Ale Street News Online

The two most attention-getting words in the English language are Free and Beer. Put them together and if you’re reading this magazine you’re already salivating. Free beer is good.

We’re on the same wavelength here, right?

If all you want is free Budmillercoors, just head to a friend’s house for the game and mooch from the 12-packs everyone else brings. The big problem is finding free craft beer. Good beer. If you look around good free beer isn’t really hard.

Tappings

Many brewpubs offer free pints of their new beers by offering it either to the public or to their mug club members. Figure a half hour time span on tapping day and you can possibly work in two of the brewmaster’s latest, freshest beer in the company of other beer geeks.

Mug club memberships are free sometimes — notably the Rock Bottom mug club card which is good at any location and also earns points that can get you T-shirts and other gear. At many other brewpubs you get a personal oversized mug, discounted prices, and invitations to special events.

Samples

Although you must pay for the sampler platter at most brewpubs it’s completely civil to ask for a free taste of any beer you’re interested in ordering.

Tours

The maxi-brewery tour of years past got an upset this spring when Coors moved to a primarily self-guided tour in Golden, CO but not only the majors have tours. Drop by the Straub Brewery in St. Mary’s, PA for a great tour of a small family-owned brewery that starts off with a glass at their Eternal Tap.

Want to get more intimate? What could be better than a tour by the brewer? Most brewers at brewpubs will be glad to spend a few spare minutes showing you around. Late morning and early afternoon are often good times to find a rubber-booted soul waiting for the boil to finish or having some other time out in the brewing process. Hint: ask the bartender to introduce you.

What about winery tours, you ask. As Joel Stein put it so well in Time Magazine (April 12, 2008), "… you can visit breweries, unlike wineries, right in major cities; you’re finished admiring the operations in 10 minutes; and instead of sipping and spitting in uptight tasting rooms, you down samples in attached bars, many of which have food — much of it fried."

Tastings

Liquor store tastings are aimed more at the casual buyer but that doesn’t mean yellow fizzy water is the order of the day. Craft breweries and beer distributors set up shop and pass out small samples for two or three hours in the evening. An excellent stop on your way home from work. The variety is often limited to a single brewery or a couple of styles and bottles are often offered during the tasting at discounted prices.

Festivals

Want the biggest selection? Head for a beer festival. Not free beer you think? There’s that pesky entrance fee. Nay, nay. The absolutely best way to attend a beer festival is to work as a volunteer. Just contact the organizers, they always welcome reliable workers. You may be assigned ice or rinse-water delivery at first or cleanup or even maybe the dreaded spit-bucket duty. At the very least you’ll be able to wander the festival for a while and you may even get a break on waiting in lines. And very best, it’s free.

Usually workers get a T-shirt for their trouble and, at a typical four-hour festival may only be needed for one two-hour shift. Cleanup is actually a good gig because it all happens after closing and, if efficient, can take only one hour. Oh, and did we mention the free beer?

If you’re lucky and, most importantly, have, a bartender’s license you might get posted to the job of pouring beer for patrons. This is the best of all worlds as you can educate lots of people about beer and have some samples yourself. Most states require a server’s license — consult your state’s web site for a form — and if you can legally pour beer you have a leg up on the other volunteers.

Where to Find Calendars

There are lots of sources. The major festivals are covered in the publication you are holding in your hand right now (and of course the Ale Street Online web site). Most states have a comprehensive web site — either independent or through the state Brewers’ Guild.

You can always Google "beer events yourcity". And lastly, be sure to register at your local brewpubs’ and liquor stores’ web sites for their email or snail-mail newsletter. You’ll hear about events, sales, and might even get coupons.