Park City Food & Wine Seminar Review: Hike and Hops

Summer is my favorite season for a host of reasons, but the Park City Food & Wine Classic is a highlight. I get giddy when they release the seminar list a few months before the event, and each year I love attending the Stroll of Main Street and Canyons Grand Tasting. But my real passion at this multi-day festival is the growing number of outdoor seminars that pair spirits with seriously cool adventures.

Snazzy packs for all.

Rain attire.

I felt lucky to get a space on last year's new Hike and Hops event at the Deer Valley Montage before it sold out. Note that this year's is already sold out, but many Classic seminars have a similar format and there are still plenty of spots on the horseback riding, SUPing, and trail running events.

As for last year's Hike & Hops, I reached the Montage at the scheduled time on the rainy July morning, but the weather wouldn't cooperate it drizzled as we checked in for the seminar indoors.

Merrell is a main festival sponsor so all hike participants were outfitted with cool new packs before venturing out. I loaded mine with a rain jacket, camera, and a few snacks before we boarded waiting shuttles to carry us to the top of Guardsman's Pass.

Relentless rain left the original trail option flooded and muddy, making for an unpleasant experience, so the leaders opted for a last minute plan change to hiking around a neighboring lake.

The rain let up as we hiked up a hill and toward the lake, but hovering clouds kept the temperature low.

Bull moose near the trail.

The quick jaunt was gorgeous, but some found sections challenging because they wore strappy flip flops instead of hiking shoes. Most people were visiting Park City from out of state and may not have known better, so I won't even comment on why this footwear choice is a terrible idea.

One of the hike leaders even gave his his shoes to another hiker for the remainder of the trek and went shoeless the final half mile. That's job dedication if I've ever seen it!

Mosquitos started gathering near the hike's end, so I sped up to get out of there as I'm a veritable mosquito magnet!

We boarded a shuttle back and headed inside the Montage for the Hike & Hops Barbecue, which was forced inside due to the rain, but still set up beautifully.

Event menu.

The four-course affair paired each dish with a matching beer poured in the correct glass for its style. First came a sampling of cheese, grapes, and nuts served alongside a Stella Artois. This lighter Pilsner is not my preferred beer, but it was fascinating to learn how and why it is poured in a chalice and the flavor and taste enhancement this brings.

Appetizer course.

A tasty and beautifully plated salad partnered with the Hoegaarden beer arrived second. Hoegarden, a wheat beer spiced with orange peel and coriander, is traditionally served in a hexagonal glass that's so shaped to prevent your hand from warming the beer as you drink it. Brilliant, right?  I also learned from this course that a bit of head on the beer is a good thing! It's created to be poured that way and actually improves the flavor. This was my favorite beer of the event and one I would order in the future.

Salad course.

Barbecue Brisket was the main course, but I substituted the veggie shish kabobs as I avoid meat. Both came paired with the Leffe Blonde, a blonde abbey beer with a slightly bitter finish, that is also correctly poured with a head on it in the specified glass. This seemed ridiculous to me until I actually tried the beer straight from the bottle, and then from the glass. Turns out the aroma and flavor are vastly improved when poured in the glass! I haven't looked at beer the same way since.

Grilled peaches were a delightful choice for the dessert course, and gratefully no beer was paired with them as we'd had so many!

I said goodbye to new friends I'd made at the event and as we were leaving the seminar leader told us we could keep all our glasses from the tasting. Great unexpected bonus!

If you are interested in trying an outdoor seminar for yourself, the value for the price is definitely worth it! Learn more about available seminars HERE. This year's event takes place July 9-13, 2014. Tickets sell out, so get yours in advance.

 *Park City Food and Wine Classic provided my ticket for this event, but all opinions are my own.