Craft beer is a new thing in alcohol beverage creation and consumption.
Homemade, homebrewed or craft beer has been one of the areas where small businesses have launched and thrived, and it has become more than a cottage industry. Several U.S. cities have become craft-beer hotbeds – San Francisco, Albuquerque, Denver, and the like.
Many of these craft breweries have attached restaurants and other similar facilities that allow people to come into their businesses and sample their various draughts from the tap or bottle.
Craft beer has become a whole sub-industry within tourism in the state of New Mexico, which puts its microbreweries in the spotlight with Craft Beer Tours that allow tourists to visit these craft breweries around the state. The New Mexico Tourism Department and the Albuquerque Office of Economic Development have been working with these craft breweries to develop a tourism initiative crafted (pun intended) toward craft-beer aficionados and other bar-hoppers.
There are several stories with these breweries being established as hobbies by people who were in different careers. Hops Brewing, for example, is run by a man who used to be a drama teacher at an Albuquerque high school. Bosque Brewing is being run by a guy who used to be a software developer. If you were to check out profiles of brew masters at many of these craft-beer businesses, many of them started brewing as a hobby or pastime and it grew out of their garages into niche dining establishments. These are all part of the home-based business explosion that has been created in America over the 15 to 20 years and shows no signs of letting up.
While craft beer can be a fun opportunity to visit some interesting parts of the Land of Enchantment, it can also increase the risk of a DUI accident, and New Mexico is one of the states that has been known to have a problem with alcohol-related car crashes on its state and federal highways.
DUI accidents are serious issues in the country, so it is important to ensure that if you are on a Craft Beer Tour, that you embark on it safely and have a designated driver who will enjoy the sandwiches and appetizers while you and your friends enjoy the wide variety of craft beers that are available, and experience the distinct flavors of these unique creations.
If you love beer, you owe it to yourself to enjoy a tour of craft breweries, but also to be responsible in the fun so you make sure you end your vacation back at home in one piece.
