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‘Let’s be honest, hiking and beer are a match made in heaven’
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Answer the skill-testing question: After a good hike you’ll want to quench your thirst with an ice-cold . . .? (Hint: The correct answer is not a grande iced half-soy, non-fat chai latte with a shot of vanilla.)
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The correct answer, of course, is beer. An awesome craft beer, to be precise. In fact, the worldwide popularity and “correctness” of having a beer after a hike is gaining plenty of traction. Just ask Alberta author Kendall Hunter, whose new book, Beer Hiking: Canadian Rockies, continues to “hop” off the bookshelves.
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“It’s basically ingrained in European culture that, after you hike, you go for a cold beer at a microbrewery, sit on a patio with your fellow hikers, tell stories and so forth,” says Hunter, who grew up in Banff, then moved all over the world for various work assignments, and is now back in that mountain town with her family.
“In North America, given the popularity of both craft beer and hiking, I don’t think we’re far behind on this notion. And, let’s be honest, hiking and beer are a match made in heaven.”
The popularity of this concept is certainly confirmed by the Beer Hiking book series by Swiss publisher, Helvetiq. Besides Hunter’s new Canadian Rockies edition, they’ve also produced a handful of similar titles, including Beer Hiking: Pacific Northwest, and Beer Hiking: Berlin. Additional titles that follow the same theme are forthcoming.
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Hunter’s entertaining book — which highlights 30 scenic hikes, some short, some long, that end at a microbrewery or brew pub where you can celebrate your adventure, is focused on the Canadian Rockies region. So hikes (and breweries) in Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise are front and centre. However, hikes ending near craft breweries in other popular mountain destinations — such as Revelstoke and Golden in British Columbia — are also featured.
Even an urban hike or two in Calgary are included.
Not surprisingly, Hunter, a former competitive ski racer who graduated from the University of Calgary with a political science degree, is careful when it comes to picking favourites. “We tried to include hikes that would appeal to a broad range of people,” says Hunter, who has two other books to her credit, including Black Taxi, an engaging and sometimes harrowing photographic journey through South Africa.
“Some of the hikes are more leisurely strolls, such as the boardwalk in Hinton and the Bow Loop in Calgary, which ends at the popular Cold Garden brewery in Inglewood. But others, like Little Beehive in Lake Louise and Ha Ling in Canmore, will definitely work up your thirst.”
In terms of her favourite beer, Hunter is a little more certain. “I love rich, dark porters. But I’ll try anything. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve had a bad beer after a hike.”
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