Canada brewery teams up with mountain rescue on ski safety beer labels

One Canadian brewer has launched a limited edition IPA to help keep people safe during ski season. Its label includes advice on letting friends or family know exactly where you’re heading in case of an accident.

Bridge Brewing Co. in North Vancouver has joined forces with North Shore Rescue to encourage safety awareness among skiers and snowboarders in the region’s remote ‘backcountry’ areas.

Limited edition cans feature safety messaging on their labels, urging skiers to leave information with loved ones about which direction they’re heading before setting off for a trip.

The brewery hopes that when skiers return at the end of the day and crack open a cold beer to relax, the label will prompt them to consider their safety for the following day.

“Leave a note, text a friend, tell them where you plan on going. Having a Trip Plan may be the most important part of your excursion,” the brewery’s website urges.

Each year, many of those hitting the powder in the backcountry region get lost or injured, and its remote location and risk of avalanches means it can take a long time to locate them and complete a rescue.

“When you get home safely, you’re able to enjoy a beer, and this is a way that we’re able to reach a large demographic,” said Leigh Stratton, director of consumption for Bridge Brewing Co, which also makes a Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale and a Wunderbar Kolsch, using German hops.

“The cans are getting the message out…You need to leave details with a family or friend of where you’re going and when you’re expected to be back so that if the North Shore search and rescue team have to go out and find you — they’ve got a starting point.”

Stratton stresses that the beers are not meant to be enjoyed on the slopes.

“The message is to enjoy the beer the night before, make sure you’re making your plans appropriately and you’re leaving details of your backcountry hike with friends and family. Keep the beer in the fridge and then enjoy when you safely return,” Stratton told City News Vancouver.

The ‘Trip Plan’ IPA is a light, cloudy pale ale with aromas of orange, citrus and tropical fruit. The brewer describes the beer’s juicy flavour and mouthfeel as being “imparted by the giant whirlpool hop and dryhop additions” and calls it “the perfect beer after any big day in the mountains.”

Proceeds from sales will go towards supporting the “Tim Jones Legacy Fund”. Jones was a valued member of North Shore Rescue who volunteered for the service for 26 years, being involved in more than 1,000 searches before his passing in 2014.

It is hoped that the ‘Trip Plan’ beer will go some way to preventing rescue missions having to be carried out this ski season.