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As someone who hails from one of the top beer areas in the US, it's easy to forget that beer has a heritage that spans for hundreds of years. Despite the popularity of some of my "West Coast" favorites, it's refreshing to step back in time and try something that's been being brewed for hundreds of years like I did recently with Gulden Draak out of Belgium. 

There are many great cities today that are a great choice for a beercation, but only Grand Rapids calls themselves "Beer City". It's a great destination that is located a close to Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis making it a great place for a weekend getaway. With more a Beer City Ale Trail boasting more than 80 breweries, it is certainly one of the top beer producers in the country. Experience Grand Rapids invited us to visit and see what all the fuss was about. Here's what we found!

Visiting a brewery is one of the best ways to learn about a culture and community - or at least one of the most fun ways. That's why I was so excited to visit Alaskan Brewing Company's brewery in Juneau on a recent visit to the city. Since 1986, they've been developing creative beers that serve a local / regional audience but also serve as ambassadors of Alaskan culture to the lower 48!

Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet, port… The wine connoisseur you’re trying to buy for probably has a favorite bottle. And, because he loves wine, he probably has a varied collection ranging in years and varieties. Let’s go beyond finding a bottle of wine to gift him and look at some practical, unique, and fun gift ideas for your wine lover.

Anyone can grab a pack of Budweiser from the grocery store, but craft breweries offer unique flavor profiles and personalities that their customers can relate to. For the purpose of online marketing, that can account for a lot. People value authenticity in the brands they purchase.

When it comes to fruit beers there's a clear separation between purists and folks who just like an ice cold and refreshing adult beverage. While I love my more technical beers I also sometimes just want to grab something tasty from the fridge that I can enjoy without feeling like I need to look up exactly where the hops came from. Schofferhofer falls squarely in that later category with flavors that include Juicy Pineapple, Grapefruit, and Pomegranate.

Whether you live by the beach or are planning a vacation, there is nothing more enjoyable than sharing a picnic on the sand. Whether you want a fun outing with the entire family, or a romantic evening getaway with your sweetheart, it will require a little planning. Here are some things to consider as you make your plan to help you have the perfect beach picnic happy hour.

Shopping for our wives and mothers is tough and if you are like me, it is often super easy to transpose what "you want" with what "she wants". 

There's two things that all guys love - whisky and beef. Chef Perry Lang showed Jimmy Kimmel Live! how to make these things even better... by combining them :) 

On January 24, 1848, the area now known as El Dorado County was transformed from a backwater area of the Sierra Foothills into quite literally the most legendary place on earth. This is the place that ignited the California gold rush and where legends were created. Today though, while the gold found in the streams around the area is (mostly) gone, Placerville and El Dorado County make a fantastic place for your next guys' weekend getaway.

March has begun and that means that it is unofficially Irish Heritage month - even if that's mostly celebrated by St Patrick's Day traditions such as green beer and leprechauns as well as more palatable ones such as a corned beef and cabbage dinner.  Variations on the classic corned beef and cabbage recipes have been what I've eaten for St. Patrick's Day for the past 30+ years, so it's time to try something new and explore Irish culture a bit while doing so.

Theatre Box just opened up in downtown San Diego and frankly you'd have to be living under a rock to not know about it. Between celebrities posting ridiculous dessert pictures on Instagram and other buzz it honestly wasn't my sort of place I thought. After all, usually these places just have "instagram food" that looks pretty but doesn't really taste that great. However, when I was invited to check it out I accepted since I was curious. Honestly I wasn't expecting much. I figured that at very least though that it would be a good opportunity to finally see Aquaman and grab some dinner. My bias against celebrity endorsement almost caused me to miss out on one of the coolest new concepts in San Diego. 

There are many... many... MANY bars on cruise ships but all too often they turn out to be mere gimmicks. That's what I expected too when I discovered my beloved Blend had been replaced with something called Half Moon Bar on Holland America Line's latest ship MS Rotterdam. What I discovered instead was one of the best bars at sea and an incredibly talented mixologist who served up drinks of the same quality that I'd expect at the top craft cocktail lounges in Vegas.

The Wai'olu Suite by Dom Pérignon features design elements crafted to suit the authentic Hawaiian architecture style of the Resort while highlighting the unique elements of the champagne house. Guests will find a mix of bold and subtle details woven throughout the suite to create a cohesive and comfortable environment. Wai'olu Suite décor details include a Dom Pérignon Champagne Cellar, photography art exhibit, Ridell champagne glasses, Dom Pérignon signature scent candles, champagne accruements (ice buckets, bottle stoppers), and other fine touches.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying new cocktails, or even just relaxing with a new interpretation of a familiar favorite. That's one of the reasons that I absolutely love traveling with Norwegian Cruise Line. Simply put, their bar program is one of the best at sea and while others use gimmicks of flair bar tending and even robots to mix your drinks - Norwegian focuses on human talent and creative recipes. Now though, in addition to the fantastic and diverse menu of drinks available in different parts of the ship, they've introduced a new "Bespoke Cocktails" program exclusively for Haven guests. 

For wine drinkers used to seeing prices of $50+ for a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvingon, from California or Washington State, seeing sub $20 bottles from Chile can be a bit of a headscratcher but when you bring in an ambassador like Pedro Pascal - Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984, Narcos, and Game Of Thrones to be your brand ambassador it's worth taking a look!

The martini is simultaneously one of the easiest and most well know vodka cocktails. It is immortalized in popular culture as the preferred drink of James Bond who's impact singlehandedly changed martini cocktails from a gin base to vodka. Despite the fact that it is generally a pretty easy drink to make, there are some tips that you must follow if you want to create the absolutely perfect martini. Here's what Bob Nolet, Master Distiller at Nolet Spirits, producers of Ketel One Vodka.

Almost every month a friend or associate talks about visiting, or wanting to visit "California Wine Country". Inevitably this is their way of saying they are coming out to see Napa but the reality is that California has 160,000 square miles of vineyards and more than 1,200 wineries. This "California Wine Country" stretches from the Mexican border in the south, to near the Oregon border in the north. While I'm in love with all of the areas that I've explored so far, Sonoma is possibly my favorite to visit and I can't wait to plan another visit there later this year. It offers a blend of some of the world's best winemaking and viticultural talent, phenomenal soil and environment for growing grapes, and yet it is able to maintain a casual and laid back atmosphere that is all about celebrating life.

Dia De Los Muertos is on Sunday and so it's important to take a look back at those of our ancestors who have passed and remember them. Along with just remembering them it's important to share stories about the great moments in their lives and how they have inspired us with their passion. While Don Julio is certainly not one of my ancestors, I feel that it's always good to extend this to a broader community as well. As someone who is passionate about tequila, there's a bunch I didn't quite appreciate about Tequila Don Julio until I watched their new video about his life and how he got started.

Just a couple hours east of Chicago and almost the same distance from Detroit lies a wonder area just waiting for couples planning a romantic weekend. South West Michigan is a destination that continues to impress both Heather and I. Initially, it was the wine trail and the beach that drew us, but now we have grown to love exploring the little coastal towns like Saugatuck, Douglas, and St. Joseph.