As beer-lovers and explorers of our Pacific Northwest home, we were excited to collaborate with Beers Made By Walking on a custom Scout Books project, which was illustrated and designed by artist Lydia Morrow. The Beers Made By Walking program invites brewers to hit the trail and utilize edible and medicinal plants they find in the making of beer. They strive to inspire people to make beers that give the drinker a sense of place. The inside pages of their notebooks have botanical illustrations and space to jot down notes.
Founder Eric Steen was inspired by the Norwegian concept of “friluftsliv”, or “Free Air Living”, the idea that one should make a habit of spending time outdoors, as well as Williams Bros Brewing in Scotland, which brews ales using ingredients from the Scottish landscape such as heather, gale, Scottish pine and seaweed. Steen launched the program in Colorado Springs in 2011, and it has since grown to working with 45+ breweries and hosting both walking and drinking events in cities all over the country. Further inspiration came from British artists Richard Long and Hamish Fulton, who used walking as a way to connect with and better understand the outside world.
The team at Beers Made By Walking is often expanding into new cities and adding events to their line-up – check out their upcoming events to see if a walk is scheduled near you!