Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Ask questions and share your experiences with hiking & backpacking gear, and share trail recipes and gadget tips. Please see classifieds forum for buying/selling stuff.
Post Reply
User avatar
Koda
Posts: 3466
Joined: June 5th, 2009, 7:54 am

Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by Koda » December 14th, 2013, 6:22 pm

I cant remember if we discovered this already IIRC they were working on it but was just a rumor. Well then they have been attempting to create this for years they finally did it. So its a 16oz (1 lb) carbonator bottle + the weight of the packets so lets say each packet weighs an ounce(?) so a 6 pack equivalent would be 1lb 6oz total carry weight... not bad. To compare one single 12fl oz can of Caldera IPA weighs 13 ounces.

now hopefully it passes the beer snob test.

http://www.today.com/food/beer-concentr ... 2D11741579

http://www.patsbcb.com/

Image
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

viking
Posts: 188
Joined: July 5th, 2009, 6:49 pm

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by viking » December 14th, 2013, 9:28 pm

I've over the years done a wee bit of research on this topic.

The first experiment I got my dog a pack- 120# husky- and dropped a short rack of cans in each side. At this point I figured I was on easy street! We then hiked 15 miles to a lake in eagle cap. With 4 or 5 unbroken beers that were too shaken to drink for a couple days and a dog and dog pack that smelled like beer for the rest of the trip.
Conclusion: failure/needs work

The second experiment was about selling beer deep in the wilderness.
Conclusion: lucrative but potentially dangerous
(the story only works with a live telling- sorry)

Third, buying beer way away from a trail head. Too expensive locally but works OK in places like Nepal where porters are willing to sell at a couple bucks a can at your base camp 3 or 4 days past the last village.
Conclusion: expensive but the beer tastes like Bohemian

Fourth, buy a quality dehydrated beer, locally we call it "scotch". Comments, buy quality single malt, leave the crap (J. Walker, B. Velvet) for others that think diluting with soda or ice cubes is somehow acceptable. Also make sure to decant the product, the glass bottles are heavy and need to be recycled. But don't just use your water bottle the plastic taste will probably ruin the lovely peaty flavor.
Conclusion: nectar of the gods

cfm
Posts: 1097
Joined: June 18th, 2008, 6:49 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by cfm » July 31st, 2015, 7:49 pm

has anybody tried it yet???

User avatar
Koda
Posts: 3466
Joined: June 5th, 2009, 7:54 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by Koda » July 31st, 2015, 8:03 pm

cfm wrote:has anybody tried it yet???
nope, would like to but until I find it in the stores I have better things to mail order on line.

Viking, fun research story. Myself after experimenting with microbrews in a can I decided a flask of quality bourbon or scotch was the best weight to alcohol ratio....
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

User avatar
sprengers4jc
Posts: 1036
Joined: October 22nd, 2013, 11:35 am
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by sprengers4jc » August 2nd, 2015, 2:45 pm

Yeah, i would much rather haul in some liquor or Irish Cream in lighterweight packaging and have the most bang for the ounce. My wife and I carried in some Bailey's and hot chocolate packets and skipped the water. Delicious and a heck of a buzz for those few ounces :D.
'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
-Unknown

User avatar
mjirving
Posts: 1185
Joined: July 5th, 2011, 10:40 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by mjirving » August 6th, 2015, 6:09 pm

I bought it and took it with my buddies on a 360 around Adams a month or so ago. After the initial purchase it's about $3/pint. I thought it was pretty good. I like the Pale Rail better as I'm not a huge fan of the super dark beers.

Mike (aka GoalTech)

User avatar
Koda
Posts: 3466
Joined: June 5th, 2009, 7:54 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by Koda » August 7th, 2015, 6:21 am

what I didn't notice in my original post is you also have to buy/include the activator packets, not certain how much weight that adds to your pack.

Mike, did you find this locally or did you order online?
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

User avatar
mjirving
Posts: 1185
Joined: July 5th, 2011, 10:40 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by mjirving » August 7th, 2015, 6:51 am

I bought online via Pats and their referred links so I ended up getting it through a distributor in California that sold a starter kit. The activator packets are cheap and light, like two sugar packets connected together. The beer concentrate is 56g each, the activator for each beer is 14g, the carbonated is 255g. I'd never take it on my long distance PCT hikes, but it's a lot of fun for the weekend trips that are more social with friends rather than cranking out big miles repeatedly on a long hike.

The purchasing is weird due to the strange alcohol laws about shipping but the Pats site just redirects you to the proper distributor so it's really easy. There is a place in Vancouver where you can buy it all locally too if desired. And I think REI sells everything except the alcohol. Pats website shows all the locations.

Mike

User avatar
mjirving
Posts: 1185
Joined: July 5th, 2011, 10:40 am

Re: Beer Concentrate for Hikers, finally

Post by mjirving » August 7th, 2015, 6:54 am

Oh...one other "gotcha" is that shipping is expensive, like $18 for the starter kit. I think that is due to their requirement that it's signed for by someone over 21. That's another reason to buy in Vancouver if convenient. This was offset somewhat by the promo on the started kit from the distributor. Their kitting and pricing isn't necessarily identical to the Pats website.

Post Reply