Craft Brewing And Silent Sports: Kindred Spirits
What Craft Beer and Endurance Sports Have in Common
In a world that often feels driven by instant gratification, there’s something deeply satisfying about the long game. Whether you’re training for a race on forested singletrack or perfecting a lager brewed with Lake Superior water, success comes down to the same things: patience, intention, and process.
At Earth Rider Brewery, we’ve noticed similarities between our community of brewers and the athletes who visit our taproom wearing trail-running shoes or have skis atop their cars. It seems many of us are cut from the same cloth — people who love putting in the work, chasing small improvements, and celebrating the milestones (even if that milestone is just finishing a hill workout… or completing a big canning run day).
TRAINING DAYS & BREW DAYS
Both brewing and endurance sports rely on careful planning, long timelines, and consistency. There’s no shortcut to a well-conditioned body — and no fast-forward button on a fermentation tank. Brewing a clean, crisp beer like Earth Rider’s Tap Shack Caribbean-style Lager takes weeks of cold-conditioning and attention to details like selecting the perfect time to add fresh lime zest, similar to sprinkling in a speed workout on top of a solid aerobic base.
Whether you obsessively track your interval splits and heart rate or monitor the specific gravity of your mash samples during a brew, you can be sure: both pursuits attract a detail-oriented kind of person. The kind who reads yeast propagation charts for fun, or who knows their weekly training hours down to the minute.
THE REWARD IS IN THE RITUAL
There’s also the ritual of it all: the early morning solo rides, the long brew days that stretch into the evening, the satisfaction of rinsing your bike off or cleaning out the mash tun. These are slow crafts, where the reward isn’t just the finish line or the final pour, but the process itself.
In summer, we see that process play out all over the Northwoods — people chasing their goals on trails, water, gravel, and roads. Then gathering together, sweaty and smiling, beer in hand. That post-run pint or paddle-and-pilsner moment isn’t just a treat, it’s a tradition.
CELEBRATE THE SLOW BURN
We’re proud to be part of a community that doesn’t cut corners. You train purposefully, we brew intentionally. And whether you’re gearing up for your next race, recovering from a big effort, or simply soaking in the lake, we hope you find a cold beer waiting for you — brewed with the same determination and care you put into every workout.
Because craft beer and silent sports have one very important thing in common: they’re best when you take your time.
Looking to enjoy some well-earned brews? Use our beer finder to see where you can get Earth Rider Beer nearest to you.
Earth Rider Fest 2025 happens on Saturday, August 16th! Catch a full day of beer, music and fun featuring bands like the Erik Koskinen Band, Molly Maher and her Disbelievers, Cry on Cue and so many more! Also enjoy kids activities, a food truck, artists and local crafters, festival games and balloon art. Save money and get your tickets early here, or stop into Earth Rider Brewery’s Cedar Lounge taproom to pick up your tickets in person!
