Ski Beers And Sticking It To The Man
Fuel Your Stoke
What the freak does Fuel Your Stoke mean? Fuel Your Stoke is the phrase that best describes our mission at Zeeks. It comes from our origin story. Zeeks was founded in 1993 by two friends just out of college looking to live the ultimate Northwest lifestyle. To Doug and Tom that meant lots of big-mountain powder skiing, wind-surfing at the Gorge and partying with friends all along the way. The problem was that their coding jobs at Andersen Consulting weren’t really conducive to living the ultimate PNW outdoor dream. No other corporate jobs they looked at had the freedom or flexibility to rip Cascade powder or ride Columbia swell either. In other words, they couldn’t really do what got them stoked while working for The Man. To live the lives they wanted, they would need to start their own company. In Tom’s and Doug’s words “We couldn’t find a company that allowed for powder days and charging the Gorge, so we started our own.”
So, the Big Bang at Zeeks happened because Tom and Doug needed a way to fuel their Northwest stoke. But everybody has something that gets them stoked. We realized a while ago that when we focus on fueling the stoke of our customers, our crew members, our franchise partners, ourselves and basically anybody that comes into contact with Zeeks, we end up on the right path and at the right destination. That’s how the phrase Fuel Your Stoke became our mantra and why you see and hear it so much if you follow us.
We have a specific definition of stoke at Zeeks. It is what you feel when everything is right in your universe. It means that not only are your material needs being met, but that you are having fun and your soul and spirit are being spoken to. We know we sound like a bunch of West Coast knuckleheads who just hit the bubbler too hard when we talk this way, but Fuel Your Stoke is the most authentic way we know how to communicate what we are all about and we don’t know how to be anything but authentic. So, we just live with every once in a while sounding like a stoned surfer that just fell out of a van.
Speaking of which…
Flannel Blizzard
As you can imagine, ski season is kind of sacred at Zeeks. For us, winter not only means getting outside and enjoying epic mountain adventures, it means partying with our friends. Many of our best Apres-Ski memories are from north of the border at places like Whistler, Revelstoke, Chatter Creek and Baldface, and we are pretty sure no beers are more responsible for painful-but-worth-it next-morning lift lines than the two famous Canadian Style Lagers – Kokanee and Molsen Canadian.
When we approached Aslan Brewing with the idea of collaborating on a beer specifically for ski season and having it be a light, Canadian Style Lager they got, well, stoked. Aslan is a company with deep Northwest roots and a love of outdoor PNW adventure like us. They too have many semi-hazy, Kokanee fueled memories of snowy good times in BC. We all agreed that a crushable Canadian Style Lager made total sense for a ski beer.
One of the foremost breweries in the Northwest, Aslan is among the handful of tippy-top ones that are particularly well-respected and are often talked about in especially reverent tones. The Bellingham brewer is regularly the answer when we ask our customers whose beers are their favorite and it’s not hard to see why. Their sourcing and methods are impeccable. To use their words, they view brewing beer as both an expression of artistry and a measure of scientific prowess. They view mastering both as a triumph like no other. Totally deep, man. They might be hitting the bubbler too.
What we know is we love drinking their beer. We use the phrase “Clean Burning Fuel” at Zeeks a lot because it is a very specific goal of ours for our pizza to be clean burning and consistent with an active, outdoor lifestyle. It is also the phrase that comes to mind most often when we think of Aslan. We like all of their beers, but we especially like their lighter styles like lagers because they are so clean and notably easy drinking. That’s why Aslan was our number one choice when we were looking for a collab partner for Flannel Blizzard.
Flannel Blizzard is meant to fuel your parties this winter, even if the party is just you. It goes great with pizza, but what we really look forward to is throwing some crowlers or a six-pack in a cooler and cracking them open in the parking lot at Alpental or Crystal with some socially distanced friends (obviously do not ski or drive impaired and stay covid safe).
Flannel Blizzard clocks in at 5% alcohol just like Kokanee and Canadian, but it is noticeably smoother and cleaner burning. It feels like you can drink a million because it is so easy drinking. Don’t drink a million of them. Who knows what the proper limit is, but the author has drank three for research purposes while typing this email and things seem fine.
It is worth noting the cans will sell out fast because the run is limited. Crowlers and Growlers will be available through February though and everything is available for delivery & take-out. Crowlers are especially good for delivery and take-out because they are light and recyclable.
Flannel Blizzard Delivery & Take-Out Deals
12oz Cans
$2 / single
$10 / 6 pack
32oz Crowlers
$6 / single
$15 / 2 pack
$28 / 4 pack
Olsen Farm and Salt Blade
Collab Pizzas
We introduced these pizzas a few weeks back and we still have a few weeks left for them to run. Mountain Fuel, Flannel Blanket and Northwest Hash are all hearty, winter-time pizzas that just feel right this time of year. They all also go great with Flannel Blizzard which is a crisp compliment to these pies.
Meat & Potato Pizzas
15 / 25 / 34
Northwest Hash
Red Sauce Base, Mozzarella, Olsen Farm Potatoes, Salt Blade Chorizo, Red Onions, Fresh Garlic, Green Peppers, Ferndale Farmstead Asiago
Flannel Blanket
Carmelized Onion Base, Mozzarella, Olsen Farm Potatoes, Salt Blade Chorizo, Goat Cheese, Ferndale Farmstead Asiago
Mountain Fuel
Alfredo Base, Mozzarella, Olsen Farm Potatoes, Salt Blade Chorizo, Diced Roma Tomatoes, Red Onion, Parmesan
We hope you, your friends and family are all safe and healthy. Have a great holiday and thanks for rolling with us.
Cheers!