Growler Fills - Craft Beer Enthusiasm

Winning Tweet for Missoula Winter BrewFest

2012-02-13T08:32:00.003-07:00

Missoula celebrated another successful brewfest on Saturday with big crowds enjoying 36 beers, live music great food and plenty of tweeting at the Missoula Downtown Association's second Winter BrewFest. Growler Fills and Montana Beer Finder teamed up with the MDA to sponsor a tweet contest for a little social media buzz and the chance to win a $25 Downtown Gift Card.

The winning tweet was this super sweet instagram photo from @PNTBLDan as he sang the praises of Blacksmith Brewing Co's new single hop IPA:

“Zythos IPA from Blacksmith is excellent. #MslaBrewFest”

Dan's picture definitely caught our attention, which just beat out two of our other favorite tweets from the event:

From @letitflow: I took first shift... wife is now imbibing #MslaBrewFest - that's how missoula parents roll

From @BenandRobot: Is the Pulaski Porter from Blacksmith Brewery in honor of Casmir or Ed? Delicious either way. #MslaBrewFest #uselessdebates

Dan also tweeted a picture of his parents who, rumor has it, may have ditched him to go back for more beer. Thanks to everyone who took part in the contest and thanks to the Missoula Downtown Association for putting on another great event. We enjoyed getting to meet lots of great folks at the Winter BrewFest and will see you again at many future craft beer events.

Tweet and Win at Missoula Winter BrewFest

2012-02-08T07:47:00.001-07:00

Excited about the great lineup of beers at this Saturday's Winter BrewFest in Missoula? Now there's another reason to get stoked. Growler Fills and Montana Beer Finder are teaming up with the Missoula Downtown Association for a little fun and games.

Taking part is simple. During the Winter BrewFest (2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Missoula time*), open up your smart phone, hand held, laptop or whatever else might be handy and send out a tweet** using the hashtag #MslaBrewFest. Tell us what beer you love, what brewery you're impressed with, what fun you're having or anything else related to craft beer and the MDA WinterBrew Fest.

Bloggers from Growler Fills and Montana Beer Finder will pick out the best tweet from the event. The author will receive a $25 Downtown Gift Card from the MDA, redeemable at a variety of MDA member businesses in Missoula.
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* Hold the jokes.

** Twitter has nothing to do with this contest. Still it's a great way to connect with others around a common subject.

Montana Beer Finder: New Site Connects Craft Beer Fans to Craft Beer in Montana

2012-02-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Montana Beer Finder launchedthis past January as a single website designed to connect craft beer fans inMontana with great craft beer. Using "beerspotters" throughout the state, the site aims to provide current andrelevant information on where to find unique bottles, special taps, and greatdeals on craft beer in restaurants, bars, bottle shops, grocery stores and atunique events.

Given my love of craft beer and never-ending search for the next “beervana,” Iprobably check out the beer aisles and tap handles far more than the averageperson. Yet, I can't tell you how many times I've missed out on a specialbottle or a pint of something new and limited at the Rhino, Montana Ale Works,Blackfoot River Brewing Co. or any other great place because I didn't knowabout it at the right time and place. This site will keep all of us in the loop(a place I don't often reside).

As the site is new, the content is just getting started, but it’s been wellreceived by several breweries and bars in the state. Montana Beer Finder is on the lookoutfor more beer spotters to join the fun, especially those outside of Missoula. Ifyou're interesting in becoming a beer spotter, visit the site and you'll findall the important info you need to join this elite squad.

Truth in Beer Advertising

2012-02-06T09:26:00.002-07:00

If you watched the Super Bowl on Sunday you might have noticed there was only one beer advertiser (for the majority of viewers). Their "Weego" ad provided some good laughs and plenty of buzz, though less so for their other spots.*

But if you're a craft beer lover - and why else would you be here - you're sure to get a big kick out of Breckenridge Brewery's "Truths in Beervertising," a series of entertaining beer advertisements. Like this one for The Least Interesting Man in the World:

Head here to see many more of Breckenridge Brewery's videos.
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* Three cheers for their support for rescuing pets.

Boulevard Brewing Company: Brewery Built for Success

2012-02-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Over Christmas I traveled to eastern Kansas, and one of thetop destinations on my list was to visit BoulevardBrewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri. Boulevard has been brewing fresh,flavorful beers since 1989, making it one of the earlier craft breweries in theUnited States. Founded by John McDonald with a few kegs of Boulevard Pale Ale, whichJohn personally delivered to a Mexican restaurant a few blocks down the road,now Boulevard is the largest brewery in the Midwest and after a major expansionin 2006, the brewery’s capacity is about 600,000 barrels per year (100 timeslarger than John’s original business plan).

Boulevard beers, unfortunately, do not make their way intoMontana through distribution. They do, however, make it to 21 other U.S.states, the closest of which is Washington. You can pick some up on your nexttrip to Spokane at a bottle shop, such as JB’sFood and Bottleworks.

As mentioned earlier, Boulevard Brewing is a big brewerythat produces some very fine beers. It’s the 17^th largest brewery byvolume in the U.S., whereas Big Sky Brewing isn’t even in the Top 50.Some may raise up a skeptical eyebrow when “big” and “beer” are used in thesame sentence. The worries are retaining quality control and customersatisfaction when businesses grow. Let’s put those worries to rest quickly.

If you don’t know Boulevard beers that well, a signatureline of their brews is the Smokestack Series, which includes both 750 ml and375 ml sizes. A few sought-after highlights from the Smokestack Series includeTank 7 Farmhouse Ale, Saison-Brett, Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ), Imperial Stoutand, most recently released, Chocolate Ale. Nearly all these beers are ratedworld-class or near world-class on sites like BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, with most of them receivinghundreds of reviews.

Now it’s time for a little story about what makes a goodbrewery great, regardless of their size. Boulevard Brewing offers free publictours several times a week, and they often fill up. I knew the day we wereplanning to get to Boulevard we weren’t going to make it for one of the twoscheduled tours, but we wanted to try their beers regardless so we drove up andwalked in to the tasting room, which was completely empty except for my wifeand I and a lone beertender behind the taps.

I joked that we had the place to ourselves and ourbeertender, Steve, asked if we were part of a tour. We weren’t. Steve explainedthat the tasting room wasn’t public (as they are everywhere in Montana), andtour participants were allowed four tastes after their tour. As we apologizedfor our lack of understanding and turned to head out, Steve stopped us and offeredto pour some samples regardless. He explained that already they had to doublethe size of their tours since so many people were in town for the holidays.Steve himself wasn’t even supposed to be working that day. He just came by todrop something off, but he wasn’t bitter about it. He genuinely loved workingat Boulevard and had been there for many years.

After a couple samples, we have our first other visitor comein to the tasting room. It turns out to be the Boulevard rep for all of KansasCity, John Kane, VP and General Manager for CentralStates Beverage Company. John explains how hard he’s worked to growBoulevard’s presence in its hometown, having gotten it now into a majority ofthe tap lineups in the city – a big jump from when John McDonald first hand-deliveredkegs to a single restaurant down the street. It’s heartening to see such a close,strong and symbiotic relationship between brewery and distributor.

Over the course of several more samples, a few morestragglers came in, as we did, not knowing the structure of the tasting room.Steve greeted them and then decided he’d give us a private tour. What a treat!We got a 6-person private tour of one of the grandest breweries in the UnitedStates.

As we toured, Steve explained that the founder, John, wantedto make his beers accessible and affordable to as many people as possible. AndI applaud that approach. Boulevard doesn’t brand itself as an “out there”brewery, trying to push the envelope. Sure, they create some absolutely uniqueand tasty beers, but they want people to enjoy them. It’s why they beganoffering their Smokestack Series in smaller formats (375 ml), because they knewnot everyone wanted to drink (or pay for) ¾ of a liter of beer in one night.Moreover, in an age where it’s not uncommon to pay upwards of $15 for a bigbottle of beer (Big Sky’s Ivan the Terrible runs $14 at the brewery), manybeers in the Smokestack Series run about $8 each for a 750 ml.

I would make a point to say that Boulevard is abrewery which understands that even through growth and through recognition, thecompany never lost sight of its biggest asset – its customer. It is my personalwish that they grow large enough to come to Montana, as we have plenty of roomfor them here in the Treasure State!

Missoula's The Rhino Hosts February Barleywine Festival

2012-02-04T15:57:00.002-07:00

The Rhino in Missoula is well known for it's 50 taps and often has a few high gravity choices that few others in the Northwest offer. Each February The Rhino hosts its annual barleywine festival and this year's lineup is particularly impressive. Here's a look at them:

2007 Old Guardian from Stone (11.26% abv).
2008 Gnarly Wine from Lagunita (10.6% abv).
2008 Big Nugget from Alaskan (10.7% abv).
2008 BigFoot from Sierra Nevada (9.6% abv).
2009 Old Crusty from Rogue (11.5% abv).

All five beers made it on tap yesterday and will remain until the kegs run out. In other words, don't wait too long if you want to take part in this great collection of barleywines. It's one thing to have several barleywines on tap at one time, but quite another to have ones that have been cellared for several years. Prices are $6 for a pint, $4 for 10 oz. and $3 for 7 oz. At these abv's I recommend the smaller sizes so you'll be sure to have room to try all five. Or better yet, stop in several times and celebrate the February Barleywine Festival at The Rhino.

Growler Fills Expands, Takes on New Challenges

2012-02-02T21:46:00.002-07:00

The rodent known as Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted six more weeks of winter, but that doesn't mean Growler Fills has any plans to hibernate. Quite the opposite. Today we're happy to welcome a new contributor and partner in crime to Growler Fills, Ryan Newhouse. Now when we write "we," we actually mean it.

Ryan is a fellow Missoulian and freelance writer with a passion for great craft beer. He's a dark beer kind of guy. With a blend of Germanic and Southern roots, he likes to drink the good stuff and cook with okay stuff. And he's always looking for the next full glass.

Ryan also brings a working knowledge of social media strategy, internet marketing, campaigns and a thirst (pun intended) for creative and accurate content. Alan continues to bring . . . . uh . . . . hmmm.

What does this mean for Growler Fills? Twice the coverage, twice the content, twice the fun. We've got plenty of new ideas to help spread the love for craft beer in Montana and beyond. It's all designed to help you connect with the best beer, breweries and events out there. All we ask in return is your continued comments, discussion, news items, and ideas. Oh, and free beer, event tickets and schwag are welcome, too.

As always, we invite you to let us know how we're doing and what more you'd like to see on Growler Fills. Plus, we're ready, willing and able to help you promote your craft beer related news and events through social media content, appearances and consultations. Really, anything designed to expand the Montana craft beer scene and Montanan's love of craft beer from places near and far.

Senator Baucus Shares Big Sky Brew, Touts Montana Barley

2012-02-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago Montana Senator Max Baucus, along with Idaho Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, started the Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus in the United States Senate to highlight the importance of America's small brewers, their relationship with American agricultural products and their contributions to economic growth.

Montana has an important part in that. Montana's 30 breweries have Montana ranked No. 2 in the U.S. for the number of breweries per capita. More importantly, Montana's barely growers produce high quality barely, much of which is malted at the Malteurop plant in Great Falls. As Senator Baucus points out, nearly half of the 5.6 million pounds of barley used by Montana's breweries is grown right here in Montana.

This week, Senator Baucus held the first meeting of the Small Brewers Caucus where beer from Missoula's Big Sky Brewing Co. was "showcased" as the Caucus met with members from the National Barley Growers Association and the Brewers Association. I took "showcased" as a senatorial code word for sharing a couple of six packs around the room. It'd be a crying shame to only show them the label. Plus, it's Congress. Great craft beer might be the perfect antidote to partisanship.

Head here to read the full letter Senator Baucus sent to the Montana Grain Growers and the Montana Brewers Association.

Missoula's Kettlehouse Expands Capacity, Bumps Legal Limitations

2012-01-31T08:20:00.001-07:00

This morning's Missoulian newspaper has a story about Kettlehouse Brewing Co.'s expansion, but also contains a couple of nuggets detailing the problems with Montana's brewery laws.

On Monday, Kettlehouse swapped out two 40 barrel fermentation and bright tanks for two 90 barrel ones to increase capacity. With the switch, Kettlehouse now has the capacity to reach close to 10,000 barrels per year which is an arbitrary, but important number in Montana's statutes. Read along below and you'll see the issue:

16-3-213. Brewers or beer importers not to retail beer -- small brewery exceptions. (1) Except as provided for small breweries in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any brewer or breweries or beer importer to have or own any permit to sell or retail beer at any place or premises. It is the intention of this section to prohibit brewers and beer importers from engaging in the retail sale of beer. This section does not prohibit breweries from selling and delivering beer manufactured by them, in original packages, at either wholesale or retail.
(2) (a) For the purposes of this section, a "small brewery" is a brewery that has an annual nationwide production of not less than 100 barrels or more than 10,000 barrels.
(b) A small brewery may, at one location for each brewery license, provide samples of beer that were brewed and fermented on the premises in a sample room located on the licensed premises. The samples may be provided with or without charge between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. No more than 48 ounces of malt beverage may be sold or given to each individual customer during a business day.

That's the Montana statute that creates the now familiar 48 ounce limitation and requires tap rooms to stop serving at 8:00 p.m. You might not have known, however, that permission to sell beer for on-premise consumption in a brewery tap room is only granted to "small breweries" producing at least 100 barrels annually, but not more than 10,000 barrels annually.*

Thus, if Kettlehouse exceeds 10,000 barrels annually it must stop selling beer at its taproom, something they obviously don't want to do. The limitation has a chilling effect on the growth potential for some of Montana's best business stories. Wondering why you can't get enough Cold Smoke Scotch Ale in Billings? Expanding to meet the demand means giving up a tap room. And you don't want to see what happens when Missoula's residents hear that news.

The 10,000 barrel limit was enacted in 1999 as part of the compromise with other members of the three-tier manufacturing/distributing/retailing system to allow on-premise sales at tap rooms. Perhaps at the time no one expected the boom in Montana's craft beer industry. Now, that boom is responsible for significant job creation and a great market for Montana's agricultural products. Oh . . and . . . uh . . . . great beer for us craft beer lovers. It's time to make legislative changes to help the industry, not limit it.

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* Note: The Missoulian article has an unintentional error when it says Big Sky Brewing Co. is the only brewery which can legally exceed 10,000 barrels. Other breweries can exceed this limit, but may need to make changes to their operations.

Missoula Winter BrewFest: Sat. Feb 11, 2012

2012-01-30T19:47:00.002-07:00

The Missoula Downtown Association is at it again with another winter brewfest in the works. Last year's winter-time event was a big success - perhaps a bit too successful - as craft beer lovers took over the first floor of the historic Missoula Mercantile building. With the Merc set for renovations to start soon, many wondered if there was another location in town willing to take on the fun. Turns out, there is.

On Saturday, February 11, 2012, from 2-8 pm, the Missoula Downtown Association's Winter BrewFest will take place at the old Safeway Building on West Broadway Street nest to St. Patrick's Hospital. More than 30 beers will be pouring along with a wine bar, food and live music. Tickets are $10 which gets you a 7 ounce tasting glass and two drink tokens. Additional tokens are $1 each. Word to the wise: the earlier you get there, the better.

Here's a look at the beer list (click to enlarge):

406 Brewing Company: Craft Beer Driven By Fans

2012-01-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Tucked between I-90 and the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in a redeveloping former industrial area sits 406 Brewing Co., one of Montana's newest breweries. It opened in May 2011at 101 East Oak St. in Bozeman, MT and it's not a stretch to suggest it's Montana's most experimental brewery. It seems brewer/owner Matt Muth enjoys switching things up on a frequent basis and is attracting a cadre of fans who never know what they're going to get. Eight months after opening, 406 still doesn't have a flagship beer. It's the customers who are driving the decisions behind what might become the regular standards, but for now, you're as likely to find a brown porter as a double black ipa as a strong pale ale.

Take the Session #5 Pale Ale, for example. It's their fifth attempt at a session ale, a light, easy drinking 4.0% brew with some good hop bitterness that won't weigh you down. But chances are, by the time you're reading this, they're on to #6.

Step through the heavy wood doors into this modern industrial space and you'll find huge chunks of wood forming the bar stools and the bar itself. It's all reclaimed wood, including beams from a nearby lumber warehouse. The foot rest around the main bar is a heavy, old chain used in logging operations. Big sunny windows in front let natural light fill the space. Large windows between the tap room and the brewery space let you check out the brewing operation.

On my short visit in mid-January, 406 had five beers on tap: Double Black IPA, 9%; Snowy Owl Scotch Ale, 6.2%; C-4 Strong Pale Ale, 6.0%; Session #5 Pale Ale, 4.0%; and Red Hop Imperial Red Ale, 8%. The double black ipa had great piney hop bitterness with some dark chocolate flavors and fairly apparent alcohol. The snowy owl scotch ale had smooth caramel flavors dominating the profile, as all good scotch ales do, with a touch of bitterness in the finish.

406 Brewing is suffering the same problem many of Montana's craft breweries are experiencing. They can't keep up with the demand. It's a great problem to have, though patrons' growlers tend to leave empty as brewers try to keep the taps flowing for visitors to the tap rooms. Perhaps we just need more craft beer in Montana?

January Beer Run: Draught Works Brewery

2012-01-25T07:58:00.001-07:00

Run Wild Missoula's monthly Beer Run takes place tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 at Draught Works Brewery at 915 Toole Ave. in Missoula. The Run starts at 6:00 p.m. at the Brewery followed by plenty of good beer to go around. The planned run is approximately 4.5 miles through the center of town and along the riverfront. As always, all skill levels are welcome and you can cut the run short or go long. Here's a map:

The Most Overrated Brewery: A Hype Worth Discussing

2012-01-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, a Beeradvocate (BA) member started a forum thread asking other members to weigh in on his nomination for the most overrated brewery. His initial post said:

What brewery out there gets too much hype for what they bring to the table? My money goes to Dogfish Head. Their IPAs are solid but most of their "big" beers really aren't anything special and some are downright bad.

Listed among the nearly 500 replies which followed were a wide variety of breweries, each collecting a fair amount of agreement and disagreement. If nothing else, the discussion once again proved how varied our palates are. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery was one which made the list a number of times.

Things got a bit more interesting when Sam Calagione, founder and president of Dogfish Head, added his two cents, decrying the thread as a far too frequent attack on those breweries who "dare to grow." Here's part of his response:

Yet so many folks that post here still spend their time knocking down breweries that dare to grow. It's like that old joke: "Nobody eats at that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded.” Except the "restaurants" that people shit on here aren't exactly juggernauts. In fact, aside from Boston Beer, none of them have anything even close to half of one percent marketshare. The more that retailers, distributors, and large industrial brewers consolidate the more fragile the current growth momentum of the craft segment becomes. The more often the Beer Advocate community becomes a soap box for outing breweries for daring to grow beyond its insider ranks the more it will be marginalized in the movement to support, promote, and protect independent, American, craft breweries.

Calagione went on to explain how Dogfish Head has focused on created "weird" beers it knows will please some and disappoint others. He says the Brewery puts no more marketing or hype into its regular lineup than its occasionals. As for hype, Calagione said they only advertise in a few beer magazines and through social media.

Breweries and beer fans linked to Calagione's response and cheered his attack on beer snobs. As a member of BA, I get it. I have a love hate relationship with the site. I find parts of it valuable and parts of it infuriating (or at least rather disappointing).

Many of the forum discussions on BA are quite useful. Headed to a new city and want to know where to go to find good craft beer? Post a request for info and you'll usually find helpful responses. BA has also proven useful for finding other local craft beer fans and beer trading partners.

On the other hand, like any such site there are the "trolls" - those who incite inflammatory discussions for the pure enjoyment of it. The "most overrated brewery" topic trends toward such an effort. You'll also find members who rate a beer poorly (say, a 1 out of 5) while simultaneously acknowledging it isn't a style they like. Huh? You tried a beer of a style you admittedly don't like and took the effort to write up a review to give the beer a low rating? That defies common sense.

Fortunately, if you've got a decent head on your shoulders, you can separate the useless from the useful on BA with relative ease. Ever read the comments to a controversial topic on your local newspaper's website? Yeah, it's kind of like that. Really, it's a certain category of members and discussions I take issue with, not the site itself.

But I also don't believe Calagione's response deserves a universal pass, either.

From my distant viewpoint, Calagione is a master of hype. Dogfish Head is well known for creating "weird" styles of beer. I've got some in the beer fridge. Their penchant for creating unique styles of beer and their constant experimentation generates an impressive amount of press on its own. Dogfish Head doesn't need to advertise; its business model paired with its success generates the press. Plus, ever seen Discovery's television show "Brew Masters"? Here's Discovery's description of the show:

Sam Calagione, craft beer maestro and founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, and his partners in suds travel the world searching for exotic ingredients and discovering ancient techniques to produce beers of astounding originality.

Okay, so maybe Dogfish Head doesn't do much direct advertising, but don't insult us by suggesting the brewery doesn't engage in significant "hype" from a variety of sources. I'm not bothered in the least by the hype. Many of Dogfish Head's beers I've tried deserved the praise. It is a fun brewery to follow and it's the nature of the art that there will be misses among the hits.

What bothers me is the underlying message in Calagione's response. Yes, some people on BA and elsewhere spend too much time "knocking down" various beers and breweries.* Yes, craft beer as an industry segment is still a small percentage of the whole. But we do get to criticize.** Some breweries aren't making good beer. Some beers aren't worth the hype. Our criticism of them isn't going to damage the craft beer industry or its potential for growth. After all, a mountain of criticism hasn't taken down Bud Light or any of the other "adjunct lagers."

Big beer is losing market share because people are recognizing the vast quality and variety available with craft beer. Big beer is turning to craft-like products to try and stem the tide. Conversely, the majority of tap rooms for Montana's 30 breweries are wildly popular gathering places to enjoy good-to-great beer with friends and family.

We should complain when poorly made craft beer is taking up room on our tap handles and in our beer aisles.*** We don't need to hand out "attaboys" to every craft brewery just to maintain an all-for-one, one-for-all hype of the craft beer industry. With 1,700+ craft breweries in America and 800+ more in planning, some aren't going to survive. Poorly made craft beer is not going to bring in new craft beer lovers any more than it will help maintain and grow the craft beer industry. Constructively directing new craft beer fans to well made craft beer will do far more good.

No brewery gets a pass because of the hype it has generated. No beer gets a pass because of who made it. The trick is to make the criticism constructive, something not common enough among BA and similar sites. It takes critical thinking to decide for yourself. Ask yourself why do I not like this beer. Is it not my style? Do I not like this hop? Is it poorly made? Was it handled wrong? On the other hand, take a moment to ask yourself why I do like a particular beer, too.

Enjoying and experimenting with craft beer takes a recognition of your own palate and an appreciate that others have different tastes. It also takes critical restraint when describing a beer you don't enjoy. As we like to say on Growler Fills: Like what you like, explore something new wherever you go, and enjoy the journey.

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* Truth be told, a BA member started a "most underrated beer" thread four days prior. Another member started a "most underrated brewery" thread twelve days prior. Seems there should be room for discussing the most overrated if we're going to be fine with discussing the most underrated. It's the manner in which things are discussed that deserves the criticism. The devil's in the details, as always.

** A point with which I'm sure Mr. Calagione agrees.

*** An experimental or seasonal beer that doesn't hit the mark, or one that is significantly different than recognized beer styles does not meet my definition of poorly made.

Draft Magazine's 100 Best Beer Bars for 2012

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

This week Draft Magazine issued its annual list of America's 100 Best Beer Bars. It's a fun look at who is doing a great job with craft beer and a useful guide whenever heading to a new city.

Although the 2012 list marks only one establishment in the western region as "new to the list" there are three changes among the 29 entries in the region. Unfortunately for fans of Missoula's The Rhinoceros, it is one of three western region bars dropped from the list.

Out for 2012 are The Rhino, Concordia Ale House (Portland, OR), and Uber Tavern (Seattle, WA). In for 2012 are Blue Palms Brewhouse (Hollywood, CA), Hopvine Pub (Seattle, WA), and The Mayor of Old Town (Fort Collins, CO).

My prediction for 2013? The new Manito Tap House in Spokane, WA, will make a strong run at the list, making it harder for The Rhino to make it back. They both have 50 taps, but all 50 at Manito are devoted to craft beer and I understand at least 34 of them rotate. By comparison, The Rhino has 8 or so "macro" taps and far fewer than half of the taps rotate.

What's your favorite beer bar?

Upcoming Winter Beervents

2012-01-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

Just because it's winter doesn't mean the craft beer fun takes a hiatus. Take a look at these upcoming beervents for your craft beer pleasure.

1. Cool Dog Ball and Microbrew Review. Friday, January 27, 2012, Helena Civic Center, Helena, MT. This annual fundraiser for the Race to the Sky dog sled race has been going on for as long as I can remember. I even helped pour beer at the first one back in the mid-90s. More than 30 craft brews from Montana and the northwest will be featured along with entrees and appetizers from Helena's Bert & Ernie's and Chili O'Brien's Catering. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. and continues until 11:30 p.m.

Music is provided by the father/daughter combo of blues' great Johnny and Destiny Rawls.Tickets are limited to 1,500 and are available at Bert & Ernie's, Topper's Cellar, The Overland Express, Staggering Ox, The Man Stores and the office of Downtown Helena Office. They are $18 in advance.

2. Black Star Barter/Whitefish Winter Carnival. Saturday, February 4, 2012, Whitefish, MT. The annual Black Star Barter takes place right after the Whitefish Winter Carnival Parade from 5 to 7 p.m. in front of the Great Northern Brewing Co. The Black Start Barter is an event where contestants barter to win a year's supply of Black Star Beer (52 cases.) Contestants must register their submissions between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For more information, head to Great Northern's website.

Following the Black Start Barter, Great Northern Brewing Co. will celebrate it's 17th Anniversary. Brewmaster Joe Barberis has brewed an Anniversary Black Lager which Great Northern describes as "a smooth brew with light roastiness and noble hop aroma."

3. Bigfork Brewfest. Saturday, February 25, 2012, Bigfork, MT. The 3rd annual Bigfork Brewfest takes over a portion of Electric Avenue with music, food and great craft beer from 3 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance. The weather for the first one was in the low 40s. Last year's was a tad colder, reaching the single digits. What will this year bring?

4. SNOW Bus Brewfest. Saturday, March 3, 2012, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitefish, MT. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event.

Rumor has it that another Missoula Winter Brewfest is in the works and scheduled for February 11, 2012. Hopefully confirmation and additional information will arrive soon.

It's 2012: Time for More Craft Beer

2012-01-03T20:18:00.002-07:00

2011 was a great year for craft beer in Montana and beyond. While overall beer sales were down across the country, craft beer continues to capture more of the market. There's no question the "buy local" movement is alive and well in the craft beer industry. With more than 1700 craft breweries in the US (and 30 in Montana) the choices continue to expand. I love trying new brews where ever I go and 2012 should be a banner year.

I thought about doing a post full of predictions for the craft beer industry, but I really have no idea. Black IPAs were the biggest trend two years ago and continue to be hot (thankfully). In 2011, it seems no style of beer was safe from belgian style yeast experiments, often with very good results. Sour beers are gaining much traction and it's a safe bet we'll see much from these creative styles in 2012. Care to weigh in on your predictions for 2012? Leave a comment and we'll discuss.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite beer pics yet. It's a Kettlehouse Brewing Co. Brick and Mortar Imperial Porter which I shot on a rare sunny, winter day in Missoula.

Notable 2011 Montana Craft Beer Stories

2011-12-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

Throughout 2011, Montana's craft breweries continued to capture new fans while giving long-time followers so much more to enjoy. On this final day of 2011, here's a look back at some of the notable stories.

1. Turf Wars Alive and Well in Montana Alcohol Laws

Beer is social. And I'm not talking about the effect it creates after one too many. I've been to several hours-long beer tasting groups with people I've never met. I've sat around the bar stools with fellow beer bloggers I'd just been introduced to. I've struck up conversations with strangers over pints of interesting new beers. The common theme? Craft beer is a fascinating, infinitely varied creation people love to talk about. Total strangers can become good friends in minutes when sharing a couple pints.

So, when it comes to Montana's three tiered alcohol licensing system, why can't we figure out how to get along?

The 2011 Montana Legislature took up several alcohol related proposals. While a proposal to allow any location with an on-premise license to fill growlers met little opposition, the proposal to shift, not increase, tap room hours was dead on arrival.

2. Craft Beer Production Continues to Expand

Can you believe it? With Higherground Brewing Co. and Bowser Brewing Co. opening in mid-December, Montana now has 30 breweries. That number doesn't include Kettlehouse's second location, or brewery specific tap rooms (Tamarack, Lakeside and Neptune have opened outposts featuring their beers). Draught Works Brewery opened in Missoula. 406 Brewing Co. opened in Bozeman.

Montana's existing breweries aren't sitting still either. Angy Hanks and Himmelberger Brewing Co. in Billings are taking on major expansion projects. Lewis and Clark Brewing Co. moved into a great new space earlier this year. Bozone, Bayern, Blacksmith, Big Sky, Blackfoot River, Tamarack, Flathead and others added new equipment. Lone Peak started bottling, Bozone started canning and Lewis and Clark switched from bottles to cans.

It's an exciting time for craft beer in Montana and something tells me we're just getting started. (Just think where it could be if we could all get along.)

3. Record Participation at the Montana Brewers Festival

The Montana Brewers Festival saw a record number of breweries, beers and attendance in its third annual celebration of Montana's craft beer industry. Twenty five breweries brought more than 70 Montana brewed beers to the festival, held in Bozeman on a beautiful sunny, fall evening. Our story and lots of great pictures from the event is here.

For 2012 the Festival moves to Missoula's Caras Park on October 6 where it is almost certain to break every record in the book.

4. Growler Fills Turns Two

What? Not a notable story? Okay, call it a shameless plug, then. Have you "liked" our facebook page? Followed us on Twitter? Become friends on Untappd? Help us grow and keep sending us your news, events, comments, suggestions, beer and schwag.

2011 Growler Fills Beer Awards

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Growler Fills Beer Awards return for 2011 to mark another great year for craft beer in Montana and beyond. This year, we invited three fellow Montana beer bloggers to take part in the fun and help broaden the perspective. Two had been living in Billings and Bozeman, respectively, until recently relocating to the Missoula area. The four of us gathered around pints at the The Rhino in Missoula to talk shop and sing the praises of everything that is good about craft beer. We did not discuss our selections. In the end, no one knew what the others were picking.

There are some familiar brews from last year's awards as well as some new favorites. The fact that some of the breweries make multiple appearances in this list is no fluke. So, with thirsts lusting for great craft beer, we bring you the second annual Growler Fills Beer Awards.

The Panelists: Alan and Cheryl of Growler Fills; Ryan of Drink It Missoula; Curtis of Montanabeers.com; and Radd of RockiesBrew.com.

Categories: Montana Year-Round Beer of the Year, Montana Seasonal Beer of the Year and Non-Montana Beer of the Year. A year-round beer is one you expect to find bottled, canned, or on tap at the brewery a majority of the year. A seasonal beer might be a one-and-done, a regularly recurring limited release, or one that appears multiple times at odd intervals. Non-Montana beers can be anything brewed outside the state.

Criteria: There isn't any. If there's one thing we've learned in two years of the Growler Fills blog, everyone's tastes are different. Thus, the awards are based largely on gut reactions after looking back across the beers that crossed our path in 2011. We took into consideration which beers we rushed to stock up on and which ones we routinely looked for, craved, or ordered up when out and about. Since taste is fickle and ever changing, we tried not to let the beer of the moment carry undue weight. There's no science or statistics involved. Your results may vary.

Montana Year-Round Beer of the Year

Alan: Double Black Diamond Extreme Stout, Blackfoot River Brewing Co. Alan's take: You rarely find this delicious, full-bodied, highly roasted stout outside of Helena and that's a crying shame. It's a robust stout lover's dream with tons of dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavors. It's the beer I crave more than any other whenever I get near Helena - or is that Blackfoot's North Fork Organic Porter. Hmm . . . . .

Radd: HopZone IPA, Bozeman Brewing Company. Radd's take: In the summer, it has a refreshing hop crispness that tastes great on the hottest of afternoons. When old man winter descends on us, this brew offers a nice warmth in the belly. The availability of HopZone is increasing with the Bozeman Brewing Company's canning line coming into service. I also considered Copper John Scotch Ale from Madison River and Hat Trick HopIPA from Tamarack.

Curtis: Single Malt IPA, Blackfoot River Brewing Co. Curtis' take: With the deadline fast approaching for the Beer of the Year Awards hosted byGrowler Fills, I did the only thing a reasonable person would do. Call in sickand start drinking... or is that the other way around. As an IPA fan this is the best in the state and can be found at mostlocal bars that boast a generous tap-line. Hoppy? you could say that. Crisp? of course. All of the characteristics of an IPA that IPA lovers want andthe smoothness that non-IPA drinkers will find themselves ordering anotherpint.

Ryan: Imperial IPA, Flathead Lake Brewing Co. Ryan's take: My "go-to" beer to share with friends andfamily, this DIPA is balanced nicely with heavy doses of Cascade hops and astrong malt backbone. Hoppy enough to be enjoyed on a hot day, yet it has theABV to keep me warmed in the winter.

Cheryl: Imperial IPA, Flathead Lake Brewing. Co. No, you're not seeing double. They both picked it. The folks at Flathead Lake Brewing Co. must be doing something right with this one. Cheryl picked it last year, too, and has no shame in continuing to pick it's rich malt, big hop punch and overall super delicious goodness.

Montana Seasonal Beer of the Year

Cheryl: Last Cast Black IPA, Bitter Root Brewery. Cheryl's take: This black IPA went to the top of Chery's list from the very first bottle. A large stash now takes up significant real estate in her beer fridge. The big hit of tropical citrus aromas are followed by a strong dose of roasted malt sitting on top of a pleasantly hoppy IPA base to creating a beer with great interest and great drinkability.

Curtis: Discombobulater Dopplebock, Kettlehouse Brewing Co. Curtis' take: Now, I know most people in Montana have not seen thisbeer and the reason is that Discombobulater lasts for only a few week on tap atthe Kettlehouse only. If you are familiar with the beer then you understand whyit only lasts a few weeks. If you are not familiar with the beer then I suggestgoing to the Kettlehouse on Myrtle in Missoula right NOW before they run outagain. To be fair, I would give Bayern Oktoberfest a very close runner up spot forseasonal. Anyone in the state is likely to see thisbeer at some point and if you are lucky you may even get the chance to have itout of the cask. We all know those crazy Germans can brew some beer andOktoberfest is their specialty.

Alan: Belgian Honey Trippel, Bitter Root Brewery. This category was by far my most difficult one. There were many worthy choices from Hamilton to Wibaux. Bozone's Hopsemillia and its 100+ ibus and 10.8% abv was crazy good. Carter's Hop Delivery Vehicle was a great straight up IPA. Tamarack's Headwall IPA made a return this year and was as good as the original 2009 version. However, I'm not sure I was more impressed with a Montana beer this year than with Bitter Root Brewery's Belgian Honey Trippel (picture at the top of the post). My full review of it can be found here. Frankly, if I thought my fellow bloggers would let me get away with it, I'd have probably made this a tie among several including Carter's, Tamarack and Bozone, but even then, the Trippel takes the cake.

Radd: Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout, Big Sky Brewing Co. Radd's take: This decision was incredibly easy to make. A world class Imperial stout from a Montana brewery with pitch black color and a palette full of roasted, chocolate, and coffee flavors with overtones of bourbon. The most drinkable Russian Imperial stout that I have ever encountered. This one you need three bottles of: one for immediatetasting, one for the second tasting, and a final bottle for cellaring. (Alan's note: Find our recent write up on Ivan the Terrible here.)

Ryan: Brick and Mortar Imperial Coffee Porter, Kettlehouse Brewing Co. Ryan's take: A seasonal take on the K-Hole's regular Brick andMortar Imperial Porter, this coffee-infused version features select-roasted coffee beans from nearby Black Coffee Roasting Co. This Belgian-styled Imperial Porter feature rich chocolate undertones, which peek through the satisfying aroma and taste of strong black coffee. Usually available on tap in winter andat the Redbird in Missoula.

Non-Montana Beer of the Year

Ryan: Obsidian Stout, Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR). Ryan's take: I'd like to pick the Deschutes Brewing Co. as a whole, but I'll happily settle for their Obsidian Stout. Perhaps my overall favorite year-round, non-Imperial stout I have found anywhere, the Obsidian Stout is a perfect blend of roasted malt, black barley, chocolate and espresso, with a touch of hops to cut its sweetness. It's just a yummy beer that I buy probably more often than I should.

Curtis: Downtown Brown, Lost Coast Brewing Co. (Eureka, CA). Curtis' take: Because of the endless selections of great beer that comes from all over theworld, Non-Montanan Beer of the Year is a tough decision. I would agree withmany suggestions from anyone and would not stick too tightly to Lost CoastBrewing Downtown Brown, if presented with a better argument. However, DowntownBrown in the last few years has become the beer in which I covet the most. It'sdifficult to find outside of Eureka, CA and definitely not in Montana. If youare a brown fan this is one of the best I have had and will always hold somespecial memory's for my palate. (Alan's note: The Lost Coast made a brief appearance in Montana in 2010 on draft and in bottles, but hasn't been seen since.)

Radd: Abyss (2011), Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR). Radd's take: This is another choice that was way too easy to make. I had this one a week ago at the Rhino in Missoula, and I was more than impressed. I think it might be my favorite beer of all-time, although this position on the list is subject to erratic change due to proximity of the pint. The Abyss is wonderfully complex without being confusing. It has those dark flavors that I truly enjoy and a great warmth. I do not think that anyone can disagree with this nomination.

Alan: Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout (Wake-n-Bake), Terrapin Beer Co. (Athens, GA). I discovered this beer while on a trip to Virginia to visit my family. My sister had left a mixed six-pack at the folks' house and I found this among the choices. I took the opportunity to introduce everyone to a beer and dessert pairing experiment with some berry cobbler my mother had made along with vanilla ice cream. There were a few skeptical looks around the kitchen, but everyone was game. Those skeptical looks quickly turned to smiles of delight as the rich, creamy, roasted coffee notes of the Imperial Stout paired wonderfully with the ice cream and cobbler. It's like enjoying an adult version of your favorite dark roast coffee with a touch of cream. Pure, delicious goodness that might go just as well with breakfast as your favorite dessert. An extremely close second was Double Simcoe IPA from Weyerbacher (Easton, PA). I'd love to get my hands on more bottles of it.

Cheryl: Detour Double IPA, Uinta Brewing Co. (Salt Lake City, UT). This 9.5% abv, 75 ibu, double IPA packs a ton of flavor and a nice hop bite into it's big citrusy body. Somehow it works equally well in sunny Arizona where I first discovered it and in cold Montana where a couple bottles found their way following a trip to Vegas.

Bios

Ryan Newhouse writes and heavily "researches" forthe Drink It Missoula blog on MakeItMissoula.com.He's an award-winning hard cider craftsman, amateur mixologist and all-aroundpretty nice guy. You should invite him over for a beer sometime!

Curtis Gibson keeps up with the beer scene at MontanaBeers.com: MontanaBeers.com is a site dedicated to the news, events and just good old fashionedappreciation for beer brewed in Montana. With 30 breweries and counting Montanais quickly becoming a destination for some the best beers in the country.Montanabeers.com dedicates itself to trying them all and opening a conversationwith other craft beer enthusiasts about the great State of Montana and herbeers. You can find us at montanabeers.com as well as on Facebook at facebook.com/montanabeer. We know that there will be many discussions about theses selections and you canalways make your comments on the beers we have selected by joining us onFacebook or our web page.

Radd Icenoggle writes about beer at RockiesBrew.com: RockiesBrew.com focuses on the beer and breweries of the Intermountain West, although we occasionally expands that scope. There are a ton of truly great brews that are produce right here at home. I tend to like beers that are "bigger", whether that bigger is in the form of unique or bold flavor-profile, higher ABV, or even creative brewing qualifies.

Higherground Brewing Co.: Great Beer Right from the Start

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

When it opened last week, Higherground Brewing Co. in Hamilton, MT, became Montana's 29th brewery, beating Bowser Brewing of Great Falls by a few days. Straight out of the box it looks like they've got a good thing going. You'll find it at 518 N. First Street, also known as the main drag through town (Hwy. 93), just a few blocks north of Main Street. They've done a good job of sprucing up the outside of the cinderblock, non descript building which most recently housed the Bitterroot Grocery Emporium. Inside, you'll find lots of space, wood fired pizza, and beer that is already turning heads.

During my visit, Higherground had five beers on tap and had run out of a sixth, their IPA. On tap were Hurruh Scotch Ale, Base Camp Irish Red Ale, Waist Deep Wheat, Clear Water Crystal Ale and Flash Flood Milk Stout. A large concrete wrap-around bar takes center stage. To the right is a wood fired pizza oven and kitchen serving up pizza, salads and soups. To the left are numerous tables, two dart lanes, couches, large picture windows and a door leading to a small outdoor patio space. There's one television over the bar to keep tabs on your favorite sports scores. But like most of Montana's taprooms, this one is designed for visiting with friends, not staring blankly into the tube at a ubiquitous sports bar.

So let's talk beer. I've been to quite a few brewery openings - within two months or so of it's opening - and they mostly suffer from the same symptoms. The beer show some promise, but lacks depth and character. Higherground doesn't suffer from either. Right from the start they're creating beers that buck the trend of 2 or 3 "safe" beers. Sure, they've got a light, crisp "gateway" beer in their Crystal Ale, but they're also brewing up a Scotch Ale with a nice touch of smoke from the addition of (I presume) peated malts. The Hurruh Scotch Ale does a nice job of scattering good amounts of smoke - without being overwhelming - over traditional scotch ale caramel malt flavors.

Higherground's Base Camp Irish Red also impressed, providing smooth caramel malt flavors with good toasted malt character, exactly as advertised. It's nicely balanced with enough bitterness to keep it from becoming sweet. The bitterness also tends to come through more in the aftertaste after a few swallows.

With their Flash Flood Milk Stout, Highground offers up an uncommon version of stout, a milk- or sweet - stout. The addition of lactose, which is not fermentable, adds sweetness and body. What's nice about their version is it has a good mixture of roasted malt flavor in the initial taste, for those like me who prefer a robust stout, with a finish that adds creamy milk chocolate flavor. It avoid being too sweet and stays well balanced.

I did not have time to try the Waist Deep Wheat, but am curious to see what flavors the coriander seed and orange peel do to their belgian style version. What's more impressive is all six beers currently offered (including the IPA which was temporarily out) are 6% abv or less. It's refreshing to see a brewery create beers with good flavor without having to resort to higher and higher gravity beers.

I asked bartender Sara where the name Higherground came from. My initial thought was some religious theme, but aside from monks brewing Abbey style ales, it didn't seem likely. My second thought had to do with flooding, which the nearby Bitterroot River is prone to do. A third option came to mind, but I'll leave that to your imagination. Sara suggested the name is intentionally vague.

Cheers to another great addition to Montana's craft beer scene.

Run Wild Missoula Chooses New Slogan for Monthly Beer Run

2011-12-28T20:43:00.002-07:00

Run Wild Missoula has a new slogan for its popular monthly beer runs. "5 Miles to Beer 30" was the winning entry as voted by Run Wild's members and fans. Friend, craft beer lover, and marathoner Thurston Elfstrom submitted the winning slogan which was revealed during tonight's Christmas Lights Beer Run. Thurston wins a free beer at each of Run Wild's beer runs during 2012.

Run Wild Missoula's beer runs are held on the last Wednesday of each month beginning at 6 p.m. The location varies, as does the route for the run. Runs are generally about five miles and runners of all speeds and abilities and usually present. For those not up to completing five miles, the routes are typically customizable to fit your preference. Come run for the fitness and enjoy a beer with friends to celebrate good times. The next beer run takes place at Draught Works Brewery at 915 Toole Ave. on January 25, 2012. For more information, head over to Run Wild Missoula's website.

A Growler Fills Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

With beers from near and far, Growler Fills wishes you a very merry Christmas. Last year saw a foot and a half of snow on the ground and temperatures in the single digits. This year, only a couple of inches and rather pleasant outside. I'll take either one. The variety is good, though I don't miss all the snow shoveling I'd already done by this time last year.

I hope your beer fridge is well stocked and you're able to crack open a great one with friends and family. Cheers.

Eclectic Lineup Kicks Off Holiday Beer Tasting

2011-12-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I love about the holiday season, it's the anticipation of opening up those bottles of high gravity and other specialty beers you've been saving for a special occasion. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's provide plenty of opportunities to kick back with friends and geek out over some beer.

With those ideas in mind, we kicked off a pre-holiday beer tasting Wednesday night with an eclectic variety of beers, good friends and tall tales. Here was the lineup, in no particular order:

Kriek Ale (2010), Big Sky Brewing Co.
Barley Wine Ale, Alaskan Brewing Co.
Odyssey, Allagash Brewing Co.
Killer 'Kapowski' Kowalski Baltic Porter, Flossmoor Station Brewery
Smoked Baltic Porter, Great Divide Brewing Co.
IPA, SweetWater Brewing Co.*
Dank Tank Fresh Sticky Nugs, SweetWater Brewing Co.
Festive Ale (2011), SweetWater Brewing Co.
Happy Ending Imperial Stout, SweetWater Brewing Co.
Abyss (2011), Deschutes Brewery
He'Brew Jewbelation 14, Shmaltz Brewing Co.
He'Brew Genesis 15:15, Shmaltz Brewing Co.
Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Terrapin Brewing Co.

We had a rather varied collection of tastes around the table, but a couple of the selections stood out for everyone. Deschutes' Abyss continues to be a world class beer. The Genesis 15:15 has similar depth of flavors, but in a very different direction and was a definite crowd pleaser. While barley wines typically need some decent aging after bottling, Alaskan's Barley Wine Ale was great from the start and promises to get even better with time.

Theses tastings have come together simply by making connection among beer lovers around the area. It's an informal and growing group who value the social aspects beer, recognizing a beer shared with friends is far better than hoarded alone. If you're interested in taking part in future gatherings, contact us.

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* Special thanks go to our host, former Missoula resident and now beer rep for SweetWater Brewing (Atlanta, GA) for giving us the chance to try some of SweetWater's super cool brews.

Supreme Winter Goodness: Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout

2011-12-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

For 2011, the highlight of my craft beer year was the Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, OR. It was a chance to meet many other craft beer explorers, learn some tricks of the trade and sample a ridiculous amount of great beer. Conference friends 2 Beer Guys and Seacoast Beverage Labs teamed up this December to create a beer advent calendar featuring a different beer blogger and a favorite winter beer for each day of the month. For my day, I picked Missoula's Big Sky Brewing Co.'s Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout.

I first enjoyed Ivan the Terrible on Thanksgivingevening in 2008. Although it was only 5 degreesoutside, I wanted to sit outside by the fire pit, enjoy a good beer and checkout the stars. I brushed off the snow,started a strong fire and poured some Ivan into a glass. Ever since, Ivan has been a heavily anticipatedwinter tradition. It is as black as that first moon-less night with a tan head.Aromas of boozy bourbon greet your nose along with a sweet richness. Flavors ofbourbon and vanilla mix perfectly with rich, viscous stout. There’s some darkroasted chocolate cake in there, too. The bourbon never leaves, but it never completelydominates either. Ivan is big, bold and full of flavor. It’s a perfect sipping beer while contemplating everythingfrom the trivial to the serious on these long winter nights.

Ivan the Terrible is a barrel-aged, bottle conditioned imperial stout boasting 10% abv and 65 ibus. For this review, I cracked open a 2010 version that was BottleNo. 2635 of 3800. It was aged for a minimum of 3 months in American Oak Bourbon Barrels, then cellared by me for quite a few more. As you can tell from the bottle numbering, it's a limited release and distributed in 750 ml bottles and some kegs here. Unfortunately, production for 2011 has been pushed back into 2012 so it is going to be a while before the next round is out. I hear through the grapevine that Big Sky didn't have enough bourbon barrels to age the current batch. Trust me, it is worth the wait.

It's when Big Sky Brewing Co. takes a break from brewing up Moose Drool, Powder Hound, IPA and their other popular staples that their talents really shine. Nowhere is that more evident than with Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout. Unfortunately, that was the only 2010 Ivan I had in my cellar. Anyone want to hook me up with another?

Where to Find Beer: JB's Food and Bottleworks

2011-12-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

From the outside, JB's Food and Bottleworks at 5503 N. Alberta Street in Spokane, Washington looks like any other convenience store. There's a single entrance at the front of a rather nondescript, moderately well kept, but unforgettable building.*

But take a look at this picture and you'll see what greets you on the inside. That's right. Among the cheetos, chex mix, twinkies, fountain pop and other various and sundry convenience store staples is an impressive wall of craft beer bombers. It's a far bigger selection than any store in western Montana** and a must stop if you're in the area. There's another half wall of bombers, too along with pockets here and there in other areas of the store. You'll find a few 12 oz bottles, here and there, too, but the focus here is on the big, bold and the beautiful.

Both coasts are represented (mostly by recognized "bigger" breweries) as well as many in between. There's beer here from Allagash in Portland, Maine, Lost Abbey in San Marcos, CA, Great Divide in Denver, and Boulevard in Kansas, MO.

We've written before about two nearby beer stores, Bottles in Millwood, WA and Enoteca in Post Falls, ID, but JB's takes the cake for volume and variety of bombers. Still, all three tend to have different selections and each is worth checking out if you're a beer adventurer. And who isn't?

JB's Food and Bottleworks. It's where to find beer.

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* Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of the exterior. You can see a pic of it on their facebook page.

** Toppers Cellar in Helena has a fine selection of 12 oz brews and mixed bombers over in Southwest Montana.

Holiday Gift Guides for Your Favorite Beer Lover

2011-12-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

If you're searching for that perfect gift for the beer lover in your family or circle of friends there's no shortage of gift guides. From the ridiculously lame to the pleasantly varied, there are plenty of suggestions out there. Personally, I could really use a larger beer fridge. (Hint, hint).

Fellow local beer writer Ryan Newhouse offers up a great guide for Beer, Wine and Cocktail lovers on his Drink It blog at the Make it Missoula site. From free beer to . . . um . . . kilt modeling, he's got you covered.

Now you have no reason to come up short this holiday season.

1200: A (Beer) Running Goal In the Books

2011-12-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

Early in 2011 I set three running goals for my second year of plodding along: 1. Run my first marathon in a sub-4 hour time; 2. Set a new personal record in a half marathon; and 3. Join my local running club's 1200 Mile club by running at least 1200 miles in 2011.

Goal number one was a success.

Goal number two? Ain't happening. I somehow managed to screw up the whole marathon recovery thing. The summer heat hit right after the marathon and that combined with diving back into things too quickly led to some leg issues which persist to date. A visit to the physical therapist is in order, but I can't quite push myself to make it happen. Maybe I'm afraid of what I'll hear. Maybe I'm just hoping things magically get better. Either way, a speedy half-marathon is not in my near future.

Despite my leg issues I've managed to feel well enough to keep running for basic fitness. I like beer way too much to stop exercising. The mental health benefits of getting out and about can't be overrated, either. Though it took more than a month longer than I thought, I crossed over the 1200 mile threshold on November 10. I reached the mark on an 8.5 mile run with the last 2 miles along the course where I ran the marathon back in July. Corny? Heck, yeah. But it's just those kind of things that keep you motivated to push through and put a smile on your face. I celebrated with a big glass of water and a fish burrito. Hey, it's not always about the beer.

The predicted onslaught of a second straight La Nina winter in Missoula has been a bust so far. A couple inches of snow have created some slick spots on the streets. Yet, plenty of bare and dry terrain remains, leaving only the cold to deal with. And let me tell you, a drop from 28 degrees to 18 degrees is a much bigger deal than going from 38 to 28. Watch your parts.

Run long, be merry and drink happy.

Where to Find Beer: Manito Tap House

2011-12-02T21:42:00.001-07:00

When you're located in what amounts to a concrete bunker underneath a Ross Dress for Less store, you'd better have something good going on. On that front, the Manito Tap House has it covered. Spokane, WA's newest spot for great craft beer boasts 50 taps and a varied menu of locally sourced food. You can find it in Spokane's South Hills at 3011 South Grand Blvd and on facebook here.

Sure, the exterior of the restaurant doesn't exactly beckon, but step in side and the concrete walls, beer label artwork, wood bench seating, and beer bottle light fixtures combine to form a warm, inviting atmosphere. We settled in to a small table and stared wide-eyed and all smiles at the beer list. It not only tells you what's on tap, but let's you know what's coming soon, too. The variety is excellent, with not a single American macro to be found. Instead, there's a nice mix of craft IPAs to Belgians with a particular focus on the west coast. Our visit was on a cold, Thursday night while taking a short trip to Spokane for some Christmas shopping. As we'd seen reported, the place was quite busy with a short wait for tables and no room at the bar. People are digging this place and it's easy to see why.

For a first round, we selected Back in Black, a 21st Amendment Brewing Co. black IPA and a Don't Fret Porter from the local 12 String Brewery. The black IPA was excellent. As for the Don't Fret Porter, they should. For food we went for the 29th Ave. Wrap and a Tap House Steak. The Wrap was good, but the yam chips it came with were a fantastic crispy mixture of salty sweet goodness. The steak was simply excellent. Here's the description: 8-oz Misty Isle Farms Hanger Steak marinated in Laurelwood Organic Free Range Red, served with mashed yam potatoes, topped with an agrodolce sauce & fried capers.

Round two brought us a Supergoose Double IPA from Hale's Ales in Seattle and a Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout from Great Divide Brewing in Denver, two very fine beers among many in the impressive line up. It's a popular place and our only thought was why the bar isn't twice as big? Really, there isn't room, but with the lineup of taps they've got, it's the type of place that attracts craft beer lovers who like to hang out at the bar and try the wares.

After a long round of Christmas shopping we decided to hit Manito again for a snack and a couple beers early Saturday evening. Pints of Old Jubilation Ale from Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, CO, and Humboldt Brown Hemp Ale from Nectar Ales in Pasa Robles, CA impressed. Again, the place was busy, lively and welcoming. During both visits we found the service to be quite good and attentive with knowledgeable bartenders.

The Manito Tap House. It's where to find beer.

Tis' the Season for Beer Advent Calendars

2011-12-01T13:13:00.001-07:00

Welcome to December, folks. If you're like me, you're still wondering what happened to October. Nevertheless, the City has strung up the ~~Christmas~~ . . uh . . .Holiday decorations on the light poles downtown, so it must be time.

With December comes Beer Advent Calendars. Blogger friends 2BeerGuys and Seacoast Beverage Lab have teamed up with bloggers from the east to west coasts to provide daily reviews of a favorite winter brew. Jon Abernathy kicks off his yearly advent calendar of beer reviews over at The Brew Site and never fails to introduce me to something new.

Closer to Christmas, we'll kick off our second 12 Days of Christmas Cheer. Perhaps we'll also put together another round of Growler Fills Beer Awards. Remember, it's definitely not too late to . . . . shall we say . . . lobby us . . . for inclusion.

Random Beer Shots (and notes) for Your Viewing Pleasure

2011-11-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

Some days blog posts darn near write themselves. Other days, not so much. So, until the next idea strikes, here for your viewing pleasure are some random, recent beer shots.

First up is a Headwall Double IPA from Tamarack Brewing Co. at their Missoula location. It's an excellent full bodied bunch of hop goodness over a strong malt backbone. We dubbed this a "freakishly good beer" when we first had it in 2009 and it's maintained that quality. Unfortunately, it's gone for now.

Next is a very interesting brew from Rogue Ales, a John John Hazelnut aged in rum barrels. Yes, you can definitely taste the rum and its associated spiciness. Quite a twist on the much more common aging in whiskey barrels.

If pumpkin ales are more your beer spice of choice, Blacksmith Brewing Co. in Stevensville has a very good one. It not only boasts a perfect pumpkin color, but a great balance of a smooth, easy drinking brown ale like quality with nutmeg and other spices.

Last year, Kettlehouse Brewing Co. kicked out a fresh hop ale dubbed Garden City Pale Ale that flew out the kegs. It was that good and we took home our fair share of it. This year proved how finicky hops can be when you're relying on collecting random plantings from around town. Missoula's weather is usually very conducive to hop growing, but not this year. Many hop plants didn't produce and it left Kettlehouse unable to add much aroma hops, one of the qualities that created such a great version last year. The result was a good pale ale, but lacked the wow factor from last year.

Anyone a fan of German-style rauchbiers (smoke beer)? This one will play tricks on your mind. Every rauchbier I've ever tried has been dark brown or black. Think Alaskan Smoked Porter. But as you can plainly see from this picture, Rogue Ales' Smoke Ale is anything but dark brown or black. The aroma is of strong charred wood from the campfire that got wet. Strong flavors of peated malt paired with liquid smoke follow.

And finally, a shot of one of the wall sconces inside Bayern Brewing Co.'s warm and comfortable tap room in Missoula.

Are Your Favorite Hops in Danger of Disappearing?

2011-11-29T19:29:00.001-07:00

Here's an interesting nugget that came across the beer wire today. In Charlie Papazian's latest column on examiner.com he discusses the value of hops to the innovation and creative flavors in American craft beer. He notes this year's excellent harvest of bittering hops will shove prices down due to the abundance of such hops. On the other hand, demand for new and interesting flavor and aroma hops - more difficult to grow - is slowly increasing as craft brewers continue to push creative boundaries.

We've certainly experienced that in Montana. Several breweries including Bitter Root, Blacksmith and Flathead Lake have experimented with newer hop varieties, creating single hops ales out of hops like Citra, Simcoe and Galaxy. Helena's Blackfoot River Brewing has brewed a series of single hop ales using their single malt IPA recipe to give patrons the ability to experience the nuances of several hops.

But it was this passage that particularly caught my attention:

Meanwhile I recently learned both at the Brau show and through those in the know here in the USA that there are as many as 15,000 to 20,000 cross-bred hops planted each year. Only about 1-2% of these make the “cut” for a second year of observation. Over an 8 year breeding and observation period most will succumb to disease, wilting, agronomic and yield factors and more take their toll. It takes 8 year to come up with only 2 or 3 new varieties (from the original 20,000) that are suitable for sustainable harvests and brewers needs. New varieties are projected to be able to resist disease for about 50 years before disease organisms eventually mutate and are able to attack the hop variety.

So there's apparently a life span to new hops, which raises the question whether there's a similar life span for existing hop varieties. And if so, what year are we up to on, say, a Cascade? Obviously such predictions are mere guesses within the backbone of science, but I'm also not sure it matters much. Diversity in hop development seems almost assured as brewers chase a wide range of flavors and aromas. At some point we might not even care if our current favorite disappears.

Go here for the full article.

Chicken, Beer and Fartleks

2011-11-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

No, it's not the latest Judd Apatow movie, it's time for Run Wild Missoula's monthly beer run. What? You didn't think these monthly feasts of fitness and fun took the winter off, did you? Even in the dark and slippery night, the beer runs continue for the hardy.

This month the run takes place at Double Front Chicken at 122 W. Alder St. in downtown Missoula, continuing a tradition started last year by Chancellor of Libations Pat Cross. As usual, the five mile run starts at 6:00 p.m. followed by beer and the best fried chicken in town. Bring your headlamp, torch or candelabra to light the way. Not up for running in the dark and cold? Stop by anyway and make fun of the ice crystals hanging off the runners. Current forecast for Wednesday: High of 35 and 80% chance of snow. Sounds about right.
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Fartlek. n. Running training technique that blends moderate effort with short bursts of intensity; not unlike the potential results of eating too much fried chicken.

Western Montana New Brew Roundup

2011-11-20T16:21:00.001-07:00

Western Montana breweries have been busy lately creating a variety of new beers for the fall and winter season. From big IPAs and porters to pumpkin ales and even a wintermarzen, there's a lot to try and something for everyone. With Thanksgiving week upon us, now is a great time to take a break, head over to your local brewery and check out some of these new offerings.

Bayern Brewing Co., Missoula

Montana Club Organic Amber: an unfiltered, organic amber similar in character to the amber they've been brewing for 25 years.
Groomer Organic Dark Wintermarzen: Brewed to celebrate Snowbowl Ski Area's 50th anniversary, we stopped in a tried this one last Sunday. It's very dark brown with a reddish tint and an almost creamy, lightly tanned head. Fans familiar with Bayern's oktoberfest and dopplebock will notice a similar base profile, but with less sweetness and a bit of a spicy undertone. At 5.3% and 25 ibus, it makes for a smooth, lighter bodied beer that nevertheless has plenty of flavor.

Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula

Supergoat. This is the latest in the 406 series of limited releases. It is an unfiltered, dry-hopped version of Big Sky's Scape Goat Pale Ale and is made with hops grown in the nearby Nine Mile area.

Blacksmith Brewing Co., Stevensville

Pumpkin Ale. Brewed with plenty of actual pumpkin along with traditional pumpkin pie spices, this is a very smooth brew with perhaps some of the best balance of pumpkin spices you'll find in any of these brews.
Galaxy Hop Ale. Blacksmith brewed this single hop ale with Galaxy hops, an Australian hop variety said to provide pronounced aromas and flavors of citrus and passionfruit. However, after enjoying a pint of this brew, we commented how refreshing it was to enjoy hops without all the citrus/grapefruit notes that are common now. We got more floral/herbal and pine resin flavors. Maybe we're weird that way.
Russian Imperial Stout. As of last Saturday, this one wasn't out yet.

Tamarack Brewing Co., Lakeside/Missoula

Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Wonderfully easy drinking brown ale with fairly pronounced caramel and biscuit malt flavors with a good dose of nutmeg and other spices.
Headwall Double IPA. Very possibly one of the best double IPAs we've had (8.2% and 99 ibus).
Mo'vember Porter. Tamarack's description: A big winter porter weighing in at around 8 %.

Flathead Brewing Co., Woods Bay/Missoula

Holiday Ale. This dark brown/black ale with nutmeg and other holiday spices is a hot seller for a good reason. The balance is very nice and the spices come in hints and pieces, complimenting the beer rather than dominating it. From my memory, there's less spice than last year, but the beer is just as easy drinking and medium bodied. (6.6% abv)
Galaxy Hop Ale. Not sure if there's any left as the keg blew in Missoula just before we got there last Saturday.

Great Northern Brewing Co., Whitefish

Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Ale. See our take on this fresh hop ale.

Glacier Brewing Co., Polson

Winter's Nite Smoked Porter. Glacier's description: An Imperial Smoked Porter that weighs in around 8.9% by volume and has a deep, rich smokiness wrapped around a very well-balanced porter.

Bitter Root Brewery, Hamilton

Coffee Milk Stout: Bitter Root's description: Big Coffee aromas and flavors with a mildly sweet finish, made with locally roasted coffee by Big Creek! Now that sounds like something I'm going to need to run down and try. (5.55% abv)
Belgian Barleywine: Bitter Root's description: Rich, malty and powerful brew with spicy Belgian notes. (10.3% abv)

Kettlehouse, Missoula

Garden City Pale Ale. This is Kettlehouse's annual fresh hop ale. It isn't as aromatic and full flavored as last year's version thanks to an area hop shortage, but it's still a winner.
Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale. Haven't had a chance to try this one yet, but no one in Montana does more with barrel aging than these guys.

Draught Works, Missoula

As the area's newest brewery, all of Draught Works' beers can certainly be considered new to many. Stop in and try: Clothing Optional Pale Ale; Gwin Du Welsh Style Tribute Stout; Quill Pig Czech Style Pilsner; Scepter Head IPA; and Shadow Caster Alt.

Untappd: Like Facebook for Beer

2011-11-16T19:36:00.001-07:00

Here's a fun app/site for the beer friendly crowd. Since August I've been checking out Untappd*, a way to keep track of the beers you're drinking and connect with other beer lovers. Once you've created a free account, you can "check in" the beer you're currently drinking along with where you're drinking it. You can also add a rating, comments and even upload a photo. It's a great way to keep a running log, especially if you're like me and tend to try something new everywhere you go. There's an impressive number of breweries/beers already in the database and it is easy to add ones that aren't. You can see how others have rated the beer and get suggestions on similar beers.

Untappd allows you to connect with friends by creating a friends list where you can see what they're drinking, where they're drinking it and let's you toast their check in and comment on it. A search feature lets you search for fellow Untappd members in your area. It works on any internet capable phone, though there is a native app for droids. Like most apps there's an occasional bug, but it generally runs well and continues to improve.

Yeah, I know this is sounding like an advertisement for Untappd, but it's not. I've enjoyed using it and thought you might, too. If you'd like to connect, search friends for "Growler Fills."

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* That's spelled correctly: "Untappd"

Hop Swap Brings Local Flavor to Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Pale Ale

2011-11-14T18:44:00.001-07:00

The 2011 version of Great Northern Brewing Co.'s Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Pale Ale is out and I enjoyed a bottle of it the other night. Great Northern's brewery in Whitefish, MT is just down the road from Purple Frog Gardens, a family market farm practicing sustainable farming techniques without the use of synthetic herbicides and pesticides. In addition to the abundant vegetables, berries, apples, pears and other great crops, they grow hops.* Each fall, some of those hops are harvested and taken directly to Great Northern for use in their Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Pale Ale.

This year, some of the other hops in Frog Hop came from a fun barter system set up by Great Northern to encourage participation by area hop lovers. They invited people in the Flathead Valley to bring in their home grown hops to their first annual Hop Swap. Great Northern's brewers negotiated with the locals who brought their hops in to trade for beer.

The hop harvest and swap yielded 126 pounds of hops for the fresh hop brew. Great Northern describes Frog Hop as follows:

Pronounced tropical fruit characteristics and grassy hop qualities dominate the aroma while well-rounded maltiness balances the moderate bitterness. As a result, Frog Hop is a very crisp, drinkable, and unique beer - perfect for enjoying on a beautiful fall day.

Does the beer match up? Yes, in many regards. It pours a pleasantly rich golden color with a strong white head. The color strikes me as being darker and richer than last year's version. I get light aromas of floral hops, grass and some slight caramel malt. I also detected a bit more hop bitterness that last year, though bitterness is still on the light side and grain and caramel malt flavors dominate, particular in the finish. It is indeed crisp and very easy drinking.

For the third year in a row, I'll make the same observation. I like this beer quite a lot. At 5.1% abv it makes for a nice, crisp, easy drinking, sessionable beer. But with the very cool Hop Swap and Purple Frog Gardens hop harvest, I really want to enjoy those hops more. I want them to hit me with that pronounced aroma and fill me up with great fresh hop flavor. So keep brewing Frog Hop, but let's see what Great Northern can do when it decides to fully feature those fresh hops!

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* Yes, hops actually grow very well in Montana as I can personally attest. Most years, anyway. The weather in Missoula this year did a whammy on them. Past years have created an abundant crop.

Black IPAs: Drink 'Em Up, Call 'Em What You Want

2011-11-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

Black IPAs are hot. IPAs as a whole continue to be a fast growing segment of craft beer sales and these roasted malt versions are popping up all over the place. The most recent local addition is Bitter Root Brewery's Last Cast Black IPA. On the way to working up a review, I stumbled upon the latest salvo in the Black IPA name "controversy," an article on CraftBeer.com by Stone Brewing Co. founder/CEO Greg Koch.*

My introduction to the style was in January, 2010 with Blacksmith Brewing Co.'s Black Iron Black IPA, followed soon there after by Widmer's W'10 Pitch Black IPA. Since then, I've tried every one I've spotted from coast to coast.

Back then, no one was sure what to call them and that remains true today. The chief candidates are Black IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale. The Brewers Association adopted the name American Style Black Ale, a name I've not seen used even once on a beer label. Some argue against "black IPA" because the name is contradictory (i.e. a black India pale ale). Stone's Koch points out the absurd nature of these arguments given that current IPAs have nothing to do with India and don't bear much resemblance to the 150 year old original. Some aren't even all that pale.

Many beer lovers decry the overt regionalism of the name used in the northwest, Cascadian Dark Ale, adopted particularly by Deschutes Brewery and many of the Portland area breweries. Stone's Koch dislikes the term "American Black Ale" because, he says, the word "American" is incorrectly used as a euphemism for "hoppy." On this point I disagree. Where "IPA" has taken on a meaning we all understand - a moderately to highly hopped beer with fruity/citrus hop flavors - so has the phrase "American Style." It has long been used to describe what American brewers have done to classic English and European styles: pumped them up, usually with much higher quantities of hops, but also with higher malt levels. Still, the name "American Black Ale" simply isn't going to catch on.** Ask 10 IPA lovers to describe a black ale and you'd be hard pressed to find one who could do it.

For my tastes, Deschutes' Hop in the Dark is the gold standard of Cascadian Dark Ales/Black IPAs. It's aroma has elements of coffee, chocolate and a touch of piney hops. Flavors include roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate and a little smoke - all over a piney/citrus bitterness that is present throughout the profile. It has a medium body and an excellent balance between the roasted malts and the IPA elements. Other excellent ones I've tried are Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Bozeman Brewing Co.'s Black IPA, and Laughing Dog Brewing's DogZilla Black IPA.

Having already had a number of excellent Black IPAs and a whole host of good ones, I was curious how Bitter Root Brewery's Last Cast Black IPA would stack up. Could it match the full hop flavor and rich roasted malts of the Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale or Hop in the Dark?

Bitter Root hoped to debut Last Cast at the Montana Brewers Festival in September, but it wasn't quite ready. It was released about a week later at the brewery and in 22 oz bombers. I've seen a few kegs around Missoula as well. This beer pours a solid black with a light tan head. The aroma is a wonderfully big hit of fruity citrus and just a touch of roasted malt. One sip and you're immediately met with a lot of flavor. There's strong hop flavor from both the citrus and pine realm along with pronounced roasted malt flavors such as bitter chocolate or dark roast coffee. Like Hop in the Dark, the hops don't hide the roasted malt and the roasted malt doesn't hide the hops. It's an excellent balance that lets both flavor profiles shine through. It has a medium/full body and 6.7% abv. Frankly, it's on par with the best we've had.

We asked Bitter Root's general manager, Jason Goeltz, what they thought of the naming issue and why they chose to go with "Black IPA." Not surprisingly, Bitter Root cares more about the quality of the beer - and it shows - than what it's called. Ultimately, they chose to go with Black IPA because the IPA name is already well known and accepted. Adding "Black" to its name is more easily understood than picking a whole new one. Curious what's in it? Here's the list: Montana Metcalf 2-row Pale, Munich, Vienna, Honey, Crystal, Brown, Chocolate, Rye, ESB, and Black malts and Magnum and Citra hops.

Last Cast is a seasonal. We've stocked up for the long winter, so if you're not finding it in Western Montana stores, blame us.

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* Bend, OR, beer blogger Jon Abernathy, of The Brew Site, adroitly calls such articles "linkbait." He's right. We both linked to it.

** Well, who knows. Beer Advocate has adopted the name to use as the category for this style. Still . . .

International Stout Day is Thursday, November 3

2011-11-01T16:27:00.000-06:00

Just when you were coming to grips with the first ever International #IPA day back in August, along comes the inaugural International Stout Day. Were stouts feeling left out? Not getting the love they deserve?

Whatever the reason, with the days getting shorter - and much colder - our attention is turning once again to the season of stouts, porters, barleywines and higher gravities everywhere. Sure, we never really stop drinking these during the year, but now we downright crave them. On Thursday, November 3, 2011, we can all sit down to a pint of stout and raise a glass to this great beer.

So what is International Stout Day? According to the website:

International Stout Day is a worldwide celebration of the iconic beer style, Stout. Taking place in homes, pubs, breweries and restaurants, it’s all about celebrating the craft beer revolution, relishing in this beloved beer style, sharing your photos, tasting notes and events with the world.

The Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines - which are updated/changed yearly - recognize eight categories of stout styles:

British-Style Imperial Stout
Sweet Stout (British Origin)
Oatmeal Stout (British Origin)
Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout
Foreign (Export)-Style Stout (Irish Origin)
American-Style Stout
American-Style Imperial Stout

Other guidelines, such as the Beer Judge Certification Program, shorten the list to six: Dry, Sweet, Oatmeal, Foreign Extra, American and Russian Imperial. No matter how you define them, it is clear brewers' imaginations aren't limited by such style guidelines. The addition of other ingredients such as coffee or alternative yeasts, such as Belgian, create versions that defy all guidelines and keep the style fun. Personally, I favor the American Style stout with plenty of robust, roasted malt flavor providing a nice coffee-like bite.

Sadly, there are no Montana specific events listed on the website for International Stout Day, but that doesn't mean you're out of luck. There are many fine Stouts brewed across Montana from Custer's Last Stout at Montana Brewing Co. in Billings to Double Black Diamond Extreme Stout at Blackfoot River Brewing Co. in Helena (simply outstanding) to Woods Bay's Flathead Lake Brewing Co. Stout.

What's your favorite stout?

Las Vegas: Craft Beer Hide and Seek

2011-10-29T19:48:00.001-06:00

Ahh, Las Vegas. For all it's sins, vices and pleasures, craft beer hasn't been one of them. That's changing and if you like treasure hunts, Vegas provides a mixture of frustration and payoffs.

I spent a few days in Las Vegas for the first time recently and hit up google for a little research before getting on the plane. Phrases like "craft beer wasteland" were surprisingly common in the articles and comments. Yet, another theme emerged, too. While the craft beer "scene" isn't going to compete with Portland, San Diego, Bend, Asheville or any of the other large and small beer destinations, it's definitely on the rise.

Away from Downtown and the Strip the beer scene has some nice choices. Aces and Ales carries 20+ taps heavily weighted to high gravity beers. Freakin Frog is well known for it's ever growing selection of bottles, now exceeding 1000. The Yard House chain has a restaurant a mile or so down south from the Strip. Breweries like Tenaya Creek, Sin City, and Big Dog's keep it local and you'll also find outposts of the chains BJ's and Gordon Biersch.

As my first trip to Sin City, I was out to see the sights - hitting at least a walk through of nearly every casino property along the Strip over a couple of outings. While checking out the glitz and glamor of the Bellagio, the freakishly real clouds of the Venetian, the neighborhood feel of New York, New York, the downtrodden era of Harrah's and everything in between, we kept an eye out for craft beer. And kept looking. And kept looking. It was actually a relief when we spotted Sam Adams Oktoberfest amongst some American macros at the Mirage. Every casino and collection of shops has a large selection of bars from bare bones to sleek and swanky, but the number of taps usually doesn't exceed six and the selection is predictably boring. Yet, we did occasionally stumble upon an oasis of craft beer. Here's a few we spotted.

Holsteins

Holsteins is one we nearly missed. Well, that can actually be said for almost all of them. It's not like it's hidden, but a place called Holsteins Shakes and Buns and featuring milkshakes and burgers isn't something that naturally screams "beer." Nevertheless, from a distance my eye caught what looked like a long line of taps and, being the thirsty types, we took a detour.

Holsteins is inside the Cosmopolitan on the second floor and has 23 taps with a little something of everything. Nothing unusual, but on the strip, this counts as a darn fine selection. They've also got 100 plus bottles and I noticed some interesting high gravity stuff and a good variety. We chose to try the local tap and got a pint of Tenaya Creek Hop Ride IPA (picture below). All around, this was a very nice beer. Great aroma, nicely balanced hops and plenty of flavor.

Pour 24

Pour 24 is on the second floor of the New York, New York casino, right next to the escalators headed down to the casino and restaurants. Maybe that's why we missed it the first two times we walked by. That's what a strong hunger and a million things to gawk at will do. As the name indicates, there's 24 taps. Again, there's nothing unusual, but a good variety of styles from Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA to Rogue Shakespeare Stout will having you flipping for joy on the Strip.

I stayed local again, choosing a Tenaya Creek Calico Brown Ale. I didn't keep any notes, but remember it being one of the better brown ales I've had in a while with some unusual quality about it. Wish I could remember what that was. When you're there, grab a seat overlooking the casino for a great view of the action and slip a 5 spot into the machines while you take in a pint.

Spago

Spago is a Wolfgang Puck restaurant inside the Forum Shops at Caesars. We stopped there for a late dinner, but ended up impressed by the beer list. It isn't huge, with perhaps 8 taps and a number of bottles, but there were unique choices compared to everything else we'd seen. We picked a draft pint of Goose Island Matilda which the menu described as a "pale ale," omitting the "Belgian style" from the official description. One whiff of the aroma revealed the fortuitous omission, however, and the beer paired very well with some spicy "chicken lolipops."

Todd English P.U.B.

Todd English P.U.B., or Public Urban Bar, is a classy "carvery," grill, oyster bar and tap house just outside the Aria Casino at the Crystals at City Center shopping area. The Aria sits a bit farther off the Strip (so it seems) and you're not likely to stumble upon this place unless you're making a point of checking out as much of the glitz and glamor tour as we were.

At first glance when you step inside, the attractive joint gives the impression it has just a few taps. That's only because they're placed in small groupings around the perimeter of the bar. Take a look at the Draught List in the picture and you'll see quite the opposite. Right, that's 39 on the list, by far the most we saw. That said, you'd better like brews from the U.K. as they dominate the list. We didn't have time to stop for a pint, or to check out the bottle list as we were making tracks for dinner at a different joint.

A couple of other restaurants we noticed with a few craft taps were BLT Burger in the Mirage (great burgers, by the way) with a couple decent craft beers amongst their 10 or so taps and Broadway Burger Bar and Grill in the New York, New York casino with 8 taps including Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Firestone Union Jack IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Abita Turbodog Brown Ale and the like.

Take a look at reviews for any of these spots or one of the hundreds of others on the Las Vegas Strip and you'll see multiple comments about sticker shock on the price of beer. It's true. Pints are pricey, though so is everything else. Expect a minimum of $6 for 14 ounces. $7 to $9 is common for pints running 14 to 16 ounces and sometimes up to 20 ounces. For higher gravity beers and 22 oz. bombers, I saw prices running $12 to $15. We expected those prices, but they still hurt when $3.50 pints can still be found around Missoula and $4.00 is more the norm.

The four places mentioned above aren't casino bars (they don't ring the central casino areas) and don't comp beers if you're gambling. (Pour 24 has video poker machines, but didn't comp.) Unfortunately, the bars that do ring the casino areas and will comp if you're playing a machine at the bar generally have the same boring selection. We're not much for sitting at the banks of slots forming the bulk of most casino areas, but will pop a few bucks at a machine built into the bar if there's a decent beer to be found. The Sports Bar at the Mirage at least had Sam Adams Oktoberfest (which I rather enjoy) and the Bar Moderno at the Aria had Anchor Steam, Abita Purple Haze, Sam Adams Oktoberfest and a couple of others.

Downtown, Old Vegas, Old School

When you're ready for a little different experience, head north of the Strip to Downtown Las Vegas and the compact, old school, Fremont Street collection of original casinos. Here, the craft beer treasure hunt paid some nice dividends. (And a few of the slots did, too). The light show above Freemont Street will dazzle, everything is a short walk away, and two breweries await the adventurous. It's also much cheaper all around.

Chicago Brewing Co.

Tucked into a dark corner of the 4 Queens Casio is the Chicago Brewing Company. Grab a seat at the bar, slip some bills into the machines and they'll comp you one of their award winning beers. The beers are brewed at the original location on Fort Apache Road, but you'll find six on tap here including a very good IPA. The Hardaway IPA is full flavored with a nice pine hop punch and a good splash of citrus. It pairs well with the pizza they're known for. I recommend the garlic knots followed by a Magnificent Mile Meat Lover pizza.

Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery

A long block north of Fremont Street takes you to The Main Street Station Casino and Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery. The restaurant features two long bars, views of the fermenters and other brewing equipment and a large menu of brewpub staples. It's a popular joint brewing up a great variety of nice beers like a hefty Belgian quad and a rotating series of IPAs called V.I.P.A. During our visit there were 8 beers on tap. We chose their seasonal Zehus IPA, a 9% abv imperial IPA with strong citrus hop flavor over a big malt backbone.

When you're ready for a little gaming action, head into the casino and out to the long bar near the cage where four of Triple 7's beers are the only ones on tap. The Black Chip porter is a nice, smooth porter with light chocolate flavor and a touch of smokey coffee. At 4.3 % abv it makes for a nice session beer while waiting for Lady Luck to make an appearance. When playing the machines at the bar, they'll quickly comp you a pint (none of the seasonal are on these taps). Even when not playing, at $1.75 and $2.50 (two separate visits) the beers were a bargain even for Montana prices.

There's no doubt we missed some other gems on the Strip and Downtown. So pitch in and let us know where else you can find craft beer treasure in Las Vegas.

UPDATE:
Here's one I missed: The Pub. Located inside the Monte Carlo casino, The Pub has 300+ beers on draft and a bar with a backdrop of lighted kegs. 300? Really? And me, Mr. Growler Fills, missed it? The Monte Carlo is one of only a couple of casino properties I did not visit in my multiple trips up and down the strip during my stay. Figures.

The Most Dangerous Beer In America Gets Even Better

2011-10-29T19:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, so "dangerous" really isn't the right word, but now that I have your attention hear me out. If I ask you to name that one beer that has, shall we say, an unusually pronounced effect on you does one immediately come to mind?

For me, that beer is Cold Smoke Scotch Ale from Kettlehouse Brewing Co. in Missoula, MT. I have no idea why that might be, though I've heard the same from quite a few others (like 10). Friends in New England (that's you, 2Beer Guys and Seacoast Beverage Lab), tell me their equivalent is Golden Monkey Belgian-Style Ale from Victory Brewing Co. I've had a couple of pints of Golden Monkey and can see their point. At least with Golden Monkey, its rich smoothness packs 9.5% abv, giving a good indication of where the effect originates.

Cold Smoke, on the other hand sits at 6.5% abv, a fairly normal mid-range spot for craft beer. Still, it has some sneaky quality about it that stays hidden until you least expect it. Cold Smoke is crazy easy drinking, crazy smooth and crazy good. It is dark brown and malty with just a hint of smoky roast in the finish. With 11 ibus, there's just enough hop presence to keep it from getting sweet. Aromas are of light caramel and toffee. It's even available in 16 oz cans and won a bronze medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. Let it warm up a bit to get the real flavors out of it.

So what makes it even better? Try aging it for a year in oak bourbon barrels. Kettlehouse did just that, setting aside some of their Cold Smoke to see what would happen. I'm a little late in getting this post up as the beer is gone now, but I had a chance to try it a day or so after it was released in early October. As you would expect for that length of aging, the beer took on strong bourbon and vanilla aromas with similarly strong bourbon and vanilla flavors which dominate. Kettlehouse says the beer takes on 2 to 2.5 % alcohol from the bourbon barrels and the increase is noticeable. Among the vanilla and bourbon flavors is some alcohol punch - more than you might expect for a 9% abv beer. It takes a while for the traditional Cold Smoke flavors to show up, but they do get there. They're mostly present in the finish along with lingering vanilla.

What's your most dangerous beer?

From Fledgling Homebrewer to Experimental Veteran, This Book's For You

2011-10-19T09:56:00.000-06:00

I got word yesterday that the Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book is ready to launch on November 1, 2011. Unlike most homebrew recipe books, this collection by Erica Shea and Stephen Valand will take your homebrewing adventures far beyond the norm, one gallon at a time.

One gallon you say? The traditional homebrew batch is five gallons, or enough for two cases of bottles or one nice soda keg. Yet, that's a lot of beer and makes wild experimentation a dicey proposition. One gallon batches aren't a new thing, but Erica and Stephen looked for a way "to brew on a smaller scale to make it more like cooking." It reduced the time for brewing, created less mess, made it easier to handle and, with three stove burners, allowed them to make three different batches at the same time.

These guys have spent the past three years at the Brooklyn Flea Market teaching people how to brew beer while selling small batch equipment kits and ingredient mixes. Their approach and success drew local, then national media attention. They gave a presentation at the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference that was as witty, smart and informative as it was humorous and entertaining.

The book has equipment lists and instructions for the beginner with plenty of tips and unique recipes for the veteran brewer. Like their Apple Crisp Ale complete with apples and cinnamon. The recipies are also scaled for 5 gallon batches if you want to go old-school.

Growler Fills Hits 2nd Anniversary

2011-10-14T09:29:00.002-06:00

Two years ago today, I started Growler Fills as a log to record the beers I enjoyed merely for personal use. That quickly transitioned into something much more fun. Today we still enjoy the occasional beer review, but now provide beer news, event coverage, commentary and much more.

In the past year, we've created a new logo, a redesigned page (always a work in progress), and some awesome t-shirts. In August, I attended the beer bloggers conference held in Portland, OR, beer mecca, easily the best conference I've attended. I continued my quest to embrace the beer runner philosophy - combining a love of craft beer with an active, healthy lifestyle - by finishing my first marathon. A trip to the Montana Brewers Festival in Bozeman rounded out the summer fun with a chance to meet brewers and fans while sampling beers from across our very wide state. It has been another good year exploring craft beer.

So what's next? Craft beer continues to grow with impressive numbers in volume, variety and the number of craft breweries. There is much to explore. We've got some projects in the works and are always looking for new ideas. It would be great to add some video from time to time, but need a little help with that aspect (hint, hint.)

How can you help us grow? Help us reach farther out into the beer world by liking Growler Fills on facebook and recommending us to others. Send us your beer news, information, notes and fun. Make connections. Leave comments and participate in the discussion. Take a moment to tell us what you like (or don't like) and what else you'd like to see on Growler Fills.

Most of all, continue to explore craft beer and help others do the same.

50 Beers in 50 Days Video Beer Tour at The Rhino

2011-10-11T12:43:00.001-06:00

The Rhino in downtown Missoula is well known to local craft beer lovers and many from points far away. Its 50 taps are most in Montana. Though they don't all rotate, most do and keep beer lovers happy with an ever changing selection. The Rhino's reputation and connections often tend to bring in beers you might not expect to find an out-of-the-way-place like Montana. Without a doubt, The Rhino is a huge supporter of craft beer and a great stop for anyone looking for something interesting to try.

The Rhino recently launched a new blog called 50 Beers in 50 Days with a video series covering all 50 taps. It's scheduled to run from October 10 through November 28th. They plan to have information about the beers, breweries, and brewing processes including interviews with some of the distributors and brewers.

Head to the blog to keep track of the daily action, or "like" their facebook page to get regular updates.

2nd Annual Ryan United Brewmasters' Dinner, Sat. Oct. 8

2011-10-07T12:27:00.000-06:00

Sorry we didn't see this one earlier, but if you're in or near Helena Saturday and seeking a fun event for a good cause, you might be interested in checking out the Ryan United 2nd Annual Brewmasters' Dinner. The dinner features food prepared by Helena's Silver Star Steak Company (excellent, by the way) and fantastic beer from Helena's two breweries, Lewis and Clark Brewing and Blackfoot River Brewing.

The dinner takes place Saturday, October 8, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel and the Silver Star Steak Company in Helena, MT. Tickets are $50 per person, or $260 per corporate table. Proceeds benefit Ryan United, a Helena based nonprofit providing community safety programs to Montana communities and forwarding its mission of ending child predation in America. A silent auction and live entertainment round out the evening.

A "welcome beer" features Blackfoot Koelsch followed by Lewis and Clark's Miner's Gold served with smoked chicken bruschetta with goat cheese, roasted tomato and basil. Blackfoot's Oktoberfest follows with wild boar sausage, German mustard and red cabbage. Next up will be Lewis and Clark's Prickly Pear Pale Ale paired with beer-brined grilled pork with roasted yukon potatoes and a pale ale demiglace. As if that's not enough, Blackfoot's Double Citra IPA gets paired with a cranberry brisket and butternut squash puree and fried onions. Finally, Lewis and Clark's Weizenbock arrives with stout cake.

Yeah, now I'm hungry. And thirsty.

For ticket information, head here.

Save the Date: Bitter Root Brewery Anniversary Party

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

Ahh . . lucky 13. Bitter Root Brewery turns 13 this month and they're throwing an Anniversary Party to thank all their fans and supporters. With the recent development of their most excellent Red Dread, Trippel, and Last Cast seasonal beers, there's every reason to believe the brewery's best years are still to come.

As for the party, it takes place at the brewery in Hamilton, MT, on Sunday, October 16, 2011 from 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Live music with Andre Floyd starts up at 5:00 p.m. All beers are $2 and there will be food specials, giveaways, discounts on Bitter Root merchandise and an all around good time.

Sign Up Now for FLBC's Fall 2011 Brewer's Dinner

2011-10-06T10:47:00.001-06:00

Flathead Lake Brewing Co. of Missoula is holding its second Brewer's Dinner Friday, October 14, 2011, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the pub in Missoula. If you want to go, you'll need to sign up right away (by Sunday) by calling Nicole at (406) 542-3847, or sending her an email at Nicole at flbcofmissoula.com.

Tickets are $68/person which includes gratuity. For that, you'll get five FLBC beers (including the first to try this year's Holiday Ale), a four course dinner, music, and presentations from FLBC's brewer, Tim Jacoby, and the chefs at Sapore Restaurant.

For more info head to FLBC of Missoula's facebook page here.

(Beer) Running Lessons: Acceptance

2011-10-06T09:12:00.000-06:00

Acceptance. That's a concept I've been struggling with lately. Three months ago on July 10, 2011 I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, the Missoula Marathon, capping a quest many miles in the making. Since then, running has been a bit of a struggle.

I'd read enough and talked enough to know it takes a while to recover from a marathon, no matter whether it's your first or tenth. I knew it would be best to ease back into things and not to expect too much. I knew everyone was different and there's certainly a difference between someone like me, still a new runner, and someone who has years of running success behind them. Still, I figured I was in the best shape of my life and should spring right back to running with zero lag time.

Damn reality.

I felt good enough to run two days after the marathon, but work and life forced me to wait five days. By then, the annual summer heat was on in Missoula. Runs that were pleasant in the 50s and 60s suddenly sucked in the 70s and 80s. The effect of the heat made me forget I'd just run a 26.2 mile race. Or more specifically, it was impossible to tell how much of my struggle was due to the race and how much was due to the heat.

The heat continued all through July, August and most of September. I've had two recurring problems. First, energy has been a hit and miss proposition. Second, I'm pretty sure I seriously strained my lower abdominal muscles during the marathon and they're nowhere close to being healed. I've mostly hit my post marathon goal of at least 25 miles a week, but it hasn't been easy.

Okay, I'll admit it. I need a break.

That's harder to admit than it might seem. I still have goals. Our local running club, Run Wild Missoula, has a 1200 Mile Club, providing encouragement for people to run a total of 1,200 miles during the calendar year. I'm 65 miles away and it's only October. I also want to maintain a good base. I lost far too much fitness last year by inadvertently and unwillingly taking most of November and December off from running. Plus, running in Montana in October is a fantastic treat of great scenery and beautiful weather.

But I do need a break.

I need to heal. I've got friends who do 100 mile races and are back at it with a few days rest. Yeah, they're freaks of nature and I readily recognize I'm not. But I also realize I've been pretty lucky with this running adventure. I've managed to train for my first half and my first full marathon without major injuries and set backs. I have friends half my age who can't say that.

So it's time to be smart and make sure my adventure can stay that way. I WILL hit 1200 miles and probably a few more. But I'm not going to let my obsessive quest for mile after mile create setbacks that leave me struggling come January and my next marathon. I need to get right. It's time to cut way back - not stop completely - for a while. Cross training would be smart, though access to that isn't as easy as a pair of running shoes.

There's the lesson for this beer runner. Listen to your body. Accept what it's telling you. Do something about it. Continue the quest.

Seeley Lake Brewfest this Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011

2011-10-03T14:48:00.001-06:00

The Seeley Lake Brewfest takes place this Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the two-day Tamarack Festival in scenic Seeley Lake, MT. Tickets are $15 which includes a commemorative pint glass and two drink tickets. Additional drink tickets are $2 each.

It also looks like early arrivals may get a chance to try beer from Draught Works, Missoula's newest brewery that hasn't quite opened its doors. At 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, Draught Works will will be "presenting their beer and explaining their brewing process at Double Arrow Resort" according to the Festival information. A pub crawl in downtown Seeley Lake follows

There's a lot more going on during the festival as well. Here's a look at the full schedule:

Friday Oct. 7th

7:00 PM Draught Works Brewery will be presenting their beer and explaining their brewing process at Double Arrow Resort. Afterwords its to downtown Seeley Lake where we will begin the pub crawl

Saturday Oct. 8th

8AM Seeley Lake Challenge Summer Biathlon
10AM-4PM Alpine Artisans Tour of the Arts
11AM-5PM Classic Car Show and Shine Throughout Town Sign Up At Parts Plus
11AM-6:30PM Brew Fest and Tamarack Festival at One-Stop Lawn. Live Music! Wine Bar! Food! Arts and Crafts!
6PM Growler Fill Bring Your Own Growlers or Buy One of Our Big Sky Brewery/Seeley Lake Brew Fest Growlers to Fill!
6:30PM Dinner and Beverages Throughout Seeley Lake

Sunday Oct. 9th

10AM-3PM Tamarack Festival
10AM-2PM Littlebird's Marketplace Harvest Market
11AM-4PM Alpine Artisans Tour of the Arts
1PM Sparrow's Vine Walkathon Fundraiser
6:30PM 2 Valley's Stage Concert Foothills Brass Quintet at Seeley-Swan High School

More information is available at the Seeley Lake Brewfest facebook page.

Montana Winners at the GABF

2011-10-01T16:24:00.001-06:00

The winners of the beer competition at the 30th Annual Great American Beer Festival were announced this afternoon and Montana's breweries took three medals out of approximately 3,930 entries.

Missoula's Kettlehouse Brewing Co. took Bronze in the Gluten-Free category with Seeley Axe White.
Billings' Montana Brewing Co. took Silver in the Baltic-Style Porter category with White Eagle Baltic Porter.
Billings' Carter's Brewing took Silver in the American-Style Black Ale category with Blackened CDA.

Congratulations to Montana's winners! For the full list of winning beers, head here.

Montana Breweries at the Great American Beer Festival

2011-09-28T16:05:00.002-06:00

The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO is the granddaddy of all brewfests. This year's event kicks off tomorrow with 460+ breweries serving up 2,375 beers to 49,000+ attendees over three days. Needless to say, if you're attending you'll want to be choosy. The pours may only be one ounce at a time, but 2,375 ounces is still a lot of beer. (That's almost 198 12 oz beer equivalents, if you're curious.) I do want to go - once - mostly just to see the pure, overwhelming pageantry of it all.

Even more beers have been entered into the competition. This year the Festival anticipates 4,000 beers to be judged by more than 170 judges. Four new competition categories have been added: Fruit Wheat Beer, Chocolate Beer, American Style Brett Ale and International Style Pale Ale. Since 2001, the top category for entries has been the American-Style India Pale Ale. Given our experience out and about and at the 2011 Montana Brewers Festival, it's not a stretch to see why. Winners will be announced on Saturday, Oct. 1 beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Here are the Montana Breweries attending the Festival:

Big Sky Brewing Co.
Carter's Brewing
Flathead Lake Brewing Co.
Great Northern Brewing Co.
Madison River Brewing Co.
Montana Brewing Co.
Red Lodge Ales
Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co.

Update: The full list of beers came out from the Brewers Association this morning and I don't see any from Yellowstone Valley on there, even though they're still in the brewery list. Not sure if that's an error or if they did not end up making the trip.

It's That Time of the Month

2011-09-27T11:32:00.000-06:00

Really? Is September almost over? Seems like I posted a reminder for Run Wild Missoula's August Beer Run just yesterday, but that's obviously not the case. Here we are on the tail end of September and it's time for another one. The air is crisp, temperatures are runner friendly and there's a great destination on tap: Missoula's own Bayern Brewing Co.

You know the drill. Show up at 6:00 p.m. for a group run of about 5 miles (feel free to go long, or cut it short), then stick around for some great beer and fun with fellow beer runners. Bayern Brewing Co. is a block west of Russell St. at 1507 Montana St. For more information head to Run Wild Missoula's website where you can find an e-mail address for the Chancellor of Libations.

Here's a map of the route:

What's Trending in Beer?

2011-09-26T20:53:00.000-06:00

Like all creative endeavors, craft beer tends to pick up certain trends as brewers experiment with various techniques, ingredients and processes. Craft beer provides a wide ranging canvas upon which to try out an idea. Some work, some don't. An occasional one might even be the next best thing. Many aren't even all that new, but somehow suddenly become mainstream.

Three years ago, it seems barrel aging suddenly became common place. Two years ago marked an explosion of high gravity beers. Last year, Black IPAs were all the rage, though the style is decades old (depending on who's asking and who's telling the story). These are my observations from regular visits to tap rooms, bars and various retail outlets. Truth be told, these trends are all continuing.

So what's hot now? Belgian yeast. It's showing up everywhere. By that I mean it's showing up everywhere you might not expect to find it. Sure, there are more dubbels, tripels, saisons and other traditional Belgian style beers than ever before. But there's also stouts, IPAs, and marzens popping up with the unmistakable spiciness of Belgian yeast.

Take Stone Brewing Co., for example. I've got a bottle of Stone's recent Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout hanging out in the fridge waiting for a free day and some ambitious tasters. It's a version of their Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Belgian yeast and anise. Stone also took their long running Old Guardian Barelywine and brewed up a batch with Belgian yeast. At the Montana Brewers Festival this month Carter's Brewing was pouring a Faux Pas Belgian Style Stout. The name has be wondering whether the Belgian/Stout combination was originally an accident or merely a recognition of an unusual pairing.

It's also true that the Belgian ale style descriptions are quite varied, providing plenty of room to allow nearly any unusual combination to fit into one category or another. A stout with Belgian yeast may be described as a "Belgian style dark ale." Some of that is due to our obsession with making all round pegs fit into existing square holes. Some of it is certainly marketing, choosing style familiarity to better the chances of commercial acceptability.

I think Full Sail Brewing Co.'s latest Brewmaster Reserve beer, Sanctuary, leans this direction. I'm really digging it, having just spotted it in our stores. It's billed as a Belgian dubbel, but it defies that style in a variety of ways including color, richness and more noticeable hop bitterness. Frankly, I didn't read the label before giving it a try and immediately thought of it as an oktoberfest/marzen with Belgian yeast. There's nothing about that I don't like. This time of year I can't get enough of the oktoberfests, from the lighter bodied, traditional Hacker-Pschorr to the richer American version of Sam Adams and even more full bodied, local Bayern Brewing Co. Oktoberfest. Sanctuary reminds me of a richer, American style oktoberfest with a touch of Belgian yeast spiciness throughout the flavor profile.

What's trending in your beer world?

Reminder: Ales for Trails Brewfest, Friday, Sept. 23

2011-09-20T08:14:00.001-06:00

Another week, another great brewfest in Montana. Now up is the 11th Annual Ales for Trails Brewfest on Friday, September 23, 2011 from 5 pm to 10 pm at Dehler Park in Downtown Billings. Tickets are $35 the day of the event or $30 in advance. A ticket gets you into the event and an unlimited number of samples from the 40 or so craft beers (pace yourself responsibly, people).

Even better, the brewfest features Trailhead Ales, a collaborative brew crafted by the brew masters of Red Lodge Ales, Montana Brewing Company, Angry Hanks, Carters, Yellowstone Valley Brewing, and Fat Jacks along with individual brewery versions. Here's the full details on this great project from the organizers:

Trailhead Ale is a light, refreshing ale to quench the fading summer thirst yet has some subtle malt complexity to usher in the fall. It is brewed with a majority of locally grown Montana 2-row malt. It also contains biscuit malt for a nice toasted bread character as well as some oats to round out a smooth creamy finish. We lightly hopped this ale with domestic grown hops to produce some subtle floral and citrus notes. Overall, this is a well-balanced smooth quenching ale with subtle flavor complexities. Enjoy!!

Angry Hank’s Trailhead Ale - Brewmaster - Tim Mohr. Angry Hanks brewed their version of Trailhead Ale with apricot, to leave a crisp yet flavorful finish. This very smooth ale is refreshing and well-balanced.

Carter’s Trailhead Ale – Brewmaster Michael Ulrich. Just perfect for the Season . . . Carters created a mild version of Trailhead Ale with distinctive blends and spices and aged to perfection. Well balanced and crisp.

Fat Jack’s Trailhead Ale – Brewmaster Levi Bequette. This twisted version of Trailhead, offered by Fat Jacks, builds on the flavors of summer and contributes to very light ale, a smooth, refreshing ale that will cure your thirst.

Montana Brewing Company’s Trailhead Ale – Brewmaster Evan Taylor. Montana Brewing Company’s version of the Trailhead Ale is spiced with whole Tahitian vanilla beans and cinnamon for an added twist. The vanilla contributes a sweet and floral aroma and flavor and the cinnamon adds a nice element of spicy sweetness.

Red Lodge Ales’ Trailhead Ale – Brewmaster Justin Moore. Red Lodge Ales took this masterpiece one step further and aged the brew on Spanish cedar to offer a unique taste to a traditional favorite.

Yellowstone Valley Trailhead Ale – Brewmaster Ryan Koga. Yellowstone Valley Brewing’s twist on Trailhead Ale is an excellent mix of Wisconsin Door County cherries and American oak. This unique blend contributes to sweet, tart, biscuit, and vanilla flavors and aromas . . . a perfect end to summer!

For more information, see our original post here, or contact Robbie Carpenter, coordinator for Ales for Trails at alesfortrails@gmail.com, or check out the BikeNet website.

2011 Montana Brewers Festival: A Showcase of Quality, Variety

2011-09-13T10:07:00.000-06:00

Quality and variety were on display Friday evening as craft beer lovers by the hundreds took turns talking to brewers and fellow fans while taking in some of the 70+ Montana brewed beers at the 2011 Montana Brewer's Festival. It was a beautiful sunny evening in Bozeman and the only troubling aspect was figuring out where to start. (More pictures here.)

IPAs initially appeared to dominate the offerings, but a closer look revealed widely ranging styles from light lagers to Belgians and saisons, to Russian imperial stouts. There was certainly something for everyone and judging by the excitement and buzz of the crowd, there was a lot of love for our Montana brewers.

We made a point of trying brews we've never had before along with breweries that are a bit out of the way from Missoula. That means beer from Wibaux and Wolfpoint, for example, and I know what you're thinking. They brew beer in Wibaux and Wolfpoint? Yes, they do, and the stuff from Beaver Creek and Missouri Breaks is darn good, too. We particularly enjoyed Beaver Creek's Paddlefish Stout and Missouri Break's Rattlesnake IPA.

Others that stood out were Carter's Hop Delivery Vehicle IPA and Faux Pas Belgian Style Stout. We heard some buzz about Bozone's Barrel Aged Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout, but couldn't find the stout behind all the raspberry aroma and flavor. On the other hand, Bozone's Hopsimellia Imperial IPA and its 100+ ibus/10.8% abv was crazy good, combining a complex citrus/pine bitter bite with a rich, yeasty malt serving tray. Blackfoot River' 2010 Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine is one I wish I'd had the chance to sit back and sip for an extended period. The vanilla and bourbon flavors provided an excellent compliment to the barleywine, avoiding the overwhelming dominance too common of barrel aged beers.

There were several we didn't have a chance to try, some because they ran out and some simply due to lack of personal capacity. Neptune's Imperial Brown Ale is one I missed, but I did rather enjoy their chocolate cream porter. We took our time and practiced pacing, stopping for water and slices of pizza and the chance to talk with a few of the brewers. We enjoyed visiting with some Growler Fills fans and made a few new ones, too. The music played on as we called it a night and vowed to return to the next Festival. To see a collection of pictures from the event, check out our 2011 Montana Brewers Festival set here.

When the morning hunger and thirst hits you in Bozeman, head over to the Cateye Cafe for some awesome breakfast and Wild Joe's for some of the best coffee anywhere.

Montana Brewers Festival Preview: Blackfoot River Brewing Co.

2011-09-08T10:01:00.001-06:00

One of the great things about visiting Blackfoot River Brewing Co.'s taproom in Helena, MT, is you'll usually find a new and interesting beer to try. In fact, it may be the only time you'll ever find it. Frequently rotating, small batch beers are the norm at Blackfoot. Even better, they don't just taste great, they're often educational, too.

Take the Saphir Singlemalt IPA, one of four brews Blackfoot River is bringing to the Montana Brewers Festival tomorrow. Fans of Blackfoot River are well acquainted with their flagship Singlemalt IPA. Saphir Singlemalt IPA is a bit of a twist on the Singlemalt IPA in that it is both a single malt and single hop beer. Blackfoot replaces all 4 hop additions with with the Saphir hop variety while keeping the bitterness level and the amount of aroma/dry hop additions the same. Blackfoot has done this before with their single hop series to create beers using 100% Simcoe and Citra hops. More are on the way, too. Creating this series of single hop beers helps patrons understand the flavors created by different hops and the importance of how hop varieties affect flavors and aromas.

Blackfoot River's Brian Smith says the Saphir hop is a special newer hop variety from Germany's Hull Hop Research Institute. It is said to have a distinct aroma that is sweet and clean with flowery/fruity notes trending toward tangerine.

The fun doesn't stop there. Festival attendees will also have an opportunity to try Double Black Diamond Mocha Stout. To brew it, Blackfoot River transferred some of their traditional Double Black Diamond Stout over to a special 1bbl tank with organic cacao nibs and organic coffee. The beer was allowed to finish fermentation and go through several weeks of conditioning while resting on the cacao nibs and coffee. Whoa.

And they're not even done yet. Blackfoot River will also have a keg of their 2010 Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine that they've saved for a special occasion such as the Montana Brewers Festival. They aged the Barleywine in 12 yr old Elijah Craig barrels for more than 4 months. The 10.5% abv heavyweight will surely provide plenty of bourbon/vanilla aromas and flavors.

If that's not enough, they've got one more: Kolsch, a German style subtle, refreshing, lighter bodied beer that is fermented with ale yeast, but at lager temperatures.

Need any other reason to attend the Montana Brewers Festival tomorrow in Bozeman? I didn't think so. But once there, you'll have your pick of more than 70+ Montana beers from 20+ Montana breweries. There's no better chance to taste the fantastic beer our Montana brewers have to offer.

Montana Brewers Festival Preview: Bitter Root Brewing

2011-09-07T14:57:00.002-06:00

The 3rd Annual Montana Brewers Festival takes place this Friday, September 9 at the Haynes Pavilion in Bozman with more than 70+ Montana beers from 20+ Montana breweries. We reached out to some of the brewers to find out more about the beer they plan to present. (We're still waiting to hear back from some of them, hint hint. And if we didn't contact you, send us the scoop on your great beers. Thirsty minds want to know.)

First up in our preview is Bitter Root Brewing Co. from Hamilton. Bitter Root originally planned on bringing their new seasonal, Last Cast Black IPA. Sadly, it won't quite be ready in time for the Festival, but its replacement sounds mighty fine, too: Imperial IPA, originally known as the Power of 10 IPA.

Bitter Root's Imperial IPA was first called the Power of 10 IPA because it was their 1,000th brew, had 100 IBUs and 10% abv. Apparently it gained quite a following with regular visitors to the tap room and now you'll have a chance to try it in Bozeman, too. They've made a few modifications to the original batch, but here are the current ingredients:

Malts: Montana Metcalf 2-Row; ESB; Crystal 15; Crystal 30; Vienna; Honey; Chocolate and Brown.

Hops: Magnum, Chinook, and CTZ with a blend of Simcoe and Chinook for dry hopping.

According to Bitter Root, their Imperial IPA is a hybrid between a Northwest imperial IPA and an English IPA. Aromas are fruity, with grapefruit and a mild pine resin that present first along with a rich malt character coming through in the nose. As for flavors, the flavoring hops start up fronton the palate, followed by a creamy, rich, toffee and caramel malt body and finishing with a nice, warming alcohol heat to make the beervery well balanced.Count me in on that one.As for the Last Cast Black IPA, it should be available in the Bitter Root tap room next week. It's also being bottled and should be out in stores soon, too. We'll bring you more information on it once we've had a chance to try it.

Tomorrow's preview: Blackfoot River Brewing Co.'s Double Black Diamond Mocha Stout and more!

Beer, Youth Sports Collide at Maverick Brewfest

2011-09-07T08:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, not literally, but the 13th Annual Maverick Brewfest is a fundraiser for Missoula youth sports and that's always made me chuckle a little. Some sell candy, some sell popcorn and we're all tired of being bombarded with those magazine subscription fundraisers. Missoula youth sports knows how to cut to the chase in this town: craft beer.

Once again you'll be able to check out a selection of more than 40 beers from Montana and the northwest at the Maverick Brewfest this Friday, September 9, 2011 from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Caras Park. Tickets are $10 which includes a tasting glass and three beer tokens. Additional tokens are $1 each. Food and live music are also part of the gig.

Don't forget, if you're not in the Missoula Area or want to hit up the biggest selection of Montana beers ever assembled in one spot, the Montana Brewers Festival takes place the same night in Bozeman at the Haynes Pavilion at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

August Beer Run Set for Tamarack Brewing

2011-08-29T12:00:00.000-06:00

Run Wild Missoula's August Beer Run will take place Wednesday, August 31 at Tamarack Brewing, 231 West Front St. in Missoula beginning at 6:00 p.m. Things get started with a group run of about 5 miles, though there's plenty of options to cut it short or go long.

Afterward, get social with fellow beer runners while enjoying one of Tamarack's many brews or a selection from the guest taps. Tamarack has plenty of food, too, with a menu ranging from pizza to sandwiches to pasta to steak. Here's a map of the run route. For more information, head here.

Presentation Matters: What To Do When It All Goes Wrong

2011-08-28T20:00:00.002-06:00

You don't need me to tell you that craft beer has arrived. In many fine restaurants, it now sits alongside excellent bottles of wine where servers are educated equally between the two beverages. As "sommelier" is a well known title designating an expert in wine, beer experts now have a choice of designations such as a certified Cicerone or Beer Steward. In one day recently, I had both an extra pale bock and a sour, barrel aged ale brewed with apricots. The variety of choices available even in Montana for a hosted tasting event or just some great backyard drinking are astounding.

As with any perishable product, proper handling is critical. So is presentation. Even the casual craft beer fan knows heat and light are enemies to beer. Brown glass is better than clear. Cans are even better. Some beers age nicely. Some are meant to be consumed quickly. Brewers cringe when they see a six pack of 2 year old pale ale suddenly appear on a store shelf. It simply isn't going to taste as they intended.

The Brewers Association has a great draught quality manual covering topics like line cleaning, draught system design, gas dispense and balance, and proper pouring and sanitation. Let's face it, dirty beer lines, crummy glass cleaning and poor sanitation wreak havoc. Unfortunately, most of us simply think it's the beer. And don't forget those ice cold, frosted beer glasses. They're terrible for craft beer, instantly creating an icy sludge and ruining any chance your taste buds have to pick out wonderful hop and malt aromas and flavors.

Where I live there's an excellent wine bar with an adjacent full service restaurant. Think dimly lit, award winning, popular fine dining. The food in the wine bar section is a great mixture of artisan sandwiches, cheese plates, small entrees and more. The wine list is wide ranging and the bartenders and servers are knowledgeable in the wines and service. The place also caters to craft beer enthusiasts with six frequently rotating taps featuring less common local brews and fine regional selections. For instance, they've had The Abyss and Ivan the Terrible along with Blackfoot River's Kolsch and Full Sail's Elevation IPA. We've been there many times. The crab cakes are a favorite and we've always been impressed.

Which is why our recent experience was rather bizarre. We settled into a couple of seats at the bar and ordered Blacksmith Brewing Co.'s Black Iron Black IPA. It's an excellent beer from the brewery in Stevensville, MT. I've enjoyed it from the very first batch. We noticed the bartender's first attempt to pour the beer in the tulip-like glass resulted in a half inch of beer and three inches of thick foam. I figured it was no big deal and assumed the keg had just been tapped. We then proceeded to watch as the bartender poured six identical glasses of foam rich beer and began ladling out the foam using a soup spoon. She then worked to combine the liquid and repeat the process to create full glasses of beer.

We pondered for a moment whether we should say anything as we're not the types to complain much. Yet, this was odd, so we spoke up before she was done and asked what was wrong with the beer or their system. A second bartender spoke up and said he'd adjusted the system as much as he could and that was the best they could do. Huh? We told him we weren't happy with the pour or the presentation and suggested they adjust the system. His response? "We take pride in the presentation of our beer." Hmm . . . so ladling out the foam of six tulip glasses to make something resembling a good pour is a technique to be proud of? Odd.

The conversation degenerated from there. The first bartender finished her foam excavation and slid the beer in front of us. We were not offered some other selection. There was no "I'm sorry this isn't to your liking, what else can we get you?" Instead, we were told it's impossible for them to get the CO2 right because they serve a variety of beers with widely varying carbonation levels. Huh? That's easily solved with the right equipment. It's also clearly contrary to our prior experience there. Ultimately, we were told they knew what they were doing and we should stop talking and drink our beer. We left when the second bartender told us he "was not enjoying talking to us about this."

I don't know what the beer tasted like; we left without taking a sip. We weren't afraid of it, but the atmosphere wasn't going to improve. We assume the second bartender was having a really bad day. It's also possible we came on a little strong. Whatever the case, I'm certain of two things. First, Mike, the brewer at Blacksmith, probably wouldn't be happy to see his beer being served by ladling out the foam from multiple partial pours. It probably isn't going to taste as expected and the presentation was . . . well . . . lacking. Second, that beer should not have been served until the delivery equipment could be properly adjusted. Aside from the ridiculous amount of staff time it would take to "pour" a beer like this, there's no reason anyone should have to watch while the foam is ladled off and the beer is assembled from multiple glasses. Bad form. We'd have fully understood if we'd been told the beer wasn't available because they were having trouble with the CO2.

I've experimented enough with glassware to know that different glasses do have an effect on the tasting experience. That said, I'm not picky. At home, my favorite glass is the Imperial Pint glass. I like how it looks and how it feels in my hand. I like that I can pour in a 12 oz bottle or split a 22 oz bomber and have plenty of room for a nice head. It's good for allowing the aromas to develop. For higher gravity beers and tasting events, I've got some snifter glasses. When I'm out and about it's nice to see a joint fit the style of beer with the recommended glass, but I'm just as happy with a standard American shaker pint glass.

What also has an effect on the tasting experience? Proper handling and presentation. They're far more important than glassware. Honestly, I don't much care what my beer is served in, so long as it's glass, clean, and somewhere in the family of beer related items. I care plenty about proper handling and good presentation. I care even more about respect. For the brewers, for their great craft beer, and for those like me, who just might know something about it. What do you think?

Win a Trip to the GABF

2011-08-27T14:10:00.001-06:00

Whitefish, MT's Great Northern Brewing Co. and Black Star Beer are hitching up the Black Star Airstream and headed to Denver, CO, for the Great American Beer Festival, September 29 to October 1, 2011. The GABF is sold out, but you can enter Black Star's Ambassador Contest for a chance to win a trip to the event. The winner and a friend will fly to Denver and spend three days as a Black Star ambassador, working with the Black Star and Great Northern crew to find the GABF's most worthy beer lover.

To enter the contest, click the Ambassador Contest tab on Black Star's Facebook page and complete the entry form. The winner will be chosen on Thursday, September 15th at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Montana Brewers Festival Hits Bozeman Friday, Sept. 9

2011-08-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

There is no other place in Montana nor any other time of the year when you can taste more than 70 Montana brewed beers from 25 Montana breweries all at the same place. That's right, it's time for the 3rd Annual Montana Brewers Festival. This year, the Festival takes place Friday, September 9, 2011 from 5:30 to 11:00 at the open air Haynes Pavilion at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in Bozeman.

You already know Montana is second in the number of breweries per capita, but getting from Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish to Beaver Creek Brewery in Wibaux is a 600 mile trip (one way) that'll take you 10 hours (give or take). Who's got time for that? Yes, there's an easier way. Head to Bozeman on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 and you'll only need to walk the length of the Haynes Pavilion. Here's the scoop:

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Special deal: $35 will get you in the door at 4:00 with access to the brewers and shorter lines.

What you get: A 6-ounce tasting glass and unlimited pours (pacing, my friend).

Music: The Dirty Shame (classic outlaw country) and, who else for a beer festival, The Growlers.

Food: pulled pork sandwiches, brats, burgers, noodles and pizza.

For more information and to purchase tickets online, head to the Montana Brewers Association website.

"It Drink Good." Mississippi's Grassroots Effort to Raise Your Pints

2011-08-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

Craig Hendry and Raise Your Pints have a problem. They're Mississippi craft beer enthusiasts in a state that doesn't embrace their enthusiasm. Homebrewing remains illegal. Craft beer may contain only up to 5% alcohol by weight. There's still a division of wet counties and dry counties. Simply transporting your unopened six pack through a dry county could get you arrested, though no one's aware of that happening. It's no surprise the state only has one brewery.

By Raise Your Pint's calculation, Mississippi's 5% abw alcohol limitation excludes the sale of approximately one-third of all beer styles. Think about it. No Belgian Tripels or, heaven forbid, a quad. No barleywines. No Russian Imperial Stouts. Dopplebocks? Ha! Raise Your Pints is out to change that.

They've had some success in their efforts. They found a friend in Governor Hailey Barbour who recently signed a proclamation designating July 23-30, 2011 as Mississippi Craft Beer Week. With no shortage of irony, the document proclaims it a time to enjoy great craft beer while recognizing the considerable contribution from the brewers, distributors, and retailers of craft beer. It also supports Raise Your Pint's efforts to "advocate the responsible practice of craft beer enjoyment and continually work toward advancing the craft beer culture in Mississippi."

Having a friendly Governor helps, but it's the state legislature where the real action takes place. An earlier version of Raise Your Pints began efforts to increase the 5% abw limit in 2007, readily admitting their naivety with the political process. A similar organization in Alabama, Free the Hops, is taking up the cause for craft beer in that state. Here's a short clip demonstrating what Free the Hops faced at the Alabama legislature in 2008.

Yes, the clip is funny in a "holy crap" kind of way. We listened to it with dumbfounded amazement during Craig Hendry's presentation on Raise Your Pint's efforts to change beer laws at the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland. I don't repost it here for cheap effect. I repost it to remind everyone how important education is.

I don't know the full story behind the clip, nor do I know anything about the legislator who is speaking. I presume he's well known for "passionate" speeches delivered with great incredulity. I don't know whether this rant was a case of pure ignorance or political showmanship. I do know a little about politics, having lobbied some during three Montana legislative sessions in the 1990s and having followed the legislative sausage making ever since. True ignorance we can never overcome. Garden-variety ignorance can be cured with good education. Political showmanship can be solved with collaboration and cooperation.

In 2009, the Montana Legislature took up a bill to increase the state's alcohol limitation on beer from 7% by weight to 14% by volume. Thanks to the emergence of a great craft beer culture along with the hard work and education by the brewers and their supporters, the bill introduced into the house of representatives had 30 sponsors. It made it's way through the legislative system with relative ease.

Fast forward to 2011 when the Montana Legislature took up a bill to shift, not increase, the hours of operation for brewery taprooms from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. Before the bill's sponsor had opened his mouth for his introduction, the chairman of the committee hearing the bill joked, "What were you drinking when you agreed to sponsor this bill?" It failed to make it out of committee. We all have our challenges, but at least we've got access to great craft beer styles in Montana. (Now, if we were only a bigger market. . . . .)

In the video clip, the Alabana legislator asks "what's wrong with the beer we got?" Isn't the better question to ask, "what's wrong with providing reasonable, responsible access to great craft beer?" Whether it's alcohol limits, tap room hours, distribution constraints or turf wars, successful change comes only through education, collaboration and cooperation. Raise Your Pints is working hard to provide all three in its efforts to change Mississippi's beer laws. To support their efforts, join them by clicking here.

Montana Ranked a Top Ten Beer State

2011-08-23T10:28:00.001-06:00

Recognizing the increasing local pride in the craft beer world, The Street magazine set out to determine what states can "legitimately call themselves 'beer states.'" Using statistics provided by the Brewers Association and Beer Institute, they created a top 10 beer state list for 2011 based on four criteria: production, consumption, breweries and breweries per capita. Montana checked in at number 10. Here's The Street's write up on our state:

Montana
Number of breweries: 27
Capita per brewery: 36,645
Production in 2010: 971,947 barrels
Consumed per capita in 2010: 30.5 gallons

The output of Montana breweries including Big Sky, Great Northern and Bitter Root isn't all that impressive, especially considering that Mike's Hard Lemonade alone rolled out roughly 200,000 more barrels last year and D.G. Yuengling & Son more than doubled the entire state's production on its own. Yet Montana's beer production has increased 1.8% in the past decade, which ties Montana for the most brewing growth of any state in the U.S.

How Montana pours out that production and that of other states is much more awe inspiring. At 30.5 gallons of beer per year, the average Montana resident's beer consumption is second-highest in the nation, almost a full gallon ahead of third-place North Dakota and a whopping three gallons ahead of South Dakota.

Those little more than two dozen breweries may not seem like much in more established craft brew states, but it's the third-best ratio of brewers to citizens in the U.S. There are some hard winters in Big Sky Country, but there's plenty of beer to warm those cold nights.

To read the whole story and see which states captured spots 1 - 9, head over to The Street's website here.

Speed Dating for Beer: Beer Bloggers Conference Rolls On

2011-08-21T11:30:00.001-06:00

Day 2 of the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, OR, had a lot of highlights. The panels from industry bloggers and brewers on how bloggers can better interact with breweries gave plenty of useful ideas. Craig Hendry of Mississippi's Raise Your Pints discussed Mississippi's beer laws and their efforts to change them, making us all stop complaining about our own state's challenges. Well, for a couple hours anyway.

A late afternoon session created a beer blogging frenzy as eight local breweries had five minutes at each table to introduce themselves, pour a sample of their beer and describe it to us. We had the same five minutes to taste, take notes, pictures and blog about them. I used Untappd to keep track of the beers and twitter to send it out to the blog world. The beers ranged from gluten free to sour and the fast paced presentations were entertaining, if a touch hectic. Definitely a fun event, but there were several beers that deserved far more time to ponder and enjoy them. Here's the list in the order our table tried them:

Blue Moon Vintage Blonde (Chardonnay grapes)
New Planet Off Grid Pale Ale (gluten free)
Ninkasi Total Domination IPA (pitched by Darth Vader - founder/brewer Jamie Floyd)
Deschutes 2011 Jubelale (pre-release)
Oakshire Brewing Overcast Espresso Stout (pitched by head brewer Matt VanWyk)
Breakside Brewing Gin Barrel Sour Double Wit (pitched by head brewer Ben Edmunds)
Widmer Brothers' Reserve Prickly Pear Braggot (pitched by Rob Widmer)
Karl Strauss Boardwalk Black Rye

Following the beer speed dating, we grabbed the buses again and head over to BridgePort Brewing Company's brewing facility for a tour and dinner. Dinner was excellent, BridgePort was a very gracious host and the nitro porter was the perfect evening brew. Here's some photos of the evening.

Harvesting Hops and a Night of Many Bottles

2011-08-20T12:02:00.001-06:00

The first official day of the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference kicked off with some entertaining panel discussions. Julia Herz from the Brewers Association and CraftBeer.com started us off with a craft beer industry update. Beer writing legends Fred Eckhardt and John Foyston kept us laughing with great war stories, and Erica and Stephen of Brooklyn Beer Shop proved just about any ingredient can be used to brew fun beer.

The fun kicked up a notch when 90 beer bloggers and industry folks loaded up on two buses for a trip out to the Goschie hop farm. Thanks to a major traffic jam, the 45 minute ride turned into a 2.5 hour crawl. Frankly, we didn't care. This is a beer bloggers conference after all. There's beer, and we were treated to samples from four area breweries. First, Ben, the head brewer from Breakside Brewing Co. poured a black saison, introducing me to yet another interesting new combination. Next, Eric from Deschutes poured their newly released belgian quad, The Stoic. Lucky Labrador's brewer Ben shared some Black Sheep CDA. As if we weren't spoiled enough, head brewer Ben (that's three Bens, if you're counting) from Hopworks Urban Brewery poured Galactic Imperial Red.

Sometimes you just have great timing. We stepped off the buses at the hop farm into a veritable bath of hop aroma. The hop harvest had begun just a day earlier and tractor loads of hops were arriving at the processing barn. For a bunch of beer geeks, it doesn't get any better until the stuff is turned into liquid gold. The Oregon Brewers Guild sponsored a picnic dinner spread out under the shade trees in the middle of the hop festivities. Standing Stone Brewing's Nobel Stout and Double Mountain's Vaporizer were on tap and plenty of HUB, Ninkasi, and many other brews filled the coolers. For dessert? What else, hop brownies. Geek out.

Back at the hotel, we stepped into the Night of Many Bottles, a smorgasbord of beers from near and far brought by all of us to share with our new friends. My offering, Flathead Brewing Co.'s Imperial Pale Ale, represented Montana well. Here's a few more pics from the day.


Craig Hendry of Mississippi's Raise Your Pints takes in the hops.

Thanks to Victory Brewing for sharing the love with some Hop Devil

Portland Pub Crawl Kicks Off 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference

2011-08-19T15:49:00.000-06:00

The term "pub crawl" has a tendency to conjure images of packs of young inebriates traveling from spot to spot drinking cheap "domestics" and shots of jagermeister. Fortunately, the crowd of 40 or so beer bloggers who gathered Thursday evening to unofficially kick off the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland has far more respect for craft beer. And good beer was had by all, along with some pretty cool perks.

Perk number one started with the first stop, at Widmer's tiny Pilot Brewery located just steps away from Portland's basketball arena, the Rose Garden. It's not open to the public, but Widmer was kind enough to open it up to us and provide a selection of growlers to sample some of their wares. Widmer uses the location to brew its one-off specialty beers served at it's Gasthaus Pub a couple miles away as well as a variety of experimental beers. Like an electric pink colored brew that clearly takes the award for most unusually colored beer. I wasn't close enough to the brewer to hear the explanation of what we were drinking, but I enjoyed the three samples I tried, while making introductions with other bloggers and trying to remember names.

Out next stop was Deschutes Brewery's block party, which Deschutes calls Street Fare, where live music combines with some of Portland's best street food vendors paired with variouse Deschutes brews. Perk number 2 was a VIP media pass for all of us to wander around and enjoy the event. Yeah, media. That's me. Awesome. The warm, sunny Portland evening provided the perfect backdrop to the well attended event. My favorite paring was a spicy, meaty, Chicago style pizza paired with Conflux No. 2, a collaboration beer by Deschutes Brewery and Boulevard Brewing Co.

Stop number three was the Lucky Lab Beer Hall housed in an old Freightline warehouse. The super long, wooden tables create a communal feel to the beer drinking and with 16 house beers on tap, there was something for every taste. Brewer Ben treated us to Perk number 3, a tour of the grain room and brewery facility.

From Lucky Lab, we walked up to 23rd Street and New Old Lompoc Brewery. It was the only joint who seemed surprised to see us, but they nevertheless rose to the occasion and quickly had beers in our hands. By this time I was finally starting to remember some names and faces and struck up some great conversations with Ryan, Sean and Amber of 2BeerGuys (yeah, that sounds like three people to me, too) and Bryan of Seacoast Beverage Lab, all doing very well representing the northeast U.S.

While the official Pub Crawl ended there, it wasn't time to turn in yet, so we added two additional stops. First, no trip to Portland is complete without a visit to Voodoo Doughnuts late at night. I can't say enough about the Maple Bar with two strips of bacon on top, thought the captain crunch encrusted glazed doughnut looked well worth a try.

Our final stop was Burnside Brewing Co. which looks like it inhabits a former retail paint store. Nevertheless, the beer is excellent and the food is darn good, too. I highly recommend the Oatmeal Pale Ale, the first pale ale I've tried that was brewed with oatmeal. The Sweet Heat was a big hit around the table as well.

2011 Beer Bloggers Conference In Beervana

2011-08-18T07:36:00.002-06:00

Today I'm headed to the 2nd Annual Beer Bloggers Conference, held this year in Beervana - Portland, OR. Yeah, this is such a cool hobby to have. While Growler Fills is purely a labor of love, I'll admit it's got some good perks. Things get started this evening with a pre-conference pub crawl organized by Bill Night of It's Pub Night and other Portland area beer bloggers. Here's the crawl destinations:

Widmer Pilot Brewery
Deschutes Brewery & Public House (Block Party)
Lucky Labrador Beer Hall
New Old Lompoc
Rogue Distillery & Public House
Baileys Taproom

That's a good perk, alright. There's good conference sessions too. Like session on beer styles, changing restrictive beer laws, working with your local brewery and a key note address from Jay Wilson of Brewvana who recently conducted an experiment by living on beer and water alone for 46 days, replicating the fasts of ancient monks (and blogging about it). There's a trip out to the hop fields, too, and dinners hosted by the Oregon Brewers' Guild and BridgePort Brewing Co.

You'll recall from a couple posts ago that there's an event called Night of Many Bottles in which each of the 80+ participants are invited to bring a few bottles of beer to share from their home territory or one of their all time favorites. I asked for suggestions and got some good ones. Madison River's Hop Juice came to mind, but it isn't distributed over to Missoula yet. I'd take some Bitter Root Brewing Red Dread, but I've long ago run out of my stash. Cold Smoke comes to mind as a great Scotch Ale and a favorite of many (and a dangerously good beer).

Frankly, there's a lot of excellent Montana beer that would stack up well with those from around the Country, but most of it isn't bottled or canned. Still, I'm quite excited to be taking along a few bottles of Flathead Lake Brewing Co.'s Imperial IPA2. I think it's top notch and I've yet to run into any beer friend who doesn't agree. It will be interesting to take it into the heart of American IPA country.

I'll be live blogging from the conference as I get the chance and am sure to have plenty of pics and tidits on twitter. To follow along, join me here: Follow @GrowlerFills

Time to Pop That Cap

2011-08-17T15:05:00.002-06:00

What do a freelance writer, an attorney, a medical practice manager, a youth director and two grad students have in common? No, that's not the introduction to a bad lawyer joke. It's the makeup of our first Pop That Cap night and the common thread was a love of craft beer, a desire to experience new things and a willingness to share.

The wine community has an event called Open That Bottle Night. It was created by two Wall Street Journal wine columnists to serve as a "world-wide celebration of friends, family and memories during which all of us finally drink that wine that is otherwise simply too special to open." As they put it, "just about all wine lovers have that very special wine that they always mean to open, but never do." Thus, OTBN was invented to create a special occasion to finally open that special bottle. Held the last Saturday of February (for 12 years running), it's popular and I've participated in a couple of them.

For the past year or so, I've been tossing out the idea of creating a similar event for the beer community to a few beer friends here and there. I may be a bit late to the party, what with #IPADay (Aug. 3rd), #Stout Day (Nov. 3) and National Beer Day (April 7) already taking social media by storm. Then again, my fellow beer drinking crowd never needs more than a slight nudge as a reason to drink beer. Plus, what I envision is a multitude of small groups getting together, each person with a bottle or two of a special beer to share, whether it be a long held bottle waiting for a special occasion or a new release everyone is clamoring to try.

Beer is social and such an event should be accessible to everyone - old pros and new explorers alike. Really, tasting groups are relatively common in the beer world, but there has yet to be a particular day set aside to collectively celebrate that special brew. Pop That Cap night (I'm not enamored with the name) just might be on the horizon.

With this idea in mind, six of us gathered last weekend for an inaugural tasting group. Most of us had not met each other, proving once again how easily craft beer brings people together for a socially good time. Here's the list of what we opened (in order) over the course of several hours:

Mischief, The Bruery, Orange County, CA
Conflux No. 2, Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) and Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, KS)
Two Hearted Ale, Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI
Coffee Bender, Surly Brewing, Brooklyn Center, MN
Porter, Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, MI
Chocolate Ale, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, KS
Belgian Strong Ale, Blackfoot River Brewing, Helena, MT
Cantillon Gueuze, Brussels, Belgium
Jubel 2010, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

As you can tell, we did not have a theme for the event and picked from a variety of bottles everyone brought as the whim hit us. I think the collective favorite of the group was the Boulevard Chocolate Ale, whose light amber color creates quite a juxtaposition with the prevalent chocolate flavors. The Coffee Bender also stood out for its incredible fresh-pot-of-coffee aromas. As a brown ale, it's the first coffee beer I've tried that wasn't a stout or porter and the lighter brown ale qualities let the coffee shine through. The Founders Porter was among the very best I've tried. Blackfoot's Belgian Strong Ale focused more on the strong ale side of the equation and is going to be very good, but is still green and getting down to business.

Without a doubt the most interesting experience of the night was the Cantillon Gueuze. Gueuze is created by blending Lambics of different ages with different tastes and aged for at least one year. This one was no ordinary (if there even is such a thing) Gueuze. It was bottled in 1982, by far the oldest beer I've tasted. Age had turned it the color of scotch with aromas strong enough to cause inebriation. The taste was extra tart with lots of green apple and similar flavors. A curious experience indeed.

Interested in the next tasting? Send me an e-mail (growlerfills @ gmail dot com) and we'd love to get you into the loop. We put our heads together and realized we can put together a variety of themed tastings with verticals of Big Sky Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Shmaltz Jewbelation and even a chocolate beer theme for Valentines Day. It's time to open up those special bottles.

The Traveling Growler Is Far Afield

2011-08-15T11:55:00.001-06:00

John Fremont and his family of five (husband, wife, kid, kid, rescued dog) are on an adventure. Last month they set out from Bend, OR, to spend a year traveling around the United States in an RV. They've rented their house, said their temporary goodbyes, and set out for destinations mostly unknown. They're excited, just a little cramped, and a touch worried about grizzlies in Yellowstone. And they have a traveling growler.

You see, John and his wife Amelia love craft beer, which automatically makes them friends of mine. And it's not just any growler. It's a double walled, vacuum sealed, food grade, stainless steel, 64 oz. hydroflask. With a lifetime warranty. Cool.

The growler is on an adventure, too. It's even got its own page, The Traveling Growler, dedicated to the craft beer part of their travels. In John and Amelia's words:

This is a vast and beautiful country we live in. It has a rich history and many regional and local cultures and customs. In our travels, we are exploring the country by traveling its highways, meeting its people and drinking its beer. The Traveling Growler covers our efforts to visit communities throughout the United States, and sample locally made beer. We are visiting local microbreweries and filling our HydroFlask Growler* with whatever is recommended or sounds good, and writing about our experiences.

Based on their travel direction, I recommended John stop in at Blackfoot River Brewing Co. in Helena. While there, John discovered what many of us in Montana sometimes take for granted. Most of Montana's brewery tap rooms are lively, social places with good to great beer and a friendly atmosphere. Some, like Blacksmith Brewing Co. in Stevensville become a bit of a community center. John found the same at Bozeman Brewing Co. No doubt it's partly a function of Montana restrictive tap room laws which limit the serving amount and the hours of operation which end at 8:00 p.m. These limitations have an unintended way of creating laid back, unpretentious spots to drink great beer. It's easy to stop by, have a quick pint or two, visit with friends and go on about your day.

No doubt it's also due to the social aspects inherent in enjoying good craft beer. Want to get a good read on a community? In Montana, head to a tap room. You're likely to encounter everyone from ranchers and construction workers to college students, politicians, doctors, writers, and tourists. It will be interesting to see if the same is true of the breweries and tap rooms John and Amelia encounter in their year-long trip around the U.S. My guess is it's true far beyond Montana. Want to find out? Follow The Traveling Growler with A Family Far Afield.

____________________________________________________
* Void where prohibited. Ahem . . . South Dakota.

What Montana Brew for Night of Many Bottles?

2011-08-11T21:04:00.005-06:00

The 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference is a week away and I'm super stoked to be headed there for some great networking, education and lots of great new beer experiences. On Friday night of the conference, after a trip to the hop fields and a dinner courtesy of the Oregon Brewers Guild, is an event called Night of Many Bottles. All 80+ attendees are asked to bring a six pack or a few bombers of some great beer to share with the others. With beer bloggers coming from North Carolina, New England, Mississippi, the Mid-West and all up and down the West Coast, there's sure to be some great beer and quite a few I've never heard of, much less sampled.

As far as I know, I'm the only beer blogger attending from Montana. So, my beer friends, what beer should I take to best represent Montana? I've got a couple in mind, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Since we can't legally mail/ship beer from Montana, it's got to be bottled and capable of fitting in my checked luggage. Other than that, there's no criteria other than to show off Montana's talents. It's a perfect opportunity to show what we get to enjoy on a regular basis in Montana. Think we might surprise a few folks? What say you?

Tamarack Brewing Co. Anniversary Amber Ale

2011-08-11T20:29:00.001-06:00

Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside, MT, turned four years old recently, marking several years of great food, great atmosphere and a frequent rotation of one-offs and seasonal brews. To help celebrate, Tamarack once again brewed up an anniversary amber, based off their popular Yard Sale Amber Ale. We stopped by last weekend during a couple of days visiting Flathead Lake. As usual, the place was packed on a Friday night with a great vibe and some excellent live music from Missoula's John Floridis.

Because the place was so busy, I wasn't able to ask about this year's Anniversary Amber, but we compared it side by side with the Yard Sale. Yard Sale is an easy drinking, medium bodied, smooth drinking amber flavored mainly with caramel malt and some classic brown ale characteristics. The Anniversary Amber poured a cloudy, deep amber color with an off white head. The aroma consists mostly of caramel malt with some floral hops mixed in. The flavor is dominated by caramel malt, like Yard Sale, but there's a noticeable initial dose of hop bitterness and floral hop flavor. I'd guess it had been dry hopped. After about half way through the pint I started picking up on some flavors I hadn't yet noticed. There was some light vanilla and maybe even a hint of bourbon making me think it had been aged a bit in bourbon barrels. It's a good brew and I had more than one.

Flathead Lake Brewing Co. Saison

2011-08-08T20:16:00.001-06:00

Where most of Flathead Lake Brewing Co.'s brews pack some serious flavor punches, Saison lands on the softer side, providing a lighter bodied brew that just might light up your summer day. We stopped in at the brewery at Woods Bay this past weekend while spending a couple of days hanging out at Flathead Lake. The joint was busy as we visited with bartender extraordinaire Glen and took in a couple of pints.

The Saison is a pale, cloudy yellow with a white head and aromas of grain and classic Belgian yeast. The body is light and crisp with flavors of grain, grass and light malt with Belgian yeast flavors lasting throughout the flavor profile. There is a slight hint of hop bitterness in the dry finish. Light, crisp flavors of grain malt with belgian ale yeast flavors throughout the profile. Slight hint of hop bitterness in the finish. It has 24 ibus and 5.6 % abv and goes great with sunshine.

Pints for Paths Brewfest Debuts In West Glacier

2011-08-05T11:58:00.003-06:00

For 11 years running, Billings has enjoyed Ales for Trails. Now, West Glacier, MT is getting Pints for Paths, an inaugural brewfest to support the construction of the Glacier to Gateway Trail.

The Pints for Paths Brewfest takes place at Heaven's Peak Resort in West Glacier on Saturday, August 6, 2011 from 5 to 9 p.m. Sorry for the short notice, but the event just caught our eye. Eight Montana breweries will be on hand with more than 20 beers. Tickets are $20 prior to the event and $25 at the gate. For more information, check out www.GlacierTrail.org or www.facebook.com/GatewayToGlacierTrail.

Growler Fills Joins Twitter, Gets Lost

2011-08-05T08:23:00.005-06:00

This is one of those moves I was trying to avoid. You might have noticed my posts don't tend to be short. So the thought of trying to convey something interesting in 140 characters or less hasn't intrigued me. And that's assuming either of my readers even care. Then there's the whole information overload part of it all. That, and there really are only so many hours in a day. Growler Fills is a "free time" pursuit and some weeks there precious little of it.

I was looking at the list of attendees for the upcoming Beer Bloggers Conference and noticed out of 80 or so, I was in the small collection of people without a twitter account. Hmm. The Conference lends itself to some live blogging, too, given the whole focus is on how to get better at this blogging gig. It even includes a fun round of speed dating for beer where breweries are given five minutes to get you hyped about their offerings.

I created an account to see what the buzz was about (hello, 2011!) and quickly realized something. Whether or not I end up posting one tweet a month or one a day, I was missing out on an important information source. Sure, most tweets are at best mildly amusing or rather innocuous, but some have a tidbit of good information that may lead to an interesting post. While we have a few breweries and folks who keep us in the know, most news comes from sniffing things out that pop up on facebook, or an email, or some other source. Twitter offers a way to make additional connections.

So now Growler Fills is on Twitter: @GrowlerFills. I consider myself to be fairly tech savy, but this Twitter thing is taking a little longer to grasp than most things. If you're an aficionado, I'll buy a couple of rounds if you'll sit down and show me the ropes. Meanwhile, follow along @GrowlerFills. I won't promise anything more than the occasional mildly entertaining or informative tweet (if you're lucky). But hopefully we'll all make some new connections and have even more fun with this whole craft beer thing. Follow @GrowlerFills

Thursday is International #IPADay

2011-08-03T14:58:00.001-06:00

With the explosion of social media tools comes a ready made opportunity to create a wealth of grass roots events, such as themed celebrations. It's perfect for the craft beer world. Witness National Beer Day, created by a couple of guys on facebook who wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the end of prohibition. Now that's a very worthy cause to raise a glass in toast. In short order National Beer Day had more than 6,000 members on facebook and breweries across the country got into the act with celebrations of their own.

This Thursday, August 4th, 2011 is another fun beer celebration born out of social media, billed as the largest international craft beer celebration and virtual conversation the world has ever seen. Tall words, but why not? International #IPADay is the creation of Ashley Routson, The Beer Wench, and Ryan Ross, marketing and community manager at San Diego's Karl Strauss Brewing Co. According to their official event information, it's a "grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social medial" in a collective toast celebrating the India Pale Ale style of beer. The IPA style "represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice."

It's easy to take part. On August 4, 2011 (that's tomorrow) grab your favorite IPA, or pick a new one to try, and celebrate in a collective toast. "Anyone can participate by enjoying IPA with friends, making some noise online with the #IPADay hashtag, and showing the world that craft beer is more than a trend!" True words, indeed.

Community Brew to be Featured at Ales for Trails

2011-08-03T07:33:00.002-06:00

Collaboration beers are a hot trend in the craft beer world with dozens of breweries joining together to brew up something unique. It's a trend that embodies the spirit of cooperation that is prevalent in the industry. It's not too shabby a marketing technique, either, adding plenty of one-off beers to entice the curious.

Montana brewers are getting in to the act with an effort that sounds like a ton of fun. This year's Ales for Trails Brewfest in Billings will feature Trailhead Ales, a collaborative brew crafted by the brew masters of Red Lodge Ales, Montana Brewing Company, Angry Hanks, Carters, Yellowstone Valley Brewing, and Fat Jacks. In addition, each brewery will feature its own version of the ale to be sampled at the brewfest.

Now that's an awesome idea. A community brew, plus six variations showcasing the talents of Billings area brewers. That alone should be well worth the price of admission. For more information on the Ales for Trails Brewfest, taking place September 23, 2011, see our post here.

Crossing the Finish Line: A (Beer) Running Quest Comes Full Circle

2011-07-31T20:45:00.004-06:00

In July, 2010, I crossed the finish line of the Missoula half marathon with a giant smile and a new goal. Right then I set my sights on running the full Missoula marathon one year later. The race was that much fun. The sense of accomplishment was that fulfilling. The excitement of race day was that intoxicating.

By the time race day for the half marathon rolled around, the only thing I was left wondering was how it would feel to run a race with 2,400 other half-marathoners. Sure, there were a few jitters and "what ifs" parsing through my brain, but I'd already run the distance three times. I wasn't worried if I could do it. The only real question was how it would go. It wasn't easy, but running the race and crossing the finish line felt like a celebration of what I'd already accomplished. Throughout training I was determined to get to a point where there was little left to question.

Fast forward six months to January 1, 2011, only mid-way through the coldest, snowiest winter of my 18 years in Montana. My running in November and December had plummeted to next to nothing. Thick permafrost covered the roadways. A new treadmill to replace Cheryl's unresponsive hunk of a rickety machine sat ready for action. I'd declared my goal to train for the marathon and complete it in under four hours. And that's when it hit me.

The biggest difference in running my first half marathon and my first full marathon is the unknown.

Nevermind that working up to a 22 mile training run seemed as foreign as sunshine on a midwinter Missoula day. Race day meant going 4.2 miles farther than ever before while running all 26.2 miles at a pace never experienced. Yeah, THAT unknown.

For the second year in a row, I signed up for Run Wild Missoula's Marathon Training group. There's no way I was doing this alone and if there's a better training group out there anywhere, I'd be shocked. After two months of five-days-a-week training on the treadmill, it no longer mattered that the temperature one week before the class was 5 degrees with snow flying. I needed to get out on the roads and train with people who were similarly crazy enough to dive into the unknown.

And train we did. We trained through snow storms and cold rain. We trained up hills and across the valley. We trained with laughter and pain, highs and lows, excitement and fear. We experimented with pacing, nutrition and hydration while sharing tips along the way. Training runs rose from 13 to 15 to 18 to 20 to 22 miles. We learned to respect the distance when our second 20 mile run landed on the first warm day of training and we crashed and burned.

It's funny how cavalier we became during the training. Twenty miles? Ah, that's nothing. Been there, done that. Then the training gods throw something new into the mix, like heat, and you're left standing at mile 17 with nothing left in the tank and looking for a ride. How am I going to go 26.2?

There's the unknown again. It messes with you. It laughs. When you build up some confidence, it smirks.

Only two things can counteract it: do the training and trust the training. The second one is surprisingly harder.

Race day arrived on July 10 with clear skies and an amazing temperature of 42 degrees for the 6:00 a.m. start. There's a lot you can control in preparing for a marathon. There are a few things you can't and they're doozies. Weather is a huge one. Forty two degrees inspired a lot of confidence.

As I stepped to the start line following the national anthem, I ran through a mental checklist to remind myself I was ready to go. Training? Check. Race plan? Check. Nutrition and hydration? Check. Weather? Check plus. Fresh legs? Uhh . . . . . .

Something didn't feel quite right. Maybe it was nerves, or perhaps a touch of the allergens that had taken hold of everyone else at the house, but I didn't feel particularly strong or energetic that morning. In the first mile after the cannon went off, my legs felt heavy, particularly my quads. I'd come to the start line with two plans. Plan A, assuming everything lined up, was to shoot for a sub-4 hour time. Plan B, in then event it didn't, was simply to finish. Despite the heavy legs, I decided to stick with Plan A for as long as it would take me.

Ross, Alan and Mike

The first 9 miles of the course run down Mullan Road past hay bales and grazing horses and irrigation wheel lines bathed in early morning sunlight. It's picturesque and calming at a point when you still feel fresh. I took down a volunteer at the second aid station at mile 6 by inadvertently running between the volunteers and the water cups they were grabbing off the line of folding tables. One sheepish apology later I continued on my way resolving to pay more attention. I talked with runners from Butte and North Carolina and points in between. I checked in with training group friends, mostly running with friend Ross to pass the time with jokes and stories. I tried to keep my mind off my heavy quads.

The first turn, onto Kona Ranch Road, is a welcome one because it gives you a llittle something to do and changes up the scenery. A bridge takes you across the Clark Fork River and a couple of turns later you're on Big Flat Road, wondering who came up with the name. Big Flat Road has the only significant hill in the marathon and presents a bit of a challenge just after the half way point.

Right before the hill, I heard a loud, clear voice thanking the runners for taking part in the marathon and wishing all of us well. As you can see from the photo, the voice was coming from the two on horseback looking every bit the part of a Montana tourism advertisement. Turns out, they'd been out for a ride a couple of years ago when they'd happened upon the race. Now, they return each year to enjoy the sight and give out encouragement. It was the perfect distraction before reaching the hill.

The hill comes shortly after the the half way point and shoots sharply up for a few tenths of a mile. I'd planned to walk it, thinking whatever I'd lose in time I'd gain back in saved energy. I had run the whole thing during a training run and thought a good power walk would serve me better. Just as I slowed to a walk, a voice I recognized said "I like your style"as he slowed to join me. It was a good friend, Mike, and the company was more than welcome.

We resumed running after the steep stretch, but the hill is a bit deceiving. It continues to rise over the course of another mile and a half with several false summits, lending a bit of frustration. Fortunately, the drop down to the Bitterroot River finally arrived and allowed us to gain back a fair amount of the time we lost while walking. I checked in with my heavy legs. They weren't any better, but they weren't getting worse. I'd banked some time in the miles leading up to the hill. I'd only lost one minute overall and was still on pace for sub-4. But it was still only mile 16. The unknown was still six miles away.

We made our way along the shady road down along the Bitterroot when a sight appeared that could have been part of the weird dream I'd had in the week prior. A man in a full tuxedo sat playing a grand piano under a shade tent. It was a perfectly ridiculous surprise that gave us a good laugh and provided a bit of a lift over the next couple miles.

Maclay's Bridge over the Bitterroot is one of the many scenic spots along the course, but it also signals the start of a stretch of the course where it is easy to lose focus. Fatigue is starting to make an appearance and the course is a series of straight stretches that do nothing to take your mind off things. Fortunately, Mike and I spent the stretch talking about life and running while also taking advantage of the free high fives offered up by a volunteer in the middle of Clements Street.

Mike and I made the turn onto 3rd street where the shade returns and the course gets interesting again. It's also where mile 20 hits. I did some quick mental math and realized we'd banked some more time. It was the first point I let myself start believing I might hit my goal. I told Mike we could both hit a sub-4 time, also his goal. Legs were staying the same, nutrition felt good and the temperature still held cool. With the time I'd banked I figured I could survive a minor setback or time fade. Was the infamous wall waiting up ahead?

I came out of the tunnel under Reserve Street and realized Mike was starting to fade a bit. From here on out, I was on my own. Not really my choice, but I had a goal to reach. We'd run this stretch of the route many times in training, intentionally making it second nature for the tough going. Mile 21 passed and I was holding pace while hitting as many sprinklers as I could, mostly just for entertainment. Mile 22 came and went on 4th Street and I started smiling. New territory. Farther than I'd ever run. No wall in sight. Time in the bank. Here comes the unknown.

Smiling is one thing. Continuing to run is quite another. The last 4.2 miles were a total test of focus and determination. I prefer to walk through the aid stations, but starting back up was getting progressively harder. Losing time at the aid stations made it necessary to run faster to make up the time. Fatigue made just thinking difficult. I heard my name called out several times over the last four miles, but could only manage a weak thumbs up in response. Bonner Park loomed up ahead. At Bonner Park, runners take a right, away from the finish line for a 3/4 mile detour of mental head kicking. A left on South and another left on Hilda and you're headed back toward Bonner Park. Only a mile and a half left. The home stretch. Start believing.

My last mile and a half were the fastest of my race. Months of practicing negative splits were paying dividends. Adrenaline poured out of hidden reserves. I knew I was going to make it. I was going to get my goal. Excitement took over for fatigue. Rounding the corner onto Higgins St. and the bridge to the finish line is a hell of a sight. Hundreds of spectators line the road. The finish line announcer is calling out runner's names. I sprinted (it's all relative) down the bridge and across the finish line, completing a personal quest a year in the making and beating my time goal by almost five minutes.

I clicked off the garmin, slapped some more high fives and collected my medal. I celebrated some with Cheryl before turning to look for training group friends who finished ahead of me and those who were still to come. Like everything at the Missoula Marathon, the post race food is top notch and the free Big Sky Brewing Co. beer never tastes better. Hours later, while celebrating at home with maybe a couple too many great craft brews, I reflected back on how important the people I met during the training group had been.

There's Shannan, whose unfortunately timed visits from in-laws and a nasty sinus infection left her disappointed in her performance, but the rest of us amazed and proud at her perseverance. There's Rod, running his first marathon in 27 years, who taught me the value of a good power walk. Thurston, having shed 70 pounds in the months leading up to the training group, followed up his first marathon success by getting a full arm band tattoo bearing the numbers 26.2. There's Kara, a mom to two, rocking a 3:27 finish, whose ridiculous speed quietly became evident during the training group despite always slowing down to visit with the old guys.

There's Cody, who took a month off from training to bike across Montana, demonstrating what youth and natural talent can do for a guy with a sub-four hour performance though he'd never run more than 17 miles in a single run. Ross, whose youth and penchant for hills provided plenty to envy, was the picture of selflessness, often holding back to run with others purely for the community of it all. And Scott, bandanna man, always upbeat and training for his first marathon at age 52, whose dream goal of a sub-4 hour time got dashed by nasty cramps around mile 20. He drew the short straw that day. Yet, no one more than Scott embodied what our training group had become. After hobbling through the last six miles while watching the minutes tick away, he was more interested in how the rest of us did and more proud of our accomplishments than dwelling on his own turn of luck.

These are all people from different places, at different points in their busy lives, with different goals, but brought together in a common quest. The training is tough. The physical challenges are daunting. The mental wrangling is exhausting. But we did it together, working on individual goals while surrounded by community support.

I think Cheryl is glad I've stopped incessantly talking about the training and the race, but her patience and support were never taken for granted.

I signed up for the marathon and got the t-shirt.

I trusted the training and stepped over the start line.

I crossed the finish line and solved the unknown.

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The pictures of the horse riders and piano player were taken by Ryan Snyder, a Marathon Maniac who snapped a ton of great photos while running the race.

Growler Fills Headed to 2nd Annual Beer Bloggers Conference

2011-07-28T21:31:00.004-06:00

You probably weren't aware there was a beer bloggers conference, but there is and I'm super stoked to be attending. Red Lodge, MT, based Zephyr Adventures has organized two such conferences, the inaugural one in Boulder, Co. last summer and one in London (as in the United Kingdom) earlier this year.

Zephyr Adventures creates active vacation tours, ensuring you're treated to the local culture while allowing participants to discover exciting new things on their own. In addition to tours focused on hiking around Yellowstone and Mt. Kilimanjaro, biking in Tuscany, rollerblading in Alaska, and many others, they've produced wine and beer blogger conferences, fitness and health blogger conferences and the International Food Bloggers conference.

So why a beer blogger conference? There are now more than 1,000 beer blogs around the world with the bulk of them being "citizen bloggers," those who are not affiliated with a brewery, newspaper or other commercial enterprise. Like the wine industry several years prior, the craft brewing industry has recognized how important those blogs are to advancing craft beer. The conferences bring together industry and citizen bloggers to learn about each other, drink great beer and pick up tips and techniques for better blogging.

This year's conference takes place in Portland, OR, an incredible beer mecca, from August 19-21. Events include panel discussions on connecting with local breweries, beer law advocacy, and info from the Brewers Association, a trip to the hop fields, a dinner and beer tasting hosted by the Oregon Brewer's Guild, and, of course, a Portland pub crawl. Yeah, I'm a beer geek and proud of it.

If nothing else, I'll have a lot of new content to post here on Growler Fills. And no, I'm not going to stop extolling the virtues of beer runners. Are you headed to the Portland Beer Blogger's Conference? Send me a note at growlerfills @ gmail . com and we'll be sure to connect and geek out.

11th Annual Ales for Trails Brewfest, Sept. 23, 2011

2011-07-28T19:55:00.004-06:00

In 10 years, BikeNet's Ales for Trails brewfest has generated more than $200,000 to support trails in Billings Montana, contributing to the construction of 35 miles of multi-use trails. Billed as the "Best Party in Billings," Ales for Trails annually brings together 2,000 to 3,000 craft beer fans for food, beer, wine, music and a great cause.

This year's Ales for Trails Brewfest takes place Friday, September 23, 2011 from 5 pm to 10 pm at Dehler Park in Downtown Billings. Tickets are $35 the day of the event or $30 in advance. A ticket gets you into the event and an unlimited number of samples from the 40 or so craft beers (please sample responsibly!). If you're a non-drinker, you can get in and enjoy the music and fun for $10. The advance sale tickets are available in Billings at The Base Camp, The Bike Shop, The Spoke Shop and Montana Cycling and Ski until noon on Friday, Sept. 23rd.

Attendees can vote for their favorite beer in the Pedal Awards. Billings' Angry Hanks Brewery's has taken the top award two years in a row and will be back to see if they can do it again. Based on my experience, they've got an excellent chance of a three-peat.

According to BikeNet, they're a nonprofit, grass roots organization that advocates for trail education, acquisition and development of a Yellowstone County-wide trail system that encourages safety, an alternate transportation mode, and a healthy lifestyle.

For more information contact Robbie Carpenter, coordinator for Ales for Trails at alesfortrails@gmail.com, 406-672-8066, or check out the Ales for Trails’ Facebook page or the BikeNet website.

Madison River Adding to their Bottle Lineup

2011-07-27T10:45:00.001-06:00

Among the various newly approved beer labels that arrived in my in-box this morning was this one from Madison River Brewing Co. of Belgrade. Black Ghost Oatmeal Stout has frequently been available at Madison River's tap room and now it looks like you'll be able to pick up a 22 oz bomber to take with you. Back in June, Madison River released its first seasonal in bombers, Yellow Humpy Hefe. I'd vote for Hop Juice to join that effort, too.

Currently available in six packs are Copper John Scotch Ale, Salmon Fly Honey Rye, Irresistible Amber Ale and Hopper Pale Ale. An oatmeal stout sounds like a nice addition to this lineup.

Can Beer Improve Your Run Time?

2011-07-26T20:05:00.006-06:00

That's the title of this article appearing recently on Active.com which purports to answer the question with a solid yes. The article is flying around the beer running blogosphere and I'm as interested as the next guy in promoting craft beer alongside a healthy activity like running. Unfortunately, the article raises more questions than it answers.

The article is based on a study by a German University which followed 277 participants of the 2009 Munich Marathon for three weeks prior and two weeks after the marathon to study the effect of polyphenols found in wheat beer, "a type of beer popular with marathoners and tri-athletes." The study noted that marathon runners experience a suppressed immune system after running a marathon, opening the door for viruses and illnesses. According to the article, the study found that "Beer drinkers experience a greater support for the immune system; Beer drinkers experienced fewer colds; and Beer drinkers who experienced colds had shorter, more mild infections than the abstainers." That would certainly be good news.

But here's where my inquiring mind takes over. The 277 participants were separated into two groups. One group was given up to 1.5 liters of non-alcoholic wheat beer each day and the other group was given something that closely mimicked a wheat beer, but lacked the polyphenols found in the non-alcoholic wheat beer.

So are we studying polyphenols or are we studying beer? Has anyone studied the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer? Is there evidence that beer with alcohol would delver the same benefits? What about non-wheat beers? Who knew wheat beer was popular with marathoners and tri-athetes?

The article draws the conclusion it's okay to throw back a few beers in the midst of training and runners should "look at your beer as a training tool." I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade and am certainly all for mixing beer and running (usually not at the same time). Yet, does the study really say this? After all, the conclusions, as paraphrased by the article's author, pertain solely to an improved immune system response after the severe physical demands of a marathon. No doubt, we're all searching for the right combination of nutrition and hydration to help performance and recovery. My preference is to get my recovery protein and carbs from some other source (especially since beer lacks protein) and grab a beer for the pure enjoyment of it. If the beer happens to helps my immune system, great.

Here's what I want to know: Are polyphenols only found in wheat beer? Are they present in other types of beer? Do some beers have higher concentrations? Why did the researchers use non-alcoholic beer? Is it possible an alcoholic version negates the benefits? These are questions the article's author should be asking. That's the kind of info that would be useful.

In tracing the info back to its source, it's clear the Active.com article took a few liberties with the information presented in the press release from the authors of the study. The press release makes it clear the study* answers only whether drinking Non-alcoholic Erdinger wheat beer, "chosen for its rich and varied polyphenol content" has a positive effect on the body's immune system. Extrapolating the findings to other non-alcoholic beverages containing high polyphenols** might make sense. Extrapolating the findings to "beer" in general doesn't jive.

From my personal experience, I have no idea whether drinking beer has a positive effect on running or my immune system. I know for certain that beer can totally wreck my running. I've managed to sabotage a couple of long runs thanks to having a couple too many the night before. Perhaps I should have tried a non-alcoholic*** wheat beer instead. But then again, that's not really craft beer, now is it?

_______________________________________
* More information on the study can be found here.

** Admittedly, I have no idea what a polyphenol is.

*** Non-alcoholic beer actually isn't. It starts out as regular beer and then the alcohol is removed via either reverse osmosis or vacuum distillation. A small (0.5% or less) amount of alcohol remains.

Lone Peak Bottles and a Nordic Blonde

2011-07-24T16:28:00.002-06:00

Lone Peak Brewery in Big Sky, MT, started bottling four of their beers back in May. Those bottles made their way onto Missoula shelves over the past week and we got our first look at the artwork, which looks pretty snazzy. The four brews are Hellroaring ESP, IPA, Hippie Highway Oatmeal Stout and Nordic Blonde, They're unfiltered, bottle conditioned and packaged in 22 oz bombers. All are available at Worden's Market in downtown Missoula. For starters, we picked up an IPA and a Nordic Blonde.

At 4.5% abv and a good dose of flavor, the Nordic Blonde suggests a possible session ale for warm summer days. It pours a bright gold, hazy color with a thin white head. There are aromas of grain, floral and hints of a citrus, like grapefruit. Flavors are largely grain and grass with a background of muted bitterness. It has a dry finish to it's light body, but there's plenty of flavor. Sitting in the backyard on a hot day, it's a pleasant beer to drink.

17th Annual Bitterroot Brewfest This Saturday

2011-07-19T19:43:00.005-06:00

Looking for a variety of great northwest craft beers, live music and a friendly crowd? Head to Hamilton this Saturday, July 23, for the 17th Annual Bitterroot Brewfest taking place at the American Legion Park from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The brewfest features more than 40 beers and wines including a brand new release from Blacksmith Brewing Co. and a "little surprise beer" from Bayern Brewing Co.

Tickets are $20 and include a commemorative glass and 6 beer tickets. Additional tickets are $1 each, or 6 for $5. Joan Zen plays from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by Keegan Smith from 7 to 10 p.m. Sadly, Growler Fills won't be taking part. But don't shed a tear, a little R&R at Flathead Lake awaits.

I'm Hot, Tired, and Needing a Beer

2011-07-19T15:00:00.003-06:00

Indeed, the posts on Growler Fills have dropped to a trickle recently, but that's only a temporary situation. The final weeks of training, along with actually running the Missoula Marathon, left little time to explore the beer world. Add in summer activities and pleasantly busy work demands and the first thing to suffer is this labor of love we call Growler Fills. Oh, and the temperature hit 100 yesterday afternoon.

Someone hand me a beer. One beer I've been enjoying this summer is Eel River's IPA. I'd shied away from trying more Eel River brews, having tried their porter several times and not finding it to my liking. In my quest for new IPAs I decided to give Eel River a try, having already made my way through most of the others on the local shelf. What I discovered was not what I expected.

I'd call Eel River IPA a soft IPA. By that I mean the hop bitterness is muted by a strong malt presence making me wonder if IPA is really the right category for it. Then you read the description and realize that's the whole intent. Eel River IPA represents an English Style IPA which is characterized by far less hop bitterness than the American style IPAs. It has a nice copper orange color, a bit hazy, with a white head and aromas of candy-sweet malt. Flavors of sweet caramel malt dominate over a light bitter background and candied citrus flavors. It has a medium body and 7.2% abv.

I have no idea what an English style IPA should taste like, so I checked out what others had to say about this brew. Reviews run the gamut from A to F with frequent complaints about it being underhopped for an IPA. That's certainly true if you were expecting an American IPA hop-fest. All in all, I rather enjoy this beer and will reach for it again over the course of the summer. It's a good beer to demonstrate the principle behind beer reviews on Growler Fills. Like what you like. Don't be afraid to try something new. And don't get caught up in what someone else thinks of it.

Highlander Bottles Ready for Release

2011-07-16T14:04:00.000-06:00

As we announced back in April, The Missoula Brewing Co., makers of Highlander Scottish Red Ale under contract with Great Northern Brewing Co., reached an agreement with Great Northern to begin bottling Highlander in 22 oz. bombers. Well, now they're ready to go and should be on the shelves in short order, likely in early August. Here's a look at the new label.

Blacksmith Brewing Scores With a Session Ale

2011-07-12T20:49:00.006-06:00

What qualifies as a "session" beer is a topic of much debate in the beer world with no clear definition. Beer Advocate suggests it's a beer with no more than 5% alcohol, a good balance between hops and malt and a clean finish, creating a highly drinkable beer. The lower alcohol and typically lighter body makes it easier to consume multiple pints without (hopefully) getting gassed in all connotations of the word. A well made session beer may be lower alcohol with a lighter body, but nevertheless doesn't cut the flavor short. In other words, session beers add real substance to the idea of tasting great while being less filling.

Finding a good session beer to enjoy at your favorite brewery or stash in the the fridge has been a difficult quest lately. And by lately, I mean over the past couple of years since the beer world has exploded with high gravity brews. Since the 2009 Montana legislature changed the legal percentage of alcohol in beer from a maximum of approx. 8.75% abv to 14% abv, breweries and retail outlets have taken advantage. Beers in the 7-10 % abv range have become common and by my unscientific eye, the average abv of craft beer in our areas is creeping up over 6.5%. These beers are typically big, full bodied and very flavorful. But they're not sessionable.

Lew Bryson, a drinks writer for multiple publications, authors a blog called The Session Project with the intent to "popularize and support the brewing and enjoyment of session beers." He defines a session beer as having "4.5% alcohol by volume or less, flavorful enough to be interesting, balanced enough for multiple pints, conducive to conversation, and reasonably priced." As much as I enjoy a Flathead IPA2, a Blackfoot Double Black Diamond Extreme Stout, a Blacksmith Pulaski Porter, or Madison River Hop Juice, for example, they start knocking on the door quickly. Check out Lew's blog for plenty of discussion of session beers, including reviews, pointers and commentary.

Creating more session beers is an effort I support and Stevensville's Blacksmith Brewing Company has taken up the challenge with its newest beer, Summer Session Ale. It pours a clear, gold color with a fluffy white head that sticks around. There are light aromas of grass and grain. Flavors of grain and light caramel malt sit on a background of pine hops with light bitterness. The body is light, dry, crisp and stays clean through the finish. Even at 5% abv, it's got plenty of flavor to hold your interest. It is exactly what I imagine when I think of a refreshing summer beer.

What's your session beer of choice?

Taper Madness: A (Beer) Running Update No. 4

2011-07-05T21:30:00.007-06:00

Sunday is the Missoula Marathon which means the vast majority of runners are in some sort of taper as part of their training plan. Webster's defines "taper" as the "gradual diminution of thickness, diameter, or width in an elongated object." Um . . er . . . . . that raises all manner of interesting comments, but it's not quite what I was looking for. Fortunately, wikipedia, that font of always accurate internet knowledge gives a sports related definition of tapering: the practice of reducing exercise in the days just before an important competition.

Madness, on the other hand, is a bit more universally understood. From Webster's: "the quality or state of being mad: as a : rage b : insanity c : extreme folly d : ecstasy, enthusiasm." My own taper with the Run Wild Missoula training group is a 2 week period, or three if you count down from the last big long run of 22 miles. A 50 mile week was followed by a 36 mile week and now down to perhaps a 22 mile week. The theory holds that the taper allows time to build up your energy stores, get fresh legs under you, get hydrated and generally get refreshed before the big day. The taper works. Though not without a bit of madness.

Last year, before the Missoula half-marathon, my first race, I gave up beer the week before in an effort to maximize hydration. Yeah, that was a bit extreme, especially for a beer blogger. A few weeks before I'd come down with a case of walking pneumonia, knocking out several weeks of training and leaving me coughing up some kind of lung coating that would make 3M envious. Yet, on race day, I had energy to burn, was hydrated and soaked in the atmosphere the entire 13.1 miles.

At this point, all the training for this year's marathon is in the books. My 615 miles during the training group are logged and done. No amount of additional running will make any difference for the race. Sunday long runs dropped from 22 to 14 miles and finally down to a walk-in-the-park 8 miler. Weekday runs are an easy 4 miles at a slow pace. Race planning is done. Stay loose, take it easy and play it cool.

Which is exactly why I stepped wrong in a pothole during my Saturday easy run, rolling my foot and straining the muscles in my shin. For the Fourth of July we escaped up to Flathead Lake for some camping near Rollins. There's a great road running along the lake shore with virtually no traffic and stunning views of the lake. Apparently those views were a little too enticing and I narrowly avoided taking a digger into the pavement while recovering from my misstep. The pain didn't show up until more than 24 hours later. Sharp hits to my shin with every step. Uggh.

The taper is complicated enough. Complicated? Yes, that's where the madness comes in. The serious drop in running drives some runners nuts. Stir crazy, if you will. Not me. I welcome the rest. Some obsess over eating habits. The drop in running means a drop in calorie burning leading to worries about weight gain. Others obsess over race planning, repeatedly calculating splits, gel intake, water consumption and more.

Me? On Friday night up at Flathead Lake, I had a dream. I was running the marathon and coming up on the first aid station. It was a wooden shack by the side of the road. Runners entered on one side, stepped up to a counter and ordered from the server. Paper plates were lined up for quick production with hard-boiled eggs and toast. All you needed to do was select what meat you wanted, sausage or bacon. Except the server - some snotty looking, hat wearing woman - was pretending I wasn't there. No soup for you!

The dream then switched to some small, clapboard sided house in the middle of a big flat field. Think Kansas. I was outside where a bunch of blankets were lined up like someone was having a picnic. I was desperately running around trying to get the people in the house to hurry up and get back to running. The wind was coming up and I gathered the blankets to carry them inside. I looked up to see fierce storm clouds brewing. Why weren't we running??? It was already 8:30 a.m. and we weren't even half way to the Higgins Bridge. As the clouds barreled towards me, a huge gust of wind blew an inflatable alligator far past the house and out into the field. I was relieved to learn I did not need to go get it.

I could not make this up. Plus, it isn't too hard to figure out what was on my mind. Apparently, anxiety is my madness of choice during the taper. With the pain in my shin, I spent today filled with gloom and doom scenarios about the effect come Sunday. Frankly, with a little care and rest, all should be fine. Still, I wanted to spend the last few days leading up the the Marathon getting stoked, not worrying about pain. Last year, it was pneumonia and getting hit by a car. This year was mild by comparison with a few shoe and tendon problems. Either way, when the taper hits there's nothing to do but get ready to run.

Know what is helping the pain in my shin? A fine craft beer.

Running, Beer and Kettlehouse Join in Support of Run Wild Missoula

2011-07-01T08:58:00.007-06:00

Any lingering doubt about the intersection of craft beer and running was wiped away Wednesday night in Missoula as hundreds of runners, walkers and craft beer enthusiasts packed Kettlehouse Brewing Co.'s northside location for Community U-Nite in support of Run Wild Missoula.

Runners in the Run Wild Missoula marathon training group gathered under threatening skies at 5:00 for a 4 to 8 mile run as the taper down to the July 10 Missoula Marathon reaches its midpoint. Another strong pack of runners hit the streets at 6:00 for the monthly Run Wild Missoula beer run. Afterward, pints of Cold Smoke, Eddy Out, Double Haul and Lake Missoula flowed freely with fifty cents of each pint donated to Run Wild Missoula.

Before the event, Kettlehouse threw out a challenge, offering to increase the donation by $100 if sales hit 400 pints. First Security Bank also stepped up and offered to match the total donation made by Kettlehouse. We're still waiting to hear what the final tally was, but there's little doubt the 400 pint target was easily exceeded (even with Montana's 3 pint limit per person). Next time you stop by Kettlehouse, let them know you appreciate their weekly Community U-Nite events.

[UPDATE: Patrons bought 450 pints, which, including the extra $100 from Kettlehouse and the match from First Security Bank, resulted in a donation of $650 for Run Wild Missoula.]

The Missoula Marathon - Montana's Tourism Event of the Year for 2011 and voted best Overall Marathon by the readers of Runner's World Magazine in 2010 - is almost a week away. Here's a look at the schedule of events:

Friday July 8, 6:00 p.m. - Run Wild Missoula Marathon Edition Beer Run (meet at the Badlander).

Saturday July 9, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - Marathon Expo and Festival at Caras Park. Race packet pickup, retailers, food vendors, music, kid's activities and tons of fun. All of this takes place mere steps away from the Clark Fork River Market, a very cool farmer's market running from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Saturday July 9, 10:00 a.m. - Missoula Kid's Marathon. Come cheer on 500 kids running the last 1.2 miles of their cumulative marathon challenge!

Saturday July 9, 5:00 p.m. - Hellgate Village 5K. A great family friendly run taking place on the banks of the Clark Fork River and finishing at the Expo at Caras Park.

Sunday July 10, 6:00 a.m. - Missoula Marathon and Half Marathon.

Beer runners Cody, Ross, Growler Fills' Alan,
and Scott, members of Run Wild Missoula's Training Group.

Kettlehouse Community U-Nite to Benefit Run Wild Missoula

2011-06-28T21:09:00.001-06:00

Each Wednesday, Kettlehouse Brewing Co.'s Northside location hosts a different non-profit organization for a fundraiser, with fifty cents of every pint sold donated to that organization. This Wednesday, June 29, 2011, beer and running come together to support Run Wild Missoula.

Run Wild Missoula's beer run will take off from the brewery (313 N. 1st St. W.) at 6:00 p.m. It's a five mile loop of the downtown area that will have you thirsty and ready for a couple of pints when you're done. (The Marathon training group meets at the brewery at 5:00 for it's Wednesday training run.)

Not up for a run? No worries. Stop by the brewery any time between 5:00 and 8:00 to take part of the fun, drink some great beer and support Run Wild Missoula and all the club does for runners and walkers of all abilities. It was the same event in June, 2010 that sparked the idea for Run Wild Missoula's popular beer runs, held the last Wednesday of each month, even in the cold, dark winter months. What can I say? Running and beer is an excellent combination.

While you're at it, mark your calendar for a special beer run taking place during the weekend-long festivities surrounding the Missoula Marathon Weekend. Friday, July 8, a Marathon weekend edition beer run will start at the Badlander in Downtown Missoula at 6:00 p.m. and offer options for a 3, 4 or 5 mile run. Head to Run Wild Missoula's website for more information.

A Growler Fills Birthday

2011-06-27T21:03:00.000-06:00

For every one of my many birthdays, I've had some form of chocolate for desert. Most often, that's been a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, though there was a stretch of chocolate pies in there, too. It's a good streak to have. According to Mom, many of those early cakes had a train on top, too. Now, its far more likely to be paired with a great craft brew.

What goes great with chocolate cake? A great imperial stout, coffee porter, barrel oak aged stout, or any number of roasted malt featured brews. Think of it as a adult coffee. This year's cake was a decadent chocolate turtle layer cake with dark chocolate frosting from Bernice's Bakery in Missoula. Bernice's knows cakes and just about every other great pastry under the sun. Probably my favorite pairing with any chocolate is Deschutes' The Abyss, an incredible imperial stout brewed with licorice and molasses and aged in French oak and oak bourbon barrels. For some reason, though, I couldn't quite pull out one of my remaining bottles for the celebration.

Instead, I reached for a bottle of Moylan's Russian Imperial Stout I'd been waiting to try. The beer is solid black with a brown head the color of the caramel running through the cake. Aromas of roasted malt dominate with a touch of chocolate and milky sweetness. The taste is thick and moderately robust with flavors of milk chocolate, coffee, and creamy smokieness. Hops are never present except for balance and the brew never gets too sweet. It's a solid effort as a Russian Imperial Stout, but a real winner when paired with chocolate cake. Despite being 10% abv, the alcohol is never really present in the flavor profile.

Pretty sweet t-shirt, eh? Get yours here.

Harvest Moon Delivers a Curiously Good Imperial IPA

2011-06-27T12:00:00.003-06:00

Elevator Imperial IPA, Harvest Moon Brewing Co.'s latest offering to find its way to a six pack, is a curious beer. If someone told me it was a Belgian Dubbel, I'd say the alcohol was a little high, but would have no other reason to question the diagnosis.

The beer pours a wonderful copper color, a bit cloudy, with a thickish off-white head that disappears fairly quickly in my glass. For an imperial IPA, I expected the aromas to be a mixture of caramel malt and a good punch of hops. What I got was a spicy fruit aroma with underlying malt, reminding me of a Belgian ale. The taste did nothing to disuade that idea. An initial thick malt flavor is followed quickly by fruity hops and a spicy Belgian-like flavor. A lingering, pronounced bitterness fills the finish along with a touch of undelying sweetness. The alcohol is present, but doesn't strongly contribute to the taste. Overall, I'd say it has a medium-full body and is very pleasant to drink. I'm digging it and find it a rather curious interpretation of the style. Elevator's stats are 8.7% abv and 78 ibus, according to John at Harvest Moon.

Late last year, Harvest Moon began an expansion to take the brewery from a 17 bbl operation to a 30 bbl one, allowing 90 bbls to be brewed in a day versus 34 under the old system. The expansion is done and the brewhouse is in the process of commissioning. Initially, the expansion lets Harvest Moon broaden its market area, but hopefully will also allow them to get back to more seasonals and specialty brews. Harvest Moon recently released cans of Great Falls Select, an American Pale Ale, in some cool, nostalgic packaging.

A Few Upcoming Montana Beervents

2011-06-21T21:42:00.001-06:00

Summer is here. Officially. Even actually, too. Today's temperature topped 80 degrees in Missoula for only the third time this year. We've been long overdue and the sunshine is very welcome. Now its time to start marking the calender for some upcoming Montana beervents. Here's a few to get you started:

Third Annual Summer Fest, July 8 & 9, Stevensville, sponsored by Blacksmith Brewing Co.

Eighth Annual Dog and Grog Brewfest, July 16, 2011, Virginia City, 12:00 to 7:00 p.m., 10 Montana breweries.

Seventeenth Annual Bitterroot Brewfest, July 23, 2011, Hamilton, 3:00 to 10:00 p.m., 40 northwest breweries.

Second Annual Celtic Festival Missoula, July 30, 2011, Missoula, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., sponsored by Highlander Beer.

Summer Snow Bus Brewfest, August 27, 2011, Whitefish, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m..

Third Annual Montana Brewers Festival, September 9, 2011, Bozeman, 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., 70+ beers from 25 Montana breweries.

Thirteenth Annual Maverick Brewfest, September 9, 2011, Missoula, 4:00 p.m., 50+ northwest beers.

What other summertime beervents should we be aware of? Send us an email at: growlerfills @ gmail . com and we'll get the word out!

FLBC Releases Tripel, Supports Cats

2011-06-13T12:51:00.000-06:00

To my knowledge, none of the cats involved in Flathead Lake Brewing Company of Missoula's Humane Society fundraiser got to wrap their paws around a glass of Belgian Triple during the brewery's launch party last Thursday. Their loss is your gain, though the world is running a bit short on entertaining youtube cat videos.

FLBC's Tripel is the brewery's first new seasonal in several months and comes on the heels of an excellent version from Hamilton's Bitter Root Brewery. FLBC's pours a cloudy, deep golden color with a nice white head. The aroma consists of slightly sweet caramel malt with a touch of the traditional Belgian yeast spicyness. The beer is very smooth and delicious right from the first sip. Traditional Belgian yeast flavors - a hint of spice and fruit - mix with caramel malt to form a flavor profile that has a touch of candy sweetness, no noticeable hop presence, and a slight underlying alcohol presence.

True to the style, the color and medium-light body belie the powerful punch from the alcohol which sits at about 9.4% for FLBC's Tripel. Brewers accomplish the lighter body/higher alcohol feat by adding extra sugars to the mix - dextrose in FLBC's case, and honey in Bitter Root's recent Trippel. This devilish combination makes for a beer that is as tantalizingly good as it is risky.

We're fortunate to have brewers throughout Montana experimenting with a wide variety of beer styles and FLBC's Belgian Tripel is a welcome and excellent new addition.