Ski Town Brews

Snake River Brewing is the oldest craft brewery in Jackson, and their experience shows. A couple of their flagships have been written into the Jackson Hole ski vacation template for decades. Not to mention the entire Teton region's outdoor culture, in all seasons. I was familiar with a few of their beers from various trips to Jackson over the past few years, so it was a big privilege to visit their spot and try a few that I haven't gotten around to yet. Elliott Wilkins, their sales and marketing coordinator, took some time out of his work day back in January to sit down and have a couple with me. We tried out the Monarch Pilsner, the Snake River Pale Ale, the Earned It Hazy IPA, the Zonker Stout, and the famous Paco's IPA. All of them are better than advertised, but the Monarch and the Zonker really got my attention.

This was an entertaining interview. Thanks to Elliott for hosting me. The Ski Town Brews theme music is "Camaro" by Oliver Michael. In this episode you'll also hear "Bain de Venus" by AM Beef, "Geminis" by Tomas Novoa, "Just the Norm" by Oliver Michael, "Red Light Boogie" by Rex Banner, "Revenge of the Punks" by Milano, "Sexy Smile" by Selamo, "Starry Eyed" by Jane the Boy, "The Stomp" by Florian, and "Voodoo People" by Moon. All of these songs and artists are on Artlist.io if you want to hear more. Thanks for listening!

Boneyard Beer is run by Tony Lawrence, a former snowboarder who used to do some pretty insane stuff back when he was younger. He was in some films; you can still find clips of him online. But these days he's making a name for himself with his beers instead. Boneyard likes to do uncomplicated recipes with strong flavors, heavy on the hops. But they also like to experiment with beers that fall in between the familiar categories. They're in two locations on the eastern side of Bend, Oregon, which is a place where it's very hard to stand out if you're a brewery. But these guys are crushing it.

We tried 10 beers in this interview: the PABO Pilsner, the Loose Ends IPL, the Bone-A-Fide Pale Ale, the Incredible Pulp Extra Pale Ale, the Diablo Rojo American Red Ale, the Skunkape IRA, the RPM IPA, the Hop Venom DIPA, the Mad Lad DIPA, and the Suge Knite Imperial Stout. All phenomenal. My personal favorites were the Diablo Rojo and the Hop Venom.

Thanks for listening! The theme music is "Camaro," by Oliver Michael. In this episode you'll also hear "The Funny Neighbor" by Anthony Vega, "Dancin' In The Tub" by Family Kush, "I'm A Lover Boy" by Captain Qubz, "Swinging Boy" by Skygaze, "Spicy Latin" by Nbdy Nprtnt, "Janking Roe" by Florian, "Digital Owl" by Peter Spacey, "Other Side" by Mac A DeMia, and "No Such Thing As Bad Press" by Bunker Buster. You can find all these songs and artists on Artlist.io.

Alibi Ale Works is on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in the town of Incline Village. You can almost walk from the lodge at Diamond Peak in your snowboard boots down to the brewery. And then Mt. Rose is right up the road a few minutes, and you should definitely hit both if you're in the area. 

Alibi is known for their sour beers, but they have great dark and pale ales, and they're really creative with saisons too. Matt Garcia is the head brewer there, and Kevin Drake is the owner. They both had a lot to teach me about brewing and the fermentation process, and how they exploit different combinations of tame and wild yeasts for the kinds of beers that don't compare to anything else out there. In this interview we tried the Reverb Red Ale, the Alibi Kölsch, the Farmhouse Fresca (a wild fermented, dry-hopped saison), the Abstract Truth dark saison, the Alibi IPA, and the Strawberry Crescendo sour ale. All super refreshing and drinkable, and some of the best examples of their respective styles. Thanks to Matt and Kevin for hanging out with me and pouring drinks, and thanks to you for listening! 

The "Ski Town Brews" theme music is from "Camaro," by Oliver Michael. This episode also features "A Scary Ferris Wheel Ride" by Ziv Grinberg, "Hyper-Pegasus" by Clara Kamil, "Black Cat Soiree" by Bob Hart, "Meet and Greet" by Randy Sharp, "Manila Chill" by Kicktracks, and "Let's Go" by Orkas. You can find all these songs and artists on Artlist.io.

Shelter Distilling is right in the center of the Village in Mammoth Lakes, a couple hundred yards away from the Village Gondola. It's owned by Matt Hammer, Karl Anderson and Jason Senior, who's also the head brewer. They brew beer and distill various craft spirits there on the premises, and they have a full menu of great food and cocktails. Both their beers and their spirits are incredible. I got to try a few of each: for beers, the Festbier, the Foggy Goggles hazy IPA, the I'm Your Huckleberry cider, and the Alpha double IPA; for spirits, the High Sierra and Dark Sky single malt whiskeys, and the Little Green Monster absinthe.

Thanks to Karl and Jason for pouring drinks and taking time to hang out. This was super enjoyable for me because I discovered a couple new favorites and got to talk about Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, plus got to know a couple good local guys whom I had never had the chance to meet before. Apologies to you listeners for the audio quality; our interview spot was pretty loud. But I think you'll really like this one.

The theme music is "Camaro" by Oliver Michael. Other songs used in this episode are "Almanac" by Seth Parson, "Running" by Phury feat. Ladé, "Adore" by Skygaze, "Body in a Half Light" by Gvidon, "Brighter Dayz" by DWNLD, "Break" by Kola, and "Dreams" by I Am Fowler. You can find all of the songs and artists on Artlist.io.

Mt. Hood Brewing Co. is owned by Timberline Lodge, the ski resort on the southern side of Mt. Hood, above the little town of Government Camp. The resort is named for Timberline Lodge, the famous hotel that was used as the exterior for the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." 

Bryan Borgmeier is the head brewer, and he ended up there after working at various other breweries in central Oregon and the Tahoe area. Bryan was the one who hipped me to Alibi Ale Works on the north side of Tahoe -- their episode is coming up soon. He knows a LOT about beer and about life on Mount Hood. This was a very fun conversation.

We tried five beers: the Ice Axe IPA, the Cloudcap Amber Ale, the Dichotomy Saison, the Old Battle Axe Barleywine (aged in rum barrels), and the Magnetic North Imperial Stout (aged in whiskey barrels). All amazing, and they're only a small sample of what Mt. Hood has to offer. 

The theme song for Ski Town Brews is "Camaro," by Oliver Michael. Other music used in this episode: "Shadows Legion" by Rotem Moav, "Siberian Summer" by Sunny Fruit, "The Dude" by Anthony Vega, "Vuelta Al Sol" by Tomas Novoa, and "Wash" by Monako. You can find all these songs and artists on Artlist.io. Thanks for listening!

Grand Teton Brewing is another one of my favorites to hunt down whenever I go to Jackson Hole and Targhee. As I learned, they were part of the original craft beer explosion in America back in the late '80s, when a lot of today's biggest craft breweries got started. They've been through some ups and downs, but right now they're turning out the best beers they've ever made. I talked to Chris Furbacher, their director of brewery operations. We almost spent more time talking about skiing than we did about beer. But he lined up six really delicious samples for me: the Bluebird Pilsner, the Sweetgrass Pale Ale, the Henry's Fork Hazy IPA, the First Mug Mocha Porter, the Mail Cabin Scotch Ale, and the Black Cauldron Imperial Stout.

Theme song is "Camaro" by Oliver Michael. I also used "Speed Bumps" by Aves, "Let's Go" by Orkas, and "Shine" by Kagan. All of these tunes are on Artlist.io. Go check out the artists and see what else they have up there. Cheers, and thanks for listening!

South Of North sits right on the state line between California and Nevada, only two blocks away from the gondola at Heavenly, and less than half a mile from the shore of Lake Tahoe. You can just about walk over to the brewery in your ski boots and grab a quick beer before heading back out on the hill. But beware: these beers are so good, you might decide you'd rather just keep drinking instead.

I hung out with South Of North's head brewer Brian Cicero, and Savannah Mendoza, the general manager. I got to try the Explorer Cream Ale, the Coconut Coffee Brown Ale, the El Padrino Bourbon Barrel Stout, the Motorcycle Mama IPA, and the Soulcrusher Hard Seltzer. I highly recommend all of them. But the brown ale and the stout will change your life.

Theme music is "Camaro", by Oliver Michael. The other music in this episode is "Oceanside" and "Manila Chill", both by Kicktracks. You can find all the music on Artlist.io.

Check out video clips and bonus content on YouTube by searching "Ski Town Brews," or follow @skitownbrews on Instagram and Twitter. Cheers!

Citizen 33 is a little brewpub in Driggs, Idaho, about half an hour away from Grand Targhee Resort. Nick Farney is the head brewer, and co-owns it as part of a group including Gabe Aufderheide, Kelly Williams, and Lisa and Christian Hanley. The beers are excellent, and most of them are made with all local ingredients. And they serve phenomenal food, some of which is cooked with Nick's brews. Nick let me try 7 different beers during our conversation: the Locals' Lager, the Citizen's Pub Ale, the Amber Ale, the Hazy IPA, the Drictor Brown Ale, the Blackfoot Stout, and the Gemstone Saison. He also filled me in on some great things to do in the Driggs area when you're not skiing.

This is another one of those spots that don't distribute, so you have to go there to get these beers. But even if you're over the pass in Jackson, it's well worth taking a special trip to give them a try.

While I was in Bend to ride Mt. Bachelor, I went over to Worthy Brewing to talk with Dustin Kellner, the head brewer, and Adam Foster, the marketing director. Worthy is by far not the biggest brewery in Bend, but it's definitely one of the best. The Lights Out Stout has been one of my favorite beers for the past couple years, and I look for it every time I'm in the Pacific Northwest.

In this episode we tried six beers: the Ten Mile Lager, the Easy Day low-cal hazy, the Citra IPA, the Return to the Mountain Hazy IPA, the Lights Out Stout, and the Ascension Imperial Porter. A couple of them are only available on draft at the brewery, so head on up.

Thanks to Dustin and Adam for meeting with me! The theme music is "Camaro" by Oliver Michael. The other music in this episode came from "Freerolling," by T-Bless and the Professionals, and "High," by Guy Mar. Check out all three artists on Artlist.io.

June Lake Brewing has been operating since 2014 in the little town of June Lake, California, right in the shadow of June Mountain. Husband and wife team Justin and Sarah Walsh are the founders and co-owners.  Back in December, Justin took the time to sit down with me and kick this project off, right when the ski season was starting to heat up.

We tried eight of their offerings in the interview: the Bang Sauce hard seltzer, the Deer Beer brown ale, the Archimedes red ale, the What the Fruit Berliner Weisse, the Sasquatchito XPA, the Oso Citra IPA, the Lil' Walker IPA, and the Chewy AF Oatmeal Stout. Every one stellar, not a bad brew in the bunch.

Go to JuneLakeBrewing.com for more info on the brewery, and follow @junelakebrewing on Twitter. The food truck mentioned near the end of this episode is Ohanas395. Check them out on Facebook and Instagram: @Ohanas395.

Ski Town Brews is produced, written and hosted by Adam Powell. Theme song is "Camaro" by Oliver Michael. Go get his music on Artlist.io.