After a long, hot summer that’s still pretty hot, it may seem strange to have a beer festival dedicated to snow, but it’s happening at Pajarito Ski Area near Los Alamos this Saturday. Ullrfest is an annual tribute to Ullr, the Norse God of Snow. The hope is that with enough people dressed in Viking costumes, and sufficient sacrifices of beer, that the ski season will be a bountiful one. If nothing else, it’ll likely be cool at 9,000 feet. (Does anyone remember what it feels like to be cool?)

While most readers of this blog are probably here for the beer news, we do want to let you know that there will be plenty of other activities going on. There will be a disc golf tournament, a Hoppy scavenger hunt for hidden beer cans along the mountain’s trails, lift service to get you to the top so you can search for said cans from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a mountain bike race, a Viking costume contest, food from the cafe, and last but far from least, live music from Felix y Los Gatos (2-5 p.m.). Felix rocks, so it should be a grand party.

As always, beer is a large component of Ullrfest. Bring an ID to show that you’re over 21, of course. For an entry fee of $15, you get tastes of all the beers and a pint of your favorite, as well as a new, unique souvenir beer mug. The beer portion of the event runs from noon to 5 p.m.

The following breweries will be in attendance, and Stoutmeister asked for and got most of the beer lists (if the last two pop up, we will update this post):

• Bathtub Row: Hoppenheimer IPA, CojonHaze IPA, Festbier, Little Bird Blonde
• Beer Creek: Coming Soon Pale Ale, Picture Rock Porter
• Blue Corn: Gatekeeper IPA, Peach Gose, Oktoberfest, Whiteout Stout, Mexican Lager
• Boxing Bear: OktoBEARfest (draft and cans), Bear Knuckle (draft and cans), Chocolate Milk Stout, Uppercut IPA, Apple Bear Cider
• Canteen: TBA
• La Reforma: Copper Canyon Pale Ale, La Ref Lager, Maximillian, Turbia Hazy IPA, Hi-Wit
• Leaf and Hive: TBA
• Red River: Campfire Cream Ale, Tucker Brau Oktoberfest, Catskinner IPA, Back 40 Farmhouse Ale
• Second Alarm: Hotshot Kolsch, Caldera Copper Lager, Jemez Jefe Hefeweisen, Porter Landing Porter
• Second Street: 2920 IPA, Vienna Lager, Black Canyon Porter, Sloppy Sloth Hazy IPA, Kolsch, XX ESB
• Tumbleroot: TBA

If you’re going to be enjoying the beer, be sure to take the free shuttle that runs every half hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from the high school parking lot in town. It’s very convenient and priced right.

For additional information, visit the Pajarito Mountain event page.

Cheers!

— Reid