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Have you heard the news?! We’re excited to announce that we are brand new brand ambassadors for Two Beers Brewing Co!
Here’s our first Day Hike blog (which we totally messed up by using last year’s can, lol). So while you won’t see this one on the official Two Beers blog, we thought we’d post it here as a preview of the content we'll be creating for them this summer. Cheers!
Normally we’d spend a sunny Saturday on the trail, chased by a pint or two at the nearest brewpub. But February 25, 2017 is no normal Saturday in Bellingham. It’s a day to celebrate with two of our favorite industries: local beer and the great outdoors.
We are very excited to announce our first product, the Trails and Ales Journal!  Our Trails and Ales Journal is perfect for recording your beer hiking adventures, from backcountry to brewery. Featuring original illustrations by Rachel Wood, these journals are lightweight and compact. Throw one in your pack today, or make it a gift for a friend!
Can you really have too much of a good thing? I’m not talking about moderation to stave off a hangover, but a question of brewery saturation. The “Craft Beer Bubble” has been a topic of business and investment magazines for the last few years. But these articles are written from a decidedly “outsider” perspective, going out of their way to poke fun at all those kooky names and styles--Chocolate coffee Porter? In a beer!--throwing around numbers to prove that “Big Beer” is still reigning in the bucks. I’m not sure I agree that we’re about to see a burst, because I feel like a burst accompanies the death of a trend--and craft beer is not a trend in the way that cake pops and cupcakes were.  Trend? Something this beautiful could never go out of style Last month, Boots and Brews News covered what the impact of a low snowpack and the possibilities of drought have on summertime hiking. What about beer though? We’ve already talked about water conservation in beer making, but in terms of future innovations we can look forward to. Right now though, going into a third summer of drought, California beer needs a water solution.  Fossil Falls...or California's future? Dun Dun Dun! In another lifetime or a parallel universe, I would have been a pika researcher. Perhaps one of my favorite parts of hiking in the mountains is encountering these critters; their tell-tale “MEEEeeepp!!!” instantly puts a smile on my face. With adorable features and a temperamental constitution, pika are found living in the scree of alpine slopes in Europe, Asia, and North America. If you are unfamiliar, or unconvinced of their majesty, I urge you to check out this video: Last week, WTA posted an article, “Weird Weather, Low Snowpack: What to Expect in an Usual Early Hiking Season” providing tips to hikers eager to hit the trails. It’s worth the read, with the overall message, “It's an odd season, and we'll need to rely on each other to stay safe and updated on the fast-changing conditions.” But can we really get excited about an extended hiking season without feeling just a touch of concern?  We don’t only love beer and hiking here at Beers at the Bottom--we also love music. Some may already know about our illustrious past as live music reviewers. So our Brews News of the week will hopefully sing you a happy little tune. We’ve written briefly about music and beer for The Session, discussing how good taprooms are becoming a meeting place for communities, and often the perfect venue to feature local music.  Courtesy of Ninkasi Brewing Company Let’s be honest--brewing uses a lot of water. Just put “Water conservation in breweries” into the search bar, and up pop results from Full Sail, New Belgium, Summit, and even macro-domestics like Millercoors. According to Full Sail Brewing, approximately 10 gallons of water are used to produce just 1 gallon of beer. Plus, breweries are proud of where their water comes from, name-dropping rivers and glaciers. Just think of Olympia Brewing Company’s slogan, “It’s the Water” and their use of artesian well water. But what about brewing with water that seems a little less...desirable?  Courtesy of Brewery Gems A clink of the pint to you, dear reader, for joining Beers at the Bottom for its second weekly Boots and Brews News! The foundation of our website is the common space shared by craft beer and outdoor exploration. It’s a space that has become so natural, I have a hard time not finishing every hike with a beer, and always seem to picture a mountainous landscape when I drink a pint. 
For this week’s post, I’m going to start with a topic that both share: conservation. Sustainability is a big topic in the craft beer world, with innovation at work to conserve water, reduce the carbon footprint, and find alternative energy. As craft beer drinkers, there are ways we can help this effort, and sometimes it just comes down to making a choice between bottles or cans.
Welcome to the first Boots and Brews News from Beers at the Bottom! As part of our site re-model, we came up with the idea for a weekly chat with our lovely readers about either a “newsy” bit from the beer or trails world. Every Thursday, we invite you to share a pint with us and just have a nice fireside chat. 
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