After a long day of skiing and snowboarding, we want nothing more than to get out of our snow gear, kick off our boots, and sit as close to a roaring fire as possible. Of course, we also want to finish our day on the slopes with a beer, a glass of wine, or a boozy cocktail. This alcohol-based post mountain activity is so popular it even has a name — après ski.
Après ski translates from French to “after ski” and it basically just means getting lit after you’re done riding. It’s not super complicated. While we enjoy a nice glass of crisp rosé or an Aperol spritz after a day shredding snow, we especially love a frosty, refreshing beer. Keep reading to see eight of our favorite après ski beers to drink this winter, ranked.
8.) Montucky Cold Snacks
ABV: 4.1%
Average Price: $8 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
When it comes to crisp, crushable, no-frills beer perfect for winter sports, it’s tough to beat the appeal of Montucky Cold Snacks. Made simply with barley, yeast, water, and hops, this throwback American lager is known for its refreshing, easy-drinking flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
There’s nothing overall exciting about this beer’s nose and that’s not such a bad thing. Sweet corn, citrus peels, honey, and floral hops are noticeable. There’s more of the same on the palate with corn, cereal grains, caramel, light fruit, and floral, lightly bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
Montucky Cold Snacks is the epitome of a no-frills, crushable lager. It’s perfectly simple after a day on the slopes.
7.) Telluride Face Down Brown
ABV: 5.7%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This award-winning beer is a mix of an English and American-style brown ale. It gets its name from what will happen to you if you aren’t paying proper attention while skiing. Well known for its nutty, caramel, malty flavor and hop bitterness, it’s a very balanced beer.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of freshly baked bread, roasted malts, caramel candy, and light coffee beans. The palate adds to this with brown bread, sticky toffee, roasted malts, and a gentle hint of bitter, floral, earthy hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
Instead of simply being a sweet, nutty brown ale, this wintry beer has a nice kick of hop bitterness to tie everything together nicely.
6.) Road House Loose Boots Après IPA
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
There are few ski and snowboard beers more aptly named than Road House Loose Boots Après IPA. This low ABV, citrus, pine, and caramel-malt centric IPA was literally created to be enjoyed after a day out in the snow. This hazy IPA gets its hop presence from the use of Citra and Simcoe hops.
Tasting Notes:
An inviting nose of freshly baked bread, orange peels, honey, and flora, earthy, piney hops greet you before your first sip. There are more bready hops, caramel, lemon zest, orange peel, honey, and dank, piney hops on the palate. The finish is gently bitter and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a light, sessionable IPA that was created to be enjoyed après ski. It definitely fits the bill with a nice mix of malt sweetness, citrus, and hops.
5.) Half Acre Pony
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Who doesn’t want a crisp, easy-drinking pilsner after a long day skiing or snowboarding? This year-round 5.5% ABV pilsner is just as perfect during the humid summer months as it is in the middle of winter. This is thanks to the bready, sweet malts and Noble hops included in the recipe.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a nice mix of hay, grass, lemon peels, bready malts, cracked black pepper, and floral hops. Drinking it reveals notes of cereal grains, corn sweetness, honey, hay, grass, lemon peels, pepper, and floral, earthy hops.
Bottom Line:
This is a complex, crisp, very well-balanced beer. The malt flavor starts everything off on the right foot and the Noble hops finish things strong.
4.) Deschutes Red Chair NWPA
ABV: 6.2%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This winter seasonal is brewed with Pale, Crystal, Munich, Carapils, and Pilsner malts. It gets its hop aroma and flavor from the use of Cascade and Centennial hops. The result is one of the most balanced winter beers on the market.
Tasting Notes:
This Northwest Pale Ale begins with a nose of tangerines, grapefruit, caramel malt, and a nice kick of pine needles. The palate is a mix of bready malts, toffee sweetness, dried stone fruits, orange zest, grapefruit, tangerine, and a lot of dank, floral pine. The finish is a nice mix of sweetness and hop bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This winter pale has a lot of citrus and pine flavor. It’s a great, balanced beer to enjoy after a day on the slopes.
3.) Dru Bru BruSki Patrol
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Not all après ski beers are crisp and crushable. Some have a little more substance. Dru Bru BruSki Patrol is still light at 4.8% ABV, but this award-winning German-style dark lager is brewed with malted barley and German hops to give it a nice mix of malt sweetness and floral hop aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of freshly baked bread, caramel, coffee, and light floral hops. The palate is rich, sweet, and filled with toffee, yeasty bread, chocolate, coffee, and floral, herbal hops. The finish is bittersweet and nicely hoppy.
Bottom Line:
While still sessionable, this sweet, malty, lightly hoppy winter brew has more substance than some of the crisper, more crushable beers on this list.
2.) Bale Breaker High Camp
ABV: 7.3%
Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Bale Breaker High Camp is a 7.3% ABV winter IPA that gets its name from the ski lodge situated at the top of White Pass Ski Resort. Brewed with Chocolate and Rye malts, it gets its notable hoppy flavors from being dry-hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, and HBC 630 hops.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are notable aromas of candied orange peels, tangerine, mango, caramel malts, and a ton of floral, herbal, piney hop scent. Sipping it brings forth notes of juicy orange, grapefruit, pineapple, toasted malts, caramel candy, and dank, lightly bitter pine needles.
Bottom Line:
This winter beer has everything IPA fans enjoy. It’s balanced, flavorful, and has a nice kick of 7.3% ABV to warm you after a cold day of snowboarding or skiing.
1.) Highland Park Timbo Pils
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
All in all, when it comes to après ski beers, we opt for crisp, easy-drinking pilsners above all else. We also enjoy at least a little hop bite. Highland Park Timbo Pils is a West Coast pilsner brewed with Citra and Mosaic hops that ticks all the boxes. It’s known for its mix of tropical fruit, citrus, and dank pine.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is filled with scents of caramel, pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, and floral hops. The palate is a mix of bready malts, cereal grains, caramel, pineapple, orange peel, hay, honey, and grassy, floral, gently bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
This unique, crushable pilsner isn’t the light lager you expect. It’s like a mix between a West Coast IPA and a classic European pilsner. It’s awesome and deeply delectable after a day on the slopes.
