Summer vacations are brewing, so why not make beer a part of it?

The return of the nicer weather might have you thinking about summer travels already — and if you're a beer lover, you might want to plan a route that lets you explore your favourite beverage.

On The Coast beer columnist Rebecca Whyman has travelled to several beer destinations, and has some suggestions.

"I was going to Las Vegas for a friend's birthday a couple of years ago," Whyman told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn. "We found out that not only were there a couple of beer bars specializing in craft beer right on Freemont, and a new craft brewery that was only a few months old, we also found out that the Great Vegas Beer Festival was on that weekend too."

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Whyman says people go to places like London, New York City, or Washington D.C. for a number of reasons, but if you get thirsty, cities like these have strong craft beer scenes.

Then there are some places where beer is the main draw: Bend and Portland, Oregon, and, of course, Munich.

There are some places to check out in B.C., too, like the Sunshine Coast, Powell River, southern Vancouver Island, 100 Mile House, Barkerville, and Prince George to name a few.

"BeerMeBC has a great map that shows the location of all of the craft breweries in the province, which makes it easy to plot out your trip," she said.

Steamwhistle Pilsner.  

"They only make one beer at their Toronto brewery, and it's this easily quaffable pilsner. A traditional pilsner, it has some hop aroma and bitterness in a crisp lager and it pairs really well with grilled meats!"

Bomber Brewing's Park Life

"With a slightly different recipe this year, the passion fruit blonde ale is a tart and fruity favourite for outdoor living. So very refreshing! Available in six packs of cans at private liquor stores and at the brewery, and on tap at the tasting room."

Four Winds' lower alcohol series

"Four Winds has a new series of beers available in bottles — a lower alcohol series that is just begging to be consumed on a patio in the hot sun!  Bottles of La Maison, a table saison made with spelt and rye, and fermented with wild yeast for a fruity peppery kick, and Elementary Lager are available in the tasting room and will be working their way into stores very soon."

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast