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[Marmot]

Lewis and Clark BreweryHelena, MTI made two stops at Lewis and Clark Brewery. The brewery is below (think walk out basement) while a restaurant is upstairs. I entered the restaurant with my Fitigers growler. The bartender was kind enough to guide me to the bew pub below as their was a difference in growler prices. I wandered to the lower level with growler in hand.Once down below, I am greeted to a small parking lot full of cars and a bike rack with several bikes (one was either a fixie or a single speed, I am thinking fixie as I didn't see a flip-flop hub). There was an open garage door where I could see the brew operation. I am a little puzzled on the exact location to get my growler filled. When I saw the garage door and brewery, I assumed there wasn't an actual brewpub, just a place to get growlers topped off. A couple of people walked through the brewery. I followed them to find the brewpub. I am immediately greeted by a black Heinz 57 with white paws and a white patch on its chest. The dog saw an unfamiliar face and was hoping for a handout.I am thinking to myself that this is a brewpub!. It was in the bowels of the brewery. It had a dog and cement floors. It had a rustic wooden bar with half assed stools. There were support posts in the middle of the pub taking up valuable real estate for patrons. This place had character.I bellied up to order a growler of Prickly Pear Pal Ale. The bartender asked me what I wanted to drink with my growler. I said just the growler as I need to be on my way to find a place to camp before it got dark. I think the combination of my out of state growler and blond hair gave me away as a visitor to the area. She kindly informed me that a complimentary 12 oz beer comes with a growler. I ordered a glass of Portage Porter. Even though I needed to find a remote campsite as it was getting dark, I followed the porter with a hefe as I previously struck up a conversation to the ladies sitting next to me.The Portage Porter had lots of chocolate flavor and a slight hint of coffee. It has a solid mouth feel and minimal head upon pour. The hefe was meh, but hefes aren't my thing. Later that night, I cracked the growler of Prickly Pear Pale Ale before retiring to my tent. Unfortunately, it was just another pale ale with a catchy name. Total bill was $9.00 ($7 for the fill and $2 for the hefe).A few days later, I returned to get growler fill to take home with me. I opted to get the Portage Porter. I ordered a Scottish Ale as my freebie with the growler. The ale was a little weak to my novice BJCP tongue. This growler fill was $8.Lewis and Clark did not offer bar grub. They did have free popcorn if you could find a bowl and a scoop of peanuts was a buck.All in all, it was a decent brewpub. The atmosphere was perfect, but the beers were ordinary. They must only hire female bartenders as all three bartenders working during my two visits were female.Marmot

[MolBasser]

Word.Welcome back, brother!MolBasser

[HERMSman]

What is wrong with females?I'd go back!

Word.Welcome back, brother!MolBasser