Bella is truly one hoppy lady! She is has made a career out of her love of beer. Bella is a cicerone certified beer server, successful blogger and all around craft beer Insta-star. With a love of NEIPA’s and Cantillon, this truly is a girl after my own hoppy heart! Read below to find out how she got into beer, her favorite brews and more.
Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC)
I used to do liquor/wine/beer promos to help pay for college. That’s kind of where I started tasting a lot of different things and when I started traveling a lot, I found myself constantly searching for the local microbreweries all over the country and eventually, the world.
6 What is your favorite style of beer?
I’ve tried some Cloudwater that I really liked, but it’s hard to get my hands on. I’ve also loved everything Monkish that I’ve had, but there’s no distribution out here for it.
9 What place have you been to that has the best beer scene?
It’s hard to say because there are still so many places that I haven’t been to yet. I enjoyed Burlington, VT a lot when I visited a few years back. Awesome beer scene and being on Lake Champlain in the summer is just a great time.
10 What is your favorite brewery to visit?
Favorite brewery I’ve ever visited would be Cantillon. There’s something very rustic and traditional about it. The atmosphere is humble and unpretentious, all things that many people don’t necessarily care for anymore.
I’ve always liked the designs for To Øl. A lot of their artwork is very minimalistic with tons of negative space. Some of the labels are just textures. It’s always a label that actually looks like art, something I’d see in a gallery.
I’m excited that Mikkeller just opened up a location in Citi Field. I’ve been to Mikkeller San Francisco and Mikkeller & Friends in Reykjavik before, but it’s nice to have one close to home. Also, I’m glad it’s at Citi Field because I already go to Mets games every year with my brother.
I used to drink Corona Extra when I would go to this line dancing place that I loved, but that was only when I wasn’t drinking whiskey.
Yes, I actually have my own set up. But I stopped brewing when I moved to Brooklyn a few years back due to lack of space. I would like to get back into it. I always have ideas for cool new beers. It’d be nice to actually produce and drink them!
Definitely somewhere warm and outdoors, on a beach or something. There are a few places back in NJ that I sorely miss — like Poor Henry’s and Cloverleaf Tavern — just because it feels like home. Those were the places that I could depend on to get the rare or obscure beers that other bars didn’t have.
16 How do you prefer to drink beer- keg, cask, can or bottle?
Keg if it’s available. Can if I’m outdoors.
Pretty much everything. I love everything from mezcal to champagne, as long as the quality is good.
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is always what I recommend for people to start. It pretty much lays the groundwork for everything.
19 How has social media helped you share your love of craft beer? Any cool perks?Absolutely! I started just blogging as a way to remember all my travels and to help me take detailed notes on beers and breweries. It kind of caught traction on its own, a big part of that was due to instagram. There are tons of other beer bloggers and specifically, women, who have way bigger followings than I do now. But at the time, I was one of much fewer women who were writing and blogging about beer while being active on instagram. That’s helped me reach a lot more people and brought opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
For example, I got to host the Best Brews by Four Points NYC Kickoff event last summer where I got to teach a whole crowd of people about the beer tasting process. I’ve also gotten multiple job opportunities from my blog, whether it be on the beer side or on the writing/communications side. In fact, I’m currently in a position that I get to do both – beer communications – for a living!
Instagram: @beergogglesblog
Website: onehoppylady.com
All pictures from the @onehoppylady instagram
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