Local brew pubs in one of the most dynamic and exciting cities in the world.

Let me lay down the facts: In Turkey, an empire ruled by tea and Raki, good craft beers are hard to come by. A huge majority of the market – over 80% - is ruled by macro-brewing giant Efes Beverage Group, which aside from its own namesake beers also has contracts to brew Tuborg, Foster’s and Miller, to name a few. As a bartender told me, “Turks drink a lot of beer, but they don’t have a beer culture.” There are just a handful of microbreweries in Turkey, mostly based on an American or German brewpub model.

Despite being the most incredible beer city in the country, every once in a while a brief change in scenery can be nice. Walking the streets of Philadelphia in the fall is always great, but you can’t really beat a beautiful fall weekend in Upstate New York. It may not be able to compete on a beer level, but the Cooperstown area of Upstate New York definitely has plenty to offer and a gorgeous country atmosphere to go with it. Just imagine sitting outside on the edge of a lake, an abundance of trees alive with a vast array of autumn colors, birds chirping, no sounds of traffic or over population, and the best part cooler filled with cans of Butternuts Pork Slap Pale Ale. That is what a beer weekend in Upstate New York is like.