Bend and Brew, Ales and Ohms, HoppyYoga. Those are some of the many names given to a growing trend of following up a yoga class with a beer tasting at a local brewery. 3 Bridges Yoga in Portsmouth is the latest studio to join the movement with its “Suds and Salutations” series hosted by Seacoast area breweries.
“The incentive was to have it be a social thing while supporting local craft brew and making yoga more accessible” says Bjorn Turnquist, who started the studio with his wife Jody in 2011 after he left Wall Street. 3 Bridges offers Vinyasa yoga, where movement through postures is synchronized with breathing. An average of 16 people attend each of 3 Bridges’ three to five classes a day in Portsmouth. That success led to opening a second studio in Durham in 2012 and a third in Maine in 2013. 3 Bridges’ revenue is north of $400,000, with Turnquist estimating the studio’s 50 percent growth rate this past year will continue.
Part of its success is finding different ways to engage people. The first Suds and Salutations class was held at the Portsmouth studio followed by beer and socializing at Earth Eagle Brewing located next door. Beara Irish Brewing Co. in Portsmouth hosted 3 Bridges’ second class after the brewery approached Turnquist.
Participants followed yoga on the brewery floor with either a pint or a flight (a sampler of several small beers), while Beara’s beer makers discussed their brews and process. “Yogis are normal people too,” says Turnquist.
“You can practice yoga and still go grab a beer and watch football.”
Twenty people attended the first class, eight for the second. In both cases about half were men. The classes cost from $10 to $25 depending on where they are held, if people are members and when they sign up.
No additional classes are scheduled, but he intends to hold more classes at other local breweries. “When you do special classes, you have to spread them around,” says Turnquist.
Wine lovers have also been latching onto the trend, as LaBelle Winery in Amherst offers Yoga in the Vineyard every other week during the summer and an indoor yoga program in the winter. Owner Amy LaBelle says at least 40 to 50 weekly participants take a yoga class in the vineyard and then enjoy a wine tasting in the winery.
For more information on Suds and Salutations, visit www.3bridgesyoga.com. For more information on Yoga in the Vineyard, visit www.labellewinerynh.com.
By Scott Murphy, an editorial intern and senior at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.