll take in the best of the city's breweries as well as discover a bit of San Diego's vibrant culture and rich history. Ride along the coast in style on the Pacific Surfliner as we have a rolling tasting en route to Santa Barbara. The good life as well as some small breweries await. Click for details.

Winter Warmer: Brugge & London
February 12 - 20, 2009
7 nights + 1 flying night -- $2150, $385

Join us for a week-long Winter Warmer in Belgium and England as we seek out strong beers, cozy local pubs and beer cafes. The trip begins with three days in beery Brugge, followed by a night in England's quintessential countryside -- the Cotswolds, and ends with three nights in cosmopolitan London. We will travel by public means, private bus, and the Chunnel train as we explore classic breweries, eat great beer meals, visit countless bars, beer cafes and pubs, and enjoy three great locations in winter splendor. Includes many great meals, all ground transportation, brewery and city tours, fine hotels and great camaraderie. Click for details.

Zythos Belgian Beer Binge
March 3 - 9, 2009
5 nights + 1 flying night - $1495, $295

On this trip we'll dive deep into the heart of Belgian brewing and the Senne River Valley - the home of Lambic, as well as other excellent brewers. Meet blenders, brewers, and see working brewing museums where controlled as well as spontaneous fermentation and just the right conditions create the unique variety that is Belgian Beer. The trip starts in Brussels and ends with 3 nights in Gent, with excursions to the Nacht van Grote Dorst lambic festival and the incomparable Zythos Beer Festival to finish off a great trip. Click for details.

Fruhlingsfest and Franconia
April 16 - 26, 2009 --
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2695, $535

Oktoberfest's lesser known, springtime cousin is Fruhlingsfest, pretty much the same event with half the people. Join us for a thorough investigation of Munich, the festival and the many great beers of Franconia. Stays in Munich, private brewery guesthouses, Bamberg and Nuremberg provide an authentic backdrop for our beer seeking activities. Beautiful timbered architecture, quaint medieval streets, generations of local lore, and breweries every 10 miles. You should celebrate spring Bavarian style and discover one of the best beer regions on earth in Franconia. Click for details.

About Life on a Beer Trip:

Most trips begin at the hotel in the city where the trip begins, assistance and advice on getting there is provided. (Meeting a group in the airport is just no fun).
We stay in nice hotels in great locations.
Breakfast is included daily.
3 or 4 Lunches and 3 or 4 Dinners WITH BEER are also included... usually in brewery taps or beer cuisine restaurants.
A couple days we get up early to go somewhere worthwhile...
We hire a private coach or ride fast trains to travel between cities -- often we are a traveling tasting room, sampling local flavors of all sorts.
There's a lot of beer available... several brewery visits and special tastings, as well as beer meals and "pub crawls" -- at your discretion of course.
Most trips include guided walking tours of each city we visit.
Most trips have unscheduled free days to explore on your own.
The People on Beer Trips range in age from 23 to 77 (so far). Generally there are more men than women, but not always. Sometimes we have beer experts and brewers along, sometimes home brewers, sometimes people who simply want to visit Europe and drink beer with good people!

See the photo Gallery.

About Registering for a Beer Trip!

For more details or specific questions, please call (406.531.9109) or email.

Farmhouse Ales of Belgium and France
May 21 - 31, 2009
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2695, $535

Northern France and southern Belgium share a meandering, often invisible border that traverses one of the worthiest beer regions on earth. Biere de Garde, Trappists, and Saison producers are all well represented in this compact area. We begin and end in Brussels -- with stays in the windmill capped, hill-top city of Cassel, France; beautiful, untouristed Tournai; and Bouillon -- in the shadow of one of Europe's finest examples of fortified castles. Small breweries with eager brewmasters, traditional Flemish estaminets with great local food and beers, and a selection of worthy cultural sites await. Click for details.

The Big Oregon Beer Adventure
June 18 - 28, 2009
10 nights - $2795, $500

Oregon is a GREAT beer state, featuring one of the most developed beer cultures anywhere. Throw in some progressive politics, spectacular mountains, gorges and coastlines, famous rivers, friendly people, Portland and its organic beer festival... and you get a Big Oregon Beer Adventure. See a lot of this big state and its dozens of breweries as we travel by private coach from Hood River, to Bend, to Eugene, to Newport and finally to Portland. There are many cool brewers to meet and time to recreate - hike, fish, bike, raft etc. Hotels with excellent beer locations for beer, breakfast daily, many meals, tons of beer, Oregon, beer festivals and summer... hmmm. Complete itinerary coming very soon.

Breweries and Distilleries of Scotland
July 15 - 26, 2009
10 nights + 1 flying night - $3495, $485

Discover the soul of Scotland in this summer adventure to the Scottish hinterlands -- in search of real ale and the world's finest malt whiskies. Explore two Islands, the Highlands, Speyside and a bit of gritty Glasgow. Each area features quintessential Scottish landscapes, local color, rich history, and fine breweries and distilleries. Fine local hotels, Scottish hospitality, and excellent examples of malted barley await. Click for details.

Beer Rafting on the Salmon River
August 1-8, 2009
7 nights (5 nights on the river) - $1295

Spend a week on the beautiful Salmon river and enjoy a floating beer tasting seminar. Specially selected beers are served with great meals to match each night. The Salmon River flows through spectacular scenery and offers exciting whitewater, sandy beaches, bug-free camping, hot springs, colorful history and an all-around great way to explore this part of the west. Our friends at Lewis and Clark Trail Adventures will outfit and guide us on the river. Add great beer from Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Britain and the Great Northwest to great riverside meals, and you'll be hard pressed to spend a better week. Click for details.

The Montana Rivers, Parks and Brewery Adventure
August 8 - 17, 2009
9 nights - $2595, $440

Come to Big Sky Country for this beer adventure that includes a thorough investigation of many of Montana's fine breweries, as well some good old outdoor adventure. Glacier National Park, whitewater rafting, riverside beer tastings, Montana's rich history along with opportunities for fly fishing, mountain biking, hiking, wildlife and beer with the locals. Click for details.

The Czech Republic: Independent Breweries and World Heritage Sites
September 3 - 13, 2009
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2595, $485

Small Czech breweries which once numbered in the hundreds, are now an endangered species -- often succumbing to the wills of bigger players like SAB/Miller and In-Bev. On this trip we will wander the Czech Republic in search of those fine producers still hanging on to traditional methods and ownership. Begin and end in spectacular, vibrant Prague and in between discover castles, smaller Czech towns, resolute brewmasters and great beer. Click for details.

Prague, Munich, & Bamberg
September 17 - 27, 2009
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2895, $635

Join us for our eighth, and best yet, Prague, Bamberg, and Munich trip. From impressive Prague, through medieval Bamberg, to festive Munich, we will explore favorite breweries (large and small) and great bars that serve a seemingly endless variety of beer. Fine, centrally located hotels, private coach and public transportation, great beer, and OKTOBERFEST make this a trip to remember. Click for details.

The Great Beers of Belgium
October 1 - 11, 2009
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2895, $585

Our classic, quintessential, best-of-beer-heaven trip takes in as many classic Belgian styles and producers as we can fit into 10 days. From Lambic to Trappists, Saisons to Flemmish Browns, discover the endless variety as we travel in style on our Beer Bus throughout Belgium. Stay in fine, centrally located hotels and travel via private motor coach and rail to some of the best beer destinations in Belgium. Behind the scenes visits, ample doses of art, architecture and history, and plenty of beer tasting make this a beer lover's dream trip. Beautiful in their own right, Brussels, Brugge and Antwerp are simply more fun when you dive into their beer culture.
Click for details.

The ABCD's of Beer
October 15 - 25, 2009
9 nights + 1 flying night - $2845, $625

We'll travel from Amsterdam, through Belgium, via Brussels, to Germany -- exploring and enjoying several distinct styles of beer and the great cities where they grew up. Dutch Lagers and a number of emerging microbrews, Lambic and the cornucopia of Belgian selections in Brussels, Kolsch in Cologne and Alt in Dusseldorf. The cities each offer centuries of history, great architecture, and vibrant culture... and really great places to drink and brew beer. Stay in fine, well located hotels in each city. Enjoy locally guided city tours, special brewing opportunities, and great beer meals. Travel by convenient public transportation, private beer bus and excellent international rail. Beer and rail and great cities -- a very good mix. Add special home brewer events, focused tastings, style seminars and a bit of brewing and you have a great trip made better with BEER! Click for details.

Quebec: Big Beers and Christmas Markets
December 5 - 12, 2009
7 nights - $2095, $395

Join us for a holiday treat in Quebec, as we discover a bit of Europe in North America. Belgian style beers and world-class cities dressed up for the holidays will be the focus of this winter adventure. Complete details are coming soon!

For more details or specific questions, please call (406.531.9109) or email.