Cerveza
Over the last couple of years I have been on a quest to find an acceptable mode of transportation for my beloved brew. Beer, along with wine, is one of those staples that always find its way into my 4Runner when we go camping. Nothing beats sitting back in your camp chair next to the camp fire looking out upon God’s creation. ‘Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy’ – Benjamin Franklin
The Glass Bottle
New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire
I prefer to purchase beer from regional brewing and bottling companies like Rouge Ales, Big Sky Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, and New Belgium Brewing. Although I love these beers, I was afraid of having a bottle break and having broken glass shred my gear. We don’t drink heavily when out, but enjoy an adult beverage at the end of the day. By the end of a long trip, it is tough lugging around a trash bag weighted down by beer bottles.
The Can
Cerveza Tecate
The fear of broken glass and the weight of bottles eventually led me to investigate the can. I will be upfront and say I do not care for most ‘beer’ that comes in can form. ‘People who drink light beer don’t like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot’ – Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI. I do, however, enjoy a Mexican style Pale Lager and after some discussion on ExpeditionPortal.com, I decided to give Cerveza Tecate a try. If served very cold and with a lime, Tecate is a decent beer for sitting around the campfire. However, toward the end of a trip when the cooler begins to get warm, the beer begins to loose its character and turns into your everyday can of beer. The benefit of the can was its reduced weight when empty and compact size when crushed.
The Growler
growler - noun
a pitcher, pail, or other container brought by a customer for beer – dictionary.com
Comparison between a standard glass growler
and Kleen Kanteen’s 64oz bottle
When traveling through areas with regional breweries, we have often stopped to pick up or fill our growlers. The benefit of the growler is that it can be reused and can be used for more than just camping. But alas, my trusty growler of Portneuf Valley Brewing Grog Premium IPA suffers from the same setback as my trusty bottle of New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire, it is glass. I fear that I might break it in a brief moment of my clumsiness. I liked the idea of using a growler on trips to sample the local fair, and so I found myself searching the internet for a durable growler.
Filling the Kleen Kanteen at a local brewery
What I found was the Klean Kanteen 64floz wide mouth stainless steel bottle. I think the Klean Kanteen offers the best of both worlds; it is durable (fitting into my clumsy nature), and affords me the ability to travel with beer from my favorite local brewery or pick up some brew while traveling in new areas. Once the bottle is emptied of its precious cargo, it can simply be rinsed with water and tossed with the rest of my gear, reducing the amount of garbage I produce during a trip.
The Kleen Kanteen does have its setbacks; its volume is slightly less than that of a standard glass growler, and its rim was not designed to easily pour liquid (it tends to slightly dribble beer when poring it into a glass. I think its benefits outweigh the setbacks and we will continue to use it.
Conclusion
I will be sticking with my Klean Kanteen for most trips and enjoying either my local brew or beer from regional breweries in areas that we visit.
Conclusion
I will be sticking with my Klean Kanteen for most trips and enjoying either my local brew or beer from regional breweries in areas that we visit.
