Matching food and drink has become an art form. Books, TV shows, and articles go into extensive depth to find the harmony between the food that fills our bellies and the drinks that wet your whistle. But, what if you could expand these pairings? What if you could pair you trip with a brew? With this question percolating in my brain (and maybe a beer or 2 in my belly), here are my thoughts!
1. Summer Hiking Adventure
Recommendations: Pabst Blue Ribbon, Yuengling Lager & Red Stripe
2. First Summit of the Year
Spring has barely just arrived, and the weather has warmed up enough to go summit the first mountain of the year. As you are trudging through the melting snow, you will surely be working up a thirst! Once you reach the summit, we recommend you plop an IPA or Pale into the melting snow. The light crisp hoppy brew will quench your thirst, while not having you go back down on a full stomach.
Perfect Brew: IPA/Pale
Recommendations: Deschutes Fresh Squeezed & Snake River Pako’s IPA
3. Winter Camping
Crawling out from your zero degree bag, you wake up in a winter wonderland. Blanketed by snow, you break our your snowshoes or skis to explore the new landscape. After hours of playing in the snow, you are going to want a heavy beer to fill you. This is why we recommend a stout. With hints of coffee or chocolate, you will want to grab one of them from the snow and crack it open.
Perfect Brew: Stout
Recommendations: Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat & Sixpoint Diesel
4. Beach Day
Lawn chair, check. Beach towel, check. Frisbee, check. Brews? Nothing beats a relaxing day by the water with friends and brews. Whether you’ve scored a day on the lake or you have a spot on the beach, you’ll enjoy these suggestions of shandys and ciders.
Perfect Brew: Shandy/Cider
Recommendations: Leinenkugel Summer Shandy & Woodchuck Granny Smith Cider
5. Alpine Expedition
You are doing an epic hike across a ridge. With insane changes in elevation and beautiful views, you need a beer that is as epic as your expedition. So while you are in your bivy, the brew for you is a Scotch Ale. Not only does this beer have bold flavor, but it also has some kick to it. So you will only need to pack a few, saving weight (because hiking with beer is all about being weight conscious, right?!?).
Perfect Brew: Scotch Ale
Recommendations: Founder’s Dirty Bastard & Oskar Blues Old Chub
6. Fall Paddling Trip
The leaves are changing, the air is getting cooler, and the river is slowing down. The perfect formula for you to sneak in one more relaxing paddling trip before winter takes over. And with the changing of the seasons, you will want to shift from those light beers to something a little darker. So as you dip your paddle into the river, you can crack open an amber or red ale to create a harmonious combination.
Recommendations: Fat Tire Amber Ale & Tocobaga Red Ale
7. Cabin Retreat
Trying to escape from the stress of the cities? A weekend at a cabin can relieve your mind, and relaxing around a fire pit with some friends and family will wash away your stress. Such relaxation deserves a solid beer to match the mood. A brown ale can fit that need. Whether you are looking for a sweeter brew or a nutty brew, the brown ale can meet most everyone’s taste.
Recommendations: Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown & Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
Now that you have made your perfect match, we do want you to remind you that alcohol should not take priority over of the trip. Enjoy nature for the beauty it possesses, and do not substitute vital gear for alcohol. Please drink responsibly and pack out what you pack in.
2 comments
Lloyd
Hey Dave!
Good thoughts! I’ll pass the feedback onto Alex (the author). His beer taste might not be as sophisticated or as seasoned as yours, and I agree It would be great to get some craft brew/micro brew suggestions in here. We claim to know gear, but I won’t make any bold statements about our depth of beer knowledge!
If you have suggestions for additions of microbrews please shoot them my way and we’ll get them added! lloyd@garagegrowngear.com
Thanks for the feedback!
Lloyd
dave
cool idea but I think you may have missed the mark on this one…In particular, I love bringing beer into the backcountry. There’s nothing like sitting river-side after a long day and enjoying a “craft beer”. From a super cool group known as “garage-grown gear”, I was very surprised seeing nods towards corporate big boys i.e.. Pabst, Founders, Leinenkugel’s, etc. There is way too many fantastic local, hand-crafted beer around the U.S. now to take corporate swill into the woods that some of those companies actual lobby against said woods because of political/financial gain. Again, I enjoyed the idea and article but it needs more overall “garage-grown” thoughts/vibes…Cheers!