Pack It In

It's summer in the upper-Midwest, and for those of you like me, you want to seize this precious 6 weeks and cram in as much outdoors time as possible.

When it comes to "drive-in" camping, one doesn't have to put much thought into what beer to bring: if it fits in the cooler, it works. When it comes to day-hikes, backpacking, or boating, however, one has to plan a little better.

With hiking, beyond the obvious concern of weight going in (glass is heavier than cans), you have to consider the weight coming out. With hiking or boating, you certainly don't want to leave your trash behind (or toss it in the lake), so whatever you "pack in" you'll have to "pack out." This again, suggests that canned beers are the preferable hiking beers. Finally, bottles break. You don't want broken glass in your pack or in your boat. Bottom line: start looking for cans.

Unfortunately, many, if not most craft beers fail to offer their wares in cans. Fortunately, there are some craft offerings that are both delicious and canned.

BEER ON THE BRAIN'S 2010 HIKING/BOATING BEER GUIDE:

1. Dale's Pale Ale - Oskar Blues (Colorado)

Oskar Blues was the pioneer in canning craft beer. Since 2002, Dale's Pale Ale, Oskar's signature ale, has been offered only in cans.

This American Pale Ale has a nice citrus/grapefruit hops nose and a slightly sweet bready malt body. It's bitter, with a clean hop finish that's perfect on a hot sunny day. Lots of flavor, but not too heavy.

2. Surly Cynic - Surly Brewing (Minnesota)

Surly is a staunch advocate of canned beer, choosing to release their entire line of award-winning craft brews in cans.

The Cynic is a Saison/Farmhouse style ale and pours a rich vibrant gold. You can smell some Belgian-style yeast notes as well as some coriander and spice. The beer has a medium body, smooth, with the perfect level of carbonation. Being Surly, there are a bit more hops in this one then you'll find in others of the same style. Great for a hot day. If you can find a better Saison in a can, well, if can find another Saison in a can, you'll be lucky.

3. Brew Free or Die IPA - 21st Amendment Brewery (California)

Although founded in 2000, 21st Amendment has only recently found its way out the Midwest. We're happy it made it out here. With a six hop punch in the nose, and a nice balanced malt back, their IPA is another solid offering from the Left Coast. Bonus for us flyover-land hikers and boaters? It comes in a can and is generally cheaper than the aforementioned beers.

Honorable Mentions:

Fat Tire - New Belgium Brewing (Colorado)

New Belgium's flagship is also available in a can. Surprisingly, should you take the time to pour one out, it tastes better out of the can, then out of the bottle! This is no coincidence. As Bon Appetit puts it, "New Belgium adds a slurry of active live yeast to its Fat Tire cans just before sealing to take up oxygen and prevent stale off-flavors. The result is a fresher, more complex beer. Think of it as a mini keg."

Hamm's Lager - Hamm's (Wisconsin)

It might be owned my MillerCoors now, but those of us in the "Land of Sky Blue Waters" still know that a Hamm's tastes great out on the canoe. Lest you think I'm succumbing to nostalgia and clever marketing, Hamm's won the gold for best American Lager at the Great American Beer Festival in 2007.

Beer of the Weekend

After a weekend of revelry, it was nice to enjoy Sunday on a beautiful rooftop deck in downtown Minneapolis. Of course, sharing the deck with some friends and delicious beer really took it to the next level.

I usually hold off on the Wits and the Hefe-Weizens until the weather gets truly sticky, but this has been a long hard winter, and a day in the sunshine called for a sunshine beer. The sunshine this week was provided by Mother Nature and Mothership Wit via New Belgium Brewing of Colorado, perhaps best known for their Fat Tire beer.

The Mothership pours a hazy yellow color with a minimal white head. It smells of corriander, typical of the style, with hints of orange and other citrus.

The beer is medium bodied with a crisp, tangy taste and a nice blast of carbonation. There are definitely hints of lemon and spice, an the brew finishes with a zip, slightly less sweet than a Hoegaarden.

Mothership is not the best Wit in the world, but it's damn good for an American version and another strong outing from New Belgium.

Links of Interest:

New Belgium Mothership Wit

Beer of the Week

Due to a new job and a new residence, BOTB had to take some well deserved time off. Having settled into our new digs however, a celebratory beer was in order, and it turned out to be our beer of the week.

Singletrack Copper Ale is our second BOTW from the original Colorado microbrewery, Boulder Beer. The bottle and the name are obviously linked to bicycling, perhaps a jab at cross-state rival New Belgium Brewing, whose "Fat Tire" ale also features a bicycle on the label, and also is a similar tasting amber ale.

The beer pours a light copper color (hence the name) and has a small white head that has some retention throughout. No doubt, this is a fine looking beer.

The beer has a light nose of malt biscuit, with some floral hops mingling in there, however not as strong as say, Fat Tire.

Singletrack tastes incredibly well rounded: a nice sturdy medium bodied malt base, with just enough hops bittering and aroma to make it stand out. If it were just a tough sweeter, it could pass for a British ESB, but perhaps because it is not as sweet, I actually enjoyed it more.

Singletrack is definitely a session beer: not too heavy, but flavorful and distinctive enough. I could almost see myself drinking one for a break on a nice long bike ride.

Cheers to Boulder Beer for its second Beer of the Week.

Links of Interest:

Boulder Beer

Beer of the Weekend

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I wasn't able to get you a Beer of the Week, so I was damn sure to get you a Beer of the Weekend.

Although the Oktoberfest/Fall season for breweries has come and gone, you can still find those straggler sixers here and there until well after Christmas. Lukcy enough for me I came across a leftover sixer of Left Hand Brewing Company's Oktoberfest.

Hailing from Longmont, Colorado, Left Hand takes its name from a English translation of a Native cheif's name, whose tribe wintered in the area. Although the brewery has been around since 1993, they did not even begin packaging in 12oz bottles until 1998 after merging with Tabernash brewery of Denver.

In addition to a their famous Sawtooth Ale, and a large selection of staples, Left Hand also produces several seasonals, including Oktoberfest. The beer is 6.0% ABV, and is dominated up front with sweet malts, like any Oktoberfest should be. It has a nice dry, clean back from the German Magnum and Vanguard hops, and is smooth and medium bodied. It doesn't have the caramel richness or malt complexity of some of the Germans, it's a bit more earthy and nutty, but it is a solid Oktoberfest and a worthy effort. Lucky for me Oktoberfest shoppers did not know of Left Hand's quality; now you do.

Link of Interest:

Left Hand Brewing Company

Beer of the Week

After all this talk on pale ales this week, it would seem odd not to nominate one for BOTW. I'm sure after hearing the tales of the pale ale, bitter, IPA, and APA, you're more than ready to pour one over your tonsils. Fear not loyal hop surfer, I have a brew for you.

In addition to the new school of craft brewers from the Pacific Northwest, Colorado has emerged as a front in the American beer revolution. I'm not talking about the Silver Bullet here; with quality breweries like Flying Dog and New Belgium, Colorado has shed it's Coors image and now produces some of the nation's finest beers.

Billing itself as Colorado's first microbrewery, the Boulder Beer Company of Boulder (of course) has been brewing beers since 1979. Although perhaps not as popular as their Hazed & Infused dry-hopped ale, another recent addition to the brewery's line is their Mojo IPA. Mojo is made with Amarillo and Centennial hops, which are similar to the Cascade hops that made Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale famous. The beer has a deep yellow, approaching orange color and a nice clean smell spiked with notes of citrus. The hop aroma is there, but it won't singe your nostrils. The mouthfeel is light with a dry crisp finish...not much malt balance here. At 6.8% ABV, this probably isn't a beer you can drink a ton of, but it sure rolls off the palette like you could. This isn't the caliber of a Liberty Ale or a Sierra Nevada pale for me, but the intense citrus makes this an interesting IPA, and a very drinkable beer that I actually prefer to Boulder's flagship Hazed & Infused.

A nod goes to Colorado and Boulder Beer for being our first non-Wisconsin Beer of the Week. Cheers!

Links of Interest:
Boulder Beer