Fernie Brewing Company is celebrating a new tasting room as well as a kick-ass Trail to Ale Challenge.

It’s been a big year for the Fernie Brewing Company. They revamped and expanded their tasting room. They constructed more warehouse space and a new tank farm. They expanded their store area. And they put in additional office space at their building on 26 Manitou Road.

With the new extended bar and tower, the brewery can now offer up to 12 fresh-from-the-source beers on tap – rotating through core beers, seasonals and limited-release brews, as soon as they’re available. (Despite the new space, regulars will be happy to know the “Cheers to Charity Program” still exists so for just $5 you can get a flight of four samples and all profits go to a local charity, organization or club rotating every 6-8 weeks.)

The company also hosted the Trail to Ale Challenge this year, which saw a lot of mountain bikers and runners bag three local peaks within a 24-hour-period and then finishing at the Fernie Brewing Company’s tasting room for a cold beer and handmade medal.

This 2017 Trail to Ale route required participants to bag the trails Hyper Ventilation, Project 9 and Swine Flu in any order and then prove it with time-stamped selfie photographs at dedicated signs near the top of each trail. If completed within 24-hours, ultimate glory (and a beer and medal) awaited. The total distance of riding is about 45 kilometres and about 1,200 metres of climbing.

Here’s the map of this year’s Trail to Ale challenge: