Beer is loved universally. Go to any baseball game, family picnic, or casual party and what do you see immediately? Happy people, talking and playing, holding cold, frosty mugs of brew. The enjoyment of beer crosses all gender and age lines, from 20 Somethings all the way to the retirement years.

Here is some beer trivia to enjoy as you drink your next beer. Cheers!

• Germany serves beer ice cream in popsicle form. Its alcoholic content is less than that found in “classic” beer.
• In 1962, Iron City beer was the brand used to test-market the concept of tab opening aluminum cans. By 1970, over 90% of all beer cans were self-opening.
• Prohibition, beginning on January 16, 1920, lasted 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours, and 32-1/2 minutes, and was rescinded on December 5, 1933, at 3:32 p.m.
• Centuries ago in England, pub visitors used a novel innovation that enabled them to get their beer served quickly. They used mugs with a whistle baked into the rim, the whistle being used to summon the barmaid. It has been suggested this practice gave birth to the phrase “wet your whistle.”
• A beer lover or enthusiast is called a cerevisaphile.
• During the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance, beer was often a nutritional necessity and was sometimes used in a medicinal setting. It could be flavored with almost anything, from the bark of fir trees to fresh eggs and thyme. Everyone drank beer, including children.
• President Theodore Roosevelt took more than 500 gallons of beer with him on an African safari. Must have been thirsty work.
• Most saloons were owned by the breweries by the 1900s. The bartenders earned $10 to $15 per week, with Sunday bringing in the most business.
• There is an Egyptian beer, called bousa, that is brewed from millet and has been a favorite drink of many for over 3,000 years. Modern Ethiopia has a version made from wheat. It has been hypothesized that this might have been the origin for the word “booze.” Other spellings used are boza, bouza, and booza. Take your pick.

Brewing your own beer at home is a pastime which is gaining popularity at a rapid pace throughout the world today. If you were curious as to the ingredients which make up the favorite beers that you consume, brewing your own beer from home will give you all that information and more.

There are absolutely no harsh chemicals utilized in brewing beer from home, and all the natural ingredients are very easy for you to locate and purchase online as well as offline in order to brew your own beer. You can utilize virtually any basic beer brewing recipe and alter the process to adjust the resulting flavor and taste of the beer you brew – customized, brewed beer from home to suit your particular taste.

After perfecting the process of making your own beer, you will undoubtedly create a beer flavor that you can truly enjoy along with family and friends. All of us possess our own unique and personal taste preferences, and as you alter, adjust, and tweak the variety of available recipes, it is possible to brew a beer that is perfect for your taste. The amount of alcohol content can even be customized in home brewed beer, by changing the length of time you allow your home brewed beer to ferment and to ‘transform’ itself once you have added the proper amount of yeast to the mixture.

To begin your trek in brewing beer from home, it is highly recommended, if not absolutely necessary, that you purchase a home beer brewing kit as well as a home brewing guide. Once you have a good home beer brewing kit and home brewing guide, learning how all the professional home brewers make beer will become natural to you. Gradually, more tips and tricks for making your own beer will come to fruition, so that the beer you brew at home will be infinitely better from the get go.

Inevitably, you will discover that you prefer a particular type of beer to the degree that you may want to specialize in making your own beer all the time in your favorite, preferred category. This will also leave you with a dilemma in which you will need to make labels for your beer to denote one type of beer from the other. Also on the label, you will want to indicate the exact date you brewed the beer. The labels you buy and ultimately make for your cans, bottles or other beer containers – perhaps barrels – are going to be very important to your new found, enjoyable hobby.

Simple labels, such as those that you generally use for mailing letters that have a self-adhesive reverse, are great for making these notations on your first couple of batches of home brewed beer. As you continue and develop in brewing your own beer at home, paper labels are definitely going to work better, as you begin to put your home brewed beer in bottles, actually using caps to keep them air tight and prevent them from going flat. Putting labels on the bottles or containers before pouring the home brewed beer into them, as well as before you store them away, will obviously help you remember which beer you would like to consume first.

Brewing your own beer from home a worldwide phenomenon. As long as the earth is wide, a good majority of people are beginning to brew their own beer from home for a variety of reasons.

In making your own beer, you create the drink that your family and friends enjoy. Being able to master this talent is will take a little degree of effort, patience, and determination – but, continue in making batches of home brewed beer for your friends, as they continually drink it every time they visit your home!

Beer drinking is a favorite pastime for people all over the world. This is especially true in America where the crafting of local and small batch brews has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry. All the small factories and companies combined are now beginning to rival the large conglomerate corporate beer companies that used to dominate the industry. This is great for consumers everywhere. Not only can you get more variety at your local grocery store, but you can even buy home brewing kits and learn how to make your own beer. It is an exciting time for beer aficionados everywhere. Want to get started? Here is a quick beerdrinkers guide to finding breweries near me.

1. Decide on the beer you like to drink

There are many different types and categories of beer. Lagers, the most common, tend to be the beers that many are familiar with from the onset. However, once you dive into craft brews you may need to learn a bit more about what you are buying. If you enjoy crisper and smooth beers, try lagers which tend to be aged longer creating smoother finishes and crisper flavors. Most common large corporate brands tend to be lagers. Next you have ales. Ales often times are darker in color and have more complex flavors. Slight bitterness from hops adds more body and uniqueness than your standard lager. For those who enjoy heavier and very complex flavorful beers, you have stouts and porters. These beers are very dark and are made with roasted malt to give it an extra punch of flavor.

2. Types of brands

You have your large mass production brands, and then you get into craft brewing. The definition of craft brewers is a small independent and traditional company. This means usually the company produces less than 6 million barrels and is 75% owned by the craft brewer. There are also micro-breweries who may only produce beer locally, often times competing with large scale brews in their localized markets. These can become very popular and grow into competitive craft brewers. Check out your local micro brew restaurants, pubs, and pizza joints to get a sampling of what your town has to offer.

3. Local brews in your town

As mentioned, you can find local brews at restaurants, pubs, pizza shops, and even at a movie theater. Today, there are movie theaters where you can enjoy grilled foods, micro brews, and catch your favorite flick all at the same time. Check your weekly newspaper, zines, and local bulletins for places that serve craft beer. You can even join a meetup group or organizations locally or regionally to help keep you in the loop regarding craft beer.

To find what you are looking for, start with what interests you in the beerworld and look locally at what your town has to offer.

Here are two ways to get all the men at your fundraiser benefit to fall all over themselves as they gladly part with $10 and $20 dollar bills and have fun while they’re doing it!

Give most men a chance at winning beer or liquor at your benefit fundraiser and they’ll come running to get in the game! That will be the result when you present Beer For A Year and A Wagon ‘O Whiskey. Of all the benefit fundraisers I have ever emceed, these two games generate the most money and fun.

First, the Wagon ‘O Whiskey. When you and your benefit fundraiser committee members fan out into the community in search of donations, be sure to approach restaurants, bars and liquor stores and whatever they offer you, take it! Granted, they’re not going to part with a bottle of Crown Royal, Seagrams or Smirnoff’s, but they will usually come up with a lower-grade bottle that doesn’t sell well if at all. After you’ve collected 20 or 30 bottles, your next task is go procure a child’s red wagon which can either be purchased at a toy store or might be found curbside on trash night. At your benefit fundraiser, fill the wagon (two wagons if you have enough alcohol) with the bottles you’ve collected. Have your ticket sellers pull the wagon around the hall through the crowd and hawk tickets at $10 or even $20 each. The mere sight of the wagon full of booze has a strange effect on mens’ wallets!

As you are out collecting these bottles, don’t ever leave an establishment without asking, “Could you possibly donate some beer?” Take anything they’ll give you – single cans, six-packs, 12-packs or cases and take any brand – Miller, Bud, Pabst, Kingsbury, Schlitz, Old Milwaukee – anything. On the night of the benefit, your goal is to stack up and build a mountain of beer – cans, six-packs, 12-packs and cases totaling 365 beers. Beer for A Year! Again, tickets for either $10 or $20 will sell quickly. These two ideas will not just generate income, but they’ll serve as fun conversation pieces all night long.

And if by chance you can get a home improvement store to donate a gas grill, set it up next to the beer mountain and sell grill tickets for $20. The sight will be absolutely irresistible to any man with cash in his pocket!

Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179), was not only the first to add hops to beer; she was also a medic, philosopher, composer, poet, adviser to the Pontif, Kings, and other dignitaries. She was one of the first to stick up for women’s rights and wrote the first literature regarding the female orgasm.

She was Nun of this, Nun of that, and Nun of the other.

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The oldest brewery still brewing is The Weihenstephan Abbey in Germany. It has been producing beer for almost 1000 years, and is still brewing beers right up to the present day, though it is no longer officially an abbey.

Brewing for 1000 years? That brew must be ready by now, surely!

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In brewery abbeys during the middle ages, fasting monks were allowed to drink five quarts of beer per day. That’s nearly 5 Litres!

Give us this day our liquid bread. 5-a-day. That many liquid toasts is one unholy hangover.

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Ancient Babylonians were so fastidious about maintaining good standards in beer quality, that any brewers producing naff beer were drowned in it.

Far too lenient.

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The first consumer protection law ever written was for beer. On 23rd April 1516, beer loving Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria set out a document of legislation called the Reinheitsgebot. It was a brewing purity law limiting the ingredients of beer to just barley, hops, yeast and water. It still exists today, around 500 years later, but sadly only in Bavaria.

The Duke would turn in his urn to see the synthetic flavourings, E-Numbers, and colourings used in some of the more dubious beers of modern times.

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Inca tribes women brew a form of beer called Chicha. It is made from corn, but instead of barley starches being converted into fermentable sugars using barley’s own alpha and beta amylase enzymes, Chicha uses the salivary amylase enzyme from, yes, salivar to break down those corn starches. The village women chew the corn and then SPIT it into the mash tun, their saliva helps to convert the corns starches into fermentable sugars.

Sounds delightful.

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The paid Egyptian pyramid workers were paid partly in beer. The beer was called “kash” and this is where the word “cash” originates.

What would you like Kash or Czech?

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Bass beers triangle logo was the worlds first trademark. A devoted Bass employee stayed all night outside the registrar’s office on New Years Eve 1876, just so that Bass would be first in the queue when the office opened in the morning. This famous logo can be seen in paintings by Manet and Picasso.

That beats TV advertising for panache.

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In America the Pilgrims were planning to go further south to warmer climates, but landed instead at Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer.

I wonder who owned the liquor store.

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The American National Anthem, ‘The Star Spangled Banner’, was originally an old English drinking song from a famous London men’s club. It was previously called ‘To Anacreon In Heaven’ and the original words were a dedication to the ancient Greek bard that wrote songs and poetry celebrating booze, women and song.

I’ll drink to that. HIC!

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At any given time, an estimated 0.7% of the whole world is drunk.

I’ll drink to that! HIC!

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In medieval England, beer was served up along with breakfast.

I’ll HIC to that! Drink!

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George Washington owned his own brewery.

Is that The First Lady? No, its the thirst, lady.

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Olde world English drinkers would often bring their own beer tankards to the pub. Some had whistles in the handles so that, in rowdy bars, the drinker could get the attention of the bar staff. Hence the term for having a beer is “Wetting your whistle.”

I prefer drowning my whistle.

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In 1814, an exploding beer vat destroyed a brewery and two homes. 100,000 gallons of beer flooded the neighbouring London streets and several unfortunate people lost their lives.

Puts a whole new meaning to having a head on your beer.

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Guinness scientists state that a pint of beer is lifted about ten times, and each time about 0.56 ml is lost in the drinkers facial hair. In fact, Britain alone loses 92,749 litres of beer each year in moustaches and beards.

That is why I always wring my beard out before leaving my glass.

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Stella Artois used to simply be called ‘Artois’. It acquired the added ‘Stella’ (meaning Star) because that was the name of their popular Christmas beer.

They wished it could be Chrisrmas everyday. Going by there sales figures, it has been.

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The Scaffold’s hit song, ‘Lily The Pink’ was about the supposed effect of hallucinations from alcoholism (pink elephants). One of the songs vocalists was Sir Tim Rice, famous lyricist from Broadway to Disney.

Luckily, his one a only foray into singing. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

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In 1948, the Luxembourg branch of Alcoholics Anonymous had only 2 members.

Something tells me there were other alcoholics about, but they were far from anonymous.

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The 1974 annual dinner and dance for the Belfast branch of Alcoholics Anonymous turned into a massive punch up after bar staff had served the recovering alcoholics nearly £400 worth of booze.

Anyone for punch?

Micro brewed beer is often used to refer to beer that is brewed in the comforts of one’s home or in small pubs. The term started in the 70s in the UK to describe single units that make their own beer or traditional cask ale.

Before, the term micro brew was only used to characterize output volume and brewery size. In the US, it used to refer to breweries that produces less than 15,000 beer barrels in a year. But, now, it is fast becoming known as a next generation approach to beer brewing and experimentation, as well as customized service.

Beer aficionados will tell you that some of the world’s best brews are the ones done in microbreweries. Because makers of micro brew beer have the liberty to create their own concoctions and make experiments with flavor, a number of microbreweries gave starting banking on this popularity and sprouting all over the world.

If you ask micro brew fans what makes this kind of beer so great, they will most definitely tell you it’s the distinct flavor. You see, microbrewed beer usually tastes richer and darker than its commercially and mass-produced counterparts. And because each pub or home microbrewery is likely to have its own distinct twist to beer making, you can be assured of a variety of flavors you are bound to taste.

Micro brew is not just for pubs, as said earlier. Some people prefer to brew their own beer at home, for personal pleasure. Home brews are perfect for private parties. In fact, some beer makers even use a home microbrewery as an excuse to invite people over.

However, it is important to note that not all states have legalized microbrewing. To know more information about this, as well as how to start your own micro brew setup at home, you might want to check out the American Homebrewers Association. They have a list of restrictions and how-tos on their Web site, which can help you get started or keep you in control.

You can also join a local micro brew club if there is on in your area. If you’re a bit antisocial, this might be the best place to start with because you deal with a fewer number of people. You can exchange notes and compare micro brew flavors with them, and even do joint projects on new tastes. To find out if there’s one in your vicinity, check the local directory.

Making your own beer or tasting one that’s customized makes a whole lot of difference to the beer drinking experience. If you previously thought the beers you buy from the supermarket are all there is, then you missed so much.

However, it’s not too late to start introducing yourself to the wonder that is micro brew. Who knows, you might actually learn to love it more than the commercial fare — just like any other person who has made the switch before you. Enjoy!

As with any new hobby, you may have questions about the basics of making beer; what equipment do you need, what’s the difference between lager and ale, what ingredients do you need, what steps do you follow, etc… ? Or maybe you’re still wondering if making beer is difficult or if it’s worth the effort? Let’s start with these last two questions.

So, is making beer difficult? No, making beer is not difficult for most new home brewers, but as with any hobby or craft, making beer can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be. Is making beer worth the effort? This really depends on the reason you’re interested in brewing beer of your own. We can certainly say it’s fun and rewarding if you like craft beer and have a natural curiosity for how things work.

Maybe you’re interested in saving money without having to do without your cherished evening beer. Will making beer at home save you money? Yes, it will, but not at first and it depends on the level of brewing you intend to do. To make this simple, we’ll classify beer brewing ingredient kits and equipment kits into 4 levels of experience, with the first level being the most simple.

Level 1: Most new home brewers make beer from malt extract kits that contain a very condensed malt syrup or dehydrated malt (sometimes both), a packet of beer yeast, and a packet of hops or hop pellets. One of the most simple examples of this type of kit would be the Mr. Beer packages which come with a fermenting container and ingredients to make about 2 gallons of beer. Some of these beginner kits come with more things, such as a thermometer and reusable bottles, and some come with less, such as kits that don’t come with separate hops (because the malt extract in such kits already has hop extract in them).

You simply follow the kit instructions to dissolve the malt extracts in water, follow the steps for boiling time and when to add hops (if hops are added), cool the unfermented beer (wort), transfer to the fermenting container and toss in the yeast. That’s about it. After a week or two you’ll have a beer that is ready to bottle, and a week or two in the bottle you’ll have around 2 gallons of beer that’s ready to drink.

Level 2: There are intermediate ingredient and equipment kits, which offer a little more authentic home brewing experience, and many new brewers start at this level of brewing or the level noted above. Ingredient kits at this level typically contain the same type of things as the level 1 kits, but with the addition of some actual crushed grains and maybe a little more yeast or a better quality yeast. Also, what we’re labeling as level 2 kits will come with enough ingredients to make about 5 gallons of beer… yes, 5 GALLONS! That should last you at least a few weeks, and probably longer.

Level 2 equipment kits for making beer are usually a little larger in terms of volume. These will have a food grade 6 gallon fermenting bucket with lid, an airlock to let the fermenting beer release the carbon dioxide produced without letting in oxygen, and usually a few other items to help you measure the alcohol content of your beer, to clean and sanitize everything, and probably a bottle capper with caps. You’ll need to either buy bottle or just reuse bottles you probably already have. Some kits at this level may come with a second fermenting bucket or a carboy, which is really good to have so you can do what’s called secondary fermentation that leads to even better quality beer.

Level 3: At this level the ingredient kits are referred to as “whole grain” kits, and this is the level of making beer that is referred to as “whole grain brewing”. Most experienced home brewers consider this to be real home brewing because there are no dehydrated malts or malt syrups used at this level. When making beer the whole grain way, all the sugars and nutrients needed for the yeast to ferment the beer come very naturally from crushed grains. Some people are a little intimidated by the move to this level of making beer, but they really shouldn’t be. It really isn’t difficult. Yes, there are a few more steps and it does take a little longer, but the reward for the extra effort is truly unique, natural, and customizable homebrew that can be far superior to some malt based kits.

Equipment kits at this level tend to include an extra carboy and a combination of other more advanced home brewing items. Whole grain brewing requires a home brewer to do what’s called “mashing the grains” and “sparging” which are somewhat advanced topics to be covered later. Just know that these kits will usually include at least a modified cooler that is used as a mash tun and may come with another modified cooler to help with the sparging process. Also, larger brew kettles are used at this level that can hold at least 7 gallons of wort (unfermented beer). Basically, this is the level when most all the equipment and ingredient kits get bigger and a little more complex.

Level 4: This is what we will define as the most advanced level of home brewing. This is the level home brewers fins themselves when they are ready to challenge themselves. While an outdoor wort boiling set-up (something like a turkey fryer kit would work well) can be very useful at the level 3 above, such a setup is almost essential at this level. Some home brewers may transition to not only making their own malt at this level, but may even grow their own grains. Brew kettles and mash tuns get larger, and sparging setups get more complex.

A lot of beer experimentation can be done at any level of home brewing, bit those making beer and experimenting at the most advanced level will come up with very unique ingredient combinations, such as medicinal herbs and less common specialty malts. Also, this is a level of brewing where gluten free beer is sometimes made, although making gluten free beer can be done at level 1 very easily thanks to specialty sorghum malt syrups now available.

OK, what do you think? Are you going to become a home brewer? If you’re not sure you want to take this on as a hobby but you find it interesting, my advice is simple… just do it! You’ll never know if this is for you until you try it, and getting started doesn’t have to be expensive.

Note: If you live in Alabama or Mississippi, you should look into the legal restrictions in your state for homebrewing AND get involved in helping your state’s political leaders understand that homebrewing must be liberalized. All other 48 states allow homebrewing and I truly hope Alabama and Mississippi will soon. I believe there is a tremendous untapped resource of creativity and passion in these states just waiting to be openly and freely shared with the homebrew world!

Organic beer is becoming one of the popular drinks among health conscious beer drinkers. This beer like other organic foods has a number of benefits. They are made with organic ingredients, which mean no pesticides. There are similarities in the making of organic beer and regular beer. The differences between these beer products are what make organic alternatives intriguing.

Unlike regular beer products, organic beer offers drinkers important health benefits. These benefits can be actualized by people who moderately drink beer. Organic beers are currently produced through microbreweries around the country. These breweries are providing unique products for consumers to try. Many people are interested in the benefits of this type of product. Here are the top 3 health benefits of organic beer:

1 – Made from organic ingredients

Organic foods are chosen most often because of the ingredients that they are made from. These are ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides. That is one of the health benefits from these foods. These food and drink choices are also made from organically grown products. This is another thing that makes them unique and natural.

Organic beers are made from organically grown barley, hops, and other ingredients. Many brewers believe that these organic ingredients produce a better taste. Traditionally brewed beers use a number of things to compose their drinks. These ingredients are not only subjected to pesticides, they are often infused with chemical components. Chemicals can have any number of effects on the body’s functions.

2 – Better digestion of beer

Digestion plays an important role in eating or drinking any food. One of the terrific health benefits or organic foods and drinks is better digestion. Organic beers are produced in a way that enhances the digestion process. Because of the lack of toxins in these beers, digestion goes much more smoothly.

The liver is very instrumental in digestion. Drinking organic beer is believed to be less taxing on the liver. These beers are brewed without damaging chemicals that their counterparts usually include. This makes them better for not only digestion, but the body’s other functions as well. Traditional beer products are much harsher on the body. They are produced in a way that requires the liver to work harder.

3 – Nutritional benefits

Many people are unaware of the nutritional benefits of organic beer. These unique beer offerings have great health benefits because of how they are produced. Nutritional benefits of these beers are realized because of their organic ingredients. The body is able to absorb more nutritional value because of the lack of toxins. Organic beers are generally high in vitamin B6. This is a vitamin that is extremely important for the body.

These beer products also are good sources of flavonoids, which are found in barley and hops. Flavonoids are also referred to as bioflavonoids. These offer a combination of vitamin P and citrin. These components are believed to have anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory properties. Their natural composition can be very beneficial to the body.

Forget any of your ideas about huge shiny copper kettles and large coils that take up most of your kitchen space. You may even have ideas that involve enormous wooden vats that are bubbling and churning down in the cellar. These ideas of home-brewing are the product of Hollywood and have zero representation of what a home-brewery looks like today. Human civilization is well into the stage of stainless steel and plastic reigns supreme. Furthermore, in this day and age everything can be done on a smaller level with more durable and lightweight equipment. Every home-brewer was a first timer at some point or another and this means that every home-brewer started out with a minimal amount of equipment. Unless they purchased some horribly large kit by some fly by night salesman.

When home-brewing is boiled down to its barest essentials it only requires three tools to be successful: a brewpot which is used to boil the wort, a fermenter in which to ferment the beer, and bottles which, of course, are used to bottle your beer. This list may sound simplistic and truth be told it is a little bit simplistic. For example, the brewpot must be made to specific parameters and the fermenter must be able to vent carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the bottles require bottle caps which in turn require some kind of capping device. There are also a number of small items that brewers will want to have in their breweries such as a few standard kitchen utensils. As a brewer gains insight into the brewing process he or she will most likely purchase a few additional pieces of equipment to speed up the brewing process.

Home-brews vary just as widely, if not more so, then their commercial companions. Don't be scared off by the complexity of beers that are discussed by home-brewers. Start off simple and as you gain experience you will feel more comfortable with branching out and trying to brew more complicated beers. Follow your own pace and relax. Remember that home-brewing is a leisure activity that should be enjoyed both during the process and when you are sipping on the rewards.

The world of craft beer is a new and exciting one, with new micro-breweries opening each day across the country. The art of these local, homemade brews is that creativity is key and invention is next. In other words, large corporations have their place in the alcohol market, but local places are starting to take root and a whole new culture of beer is cropping up. If you are new to the scene, worry not, as there really are no hard and fast rules. There are, however, a few guidelines to help you feel more comfortable when ordering your first craft beer. Take a look at the following mistakes to avoid:

1. Failing to ask for samples.

A micro-brewery is going to depend on its patrons enjoying the alcohol. If you purchase one beer and hate it, chances are not great that you will return or speak highly of the establishment. That is why most bartenders are more than happy to dole out samples to the patrons who truly are interested in buying a good drink. So do not be afraid to ask for a sample or two. The general rule of thumb is remain honest with your critiques and keep your sample requests to non-busy times when the bartender can actually pay attention to your palate.

2. Asking the bartender for a recommendation without any explanation.

There is nothing wrong with asking for a recommendation. The problem, however, comes when your request is too broad. For instance, “What do you recommend?” is unfocused and far too broad. Every palate is different and no bartender is going to know exactly what your tastebuds prefer. If you would like to ask for some guidance, then tell your server what it is you like in a beer. Knowing whether you like light or dark beers is a great start. Pale ales is also a good jumping off point. And if you truly do not know, then go back to the samples and be honest about liking the sample. Or not.

3. Not telling the truth about a sample.

Again, refer to point number two. If you are requesting samples in order to determine which craft beer you should order, then you should be honest about whether you enjoyed the sample. If you did not prefer that sample, then do not be afraid to speak up. Tell the bartender as specifically as possible what it was that did not appeal to you. Just remember to be polite.

4. Expecting the brew to be ice-cold.

For many Americans, cold beer is about as good as it gets. And for a hot day at home, it isn’t such a big deal to have a cold one. But alcohol generally tastes better at room temperature. The flavors are able to present themselves without losing carbonation. Craft beers are generally crafted (pardon the pun) by locals who understand the art of brewing. Do not be surprised, then, to find that the beer is served at a room temperature.

5. Refusing to tip.

Finally, craft beer establishments operate like any other bar. Excellent service deserves excellent tips. Show your appreciation for your bartender, particularly if you requested samples and recommendations with an appropriate and classy tip.