The plan was simple, naïve even. Rent the apartment. Find a job. Shred 120 days of powder like a born-again Bodhisattva in Gore-Tex. Then, like a good little capitalist, fly home, trim the hedges, file the résumé, return to whatever suburbia or server rack you slouched in before the snow fell. That was the deal.
But the mountain, as it often does, had other plans. It spoke in whispers—icy ones that slipped under your parka and rewired your brainstem. Just when you should’ve been boxing up that riverside apartment, you were knee-deep in a sun-dappled stream, offering hand-tied salvation to rainbow trout. When the lawn back home was screaming for its spring shearing, you were pitching a tent beneath a waterfall so absurdly picturesque it made your phone cry. And as the LinkedIn reminders stacked like unpaid parking tickets, you found yourself halfway up a granite wall, wondering if you ever really liked computers in the first place.
That was 30 years ago. You haven’t left. You probably never will. Because mountain life, darling, is a kind of divine lunacy—equal parts rustic and refined, brutal and transcendent. Sure, the uniform has shifted. The faded Levi’s and duct-taped ski jackets gave way to khaki slacks and Italian loafers, Lycra-clad road warriors pedaling $8,000 carbon unicorns down trails once ruled by pickup trucks that smelled like bacon grease and spiritual freedom.
And yet, despite the SUV polish and the Patagonia stock options, the mountain still sings. It’s still the mountain—sun-lashed bowls and shadowy glades, 360-degree views that slap the ego sideways, all of it drawn by the ancient geometry of gravity and madness.
Peaks & Pints gets it. We do. Which is why, nestled here in Tacoma’s Proctor District, we’ve conjured our own alpine daydream—minus the altitude sickness. Today, the slopes call louder than ever. So step into our little wooden chalet of fermented love and enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 8.2.18: A Flight of Mountain Hankering—a liquid ode to summits scaled, fireside naps taken, and the life you never really meant to fall in love with … but did.
Crosscut 8.2.18: A Flight of Mountain Hankering
Barrel Mountain Ash Cloud Amber
5.5% ABV, 20 IBU
Located west of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the folks at Barrel Mountain Brewing Co. regularly hike and bike the trails of Silver Star, Cape Horn Falls and Tarbell. The motif at the Battle Ground, Washington brewery is decidedly outdoorsy with one tent stake planted in grunge. Barrel Mountain’s Ash Cloud Amber is coppery brown in color with some reddish hues. It’s brewed with seven different malts to create a well-balanced, smooth profile with just enough sweetness and a touch of chocolate to balance the single hop. Named after the cloud of ash that formed after Mt. St Helens erupted in 1980, the finish is long and lightly bitter.
GoodLife Mountain Rescue
5% ABV, 40 IBU
The population of Bend is mostly people who have visited the central Oregon town and fell so in love with it, they moved there. Who wouldn’t? It’s a sunny playground ― a blessedly bipolar high-desert home base, where you can trail-run along the rushing Deschutes River in the morning and hit the snowy slopes of Mt. Bachelor in the afternoon. GoodLife Brewing’s name reflects their love for their hometown Bend. Part of the company’s Sustainable Session Series, Mountain Rescue Session Ale gives back a portion of the proceeds of its sale to local volunteer rescue crews who work to get hikers in the nearby Deschutes and Willamette National Forests out of any dicey situations, and with a beer this good it’s easy to rack up some sales. The balance between the malt and hops is spot on, playing together to create something almost fruity, with notes of apple or pear coming through.
Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown
9% ABV, 40 IBU
Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown made this list on name alone, although the interior Sumatra island is dominated by two geographical regions: the Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east. (Sumatra is the closest Indonesian island to mainland Asia.) You most likely would enjoy the craft beer after a day of snow sports. Although it’s labeled an imperial brown ale, Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown drinks more like a porter. There’s plenty of body here for a brown, even one that clocks in at 9 percent ABV. The magnificent, coffee-forward Sumatra Mountain imperial brown ale is smooth, rich and roasty with nutty and caramel flavors. This full-bodied ale receives its depth from a team of malts including caramel malt for sweetness, flaked barley for dense foam, a bit of chocolate malt for its deep color and aromatic and Munich malts to add even more depth. Sumatra coffee, along with German and Perle hops, are also among the ingredients that make this a slam-dunk brew.
Puyallup River Mud Mountain Milk Stout
7% ABV
Mud Mountain sits in the Puyallup valley, which was formed by the buildup of mudflows caused by past eruptions on Mount Rainier. The upper viewpoint offers views of the dam complex and the White River far below. Twenty miles west of the mountain sits Puyallup River Brewing Co. on Erik Akeson’s Puyallup property. His Mud Mountain Milk Stout grabbed a silver medal at the 2015 Washington Beers Awards. It grabbed a bronze at the 2016 Washington Beer Awards. It grabs every drinker when they taste its smooth as chocolate silk self. Fresh vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, oats, and six different specialty malts make this milk stout one of the easiest drinking dark beers on the planet.
Double Mountain Black Irish Stout Nitro
4.5% ABV, 50 IBU
St. Patrick’s Day 2007, Matt Swihart and Charlie Devereaux opened Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom, named after the orchard they owned, Double Mountain Orchards — where one can look in one direction and see Mt. Adams and then look in the other direction and see Mt. Hood. Double Mountain sits in downtown Hood River, which Sunset Magazine named “Best Adventure Town” in its 2015 Travel Awards. “The scenic setting, in the shadow of snow-capped Mt. Hood and the meeting of the Columbia and Hood Rivers, resonated with our judges, as did the startling breadth of experiences possible in this Oregon town — hiking, biking, fishing, rafting, skiing, paddle-boarding, and the West’s best windsurfing. The apres-adventure crafter beers had fans, too,” states the article. This Dublin-style stout is a quintessential Double Mountain interpretation of a classic style. It’s rich, creamy, roasty and beautifully bitter that pours with a thick head, courtesy of nitrogen. The nose is roasted malt and some dark chocolate. Flavor is similar — rich roasted unsweetened dark chocolate. Except a semi-dry finish as you cheers you day’s adventure.
