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“Okay, so the premise is a little off-kilter – teaming up exhausting adventure sports with craft beer. These well-written columns are fast-paced, fun and really will get you off and exploring natural areas, with a cold brew as your reward.”
James Murren is an award-winning independent writer, with numerous pieces having appeared in outdoor sports and recreation media outlets, adventure and travel magazines, newspapers, practitioners’ journals and newsletters, including:
L.A. Times, The Surfer’s Journal, Adventure Sports Journal, Mountain Flyer, Roads & Kingdoms, Backpacker Magazine, Cranked (UK), Snowshoe Magazine, Sub-Saharan Magazine, San Diego Union-Tribune, Spoke Magazine (NZ), Dirt Rag Magazine, Bike Magazine, Bicyclist Magazine, Strung Magazine, Bicycle Times, Switchback, and XXC Mag.
Currently, he is a columnist for Adventure Sports Journal (“Earn Your Beer“). Earn Your Beer is about pushing yourself in the mountains, deserts, oceans, rivers, wherever and then sitting back and enjoying a beer when relaxing at camp or home. Additionally, he is on the editorial team for Snowshoe Magazine.
I’ve a new project for 2021. Check it out here: MTBeer
Several articles and writing samples are available under Portfolio in the menu bar up top, where you can also enter the Blog for current postings.
Murren has published three books. Go Here, Go There: Travel and Workis a collection of words and photos depicting such experiences in ten countries around West Africa, Central and South America, North America, and Eurasia. The other two books are based on his work and travels in Honduras and Ethiopia. You can buy the books online via the link in the sidebar, or at the following locations: The Reader’s Cafe in Hanover, PA and Verbatim Books in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, CA.
Member: Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association
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- Earn Your Beer #132: Digital Detox - 02/15/2024
- Earn Your Beer #131: Mendocino Redwoods - 12/14/2023
- Earn Your Beer: Issue #130 - 08/28/2023
Black Is Beautiful and Anvil of Hope
The Earning
It took some eight years of bodysurfing the wave in front of Lifeguard Tower 2 and some not-so-sunny conditions in Ocean Beach, San Diego for me to get my first compliment from a local. Yeah, it felt good. The story goes like this:
I arrived mid-morning to foggy conditions, not simply a heavy marine layer. From the shore, as I stood and asked myself whether I was going out because I couldn’t see anything beyond the beach break, another guy was doing the same thing. Stepping into the water, I pulled on my surf fins and silently said, why not? I looked over as I swam and saw the other guy. We both surmised that the session was a bit of an unknown, with regard to surf conditions.Then, seemingly out of nowhere after I swam past the shore break I could see a very crowded lineup: boardsurfers, bodyboarders, and bodysurfers. Looking back to shore, I couldn’t see the lifeguard tower. Everyone was jostling for position and a few unkind words were spoken by some people. I decided that I’d try to get in a few slides since I was already in the water. Somewhere around thirty minutes later, I caught a right, kicked like hell and planed with my bare hand. I tucked in as the four-foot wave crashed and rolled, kicking my finned feet more and riding it out. When I popped my head up out of the water, smile on my face, I heard the following:
“That was pretty. Nice one!”
A local bodysurfer, somewhere in her late 50s, I’d guess, gave me a compliment I had yet to receive. I thanked her and swam back out, working back into the lineup and waiting for another go-round. One more, was the new prevailing thought. It continued for a few more attempts, though none were quite like the “pretty” one.
The Beer
Weathered Souls Brewing Company (San Antonio, TX) created a recipe for a stout and shared it with the brewing universe. The idea was to have others brew it and then have all breweries donate all proceeds to local organizations around the country/world that work to address inequality, specifically recognizing the Black Lives Matter movement by calling the stout Black is Beautiful.
I agree with all of that and I really like roasty stouts. I stopped in at Alpine Beer Company (Alpine, CA) and picked up a 32 oz half-growler of Black is Beautiful.
Indeed, it was roast and toast that gave the most satisfying feeling knowing that the dollars spent were going to support efforts to combat social injustice.
Another beer that was created to assist people who need it during 2020 and beyond is a hazy IPA by AleSmith Brewing Company (San Diego, CA) and their new non-profit called Anvil of Hope.
The new brew goes by the name of AleSmith for Hope. Proceeds from this beer go to support COVID-19 frontline workers. The brewery and its new non-profit came together to “pour it forward.”
Tasting notes: pretty much everything you’d expect in a 7.5% hazy IPA, meaning there’s citrus and other tropical fruits. It tastes great knowing that monies are going to people serving their fellow human beings.
alesmith.com/alesmith-for-hope-release/
