Ski season started a little later than usual in 2022 — and predictions are mixed as to whether it will be a great year or not for pow-pow. Either way, you’re going to want a beer.
So, if you’re tailgating at the A-Basin beach or stocking the cooler for après ski, consider pairing the good vibes with these appropriately themed beers.
Face Down Brown Ale (Telluride Brewing Co.)
Telluride Brewing Co.’s signature brown ale has won four Great American Beer Festival medals, including two gold, and with good reason. The dark malts and aggressive hop profile perfectly balance one another for a beer that’s robust in flavor but relatively light in body, so it won’t weigh you down. And at 5.7% alcohol-by-volume, one won’t make you go face down on the slopes either.
Available year-round on draft and in six-packs of 12-ounce cans.
Funslinger Lager (Breckenridge Brewery)
Colorado companies Breckenridge Brewery and Never Summer collaborated for a 10th year with a local artist, whose design appears on both a new limited-release beer and a new snowboard. The amber lager, so named for one of Never Summer’s original snowboards, boasts notes of toasted bread and a slight nuttiness, and finishes crisp with a delightful hop bite. It’s practically dying to be paired with a bluebird ski day.
Now available year-round in six-packs of 12-ounce cans.
Patrol Dog Pale (Avery Brewing Co.)
Avery Brewing Co.’s newest release is quite paw-sibly the cutest beer to come out this season. Patrol Dog Pale ale, created in partnership with the National Ski Patrol, utilizes American hops that offer a pungent hop aroma alongside low bitterness, which brewers said make it bright and refreshing on the palate. Buying this beer will make you feel extra warm and cuddly, as proceeds benefit avalanche dog rescue programs throughout the U.S.
Available year-round on draft and six-packs of 12-ounce cans.
Powder Run Cream Ale (Living the Dream Brewing Co.)
Littleton’s Living the Dream Brewing Co. describes its Powder Run Cream Ale as fluffy and creamy, no doubt harkening to the feeling of making fresh tracks after an epic snow dump. This beer is brewed with vanilla, which offers an extra kick of sweetness to the cream ale without being cloying, and at 5% ABV it’s also crushable.
Available year-round on draft and in six-packs of 12-ounce cans.
Tree Skier Pale Ale (Over Yonder Brewing)
Think about the last time you skied through the trees, spruce branches whipping you in the face. Perhaps drinking Over Yonder Brewing’s seasonal specialty, Tree Skier, won’t feel exactly like that, but brewers used 20 pounds of spruce tips in the recipe, which lend citrus and pine notes to the flavor of this juicy-style pale ale. The beer is a collaboration with Powder7 ski outfitter in Golden.
Available starting Nov. 2 for a limited time on draft and in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.