WORLD’S BEST CRAFT BEERS.
You’ve hoisted a stein at Munich’s Hofbrauhaus during Oktoberfest. You’ve stood in line in February for the seasonal Pliny the Younger Triple IPA at Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing Co. Maybe you’ve even thrown a craft beer down your chute at Deschutes Brewery, the big player that started small in Bend, Ore.
But there’s a world of other beer out there, which “Lonely Planet’s Global Beer Tour” (Lonely Planet Food, $19.99) can help you sample. The photo-filled guide highlights small and large distinctive beer makers in 32 countries across six continents, including 36 in the United States alone. California counts for seven of those; beyond the aforementioned Russian River are Fieldwork in Berkeley, Sierra Nevada’s headquarters in Chico, Stumptown in Guerneville, Lagunitas in Petaluma and San Diego County’s Stone Brewing and Ballast Point breweries.
For armchair travelers as well as beer aficionados, the international beer scenes may prove the most intriguing. The German legacy in Namibia, for example, includes high-quality microbreweries such as Swakopmund Brewing Co., based in a hotel pub, and the century-old Namibia Breweries, a giant producer that also makes small batches of Weissbier and a cult Urbock and offers tours of its Windhoek brewery.
Seoul’s Craftworks Taphouse Namsan, started by a Canadian expat in 2010, became the anchor of a neighborhood now known as Craft Beer Valley. And whether or not you’re planning to ascend Everest, a toast to hardworking Sherpas at Sherpa Brewery in Chitwan, Nepal, seems in order.
All listings include “things to do nearby,” such as parks, museums and restaurants — even snorkeling, if you’re visiting Maui Brewing Co. in Kihei. They also note which breweries are family friendly, are near public transport or offer food, among other categories.
Some information is fragmentary. The international listings, for example, start with “How to ask for a beer in local language” and “How to say ‘cheers,’ ” but don’t offer pronunciation tips — so good luck with Eg y sort, kerem (Hungarian) or Qing gei wo yibei pijiu (Mandarin). Luckily, ordering “a pint of Guinness” in Ireland generally serves as well as Pionta Guinness, le do thoil.