The One Beer Chart You Need to See

I am on a tour of New England. We did New Hampshire wineries yesterday -- and I highly recommend Haunting Whisper Vineyards, which is much better than Today Show-touted Hermit Woods

Winery (Hermit owner Ken is a super-nice guy and his wine is good, but Haunting Whisper is just outstanding).

That did not stop Cindy and me from buying wine at both of those wineries and a third we also visited. In fact, you should visit all three as well to make up your own mind. Wine, like music, depends a lot on individual taste.

Anyway, the interesting thing is that all these wineries started fairly recently. They all emphasize locally grown grapes when possible (though Haunting Whisper leads in that regard) and they all make their wine on-site. I think we are seeing a Great Awakening of wine making in the New Hampshire lakes region.

And that brings me to beer. One of my favorite beer salons in the world, Novare Res, is in Portland Maine. I expect we'll be making a stop there when we get to Portland. Novare Res is the kind of place where local brewers come to roll out new products or promote existing small brands.

And there's more of that all the time. Check out this chart ...

The number of breweries is climbing. Craft Brewing is soaring. Mega-breweries are in decline. 

Meanwhile, small craft brewers continue to push the envelope in beer.  I think exciting tastes await us.