Blessed with rich soil, abundant rain, and a long growing season, the Delmarva peninsula—a tri-state area sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay—was known as the breadbasket of the American Revolution. Later it rapidly grew into one of the wealthiest agricultural areas in the country, as farmers and watermen discovered that they could not ship their goods fast enough to cities like Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. Modern refrigeration and transportation have greatly extended that range, and you can now get fresh Chesapeake Bay soft-shell crabs in Nevada if you want. Here are a few favorite dishes from longtime Delmarva families.

Mom-Mom Lena’s Wet Corn Bread

It took 30 years for Cindy Beauchamp to get the details of her in-laws’ corn bread recipe, a Delmarva staple that draws on northern, southern, and Algonquin traditions and is denser and sweeter than most southern corn breads. The original formula, which was handed down through the generations to Mom-Mom Lena—the mother of Cindy’s husband, Gilbert—included a measurement based on the size of a so-called banty egg. “I laughed and said I did not know what that was,” Cindy recalls. Bantam is a term used for many kinds of small fowl; a banty egg weighs roughly an ounce.

• 2 cups white cornmeal
• 3 cups cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter

Whisk the cornmeal and water in a pot and cook over medium-high heat until thick. Let cool. Mix the sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, flour, and milk, and add this to the cooled cornmeal mixture. Stir until smooth. Place a stick of butter in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, then put the dish in a 400-degree oven. Coat the pan’s bottom and sides; pour off and save any excess butter. Pour the cornmeal mixture into the pan, and bake for 45 minutes. Drip the remaining melted butter over the top and finish baking until brown, about five to ten minutes.

Carrie Samis’s Crab Cakes

Delmarva is an unusual and endearing place, and few have embraced its quirks the way Carrie Samis has. A lifelong resident who works in Princess Anne, Maryland, she once persuaded the chef at the Washington Inn and Tavern—a famous old restaurant in town—to make muskrat stew, a humble dish served at plenty of church dinners but not many fine-dining establishments. Here Carrie offers a Chesapeake Bay classic: crab cakes. If you’d like to buy premade crab cakes, Smith Island’s ships anywhere in the country.

• 1 pound blue crab meat
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 squirt tangy mustard
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Dashes of red-pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning
• 4 teaspoons chopped parsley
• Panko breadcrumbs or crushed saltines—just enough to bind the other ingredients

Mix everything in a bowl. Pat the crab mixture into cakes, and toss them into a frying pan that contains a small amount of hot olive oil. Sauté until they’re crispy around the edges. Best served with no condiments—although a spicy tartar sauce is OK—and a Bloody Mary rimmed with Old Bay.

Karen Brimer’s Duck and Dumplings

Karen’s husband, Eddie, spent his life as a commercial waterman and hunter who prowled the areas around Chesapeake Bay’s Deal Island and beyond looking for wild game. The trick is to brine the duck for 24 hours before cooking, swapping out the water every three to four hours, and never lifting the lid while the dumplings are cooking, which causes them to collapse. “Eddie did that once,” Karen says, “and he was sorry.”

• 1 duck, wild or farm raised, about two pounds
• Brine: 1/2 cup salt mixed with 1/2 gallon water
• 2 to 3 tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 or 4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 rutabaga, peeled and chopped
• Splash of white wine

For the dumplings:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Place your duck in a pot, then cover it with brine, changing it every three to four hours for 24 hours. Rinse the duck, pat it dry, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Melt a dollop of bacon grease in a large, heavy pot, cooking over medium-high heat. Brown each side of the duck until the skin has a dark caramel color. Discard the grease, then deglaze the pot with a cup of water or chicken broth—scraping up and saving any brown bits. Stuff the duck’s body cavity with the apples and onions. Put it in the pot, along with the chopped potatoes and rutabaga, and add broth or water until the duck is submerged. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer on low for two to three hours until the broth is reduced by half.

To make the dumplings, mix the dry ingredients, and work in the shortening with a fork until pea-size balls of floury dough start to form. Add between a third cup and a half cup of ice-cold water, and gently bring the dough together. It should not be tacky.

On a floured surface, shape the dough into a rectangle that’s a half-inch thick. Cut it into eight pieces, each about two square inches. When the broth is ready, remove the pot from the heat and lay the dumplings atop the duck and vegetables. Cover, bring to a medium boil, and cook for about 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid. Your dumplings should be puffy when done.

To make a gravy for all this, put salt, pepper, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour in a Ball jar with a lid. Adding water one tablespoon at a time, shake the jar until the flour is dissolved and no lumps remain. Gradually add this to the juices in the pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour over duck, dumplings, and vegetables.

English’s Sweet Potato Biscuits

With so many chicken farms around, Delmarvans got very good at frying the birds, and many people say that a small local chain called English’s did it best. The last of its restaurants closed in 2015, but Don Herman, who ran English’s for 23 years, publicly shared the eatery’s beloved recipe for sweet potato biscuits. Wendy Robertson of Somerset County sent me a copy of an old newspaper clipping that explains it all.

• 3 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups margarine at room temperature
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cook the sweet potatoes, rinse with cold water, peel, and drain. Refrigerate until cold. Mash with a fork. Combine the potatoes with the sugar and margarine in a mixer set on low. Add the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda, then mix well. Knead the dough by hand in a large bowl, then chill. Roll on a floured surface to a thickness of a quarter-inch; cut with a biscuit tool. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

Smith Island Cake

Ten miles offshore, Smith Island was settled by the British in the early 17th century, when Captain John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay. Today it remains Maryland’s only inhabited island with no bridge to the mainland. Stories say island women would bake cakes to send off with husbands who worked the oyster beds, and over the years the cakes took on more and more layers. Anywhere from seven to ten is considered right. “More than that and it don’t look like a cake—it looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” says Mary Ada Marshall, whose family arrived on Smith in 1608. Here’s her recipe for the multilayered wonder that’s now the state dessert. Use a boxed cake mix or your favorite sponge recipe, and bake the layers in batches.

For the cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 box Duncan Hines classic yellow cake mix

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to gently and evenly spread the batter to cover the bottom of each cake pan. (If you don’t have multiple pans, do this in stages.) Bake at 350 degrees for eight to ten minutes. The batter should yield seven layers.

For the icing:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 3 heaping tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 stick cold butter

Put the powdered sugar, cocoa, and evaporated milk in a saucepan and mix. Add the cold butter. Place over high heat, stirring constantly, until the ingredients are combined and the butter melts. Remove from heat, and whip the icing a few times. It should have a glossy appearance.

Assembling the cake:

Add a dollop of icing in the middle of a cake plate, and put the first layer in place. Add a large spoonful of icing to the top of the layer, then spread the icing to the edges of the cake. Place the second layer, and repeat the process until you’ve done seven layers. Once you add the top layer, spread icing on the sides first, then frost the top of the cake.

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Walking might be the . OK, it’s not as flashy as its cousins, running and hiking, but that a moderate walk is just as effective at battling high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease as a vigorous run or an uphill trek. And it does the job with a lower risk of injury. Some even suggests that walking can make you more creative. One of its��advantages��is that you can do it just about anywhere, but some routes��are more beautiful than others.��Here are ten��of the most scenic trails that��allow access greenery without leaving the��city.

Spanish Moss Trail
Beaufort, South Carolina��

Charleston gets all of the love, but the smaller coastal town of Beaufort, an hour and a half to the southwest, has just as much southern charm, with a fraction of the tourists. And it’s incredibly walkable, thanks in part to the , a ten-mile paved path that follows the former Magnolia rail line through the best of South Carolina’s Low Country��landscape. The trail starts in an old rail station near Depot Road and carries you over creeks, through expansive wetlands, and amid��stately neighborhoods shaded by live oaks thick with the iconic Spanish moss.

Jack A. Markell Trail
Wilmington, Delaware��

This paved path combines culture, history, and wildlife on its eight-mile journey from downtown Wilmington to the historic town of New Castle. Start��at , explore��open-air markets and seafood restaurants, and��finish��at New Castle’s , a sprawling green space on the Delaware River with a new pier that overlooks��a replica of a��Swedish merchant ship from the 1600s. In between, the trail dips into the , one of only a handful of urban wildlife sanctuaries��in the U.S., home to��a 212-acre marshy��preserve��for fish and other fauna��in the heart of the state’s largest city.

Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake
Austin, Texas��

The ��isn’t like anything else in Texas. It’s a 7,250-foot-long concrete pedestrian bridge hovering above the water on the edge of Lady Bird Lake. The views are stunning—you have the lake itself, full of people��in kayaks and on stand-up paddleboards, as well as Austin’s skyline just beyond the shoreline—but walking this��boardwalk is also a��deep dive into��an exploration of��Texan��culture. Keep an eye out for an installation of 36 bronze western-style belts integrated into railings etched with song lyrics from Texas artists.

The Scioto Trail
Columbus, Ohio

The first greenway to be built in Columbus, follows the river of the same name for more than 12 miles, connecting the city’s neighborhoods with its expansive park system. The most beloved stretch of the trail is the Scioto Mile, which cruises along the downtown waterfront through a series of green spaces and city landmarks. Keep walking��and you’ll hit , a wildlife sanctuary where thousands of migrating birds make a pit stop��on their way south. The 120-acre park, which has its own system of walking trails that pass beneath the tree canopy and through restored wetlands, features one of the largest free-climbing walls in the nation��a massive man-made arch covered with holds set against the��backdrop of the Columbus��skyline.

The California Coastal Trail
San Francisco, California

This is one of the most dramatic in the country, spanning 1,200 miles along the Pacific Ocean. For a shorter option, focus on the 2.4-mile section near the Presidio, in San Francisco, which hits a collection��of the city’s landmarks. Start on the south end of this segment, and you’ll pass the rocky bluffs of Baker Beach right out of the gate before hitting the Marin Headlands and ending at the Golden Gate Bridge. The��shoreline is a near constant companion and a number of connecting paths meander into the Presidio.

Bert Cooper Trail
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma��

Ten��miles north of downtown Oklahoma City,�� is a 2,500-acre reservoir with a yacht club and a lighthouse. The forms a 9.5-mile loop around the lake and offers lots of��water views. Birders in particular love this trail because Hefner marks��an important stopover for migratory species. Start at , at��the southern end of the reservoir, and amble��through forested areas and neighborhood streets. Be sure to walk the peninsula out to the lighthouse, which makes for the perfect picnic spot.

Lakefront Trail
Chicago, Illinois

On one side of the 18-mile-long , you have Lake Michigan, unfurling into the horizon like an inland sea,��and on the other, you have the city of Chicago and its towering skyscrapers. You could spend an entire day along this trail, bouncing from beaches to parks and back again. Just make sure you hit , with its��traditional Japanese garden and��a koi pond, as well as the , a 100-acre park full of prairie grass and trees.

Lafitte Greenway
New Orleans, Louisiana��

This 2.6-mile ��opened in 2015, and in just a few short years, it has become a��major artery for pedestrians and cyclists moving about New Orleans. The paved path runs from the French Quarter to the neighborhood of , offering a string of nature in the heart of one of the South’s most vibrant metro areas. Shaded by live oaks, bald cypress, and pecan trees, the route passes along the Saint��Louis Canal before crossing over Bayou Saint��John. From the northern trailhead terminus, it’s a quick walk to the 1,300-acre City Park itself, full of green space and wetlands, while the southern��terminus is��, on the edge of the French Quarter.

The East Coast Greenway
Washington, D.C.

When it’s eventually completed, the will run for 3,000 miles from Florida to Maine. More than 30 percent of this massive walking and biking trail is currently built, and some of that��passes through Washington, D.C. It cuts through��the National Mall and crosses the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River into Virginia, where it connects with the . While the capital’s monuments��are big attractions, be sure to make stops along the trail at the ��and the , the oldest continuously operating public garden in the country,��with more than 65,000 tropical and subtropical plants.

The High Line
New York City, New York

If there’s such a thing as the most famous U.S. greenway, it’s . This elevated trail, a repurposed��abandoned freight line on��Manhattan’s West Side, is an infusion of nature in the most populated��city in the country. The 1.45-mile bridge is designed��with public art, interesting architecture, and edible gardens. Various overlooks give you a bird’s-eye view of some of the borough’s most iconic neighborhoods, while certain sections feature��a full canopy of trees, providing an escape from the cityscape. Hang out on lounge chairs on��the sundecks, enjoy views over the Hudson River, and catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

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Every fall, more than 300 bird species across North America��migrate south for the winter, an event affected as much by a bird’s location and breeding timeline as it is by the changing climate. Not only will these festivals guarantee that you’re in the right place at the right time, but they’ll allow you to take part in the kind of awe-inspiring wildlife migrations usually associated with more far-flung destinations. So��book your short-hop flight, grab your binoculars and field guides, and get ready to be captivated alongside North America’s most passionate birding enthusiasts.

Cape May Fall Festival

Cape May, New Jersey; October 17 to 20

New Jersey Audubon’s is the longest-running birding festival in the country—and for good reason. During the crest of the fall migration, more than 100 bird species can be spotted passing the Cape May peninsula, located at the southern tip of the state between��Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, a 50-minute drive from Atlantic City. One of the festival’s highlights is the sky parade of raptors (osprey, sharp-shinned hawks, and kestrels have been prevalent this month) that funnel over Cape May Point; last year��more than 50,000 raptors were counted by between September 1 and November 30. Enjoy daily field trips on land and sea led by notable birders and photographers, including the popular Trip to the Rips,��a three-hour boat tour that offers��the chance to view��waterbirds like gannets, gulls, and terns at the mouth of Delaware Bay, as well as marine mammals like bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales. Day pass from $85��

Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival

Harlingen, Texas; November 6 to 10

Though the always features an impressive roster of daily field trips, professional guides, and keynote speakers, a big draw of the five-day event are��the pre- and post-festival trips, which shuttle attendees to in-the-know birding hot spots near and far. This year’s four-day pre-trip, from November 2 to 5, starts in Houston and explores the piney woods��and coastal marshes of the state, while the excursion following the festival,��from November 11 to 15, ventures over the international border, nearly 300 miles south, to the Unesco-recognized in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. After a five-hour bus journey to��the mountainous cloudforest in the state’s southeast,��you’ll be able to search for endemic species like the Tamaulipas pygmy owl and the Altamira yellowthroat. Registration from $25; trips from $825

San Quintín Bay Bird Festival

Campo La Chorera, Baja California, Mexico; November 8 to 9

Established by local communities and the land-conservation nonprofit five years ago, the annual is a two-day event��that aims to promote the protection of over 25,000 birds that visit San Quintín Bay every year. Located on the west coast of Baja California, 190 miles south of Tijuana, the region features wetlands, sand dunes, and meadows important to migratory shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway. While you need to register, the festival features a variety of free or affordable activities, including boat tours, guided birding hikes, and a bird-watching marathon��where participants try to identify as many��species as possible in a single afternoon. Stay at a beach campsite in ��(from $10).

Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival

Fraser Valley, British Columbia; November 16 to 17

Less than two hours southeast of��downtown Vancouver is Fraser Valley, home the annual , a free event that commemorates one of the largest gatherings of bald eagles in the world. Witness thousands of the raptors feed on spawned-out salmon on the banks of the Fraser River, get up close to the birds on boat tours, and check out local vendors, lectures, and family-friendly entertainment at various locations across the valley. While bald eagles (and salmon) may be the main attraction, keep an eye out for large numbers of trumpeter swans and blue herons drawn to the area’s mild climate.

Festival of the Cranes

San Antonio, New Mexico; November 20 to 23

Birders, photographers, artists, and��local Socorro County residents gather every year to witness the return of tens of thousands of sandhill cranes to their wintering grounds in the Middle Rio Grande Valley at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 95 miles south of Albuquerque. On top of daily hikes, tours, and seminars organized by Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, offers 65 photography workshops geared toward��capturing wildlife, which sharpens visitors’ perfect shots of the red-crowned birds. Other highlights include kid-friendly activities, like a hands-on duck-banding project and a biologist-led young birder’s walk. Registration is required for the festival, but like the San Quintín Birding Festival, it includes��both free and affordable experiences, as well as more expensive workshops with professionals (from $95).

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Raise a glass! Today is , and never has there been more reason to celebrate the India Pale Ale. After all, America is obsessed.��

The IPA’s origin in the 1800s is the , but today the beer encompasses than one should try in a single sitting. With more than 3,000 breweries operating in the United States as of June 30 (99 percent of which were small and independent craft breweries, mind you), it’s easy to see how the IPA captured 12.1 percent of U.S. craft beer sales in 2013, and accounted for .

Knowing that, it’s a sure bet that you’ll have plenty of choices on tap at your favorite watering hole for IPA Day. To get involved, taking place across the country, or do a search for the official hashtag: #IPAday.

In honor of the hoppiest day of the year, here’s a list of our favorite IPAs, based on copious amounts of “testing”:

Hop, Drop ’N Roll, 7.2% ABV, 81 IBUs

;��Charlotte, North Carolina
A rising star in the ever-evolving world of IPAs, this brew just won gold at the 2014 World Beer Cup. Described as “in your face, crisp, and mouthwatering,” Hop, Drop ’N Roll is packed full of Citra and Amarillo hops for a complex flavor profile. Bonus: it comes in a can, so you can pack it in on your next adventure.

Heady Topper, 8.0%

;��Waterbury, Vermont
Rarely is a beer so good that a brewery runs out of it every week and has to open up a new facility to keep up with demand—despite distributing in just one (very small) state. There’s a reason this is the , and we can’t argue. Pop open a can of Heady and you’re immediately hit with wave after wave of incredible hop flavor, without the overly bitter aftertaste that so many other Double IPAs have.

Union Jack IPA, 7.5% ABV

;��Paso Robles, California
Thanks to double techniques that bring out grapefruit and citrus flavors, this brew is a perfect example of everything a good West Cost IPA should be: big, bold and, a two-time GABF Gold Medal winner.

60 Minute IPA, 6.0% ABV, 60 IBUs

;��Milton, Deleware
A true classic, it’s tough to compete with 60 Minute, which��after 11 years still stands as one of the best examples you’ll find of a well-balanced, American IPA.��The “continuously hopped” brew has more than 60 hop additions during a 60-minute boil, compared to the usual three, which results in a more complex flavor. Looking for something bolder? Try Dogfish’s 75, 90 or 120 Minute IPAs.

Elevated IPA, 7.2% ABV, 100 IBUs

.; Albuquerque, New Mexico
This New Mexico brewery found its way into the craft beer limelight in 2011 when its IPA����for a gold medal at GABF. Packed full of flavor without the bitter bite, this one ranks right up there with the way more famous Heady Topper on our list.

DayTime, 4.65% ABV

;��Petaluma, California
A great example of the emerging Session IPA subcategory, DayTime is the IPA you grab when you aren’t looking for a 7-9 percent hop bomb, but still want that big juicy aroma and resin-y hop flavor.

Freak of Nature Double IPA, 8.0% ABV

;��Asheville, North Carolina
Wicked Weed might be making waves in the sour and wild-ale world, but its DIPA is just as good. By dry hopping with more than 48 pounds of hops per batch, Wicked Weed produces an incredibly citrusy and dry, but minimally bitter beer.

Pliny the Elder, 8.0% ABV

;��Santa Rosa, California
No self-respecting IPA list would be complete without the . This Double IPA is one of the best, trust us. Find it freshly tapped, and the flora, citrus, and pine aroma will knock your socks off.

Nelson, 7.1% ABV

;��Alpine, California
This Golden Rye IPA has developed a cult following for its unique dry white wine and spicy flavor profile. Copious amounts of super-fruity Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand’s famous winemaking region ensure this IPA is as good as it sounds.

Red Swing Line, 4.1% ABV

;��Colorado Springs, Colorado��
Trinity brewers age this low-alc “wild and sour session IPA” in French Oak Chardonnay barrels with souring agents and wild yeast to get a sour, funky and hoppy beer that should be called “Pure Awesome.”

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Outdoor music festivals are becoming as much a part of the American summer as baseball games, barbecues, and mosquito bites. At them, you can enjoy space to move (and sometimes pitch a tent), natural scenery, tastes of the local food vendors, Frisbees flying, and the wafting scent of a burning leafy substance in the air. Then, of course, are the band performances themselves. Below are the top outdoor music festivals not named Bonnaroo for 2014—based on setting, vibe, and performers.

Sasquatch! Festival

The dates: May 23-25

The scene: The centerpiece of this predominantly indie and alternative rock is a natural amphitheater carved into basalt cliffs that peer onto the Columbia River, about 150 miles west of Seattle.

Headline acts: Outkast, Violent Femmes, Super Geek League, The National, Chance the Rapper

Camping? Yes, included in the 3-day, $325 pass.

Firefly

The dates: June 29-22

The scene: The setting for is surprisingly pastoral, considering lies on the same recreational complex as the Dover International Speedway in Delaware. There are seven stages, including the main stage, that feature more than 70 bands over four days. The festival also has an arcade and a booth for buying a customized pair of Toms shoes.��

Headline acts: Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, The Lumineers, Beck

Camping? Pitching a tent there will cost $149 on top of the $299 for a four-day admission pass, and an RV is $299. You can also rent a luxury air conditioned tent, equipped with cots and blankets, and a power source, for $699.

Governors Ball

The dates: June 6-8

The scene: First held three years ago on Governor’s Island, the has quickly become New York City’s prime summer music event—though it now takes place on Randall’s Island, between Manhattan and Queens on the East River. Its natural setting removes you from the physical aspects of the city, but its gourmet food trucks make sure you never leave New York’s culture behind.

Headline acts: Outkast, Jack White, Vampire Weekend

Camping? No. Your three-day admission for $230 allows you to come and go—by car, boat, train, or foot.��

���ϳԹ��� Lands Music and Arts Festival

The dates: August 8-10

The scene: By far the most scenic urban music festival in the country, is held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, attracting roughly 50,000 attendees a day. The 70 bands who perform over its three days are only part of the attraction—as more than 50 local restaurants and 11 food trucks sell samplings of their menus there, and artists from across the area show off their skills through live painting and art installations.

Headline acts: Kanye West, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Killers

Camping? No.

Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival

The dates: September 26-28

The scene: Only in its eighth year in the college town of Columbia, Missouri, the has already become the blue ribbon outdoor celebration of blues, gospel, bluegrass, and folk music. More than 30 acts perform on the amphitheater stage at grassy Stephens Lake Park, and the barbecue is dished out by vendors from around the country.

Headline acts: The Avett Brothers, John Prine, Trampled by Turtles, Rosanne Cash

Camping? No.

The post What Are This Summer’s Best Outdoor Music Festivals Not Named Bonnaroo? appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

This month, self-described beer nerd and ���ϳԹ��� correspondent releases his new book, (Running Press, $20, ). The book is one part American beer history, one part review guide, and two parts brew-inspired travelogue, chronicling DeBenedetti’s reporting forays to breweries across the U.S. It’s also the perfect road-trip companion for beer lovers—second only, perhaps, to a designated driver. We caught up with DeBenedetti, who scored a prestigious Watson grant in 1996 to study the world’s beers and brewing techniques, to find out the roots of his beer fanaticism, what his favorite beer is, and the best American road trips to take this with a great brew as the goal.
��
OUTSIDE: When did you first become interested in beer?
DeBenedetti: It started when I was a freshman in college. The guy who was supposed to be my roommate didn’t show up, and the school didn’t make me move, so I turned the other half of my dorm room into a mini brewery and the dorm lounge into my brewpub.
��
That must have been popular.
The idea was popular, and then people tried my first beer. I’ll never forget handing out the bottles, filled with pride and expectation. I had glued beautiful hand-drawn labels on each one. Everyone took a taste, and my friend Lincoln just turned and spat it out as far as he possibly could off the porch. He was like, “Good God, what is this?” I got better.
��
And eventually you got the Watson grant to travel the world studying beer. How long was it?
It was a 12-month trip that started in England. I eventually hit 14 countries and 59 breweries throughout Europe and West Africa, where I was studying rural brewing methods that used millet and sorghum instead of barley. In Europe, I lived in an 1800s brewing tower, camped in hop fields, apprenticed in the oldest commercial English brewery (Shepherd Neame), and basically wandered all over Belgium, Holland, Germany, and the Czech Republic with a backpack, a guitar, and a journal.
��
How many beers did you drink?
Well, I tried about 350 or 400 new beers, but I wasn’t trying to hit some land-speed record. For me it was about wandering from place to place and meeting these individuals, seeing who would take me in and give me a little job to do and maybe let me stay at the brewery. It was incredibly exciting, and it totally changed my life.
��
You traveled pretty extensively for this book, too. How many places in the U.S. did you get to?
The book is composed of beer travels that I’ve done over the past, say, ten years. I’ve always been the kind of guy who wants to pull over at a brewery when I see one. But over the past year or so, I set out to cover as much of the new American craft-beer culture as I could, and I managed to hit more than 20 states.
��
What were some of the highlights from the year on the road?
Well, for one I went to Anchorage in mid-January. It was minus 15 degrees. Most people were like, “Why the hell would you go to Alaska in mid-January,” and frankly the answer is “For good beer.” I made my way down to Juneau to visit the Alaskan Brewery and ended up going powder skiing with one of the brewery employees on Douglas Island, a snowy tidal island in the Gastineau Channel, and serving as a mock avalanche victim for Geoff and Marcy Larson, who are the founders of Alaskan Brewing and who volunteer training recovery dogs. The beer tasted especially perfect that day.
��
What was the most surprising thing about researching the book?
Just how widespread great beer culture is in the U.S. It’s literally in every part of the country. One of the happiest days I had was driving across Lake Pontchartrain, in Louisiana, from New Orleans up to Covington, where I was going to visit Abita Brewing Company and Heiner Brau. There were these heavy stormy skies. And as if on cue, the Allman Brothers were blasting on the radio, “Statesboro Blues.” I’d never been to Louisiana before, much less the rural parts north and outside of Covington, and I ended up having one of the best days of the trip. It was a huge surprise to me to find such a vibrant craft-beer culture in Louisiana. It was such a treat.
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In the book, you mention that the U.S. is in the midst, and has been for some time, of a renaissance in beer culture. How did that start?
I could go on for days pinpointing people and places where it took hold, but the gist is that it was in Northern California and in Oregon around the late seventies, when American breweries had really vanished to the point where there were just about 40 or 50 breweries in the entire United States. You had scores of pioneering people who tasted beer in Europe and who learned to home-brew. One of those people was Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, which is now one of the two or three largest craft breweries in the United States. You also had people like Bill Owens, who started Buffalo Bill’s Tavern in Hayward, California; the Widmer brothers of Portland; and the Red Hook story up in Seattle. Now we have 1,800 breweries and brewpubs, with an estimated 700 in planning stages across the country. Even so, that’s less than the 4,000 breweries a much smaller America supported in 1872. It was—and is—a genuine movement.
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Come up with a favorite beer over that time?
The stock answer is “My next beer,” because there are so many new ones coming out almost every day. I was literally sitting at a beer bar last night with some friends, and when I looked at the list I realized I hadn’t tried 90 percent of the beers on it. I live near Portland, and I go to beer bars practically every day. That’s how fast it’s changing.
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Give me your favorite beer at the moment then.
I’d probably say the whole family of traditional farmhouse ales, beers that originally came out of southern Belgium. They hit that sweet spot of alcohol percentage and yeastiness and spice and character. Now American craft brewers are pulling off incredible variations of these styles, even some aged in oak barrels. Some of the best are coming out of Oregon’s Logsdon Farmhouse, Baltimore’s Stillwater, and Hill Farmstead of Vermont. Also, there’s nothing better than a good pilsner on a hot day.
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You may not believe it, but I worked at a brewpub for two years, and over the course of it I developed a hops allergy, meaning I can’t drink beer.
You poor, poor man. What you need to do is look into the new batch of hopless beers. This is a new craft-brewing trend that goes back to the Middle Ages. Before that, all beer was unhopped and spiced with other herbs, and a lot of home brewers and craft brewers have been rediscovering the traditions. I just tasted one from Gilgamesh brewery near Salem, Oregon, and the beer is called Mamba. Instead of hops, it’s spiced with black tea and orange peel. Man, it’s delicious. You can drink it like Lipton all night long.
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Sounds great.
Other breweries are experimenting beyond hops, too. Captain Cook used to spice his beers with spruce tips. He’d come ashore when he was exploring the Pacific Northwest to gather spruce tips and then home-brew on the boats with it. It became the inspiration for Alaskan Brewing Company’s Winter Ale. They use spruce tips—in addition to hops, unfortunately for you—to give it a spicy backbone.
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Do you ever get tired of knowing so much about beer?
It’s a blessing and a curse. People ask me a question about beer and I could go on for an hour. But I did get to write a book about it. And the fact is, I am still learning, too.
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What do you hope people will take away from the book?
I hope they get truly inspired to explore. And I hope that when people open up this book and don’t see their favorite beer or brewery, it’s not because it’s not worthwhile. It’s because this book is meant to be a starting point, not an encyclopedia. The most important thing is to get out there and start trying new things in new places. You should try as many as you can, because you just might find the best beer of your life.
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Five Roadtrip-Worthy Craft-Beer Spots (as excerpted from The Great American Ale Trail)

MARSHALL WHARF BREWING
OURAYLE HOUSE BREWERY
LOGSDON ORGANIC FARMHOUSE ALES
DOGFISH HEAD BREWINGS AND EATS
LITTLE YEOMAN BREWING

Marshall Wharf Brewing

2 Pinchy Lane, Belfast, Maine
207-338-1707;
Established: 2003 (bar) and 2007 (brewery)

Located right on the pier next to the tugs of Belfast—a fishing village first settled in 1770—the Marshall Wharf brewery was built in the town’s original granary in 2007. A combination patio- and bocce-court-equipped beer bar, seven-barrel brewhouse with eight-spigot taproom, lobster pound (so you can buy some fresh-caught on fall mornings to take home), and a 12-tap seasonal beer garden, Marshall Wharf is truly a one-stop affair.

Order Up: Cant Dog Imperial IPA

Ourayle House Brewery

215 7th Ave., Ouray, Colorado
970-903-1824;
Established: 2005

In the home of North America’s premiere ice-climbing festival, Ourayle House is marked by a mangled whitewater kayak hanging on a makeshift fence. Inside, this “one man, one dog” operation is festooned with discarded ice axes, crampons, and carabiners hanging willy-nilly on the split-and-varnished salvaged-timber walls. A woodstove crackles in one end of the room. In short, this is a little slice of heaven.

Order Up: The mild and mellow Biscuit Amber

Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales’ big red barn

785 Booth Hill Rd., Hood River, Oregon
541-490-9161;
Established: 2011

Founder and longtime brewing-industry veteran Dave Logsdon just opened this brewery on his family’s beautiful working farm outside of Hood River, complete with a big red barn (where the kettles, tanks, and barrels live), pets, horses, and highland cattle. About eight miles from the north face of Mount Hood (with incredible views of the peak’s 360-foot-thick Eliot Glacier) and the sail-sports mecca of the Hood River Gorge, it’s one of America’s most picturesque breweries.

Order Up: Seizoen Bretta, a malty, yeasty saison with an addition of Brettanomyces yeast adding fruitiness, acidity, and woody, earthy, almost leathery notes

Dogfish Head Brewings And Eats

320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
302-226-2739;
Established: 1995

Sam Calagione’s Dogfish Head beers (and Discovery Channel show) have inspired legions of fans. A coast-drive road trip to his original two-story Dogfish Head location in the center of Rehoboth Beach makes for an excellent pilgrimage. There are always more than 20 Dogfish brews and a cask (including pub-only drafts). There’s also a micro-distillery project gathering steam on-site, solid pub grub, and live music.

Order Up: Punkin Ale, a delicious fall seasonal of 7 percent alcohol that will make you reconsider beers made with the orange veggies

Little Yeoman Brewing

12581 Dallas Lane, Cabool, Missouri
417-926-9185

An hour and a half drive south of Springfield on a leafy farm in the Ozarks, Little Yeoman is a minuscule 80-gallon brewery with big dreams. For now, the only way to try the beers is to drive out to the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest, look for a converted-keg mailbox, and pay a visit. There, in a modest two-room barn, Chad Frederick (whose commute to work is a short walk through the woods) has made many fans who make regular return visits, sometimes camping on the grounds, gathering around a woodstove, and sipping from homemade ceramic mugs.

Order Up: the popular, medium-bodied Porter

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