Beer Me

Editor’s Note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #182, published in February 2015. Words and photo by Alastair Bland. When it comes to aging a special beer in a used booze barrel, most brewers follow a rather standard formula: They put a dark beer containing at least 10 percent alcohol by ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #98, published in February 2003. Back then, kind readers would occasionally send in beer samples for our Quaffing Crew to evaluate (hint, hint). Words by Brad Quartuccio. Let the quaffing session begin! With a case of Victory Brewing Storm King Imperial Stout appearing on our ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #188, published in November 2015. Words and photo by Alastair Bland. When beer time rolls around these days, I won’t drink just anything. Session beers are all the rage now, but these low-alcohol brews are too little and too weak for those of ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #144, published in August 2009. Words and photo by Alastair Bland. Hopheads: these loud and influential beer drinkers have been slapping their dollars on brewpub countertops for two decades now, demanding the bitterest beer in the house. The India Pale Ale satisfied them ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #147, published in February 2010. Words by Alastair Bland. Photo by Justin Steiner. As the sun first peeks over the eastern skyline, coffee pots beyond counting begin to gurgle throughout the time zone. But beer at dawn is taboo. Even a mid-morning pint ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #150, published in July 2010. Words and photo by Alastair Bland. Our favorite bubbly beverage just may be beer. For other occasions—like when we’re feeling a bit more culinary or just want a faster kick—we often reach for wine, and together these forces ...

Editor’s note: This “Beer Me” column first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #148, published in April 2010. Words by Alastair Bland. Photo by Justin Steiner. Beer has a long history of accidents. Historians have speculated that a sack of spilled barley, left out in the rain, produced the first pint somewhere in the Fertile Crescent ...

Editor’s note: This story by Elizabeth & Lee Klevens first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #156, published in May 2011. Like many fellow mountain bikers, we enjoy a good post-ride beer. While old favorites and standbys are fine, discovering a new gem to share is always good. Throughout the years, we have discovered some great ...

Editor’s note: This story by Elizabeth & Lee Klevens first appeared in Dirt Rag issue #158, published in August 2011. Like many beer snobs out there, our favorite style of beer tends to be an American style India Pale Ale. Hopheads like us tend to crave more and more hops. In order to satisfy these ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag issue #159, published in October 2011. Words and photos by Tyler Hoecker. In Utah, beer makers have a bit of an uphill climb to bring their product to market. One hundred and fifteen years of conservative sentiment in the state has resulted in a strict set ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag issue #160, published in November 2011. Words and photo by Lee & Elizabeth Klevens. We generally have a good supply of beers in our house, many of which are very hoppy. Occasionally, we will entertain guests who do not care much for hoppy beers. Having some ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag issue #162, published in April 2012. Words and photo by Elizabeth & Lee Klevens. A delicious beer for your consideration: Burton Baton, from Dogfish Head Brewery. Burton Baton is labeled as an Imperial IPA, and at 10 percent ABV and 70+ IBUs it most definitely qualifies ...

Beer and bikes go together like similes and metaphors. Deschutes Brewing out of Bend, Oregon, is embracing the love affair with its new Chainbreaker White IPA, a light, citrus-tinged brew perfect for postride refreshment. It pours light and clear, with a minimal head. There is a distinct lemon zest followed by a mild hoppy aftertaste, ...

  I’m a big fan of an IPA, or two, after a long day of riding or building trails. The resurgence of tasty canned beer has made it much easier to bring a few along for a trailside toast. Oskar Blues is one of the American brewers at the forefront of the good beer in ...

Words and photo by Shannon Mominee. You may think that beer and tomato juice is sacrilegious, and maybe it is depending on the beer. My mom mixes bottled Michelob Lite with it, hardly a beer at all. I turn the volume up a bit and put a personal spin on the Michelada Espana or “Mexican ...

Words by Rebecca Rusch I didn’t know what gelände quaffing was until I moved to Idaho. Now it’s an annual tradition that I host as a hotly contested competitive component of Rebecca’s Private Idaho. For those who don’t ride that fast, there’s still the opportunity for glory just before the sun sets in Ketchum. Beer ...

Words & photo by Burt Hoovis Being the good wife she is, Mrs. Hoovis recently came home with several new and interesting varieties from her trip to the local beer monger. Among them was Contact High from 4 Hands Brewing in St. Louis, Missouri. Right off the bat, there were several reasons that I didn’t ...

Words and photo by Burt Hoovis  For those of us who enjoy beer, there very well could be no better time to be alive than right now. It seems like every town with more than one traffic control device has a brewpub, and most are putting out very respectable products. While there are plenty of microbreweries, few can ...

Words and photos by Burt Hoovis  It would not be an exaggeration to declare that, as a brand, Oskar Blues is the beer most embedded in American mountain bike culture. Founder Dale Katechis’ love of mountain biking and the outdoors has been intertwined with his beer business since its beginning in 1997 in Lyons, Colorado. ...

Words and photo by Burt Hoovis  Keeping your favorite beverage close at hand for a day on the trail has always had its challenges. Luckily, the options are getting better and better. Recently, I had a chance to test out a one-gallon stainless steel minikeg and tap system with the memorable (and slightly dubious) name ...

Words and photos by Burt Hoovis  If you’re like most folks, you probably have a few local rides that you gravitate to. And if you tend to do a ride frequently, there’s going to be a point in that ride where you find yourself thinking, “Man, a beer would be bitchin’ right now.” This is ...

By Burt Hoovis Ahh … summer. Sweltering days, dusty trails and nights spent socializing, perhaps next to a campfire or in the backyard. This is the time of year for beers that refresh and invigorate. Classic German Pilsners, with their bright character and temperate bitterness, are always a favorite when the days are long. Pilsners ...

Sometimes after a long ride, beer just isn’t the right thing, nor is more warm water from a hydration pack, gross drink mix in the bottom of your bottle, or a can of sickeningly sweet soda. Thankfully, we’ve learned to enjoy LaCroix. A blend of sparkling water and light flavoring, the LaCroix disappears from the ...

It was the summer of 2000, and I had yet to discover the magic of bicycles. It was the same summer that I met my friend Darren, who was an obsessed mountain biker. We worked together at a greenhouse and nursery, planting and mulching our way through the heat of the summer. On most days, ...