After a long day in a national park, it's nice to sit back and enjoy one of the local microbrews. Which raises the question: Where is the best-tasting microbrew with a park connection located?
Is it Volcanic Double IPA from Lassen Ale Works in Susanville, California, or perhaps Snarling Badger Berliner Weisse from Grand Teton Brewing in Jackson, Wyoming?
Of course, if you travel the eastern national park circuit, you might favor Black Bear Ale from Smoky Mountain Brewery in Knoxville, Tennessee, (with pubs in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge), or the Blue Mountain Lager from the namesake Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, Virginia.
There are countless others to consider, but those should jumpstart your palate thirsting for an old favorite, or perhaps looking for something new to try. So tell us, travelers, where is the best microbrew with a national park connection?
Comments
Our vote is either for Cadillac Mountain Stout or Thunder Hole Ale by the Bar Harbor Brewing Company.
www.barharborbrewing.com/products.html
We may be somewhat biased because Acadia is always on our mind! But both brews have won raves at the World Beer Championships. Great idea for reader participation topic. Maybe we'll borrow the microbrew review topic for an Acadia on My Mind blog post one day and link to this NPT article.
Did that new brew pub ever open on Bathhouse Row at Hot Springs NP?
The most popular at Skagway Brewing Company, near Klondike Goldrush Ntl Historical Park, is their Spruce Tip Blond. Each spring they gather about 500 pounds of hand picked Sitka Spruce branch tips to use in their brewing, which gives it a bit of a tart flavor a lot of folks seem to enjoy.
I believe the Alaskan Brewing Co. collects sitka spruce tips from Glacier Bay National Park for its Winter Ale...
Is that legal?
After a long day hiking in Arches, I enjoyed the Squeaky Bike Nut Brown Ale and Black Raven Outmeal Stout from the Moab Brewery - a real thirst quencher!!!
The Nantahala brewery in Bryson City NC has a decent IPA called Noonday. it's pretty refreshing after some hiking in the Deep Creek region.