Why River Rafting? In AAB (Vol. 32, Iss. 4, 2011) I postulate that lovers of craft beer and outdoor enthusiasts have been one and the same since the get-go. Most of the pioneers of post-Prohibition brewing are in fact or in heart grizzled nature buffs who carved out career paths that enabled them to make a natural and thrilling product far away from the mainstream. Not unlike wild rivers themselves.

And like the beer we love, some of these rivers are easy to navigate, some are too challenging for most, they’re each about 95 percent water (remember, it’s air that makes rapids white), and, thankfully, these liquidy adventures can be sourced from all over the country. Namely: the Gallatin River near Bozeman (MT), the Rio Grande River near Santa Fe (NM), and on the Chattooga River near Athens (GA) and Greenville (SC).