Outer Range Skimo WCIPA

Mountain brewery branding can occasionally drift into “guy who owns three expensive fleeces” territory, but Outer Range back it up with genuinely excellent beer. Founded in Frisco, Colorado, the brewery built its reputation on hazy IPAs that feel heavily influenced by the modern East Coast scene while still carrying a cleaner, slightly more alpine edge.

The hop-forward beers are the obvious headline act. Expect soft texture, saturated tropical fruit, citrus oils and the kind of aroma that escapes the can before you’ve fully opened it. Yet there’s usually a crispness underneath that stops the beers becoming cloying. Even the stronger DIPAs tend to stay surprisingly composed, which is not always guaranteed once breweries start chasing double-digit hopping rates.

Outer Range have also become known for their European outpost in the French Alps, which somehow makes perfect sense. Their style of brewing fits naturally with ski towns, cold air and people pretending a third pint of DIPA counts as recovery nutrition after snowboarding.

Beyond the haze, the lager programme deserves attention. Clean pilsners and crispy pale lagers provide a useful reminder that brewers obsessed with hop detail often care deeply about fermentation precision too. You do not accidentally make good lager.

There’s a modern international feel to the brewery as a whole. American brewing influence, European drinkability, contemporary branding and just enough outdoors energy without becoming an advert for technical backpacks. Which is probably the sweet spot.