These activities (with plenty of food and water, of course) pair well with beer, and are often the reason a brewery decides to can its craft beer. “Cans are better for our lifestyle,” says Mike Hess Brewing in a blog post. “Cans go many places where bottles are prohibited—golf courses, beaches, parks, hiking trails, and swimming pools, to name a few.”
So instead of my usual beer style and breakfast pairing, this month I give you the outdoor adventurer’s edition of Beer For Breakfast. These are my favorite canned beers to take into the woods and sometimes even to start the day with.
Maui Brewing CoCoNut Porter
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
It starts like coffee, then coconut, and it ends like chocolate—this bold porter is lighter in ABV than you might guess. At only 5.7 percent and brewed with toasted coconut, CoCoNut Porter (pictured above) is a great beer for wrapping up a hike at the beach.
Half Acre Beer Company Akari Shogun Wheat Ale
Chicago, Illinois
This beer’s can reads, “Akari Shogun, He who harnesses light will usher this summer force into your life.” Add some orange juice to this 5.5 percent ABV wheaty ale brewed with Motueka hops for the ultimate outdoor beermosa.
Ska Brewing Company Estival Stout
Durango, Colorado
Breakfast is added to this sweet stout in advance. Brewed with milk sugar and orange blossom honey and aged on sweet orange peels, Ska’s Estival Stout (5.8 percent ABV) is a great way to start the day.
Fort George Brewery Sunrise OPA
Astoria, Oregon
The Fort George Brewery website puts it best: Sunrise OPA is a “good beer for drinking anytime of the day, even when the sun is rising.” Oatmeal makes this refreshing 5.2 percent ABV pale ale creamy; and Amarillo, Centennial, Summit, and Challenger hops make it mildly bitter.
Mike Hess Brewing Habitus Rye India Pale Ale
San Diego, California
Here’s a breakfast beer for hardcore backpackers—the kind who watch the sunset from atop a mountain, who already need a beer by the time breakfast rolls around. Start the day with earthy rye bread flavors and crisp Sterling and Chinook hops. Not for amateurs, the 8 percent ABV Habitus comes in a 16-ounce can.