Web sighting: A guide to European brews, breweries

SITE EuropeanBeerGuide.net

DESCRIPTION A guide to Old World brews

TARGET AUDIENCE Beer lovers

BOTTOM LINE Seems credible, but call before flying to Estonia to make sure that pub is still open

EuropeanBeerGuide.net is a vast website that takes you into a beer lover's affair with the history and stats of European brews and breweries.

You can gain a huge amount of cultural knowledge by spending time on Ron Pattinson's site. The language is easy to read, but it's the storefront photos that draw in curious travelers and amateur beer drinkers. Scroll down the home page to find a pub and brewery guide to the country you're traveling to, then dig into the regional guides. You also can buy this in book format (PDF is cheapest, then black-and-white version, with color copies being most expensive).

But the website's format is dated and not as easy to navigate as it would be after a makeover. The sources are mildly out of date as well. The occasional red lettering that marked some breweries "closed" and other sections "new" made us think the site is still credible. Just in case, double-check phone numbers and addresses before whisking off to sample a brew in a place you don't know well. - Los Angeles Times