10 replies to this topic

[Deerslyr]

How was the Montana trip? Which breweries did you make it to? A little mini-report would be awesome.Just a thought to toss out there... but we are always asking for reccomendations in various cities. I'm wondering if we could get a sub-folder set up for reviewing locales heretofor unknown. I guess an FAQ for Beercations.

[DaBearSox]

https://alestolagers...-montana.htmlIt was awesome...but of course short...with the 2 days of driving we really only had 4 days up there...with that being said I was only able to make it to Quarry Brewing in Butte...That place was pretty sweet, owned by a husband and wife who pretty much run the whole show and he said he has one part timer at the bar and one that helps him fill kegs and such...probably the nicest pro brewer i have ever met, sat down with me while i sampled and we chatted for a good while, seemed like he really appreciated having someone to talk to that knew what the hell he was talking about. The beer was great and I had the best Cascadian dark I have tried. He even told me that some other beer reviewers liked his better than the w'10 because it had a more roasty character. Also found it great that in his pale he only uses Palisade hops because he wanted to stay away from what everyone else was doing with cascade. Check out the link above, shows the stash of stuff I brought, and soon I will be reviewing Quarry Brewing and the Basalt IBA i am talkin about. It's amazing to me all the breweries up there that no one has really herd about, the Wheatfish wheat lager from Great Northern Brewing Co is one of my favorites from the pack, nice light American Hefe like beer but brewed with lager yeast and lagered....cascade hops all around.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

https://alestolagers...on-montana.htmlIt was awesome...but of course short...with the 2 days of driving we really only had 4 days up there...with that being said I was only able to make it to Quarry Brewing in Butte...That place was pretty sweet, owned by a husband and wife who pretty much run the whole show and he said he has one part timer at the bar and one that helps him fill kegs and such...probably the nicest pro brewer i have ever met, sat down with me while i sampled and we chatted for a good while, seemed like he really appreciated having someone to talk to that knew what the hell he was talking about. The beer was great and I had the best Cascadian dark I have tried. He even told me that some other beer reviewers liked his better than the w'10 because it had a more roasty character. Also found it great that in his pale he only uses Palisade hops because he wanted to stay away from what everyone else was doing with cascade. Check out the link above, shows the stash of stuff I brought, and soon I will be reviewing Quarry Brewing and the Basalt IBA i am talkin about. It's amazing to me all the breweries up there that no one has really herd about, the Wheatfish wheat lager from Great Northern Brewing Co is one of my favorites from the pack, nice light American Hefe like beer but brewed with lager yeast and lagered....cascade hops all around.

What's a cascadian dark?

[Deerslyr]

Will have to try to look at your link later. Company blocks "blogs".The Cascadia seems to be the "new thing" doesn't it? I am just now able to brew lagers and have not done it yet. I've got one more wheat that I'm brewing with a buddy for an event... then I can brew my first lager. I was toying around with one of these Black Lagers, but for my first go, I should probably stick to the basics. But I digress...I wish I could remember what brewery it came out of, but I was flying on Alaska Airlines just over a year ago and they were serving a Pale Ale out of a Montana Brewery that was really good. Only problem is I didn't take any notes and can't recall where it was out of or what the name was! I know it probably sounds disgusting, but there was definite hops pellet material in the bottom of the glass... almost like they put a pellet (or at least a portion) in the bottle. The flavor and aroma was actually great!ETA: It might have been this.

Edited by Deerslyr, 08 July 2010 - 09:51 AM.

[3rd party JKor]

What's a cascadian dark?

The new name for a black IPA.

[DaBearSox]

Will have to try to look at your link later. Company blocks "blogs".The Cascadia seems to be the "new thing" doesn't it? I am just now able to brew lagers and have not done it yet. I've got one more wheat that I'm brewing with a buddy for an event... then I can brew my first lager. I was toying around with one of these Black Lagers, but for my first go, I should probably stick to the basics. But I digress...I wish I could remember what brewery it came out of, but I was flying on Alaska Airlines just over a year ago and they were serving a Pale Ale out of a Montana Brewery that was really good. Only problem is I didn't take any notes and can't recall where it was out of or what the name was! I know it probably sounds disgusting, but there was definite hops pellet material in the bottom of the glass... almost like they put a pellet (or at least a portion) in the bottle. The flavor and aroma was actually great!ETA: It might have been this.

It really does seem to be "IT" now...when I saw both the last issues of Zymurgy and BYO had articles on it I said well I guess I must try all of them now. I didn't see anything from Billings around where I was, wish I would have seen that..I even stopped in Billings to gas up and picked up the Pigs Ass Porter at the gas station...My favorite pale (from what I have drank so far) is the Kettlehouse Eddy Out Pale..

[DaBearSox]

The new name for a black IPA.

Yea and I was thinking...why not just name it a a black IPA then I thought oh yea India PALE ale...I think India Black Ale would suit it better than Cascadian Dark.

[ncbeerbrewer]

DaBeerSox,Man after your trip to Chicago and now Montana you might have enough beer to drink for the next 6 months. Sounds like an awesome trip and its pretty sweet to find some hidden gems too.

[DaBearSox]

DaBeerSox,Man after your trip to Chicago and now Montana you might have enough beer to drink for the next 6 months. Sounds like an awesome trip and its pretty sweet to find some hidden gems too.

It really has...and yes my basement cellar room is stocked...not to mention the other 300 or so bottles of homebrew I think I am set for a long while. I'll need to get a picture and put it up.

[DaBearSox]

Did my review on Quarry Brewing today:https://alestolagers.blogspot.com/2010/07/brewpub-review-quarry-brewing-butte-mt.html

[ncbeerbrewer]

Did my review on Quarry Brewing today:https://alestolagers...g-butte-mt.html

Nice write up!! Sounds like it was a great place for sure. I love the small personable breweries/brewers. Probably will never make it there, I have never traveled far west but it sounds fun. Glad you had a good trip. Your site is really taking shape too, nice work DBS!!