Hiking the Continental Divide Trail between the Mexican and the Canadian borders through the American states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana is not necessarily the arduous task that you may think. While it’s true it’s a trail for dedicated hikers and only about two dozen attempt its entire 5,000 kilometre length each year, smaller sections can easily be challenged by all levels of day hikers and backpackers.
For those ready to tackle a day hike along the trail, or even for those dedicated enough to make it from start to finish, hiking and camping are about to get a lot more interesting with the introduction of craft-quality beer concentrate. That’s right, beer made from concentrate – all you have to do is add water, carbonate it, and wherever you are you’ll find yourself enjoying the “same great taste you’re used to in a premium micro brew”.
Whether you’re somewhere in the middle of the high, wild mountain regions of Colorado or an exhausted day-tripper in need of a pick-me-up, at some point a cold beer is going to sound awfully tempting. Carrying a 12-pack of beer bottles up and down Grays Peak in Colorado, the highest point on the Continental Divide Trail, sounds like a pain but if you have beer concentrate it’s still possible to celebrate your achievement with a frosty pint.
Patrick Tatera of Pat’s Backcountry Beverages, producers of the beer concentrate, made it one of his “great life ambitions to develop a process of making beer that would allow backcountry travelers to enjoy all the beauty of real beer, while in the beauty of the real backcountry.”
The next time you find yourself in that real backcountry, whether it’s cutting through the Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks on the Continental Divide Trail or a weekend of camping, remember that all you need is a cold source of water, beer concentrate, and a carbonator to get the party started.
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