For these brew-bound hikes, you have to lace up your boots to reach your beer.
By Rachel Barth
Nature Friends Tourist Club / Mill Valley, Calif.
A 2-mile ascent from Mill Valley’s town center—up 688 fern-lined steps and the oak-speckled Dipsea Trail—lands clued-in hikers at the Tourist Club, a 1914 Bavarian lodge nestled deep in the Muir Woods. The sunny tri-level beer gardens are stacked with pitcher-yielding picnickers relishing pints of Trumer Pils, sticks of landjäger (think German jerky) and nostalgic board games. The club’s members-only, but the patios open to the public every few weeks.
Takao-san Beer Mountain / Tokyo
The observation deck perched halfway up 1,965-foot Mt. Takao showcases striking Tokyo views year-round, but come summer, the patio transforms into Beer Mountain, a buffet-meets-beer-garden just a half-mile hike (or a cable car) from the Kyotaki Cable Car Station. Pass Japanese nutmeg and beech as you climb, then get drinking: Guests are allowed a maximum of 2 hours to imbibe Japanese drafts and international cuisine. Trek at dusk to catch Tokyo’s illuminated high-rises speckling in the darkness while you sip Asahi Black.
Doyle’s Hotel / Duncannon, Pa.
Trekkers tackling the 2,184-mile Appalachian Trail get to kick up their heels at this gritty, 108-year-old Pennsylvania hotel bar. Located near the geographic midpoint of the trail, Doyle’s dishes piping hot New England clam chowder and a bevy of Pennsylvania brews: Sip neighbor Appalachian Brewing’s Jolly Scot Scottish Ale, or stick with the AT-favorite: Yuengling.
Andechs Monastery & Abbey Brewery / Andechs, Germany
Voyage roughly 2.5 uphill, woodland miles from the Herrsching S-Bahn train stop to Andechs Monastery, a mountaintop brewery where Benedictine monks have brewed since 1455. The gilded Baroque church is a sight to behold, while the beer garden and schnapps and brandy distillery provide liquid pleasure. The garden pours seven of Andechs’ brews: Pair the velvety 7.1% Doppelbock Dunkel with bucolic views and classic Bavarian sausages.
Corbet’s Cabin / Teton Village, Wyo.
Perched at the very peak of Jackson Hole’s Rendezvous Mountain—10,450 feet!—this tiny ski shack serves “Top of the World Waffles” and suds to wash ’em down; a local Snake River Pale Ale pairs especially well with peanut-butter-and-bacon waffles and Grand Teton vistas. During warmer months, hikers reach the hut by scaling the 7.4-mile Summit Trail; otherwise, the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Aerial Tram leaves from Teton Village and drops patrons off right at the front door.
Phantom Ranch Canteen / Grand Canyon, Ariz.
Hikers who descend 7.3 un-shaded miles on the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon celebrate the feat (and their feet) at Phantom Ranch Canteen, a watering hole and stew-shack that serves up Tecate, Bud and Grand Canyon White Water Wheat (the selection’s slim due to the import-by-mule method). Rest up; it’s another 10.3 miles up the cacti-and-cottonwood Bright Angel Trail to complete the rim-to-rim Grand Canyon loop. Reservations are required for food (and board, if you stay overnight), so book before you hoof.
