Grab a Beer and Take a Hike!

When finishing a full day of physical activity be it hiking, mountain biking, skiing or whatever your passions are, there is nothing better then rewarding yourself with a fine beverage. Usually in the summer when long days of hard hiking in extreme heat end a refreshing beer is first on the list. In Canada it’s pretty easy with Becks, Corona, Keiths but most of my big hikes are in the U.S. in the Adirondack region. So the choices range from Rolling Rock, Sam Adams and so on. MGD and High life get throwing in there from time to time as they go down like water.

I drink the two latter beers for three simple reasons they are a) cheap, b) cans get colder in a cooler, and c) CHEAP. A case of 30 cans works out to 26¢/can with mail in rebate and without it is 39¢. I have no side affects that I know of yet but I will keep you posted. I have no side affects that I know of yet but…sorry seem to be repeating myself what was I talking about?

But when the cold winds of winter blow in, snowshoes, skis, skates come out and winter activities fill our days. After a day in the bitter cold a tasteless cold beer just doesn’t cut it. There is need for malt, caramel, chocolate, and bitter flavours. There is a need for a hardy beer, which although served cold, will take the chill out of those cold nights. From years past I have enjoyed Guiness, Kold (which I can not find any more), by Big Rock breweries, Upper Canada, Creemore, Sam Adams and so on.

But while skiing in Vermont last week, I required a stop at the Jay Country Store, in Jay VT. I saw the Bud and MGD cases lying there with cheap stickers on them for 12 and 18 can packs. I saw the regulars Sam Adams, Becks and so on. But then I made an amazing find when I came across some of Vermont’s own Long Trail Brewery selections. They have several regular beers they produce along with some seasonal selections. I will get back to the beer in a second.

Long Trail is a great brewery for many reasons, one in particular that I enjoyed learning about when I returned home, is that they pride themselves on being and ‘Ecobrewey’. They use a smaller area to manufacture their ales taking up less space means more green space and less energy something Vermonters’ strive to conserve -also stating it is less costly.

They use 1/3 the water to brew then the industry standard and on top of that the water they remove from their bed rock they replace the water only after it has been treated properly as to not pollute the water source. Most companies that state they ‘replace’ the water they use usually do not treat or test the water before they do resulting in shocking the water and killing anything that was once healthy in it to turn it to a polluted mess of water. For more take a look at the link here.

Ok back to their seasonal brew selections. While in the store I could not resist trying the Hibernator. The picture on the side of the case is honestly what sold me. The bear maxing out with a book and a bottle of the Hibernator as his daily trophies hang above the fire place. So always hesitant with new beers I was hoping it wasn’t just a funny picture that I would end up with.

Back at the condo I popped the cap off and was amazed by the flavour. Hibernator is a truly delicious beer containing a malty, caramel and chocolate finish that removed the chill from the long day of skiing. The price at ~$8 a six made an excellent beer that much better. I rank it up there with Sam Adams as one of my top favorites. My only regret is that on the way home I didn’t stop it and get a case of this tasty beverage. If you are ever in Vermont grab some Long trail Hibernator, it alone is worth the four hour drive, believe me.