East side in a bottle!

I love a good beer that brings you to a certain place with that first sip - not an emotional place, but a physical location. Like you take a slug of it and you are somehow transported to the surroundings and environment that the beer holds.

Mammoth Brewing company's 395 Ipa does just the trick, particularly following a long day of sweat and toil backcountry skiing on the 4th of July. Heat, suncups, sloppy skin-tracks, and some fun mashed potatoes lend particularly well to some enjoyable rehydration, especially when basecamp is way back down below snow level. The boots come off first, and then that first gulp fills my palate and my mind with the sage and juniper that are such an integral part of the Eastern Sierra environment. My stinky feet are up now, the bitterness of the brew starts to bite; the zone of meeting between alpine and desert starts to blur. By the time that last gulp washes down, I've been reminded that one big beer with sage and juniper in it is plenty - things get a bit astringent by the end. And now this beerfit junkie needs some food, well maybe another 395 IPA will go down well with some spicy carnitas? Ahhh, my mind spends much of its time on the East Side. Unfortunately, my body is located on 680 more than 395....