While perusing Instagram one night we came across an account called @motobrewtour, which happens to combine craft beer and motorcycles in one account. Being that we’re all about craft beer and dirt bikes here at Dirt Buzz, naturally we followed them and decided to find out what these dudes were all about. Come to find out, it’s a small world and Moto Brew Tour is a one-man show run by Isaiah Collins. We struck up a conversation via an Instagram DM, and wouldn’t you know it, we happen to know some of the same people. So, we suggested this interview to find out more about what Moto Brew Tour is all about. Here is our interview.

Dirt Buzz: Isaiah, thanks for doing this interview with us. We felt compelled to reach out to you based upon what you’re doing with @motobrewtour on Instagram. We were immediately drawn in by the beer porn photos on the account wrapped around the motorcycle element. Tell us what Moto Brew Tour is all about?

Isaiah Collins: Moto Brew Tour is a collaboration of two of the best hobbies known to mankind… Bikes and Beer! I found thousands of social media accounts centered around craft beer or motorcycles but none that encompassed both hobbies. I started Moto Brew Tour to show others that adventure awaits them not only at each brewery, but also on the road that leads you there.

DB: So basically, this whole thing started because one day you decided to ride your motorcycle up the east coast to Vermont and stop at as many top breweries as you could along the way?

IC: A great friend of mine, @marylandmob, tried talking me into joining the craft beer revolution for several years until I finally took the plunge. I was instantly hooked and asked him what top breweries I should put on my radar. Little did he know I was going to attempt to put the pass on him by hitting them all in a 10-day motorcycle trip to the Northeast.

Adventure awaits not only at each new brewery, but also on the road that leads you there.

DB: How did you get all that bounty home from that first trip? It must have been tough hauling all those beers back on a motorcycle?

IC: I ended up with a total of 168 bottles and cans by the end of my trip! I rode a 2009 Honda Gold Wing which allowed for a lot of storage, but still required piling duffel bags of beer atop each other on my passenger seat. The toughest night was when I stayed in downtown Manhattan and had to get help carrying 100lb bags of beer to the room at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway. It was such a scene that tourists were taking pictures and trying to figure out which floor I’d be hosting a party on!

DB: So how many of these “tours” have you been on since that first one?

IC: I've been on three trips on the east coast in the past year. Two trips encompassed just about every state north of Virginia. One was in the dead of winter and required us to take a car but we took full advantage of the extra room. We brought home over 500 cans and 200 750ml bottles to share with our local craft connoisseurs! My other trip was south to the Florida Keys and back up through the Carolinas.

Moto Brew Tour 3 brought home over 500 cans and 200 750ml bottles to share with local craft connoisseurs.

DB: In addition to your street bikes you also have some dirt bikes too, right? Tell us a little about your offroad adventures. Have there been any Moto Brew Tours that involved offroad yet?

IC: I currently have a YZ450F that I previously raced woods. I also ride an XR650L on the days that I'd like to spend the whole day up on two. I haven't kicked off any tours on the offroad side yet but the gears are turning.

DB: We understand that you worked at a shop for a while in Morgantown, West Virginia. Is that where you got your taste for motorcycling?

IC: I've been around the motorcycle scene since I started college and managed the local metric dealership that is in Racer X’s backyard. That's what really kicked off my addiction that continues to escalate. I made a lot of great contacts through sponsoring riders like Darryn Durham and Alex Martin, and I am planning to make a return to the Powersports industry to center my career around my passion.

DB: Based upon the sheer number of beer photos on the account, you’ve tasted (to use a “Trumpism”) “a tremendous amount of beer” in the last 12-16 months. Any notables that stand out?

IC: I use an app called Untappd, which allows you to record and rate all the different brews. I just hit my milestone of 2,000 unique beers last month which was quite a feat for being less than a year and a half into this hobby. I have quite a few favorite breweries that I tend to gravitate towards, such as De Garde from Tillamook, OR; Side Project from St. Louis, MO; and RAR Brewing in Cambridge, MD.

DB: Personally, we tend to be drawn to the higher ABV beers like bourbon barrel aged and barleywine style ales. We’ve also been digging the “juice” unfiltered IPA trend that’s been happening as of late. What style of beer do you geek-out on the most?

IC: It’s amazing how your taste for beer changes over time. Six months ago, you would have found my beer fridge stuffed with about 60 different juice bomb IPAs from around the country that I'd worked out trades for. That has slowly been taken over by a love for sour beers. I really enjoy fruited sours such as apricot, peach, and most of all raspberry. The bourbon barrel aged beers have definitely grown on me along with stouts brewed with cold brew coffee. I've most recently been purchasing fruited Lambic and Gueuze beers from Belgium also.

DB: The word “Tour” being part of the name of Moto Brew Tour, that’s obviously a huge element. That said, we saw where you are ready set off on a new tour, this time on a 10,000 mile+ motorcycle journey across America from coast to coast and back! Is this one of those bucket list items? Or is there some other goal in mind?

IC: I’ve had two top bucket list items since the day I threw a leg over my first motorcycle. One is to ride from ocean to ocean on a motorcycle while camping the entire way. The other is to ride the Pacific Coast Highway from one end to the other. Starting from the East coast allows me to knock out both of these bucket list items and see the country with the freedom of the wind in your hair. This is a trip to celebrate hitting 20,000 followers and to meet many of the great people that make up the motorcycle and craft beer communities. I already have an inbox full of messages from followers in nearly every state that want to lead me down their favorite stretch of road or take me to their favorite spot to try a new brew.

DB: Well, that sounds like an amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip and we’ll be sure to follow along on your Instagram feed. You’ll have to let us know when you roll through Idaho; we have quite a few good breweries here in the Boise area. Thanks for doing this interview with us. Any last thoughts you’d like to share?

IC: Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on the journey that's made-up Moto Brew Tour to this point. I’d love to stop in and check out some Idaho breweries. My advice is for everyone to step outside their comfort zone and try new things. Avoid the gas station beer cooler and instead stop at your local brewery, pull up a stool, try something new, and spark up a conversation with the person next to you. Plan time for your next moto adventure, but let the locals choose your path. Shoot me a message @motobrewtour and we’ll make you a part of our journey.

More info and Moto Brew Tour merchandise: http://www.motobrewtour.com/

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Moto Brew Tour: Enjoying Craft Beer by Motorcycle