Long days on the slopes call for beer in between runs. The following canned offerings represent 12 beer styles and one mead—all perfect for packing in your ski coat pockets... just maybe not all in one day.
21st Amendment Toaster Pastry India-Style Red Ale
This 2015 Great American Beer Festival winner “is an homage to the brewery’s former life as a toaster pastry factory,” with nuttiness from biscuit malt, mouthfeel from pale and dark crystal malts, and refreshing bite from Calypso hops. Believe it or not, 21st Amendment has achieved an even more portable breakfast pastry, in the form of a 19.2-ounce can.
Surly Brewing Coffee Bender
Skiers and snowboarders know early, surly mornings buzzed with caffeine all too well. Here’s a beer for them. Surly adds locally roasted Guatemalan coffee to Bender, the brewery’s oatmeal brown ale, to create this rich, robust beer that’s sure to warm you up in between runs.
Tallgrass Brewing Buffalo Sweat Oatmeal Cream Stout
Here’s another breakfast beer for the die-hards out there. This 16-ounce can packs lactose and flaked oats, which give it the sweetness and mouthfeel of hot cereal. You might want to have another one for dessert at the end of the day.
Sixpoint 4Beans Imperial Porter
Ancient Baltic brewers added beans to their mashes that added body and richness to their dark brews. Sixpoint Brewing honored this tradition by using Sumptown Coffee beans in their 4Beans Imperial Porter, which is also infused with coffee and chocolate. 4Beans is a great breakfast beer on the slopes... if you’ve already had breakfast—this beer weighs in at 10 percent ABV.
Two Roads Brewing Ol’ Factory Pils
If you’re in the mood for an easy-drinking brew on powder day, look no further than this award-winning dry-hopped pilsner from Two Roads Brewing.
Steamworks Brewing Colorado Kolsch
In the mood for another easy-drinking brew? Go for this Durango brewery’s crisp, sessionable flagship ale. At only 4.8 percent ABV, this 6-pack could become your next ski-day staple.
Aspen Brewing This Season’s Blonde
This English style pale ale might only be 5.6 percent ABV, but it’s not skimpy on flavor. A couple of these and you might feel tempted to ski your last run in a bikini...
Wildwood Brewery Bodacious Bock
While you’re working on that bodacious snowboard body of yours, have an organic, traditional German spring Bock from Wildwood Brewery in Stevensville, Montana.
Epic Brewing Lil’ Brainless Raspberry
This beer was practically made for the slopes. It’s a lower ABV-version of Epic Brewing’s 22-ounce Brainless on Raspberries beer. This Belgian-style fruit beer was “crafted especially for those who seek bright, fresh, and real raspberry flavors in a convenient size.”
Hopworks Urban Brewery Organic Abominable Winter Ale
Another organic ale that will fit perfectly in your ski coat is this winter warmer from Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, Oregon. Abominable has spicy, citrusy hops flavors backed up by just the right amount of malt sweetness.
Grimm Bros. Little Red Cap Altbier
This malty sweet, medium bodied, copper-colored ale from Grimm Bros. Brewhouse in Loveland, Colorado (not to be confused with Loveland Pass) is available across Colorado for your next trip to the mountains. Rarely do you find an Altbier in a can—this GABF-winning brew pairs well with the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Piney River Brewing Co. Hot Date
Want to pack some heat on powder day? Missouri-based Piney River Brewing Co’s Hot Date is an amber ale brewed with a touch of sweet dates and a hint of chipotle pepper heat. “It may be your first time with a Hot Date in the Ozarks, but it won’t be your last.”
Redstone Meadery Nectar of the Hops
Skiing or snowboarding with non-beer drinkers? Convert them with Redstone Meadery’s canned, dry-hopped cider.
Caption: The Aspen Brewing Team while on the Silver City Ale Launch trip