If you’re a craft beer fan like me, you always include a few breweries in your travel plans, whenever possible. For some folks, this pleasure is more of a quest.
Add Joel Geier to that list.
Since 2016 Geier has been posting his brewery travels on social media and podcasts for years now under the handle “Brewery Travels,” naturally.
Now, Geier has a book.
“Flights Across America: A Brewery Lover’s Journey” is published by Atmosphere Press and not only includes a ton of information about the more than 1,300 breweries he’s visited in all 50 states but lots of useful advice about how to plan a “beercation,” what to look for in breweries and taprooms and much more.
As Geier gears up for a book launch at Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St., on Monday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. The event will include a signing and a live Q&A with beer writer and Badger Beer Hour podcaster Chris Drosner at 7.
We had a little Q&A of our own with Geier, too. Here’s what he had to say.
OnMilwaukee: How did this journey get started?
Joel Geier: My father drank craft beer when I was growing up, and because of that I started buying variety packs and pick-6’s once I turned 21 so that I could try different styles. From there, I visited some breweries and after I had been to a couple dozen I decided to start keeping track.
From there, the Twitter and Instagram accounts came into being, and before I knew it I was obsessed with visiting new breweries and sharing their stories.
How did you manage to get to so many places?
My wife previously worked as a travel nurse – before we had kids and then again briefly when we started traveling again with them – and for the last few years has had a fully-remote job as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
I have been a stay-at-home dad since finishing my master’s degree at UWM in late 2019, and the combination of those two things allowed us to bounce all around the country. My wife and I lived in 14 states before our ninth wedding anniversary, and having the opportunity to do that is what enabled me to visit so many breweries.
Is your wife a saint for hitting so many breweries and taprooms with you when she is so repulsed by beer?
Saint may even be underselling it a bit. She certainly has enjoyed the food at most of the breweries we have visited together, but often she was staying back with the kids at the house or hotel while I went out to breweries.
Occasionally on the road it was even a matter of her waiting in the van with the kids while I ran into a brewery for 15-20 minutes! I am serious when I say that my book would not exist without her, and my “Brewery Travels” persona would be nothing like what it has become.
When I travel I always look for a concentration of breweries in a neighborhood, so I can check out three or four in one go. What is your approach to tasting?
Doing research on breweries and where they are located is certainly something that I do thoroughly before visiting an area. I talk about this in my book, but having a plan is a smart thing to do if you are wanting to hit multiple breweries.
As for drinking the beer, I always get a flight if one is available during my first visit to a brewery. I like to get a variety of what the brewery offers. Occasionally a brewery will specialize in a style or two, but otherwise I always like to ask what flagships they have so that I can include them in my tastings.
A basic flight for me consists of something light, something dark, something hoppy, and a wild card. If flights are not available, I will do half-pours, and I’ve been to a small handful of breweries where they only offered full pints.
There’s clearly a wide variety of breweries and taprooms out there, think of the difference between Surly vs. Torzala, as an example of the spectrum. What do you look for in a brewery or taproom?
Preferences for a taproom can vary so much from person to person. I have found that I can enjoy most any type of experience, but I have a preference for those that have repurposed old buildings – churches, banks, theatres, etc.
I also always try to take note of what other factors a brewery has that can help differentiate them from others in the area: food, events, games, a unique theme, etc. Looking at it broadly, in general I am curious to see if the taproom has something about it that can make it memorable for visitors.
What were some of the surprises?
So many. At this point, you can find great beer being made in every state and just about any city. Two of my 20 annual review awards that I give out each year are “Most Surprising Brewery” and “Most Surprising Beer.” You will be able to see all the previous winners in my book!
In terms of cities, I do have a couple that stuck out as surprises: Bismarck, North Dakota; Charleston, West Virgina; and Spokane.
For breweries, I’ll tease a few and then leave the rest for the book: Columbia Craft Brewing in Columbia, South Carolina; Georgia Beer Company in Valdosta, Georgia, Gideon’s Brewing in Bismarck and Pint Nine Brewing in La Vista, Nebraska.
What are a couple of your favorites?
The hardest question out there. I have two awards each year for this – Best Brewery (Large) and Best Brewery (Small)) – and the winners from the past 7 years plus some honorable mentions are in the book.
But a few that I will mention here: New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus; Great Notion Brewing in Portland, Oregon; Bow & Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque; Mountains Walking Brewing in Bozenman, Montana; and Sierra Nevada’s location in Mills River, North Carolina.
I would love to list 20 more, but people will get more out of me in the book!
Any places on your bucket list?
I have not been to New England since 2017, outside of a brief stop in southwestern Connecticut last December. We lived in Maine and New Hampshire for about three months back during that time, and are hoping to get back there either next year or the year after.
There are several breweries in the region that I still need to visit, but the two that are highest on my list would be Tree House and Belleflower.
If someone could take one beercation, what city would you suggest?
Asheville. There are a lot of worthy answers, but I feel this would be my top pick. Places like Denver and San Diego are incredible, but the size and scope of those places can be more overwhelming and the metro areas are harder to navigate.
Now, obviously Asheville was recently hit hard by Hurricane Helene. I know a few breweries that were not only damaged, but destroyed. I am hopeful that they will be able to rebuild, but at the very least I am thankful for all of the breweries there that were able to not only survive, but help the community in a variety of ways.
With all that said, Asheville has a stunning number of breweries for a city its size. And unlike larger metro areas, it typically is not going to take you very long to get around from one part of the city to the other. The South Slope neighborhood is a well-known brewery neighborhood, but there are plenty of great options all around the area.
Was the idea of a book always in your mind?
It has been in my mind for a long time, even as early as 2017 when we were first traveling. Now, I did not seriously move forward with it until I was approaching 1,000 brewery visits.
When we started traveling for the second time, post-kids, I had made it to just over 600 breweries, and in my head I felt like hitting the big 1,000 milestone would be a good goal to have for the book. Being able to also get to all 50 states was a huge bonus!
Was it challenging to write?
At times, yes. Just like any book there were instances where I felt somewhat stuck. In particular with the way I wanted to write about certain aspects of breweries or beers. And figuring out the exact layout and what I all wanted to include was a time-consuming process.
But in the end I am very happy with the product, and I believe it is a book that beer lovers all around the country will enjoy, whether they are experienced or a novice.
Will you keep going? Maybe do another book: “Flights Across Europe” or something?
I will always be on the lookout for the opportunities to visit new breweries. And I am sure that I will continue to get to some, just not anywhere close to the same clip as when we were traveling.
Now that my daughter has started school and my son is not far behind, we are now home more “permanently.” That said, I would say it’s possible for another book, even if it’s just an updated version of “Flights Across America” in a few years.
While my wife and I are certainly planning on visiting Europe, I am not sure I will have quite enough experience over there to write an entire book, but I guess we will have to wait and see! As for the immediate future, I am excited to be covering the Wisconsin beer scene more in-depth!
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
