The High Sierra's Craft Breweries

'Welcome to altitude'. That’s the slogan of Mammoth Brewing Company in Mammoth Lakes, one of the relaxed taprooms and beer pubs dotting California’s mountain country. After a wintry day carving the moguls or riding in the terrain parks, or hiking a granite trail in summer, these craft breweries are the perfect place to chill out with a cold one. Mammoth Brewing uses local ingredients, such as wild elderberries and hops grown near the White Mountains to the east, to flavour its signature beers. Sample the results in the tasting room or at picnic tables outside.

Also in Mammoth Lakes you’ll find Black Doubt Brewing, a 111-square-metre self-described 'nano-brewery' specialising in Belgian-style ales, sour beers and other barrel-aged creations. In the mountain hamlet of June Lake, just north of Mammoth Lakes, June Lake Brewing offers a full range of beers in its high-elevation taproom. Try a creamy, slightly spicy Alpers Trout Pale Ale, or Hutte Double IPA, proclaimed 'a goliath of beers'.

The Lake Tahoe region has almost a six-pack-full of microbreweries pouring ales, stouts, pilsners and more. In Truckee, enjoy the beers and relax in the restaurant at FiftyFifty Brewing Company (don't miss the oak-bourbon-barrel-aged Eclipse Imperial Stout) and at Truckee Brewing Company, where on Mondays there’s a 50 per cent discount on all beers (excluding holidays). In Tahoe City, Tahoe Mountain Brewing and Brew Pub offers free tours of its brewery. At the California-Nevada border on the lake’s south shore, Stateline Brewery & Restaurant is practically at the bottom of the Heavenly Gondola, making it a popular place to relax après-ski.