Immerse yourself in Europe’s beer cultures!
Join Rich Higgins for an in-depth tasting journey into important European brewing regions. Rich’s Beer Immersions are as educational as they are fun!
What’s a Rich Higgins Beer Immersion?
Rich Higgins Beer Immersions are equal parts beer, tourism, education, and fun! Developed and led by brewmaster and Master Cicerone Rich Higgins, Beer Immersions are explorations of classic European beer cultures by way of breweries, restaurants, pubs, other beery sites, traveling by public bus, rail, and on foot.
You’ll join Rich from lunch through dinner, enjoying important local beers, classic dishes, brewery tours, and informal lessons in history, agriculture, brewing, and food pairing that make each region’s beer culture distinct. The trips have flexibility and free-time built in, so you can mix and match different cities, choose your own lodging, and enjoy some non-beer sightseeing at your leisure.
So join Rich on a Beer Immersion! You’ll develop a deeper understanding of classic and contemporary beer, hone your palate, and make great friends while eating and drinking your way through Europe!
- love beer and food
- love travel and culture
- want to learn a lot about what you taste, why it tastes that way, and how it reflects local culture, history, and geography
- are happy to sit in pubs and visit breweries, whether it’s rain or shine outside
- are content taking public transportation with a small group
- like to walk — we’ll be walking a mile at a time on concrete and cobblestones
- can find a meeting point in a city — smartphones are especially helpful for getting from your hotel to daily meeting point! Each day, we’ll have a meeting point to begin our day, and you’ll need to be able to get there on time so we can keep our group on schedule.
- enjoy drinking a beer or two at lunch, and a beer or two in the afternoon, and a few more beers at dinner
- can enjoy all those beers and be able to report to the meeting point on-time the next morning!
- have a sustained curiosity about and thirst for beer, day in and day out!
- are a brewer, homebrewer, Cicerone, beer geek, or anyone looking to better understand European beer
- prior beer knowledge is not required, but curiosity about beer *is* required!
“PARTY” DISCLAIMER
Rich Higgins Beer Immersions require responsible drinking. The Immersions are built around ample opportunity to drink and enjoy beer, with emphasis on learning about beer and immersing yourself in foreign cultures. The beer is meant to be enjoyed, not abused. Disrespectful or unsafe behavior will not be tolerated on Rich Higgins Beer Immersions. Beer Immersions are structured, educational, rewarding, and incredibly fun, but they are not “just a big party.”
Rich is one of the world’s 20 Master Cicerones, a distinction that attests to his knowledge of beer and his ability to help people learn all about beer, hone their palates, enjoy the perfect beer and food pairings, and to discover their passion and curiosity about beer and beer culture. Additionally, Rich is a brewmaster, with over a decade of professional brewing experience in San Francisco, California. He’s also a Certified Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers and a Silver-Pin Sommelier in the North American Sommelier Association. He is an articulate and engaging educator, passionate about beer, food, wine, and travel. (Also, most of Rich’s friends vouch that he’s an all-around fun guy to drink a beer with!)
Travel Curated by Rich
I’ve personally designed these Beer Immersions to be dedicated to regional identity, flavor and culture. We’ll be visiting my favorite spots, chosen after more than a decade of hitting the beer trail in Europe. We’ll taste both classic and contemporary beers, always with an emphasis on regional flavor and what makes these beers different from beers brewed elsewhere. To best enjoy the beers and study the culture they come from, we’ll of course be eating great regional food — the foods that the beers were brewed to complement.
During a city’s Beer Immersion, the Immersion days run from about 11:00 AM till about 8:00 PM. We’ll have fun tasting, learning, exploring, and immersing, and you don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve curated the itineraries, I’ve set up the appointments, I lead the walking and transit routes, I’ll bring you to great restaurants for lunch and dinner, and I handle settling the bill. You just get to have fun tasting, learning, and immersing yourself in beer culture!
Flexibility: Not Like Every Other Tour
What the Beer Immersion Price Includes:
- Lunch: full meal of food, beer, water, and soft drinks at a restaurant, brewery restaurant, or bar
- Dinner: full meal of food, beer, water, and soft drinks at a restaurant, brewery restaurant, or bar
- Beer at another brewery or bar (or two, or three) during the afternoon
- Coffee and a pastry in the mid-afternoon
- Brewery tour fees
- Transit fares (train, streetcar, or bus) during the day’s Immersion (does not include transit in the morning to the meeting point, nor transportation back to your hotel after dinner)
- Gratuities at restaurants, bars, and breweries
What the Beer Immersion Price Does Not Include:
- lodging accommodations
- airfare
- transportation from your hotel to that day’s Immersion meeting point
- transportation from dinner back to your hotel
- bottled and canned beer to take with you to your hotel or home (optional)
- wine and spirits (optional)
- merchandise (optional)
- purchases made during the daily “Free Periods” of unstructured time (usually 45-75 minutes each late afternoon)
- transit, food, or beverage on travel days in between Beer Immersions in different cities
Average Day’s Itinerary on a Beer Immersion:
- 11:00 AM: meet-up with the group at a great pub for lunch and beers
- 12:30 PM: walk to a great brewery (bus if raining)
- 1:00 PM: brewery tour and tasting
- 3:00 PM: walk to coffee shop/cafe
- 3:30 PM: coffee & pastry break
- 4:00 PM: visit a pub or brewery tasting room for beers and education
- 5:00 PM: Free Period — you’re free to stroll the city on your own, and Rich can recommend good sites to see or a good bar nearby
- 6:15 PM: meet back up with the Immersion group at a great beer bar for a pre-dinner beer
- 7:00 PM: dinner at a great restaurant with great beer
- 8:30 PM: Immersion Day is over and you’re free to do what you want with the rest of the evening, and Rich can recommend more good beer destinations
- 10:15 AM: meet-up with the group at the central train station, hop on transit
- 11:00 AM: brewery tour, followed by lunch at the brewery’s restaurant
- 1:30 PM: hop on train or bus
- 2:45 PM: coffee & pastry break
- 3:15 PM: brewery tour and tasting
- 4:30 PM: hop on transit back into main city
- 5:30 PM: Free Period — you’re free to stroll the city on your own, and Rich can recommend good sites to see or a good bar nearby
- 6:15 PM: meet back up with the Immersion group at a great beer bar for a pre-dinner beer
- 7:00 PM: dinner at a great restaurant with great beer
- 8:30 PM: Immersion Day is over and you’re free to do what you want with the rest of the evening, and Rich can recommend more good beer destinations