North Shore Rescue will be the first to tell you: Alcohol and mountain trails are a bad idea.
But you might be doing the team a really big favour if you crush a cold one when you get home.
North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing has launched Trip Plan IPA, a beer to benefit the all-volunteer team.
A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Tim Jones Legacy Fund, which was set up after the death of North Shore Rescue’s former team leader to help provide sustainable funding for NSR.
Trip Plan IPA measures in at 5.5 per cent alcohol and 40 IBUs (a hoppy-but-not-too-hoppy measurement of bitterness).
But, it’s the can, or rather what’s printed on it, that really excites North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks. The blurb on the reverse stresses the importance of creating a trip plan before going into the mountains, and making sure someone else knows about it.
“If you get into trouble out there, search and rescue needs a starting point. Leave a note, text a friend, tell them where you plan on going. A trip plan may be the most important part of your excursion,” it reads.
“Bridge was just all over it,” Danks said. “It's such a great combo. It's such an important message.”
Danks said a “significant” number of call-outs involve searches for people who did not tell anyone where they were going and when they were due back. It means the search doesn’t start until hours or even days after someone has disappeared, which has absolutely been a matter of life and death.
“The fatalities that we have had, the people that we've never located, that’s the No. 1 thing right there,” he said. “And then the amount of time that we have spent looking for people in the wrong areas has been immense.”
Leigh Stratton, Bridge Brewing owner, said they were happy to give back to the team.
“I've never had to call them, but our family being on the North Shore, we go hiking lots,” she said. “We definitely appreciate what they do on the North Shore and the people that they rescue.”
Stratton said they came up with an IPA recipe that would be “crushable” and with broad appeal.
It’s received an enthusiastic thumbs up from Danks.
“It's a really good beer,” he said. “I'm a lager guy and it tastes great.”
Trip Plan IPA is available for a limited time at Bridge Brewing at 1448 Charlotte Rd., and will be in liquor stores across the province later this week.
