Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Flyfishin' Product Review: Beer

My last post made me think about an aspect of fly fishing that is not as necessary as rod and reel, but can punctuate a nice day of fishing perfectly: Beer.

More than once I have made a 'novelty' purchase of some beer with a trout on the label, thinking it'll be the perfect addition to a weekend fishing trip. The bottles are great conversation pieces but, more often than not, the beer inside ranges from forgettable to (nearly) undrinkable. However, Mad River Brewing Company's Steelhead Extra Pale Ale was not only the perfect beer to bring along on my first steelheading trip, it happens to be a product I have tried before and like quite a bit. Here is what Mad River has to say about it:

A bright golden hued ale with a medium body and a crisp spicy/floral hop character and very mild bitterness. This unfiltered ale has a pleasing mouth feel and remains our most popular brew. This beer goes with everything and every occasion.

Okay I have no idea what any of that means, but I do agree with the last part. And I know for a fact it goes well with cold rivers, good friends, cheapish cigars and, of course, angry steelhead.

Honorable mention goes to a fine beer I sampled many, many times during my brief time fishing the mighty Missouri River around Cascades, Montana. Bayern Brewing Company calls their Trout Slayer Ale a "specially brewed top- yet cold-fermented wheat beer with a very distinct wheat flavor and a golden color." Uh, okay. I guess that's right. All I can say about this one is, it goes great with bison burgers and the Big Sky.

But then again, what doesn't?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

May I also recommend:

http://www.uintabrewing.com/beer_cutthoat.html

Ed. said...

Cool, Will, thanks. I went to that site and realized that I have tried one of their products, the Anglers Pale Ale. I did not like that very much but will look for the Cutthroat.

Joel said...

You got to love that trout slayer Ed! I can't begin to tell you how many of those I have consumed in my life time!

One of my new favorite brews is made by fish brewing company in Olympia Washington. The Fish Tale IPA is so tasty and packs a little punch! I believe the alcohol content on this beer is about 7%! You definitely want to keep that in mind as it can sneek up on you fast!

Ed. said...

I'll look for that beer! Maybe a beer that sneaks up on you will help you sneak up on trout! Unlikely, I know, but it's worth a shot...

Joel said...

Hey Ed I found a website for that beer I was telling you about. www.fishbrewing.com I'll make sure there is some in the fridge at the cabin for your stay.

Ed. said...

You are entirely too kind, Joel!

I've accumulated several links to fishy beers, I think I should make a new list of beer links underneath my fish links...