Ski Town Brews

So glad I got to do this interview at Alibi, which turned out to be one of the great unexpected treasures of the whole first season. It's on the northern end of Lake Tahoe, in a spot they call Incline Village. If you drive out of Incline Village and head uphill, pretty soon you're going to run into Mt. Rose, which is easily the best skiing dollar for dollar in the whole Tahoe Basin. And when you come back down that same road at the end of the day, go ahead and seek out Alibi Ale Works, where you're going to find a whole pile of the best sour beers you'll ever taste. They are masters of a craft that not many places can do well. And their restaurant down the way from the brewery serves some great food, too. This is my interview from February 2021 with owner Kevin Drake and head brewer Matt Garcia.

South Of North Brewing sits right on the border between California and Nevada, just a short walk from the shores of Lake Tahoe. You can stand in front of the building on Stateline Avenue and look to the right, and you see a typical mountain town with log cabins and views. And to the left, you see casinos. But right behind you at South Of North, you're going to have your pick of some absolutely phenomenal beers that you just can't drink anywhere else. They make their beer on the property, they sell it on the property, and they don't distribute. You want what they got, you have to go to the source.

When I went back in February 2021 I had a great conversation with the GM Savannah Mendoza and the head brewer Brian Cicero. We drank some of my favorite beers from the whole season, and they told me about some special ones they had on the way. And I haven't been back since, and that's my loss.

Shelter Distilling had the special distinction of being the only stop on my first season of the podcast where they make both beer and spirits. And they excel at both, as I found out in this interview with co-owners Karl Anderson and Jason Senior. If you're skiing Mammoth and you're looking for local brews coming off the hill, the trip to Shelter is quicker and easier than any of the other spots in the area. Just take the Village Gondola down from Canyon Lodge and it's right around the corner when you step off. If you're like me, it'll immediately become one of your first stops every time you're back in town.

The little town of Government Camp sits at the base of Mt. Hood, Oregon's highest peak. There are only 300 or so full-time residents. But it's the gateway to one of my all-time favorite hidden gem ski resorts: Timberline Lodge. Timberline has great snow, fun terrain, low ticket prices and good family vibes. And probably the coolest ski lodge in the country by far. Timberline Lodge is the building that served as the exterior for the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Walking up to the front of it in person is unforgettable. But the part they never showed in the movie is even more incredible.

Along with the lodge, Timberline has its own official brewery, and that's Mt. Hood Brewing. In a town of 300 people, you can get locally made beers that compete with anything else you'll find in the country. That's largely because of head brewer Bryan Borgmeier, who sat down with me for an interview and tasting on a snowy night in January of 2021.

Visiting Worthy Brewing for me was like a pilgrimage, or a trip to Willy Wonka's factory. Or both. I had been drinking Worthy beers for a few years before I started this podcast, and their Lights Out Stout is one of my favorites. But when I went out to the Worthy campus to do this interview, I had no idea how cool this place really was. It's like a fantasy playland for beer lovers. They do live shows on two stages, indoors and out; they serve experimental beers on tap that you can't get anywhere else; they have a garden where they not only grow their own hops but they actually develop new strains of hops, in collaboration with students from a local ag engineering program. AND they have their own observatory, with an actual astronomer on staff. 

I had some audio issues that day, so this episode didn't come out as great as I wanted it to. But the conversation was fantastic. I could seriously talk beer with these guys all week. Ever since then I've been looking forward to going back.

Back in the winter of 2021 I spent five days in Bend, Oregon, skiing Mt. Bachelor and checking out some of the best craft breweries in town. The competition is fierce, in a place that's home to both Deschutes and 10 Barrel Brewing. But one of the best of the best is a little place called Boneyard Beer, owned by Tony Lawrence. He's an OG pro snowboarder from back in the '90s, and he's spent the past couple decades making some of the most unique and best-tasting beers in a state that's absolutely jammed with amazing beer. He met me at the Boneyard Pub down on Division Street for some appetizers and a sample that included some of my favorite beers of the whole season.

Snake River Brewing is the oldest craft brewery in Jackson. Maybe six blocks or so away from the center of town, where you can see all the elk antlers. When you go for a beer at Snake River and you look out the window, you see one of the best-kept secrets of the Rockies: Snow King, also known as the "town hill." This is where the powder hounds go when all the tourists are in line at Jackson Hole. It's a small place, but the tree skiing is fantastic, and the prices are stuck in the 1990s.

Back in January 2021 I had a great conversation with Elliott Wilkins about Snake River's history, the best beers in their lineup, and how the brewery is wrapped up in the history and culture of the town of Jackson and its two great ski hills.

Grand Teton Brewing has been doing craft beer in eastern Idaho longer than just about anybody else. Their 208 is one of the tastiest session ales you'll ever find. That one friend that everyone has who just can't get interested in craft beer -- the 208 is the one that will get them hooked. Join me for some day drinking with Director of Operations Chris Furbacher.

Citizen 33 sits on State Route 33 in Idaho, a little way down the road from Grand Targhee, which might actually have the best skiing dollar-for-dollar of any resort in the country. It's less than half the price of Jackson Hole, and gets all the same snow, and has MORE acreage. And better views of the Tetons from the hill.

Back in January 2021 I talked to head brewer Nick Farney about how he came to the area, what he likes to do for fun in the Teton Valley, and how he keeps making beers that are worth driving all the way out to Driggs for. One of his secrets: he sources ALL his hops from local farms in Idaho.

The premiere episode of Ski Town Brews, from my visit to June Mountain and June Lake Brewing on December 20, 2020. Everybody knows Mammoth and Tahoe, but if you come to the Eastern Sierra and you skip June Mountain, you're missing out on one of California's best-kept secrets. Two of them actually, because June Lake Brewing has been putting out nothing but winners since it opened seven years ago. Join me and JLB co-owner Justin Walsh for a super-flight of seven beers and a hard seltzer, plus a whole lot of reasons why you need to get to June on your next vacation. Summer works just as well as winter!