PHILOSOPHY
Tim O’Leary, Kettlehouse’s founder, set out to match the quality of his beer to that of Montana’s outdoor bounty. “I guess I don’t call myself a brewmaster because I have a degree in physics,” says the Helena native. “And I didn’t go to formal brewing school, but we’ve taken recipes that I’ve created, and those that our staff has created, and refined them. A core principle of ours is to buy local ingredients whenever possible. The barley that we use is grown in Montana, across the divide. The hops come from the Willamette and Yakima valleys, and then we use pure Montana water. I spend most of my thinking, working, and worrying time on the quality of the beer. Montana’s like a small town. If I put my name on a beer, I want to be proud of it, because I might see someone on the street, and they have no qualms about coming up to me to say, ‘Hey, your beer’s great!’ or ‘Your beer sucks.’ If we’re not making award-winning beer, I’m not doing my job. You’ve got to listen to people.”
KEY BEER
“Cold smoke” is a skier’s term for the sort of snow that forms with low humidity and low-temperature conditions, creating the best powder. It’s light, buoyant, and rare outside the Rockies. Kettlehouse’s award-winning beer of the same name isn’t overly heavy, nor is it airy and light. It’s a Scotch Ale that has fulsome, malty body with a slight smoky character. Spicy accents from East Kent Goldings hops (a British version also grown in the American West) balance it beautifully.
MISSOULA BREWING CO.
200 International Dr. • Missoula, MT, 59808 • (406) 549-8193 • missoulabrewing company.com • Established: 2009
SCENE & STORY
The popular regional brand of Montana was Highlander, brewed from 1910 to 1964, nudged into obscurity by big national brands. In 2009, Bob and Shannon Lukes teamed up to build Missoula Brewing Co. and resurrected it, starting with a contract brew and later building out a 17,000-square-foot showpiece brewery. This is a huge facility with a lot of polished cement floors, salvaged barn-wood, a glassed-in modern brewhouse, and a 1947 Chevy overlooking the taproom. Breweriana from Highlander is all over the taproom. Fill up on artisan pizzas, grab a beer, and head out to the huge beer garden overlooking Grant Creek.
631 S. Higgins • Missoula, MT 59801 • (406) 543-5722 • bigdippericecream.com
Big Dipper, a classic old-fashioned ice-cream stand which opened in the back of the original Kettlehouse brewery location in 1995, has become a staple in Missoula and achieved fame far beyond thanks to its retro feel and occasional ice creams made with (nonalcoholic) beer ingredients from Montana breweries like Kettlehouse, Angry Hank’s, and Big Sky. Today, the company has a new location in Billings as well as Helena’s Last Chance Gulch downtown, and a truck (“Coneboy”) that’s parked in Missoula.
PHILOSOPHY
They make ’em like they used to, only better.
KEY BEER
Highlander is the “brand,” i.e., logo, of Missoula Brewing Co., and the individual beers are named for local peaks like Mount Jumbo, Devil’s Hump, and Lost Peak. For now, the list looks Montana-malt forward.
GLACIER BREWING CO.
6 10th Ave. E. • Polson, MT 59860-3219 (406) 883-2595 • glacierbrewing.com • Established: 2003
SCENE & STORY
Located on the southern end of Flathead Lake (at 192 square miles the largest freshwater lake in the United States), Polson (population: 4,000) is part of the Flathead Indian Reservation. It’s also home to the nation’s largest fiddle competition, and in the summertime the town becomes a major tourist thoroughfare. From the ground up, Glacier Brewing Company has a wonderful Old West feel, with swinging saloon doors and a historic brewery sign over the entrance (which came out of Montana’s first brewery, the H.S. Gilbert Brewery in Virginia City), antique brewing posters, and wooden truss rafters. The owners expanded the taproom a few years ago, and today there’s a small wooden stage in the beer garden outside for all those fiddlers.
PHILOSOPHY
Unfussy and stylistically simple, hitting several major beer styles from kölsch and pilsner to altbier and stout, with friendly, smiling service.
KEY BEER
Cherries grow in the area, but the very popular, very sweet Flathead Cherry Ale is made with a grenadine-like cherry additive, which seasoned craft beer aficionados might have difficulty enjoying, hoping for a balancing tartness. Also try the Slurry Bomber Stout, at 5.5% ABV, a dry roasty sipper, and the Glacier Select Oktoberfest (6.7% ABV), a dark amber with some spicy hop character that is, despite the seasonal-sounding name, one of the company’s most popular year-round beers.
TAMARACK ALEHOUSE & GRILL
105 Blacktail Rd., Ste. 1 • Lakeside, MT 59922 • (406) 844-0244 • tamarackbrewing.com • Established: 2006
SCENE & STORY
Heading along the west side of Flathead Lake, it’s a short drive onto Lakeside, with the turn for “the Rack,” as locals call it, at the beginning of town. In the winter, this is a popular spot for skiers at nearby Blacktail Mountain Resort. The attractively modern two-level facility is situated on the side of Stoner Creek, and out back there’s a shady patio that beckons in the summer months.
There’s an open viewing area from the second floor looking into the brewhouse and the lack of a barrier between the brewery tanks and the bar area itself (a feature borrowed from Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe, Arizona, where Northern California-raised co-owner/operator Craig Koontz met his founding business partner). With the beautiful copper-clad kettles and seven shiny fermenters, there’s a cheery confidence about the place and a hum of activity even on weekday afternoons. One of the best features is a wood-burning indoor-outdoor fireplace with seating on each side—on the patio and inside the restaurant.
And while the Alehouse & Grill area is technically a separate business from the brewery, it’s really only on paper that the two are distinct from each other. “You can hear it, and you can smell it,” says Koontz proudly of the open-plan design. The food menu is extensive, from burgers to pizzas made with handmade beer dough and even a few Southwest items. Several beer dinners per year stretch the kitchen’s repertoire with local Willow Spring Ranch lamb shanks, seasonal vegetable tortes, and cured meats. In 2011 Tamarack opened a second taproom location in Missoula.
PHILOSOPHY
Koontz is an eager experimenter with his ten-barrel facility, with recent forays into making pilsner with Sorachi Ace hops (developed in Japan), which have a distinctive lemongrass quality. But most of the beers are true to style. “There’s stuff that sells for a reason,” he says. With that in mind, the ten standards hew to familiar styles such as amber, wit, hefeweizen, and stout.
KEY BEER
Yard Sale Ale. “We describe it as a robust amber ale,” says Koontz of his 5.6% ABV top seller. “It’s bordering on a brown if you look at it in the glass, which separates it from the Fat Tires and Alaskan Ambers out there on the shelf,” he says. “It’s got heavy amounts of chocolate malt and a little roastiness to it, as well.” Ask if Old Stache is available; it’s a super limited-quantity porter aged in bourbon barrels.
THE GREAT NORTHERN BREWING CO. & BLACK STAR DRAUGHT HOUSE
2 Central Ave. E. • Whitefish, MT 59937 (406) 863-1000 • greatnorthernbrewing.com • Established: 1994
SCENE & STORY
The mostly automated, 8,000-barrel-capacity brewery itself is unmista.k.a.ble; for one, it’s the tallest building in town (three levels), and for another, it’s more or less completely made of glass, which shows off a gravity-flow brewing setup (using few pumps) unlike any other in the state. It’s a striking contrast to the less lofty wood clapboard buildings around it, and it means the brewers have the best view. A tour up and down the winding circular stairs is recommended, building a thirst for refreshment.
PHILOSOPHY
Solid, malt-forward, cleanly made brews. Founder Minott Wessinger, the great-great-grandson of Henry Weinhard—whose own Blitz-Weinhard Brewery was a Portland institution from 1856 until it closed for good in 1999—built G
reat Northern Brewing in 1994 as a vehicle for Black Star Golden Lager, with a hoppy lager recipe akin to the great Weinhard’s Private Reserve, which had made his family’s fortune. It’s a hop-accented golden lager designed to appeal to discerning drinkers in both the macro and craft segments.
KEY BEER
“Black Star Golden Lager built this brewery,” says General Manager Marcus Duffey, by way of explaining why they brought the 4.6% ABV brew back after a seven-year hiatus (see the “Detour” below for more on founder Minott Wessinger and his inventions). It’s a slightly sweet, malty golden lager with some discernible, grassy hop character, good for a session down at the bar, but nothing particularly astounding.
THE GREAT NORTHERN BAR & GRILL
27 Central Ave. • Whitefish, MT 59937 (406) 862-2816 • greatnorthernbar.com • Established: 1919
SCENE & STORY
Right across the street from the Great Northern brewery, this is the kind of place that every town needs but too often lacks: a classic establishment with a beat-up old bar, cool signage from days and businesses gone by, a patio, a full menu, and a stage. It’s got a roadhouse feel, with pool tables, shuffleboard, and ping-pong, and the atmosphere of a glorious dive without too much of the grime. And because it’s the social center of town in Whitefish, it’s typically filled to the brim with Whitefish citizens and tourists young and old. The locals are appropriately proud of the day The Boss—Bruce Springsteen—jumped on stage with the band to play “Mustang Sally” . . . way back in August, 1996 (some legends never die).
PHILOSOPHY
Officially? “If we ain’t got it, you don’t need it.”
KEY BEER
Of the tap brews, most are local to Montana, or at least the Pacific Northwest, so ask what’s freshest and take your pick. Kettlehouse’s Double Haul IPA is a mainstay, as is Big Sky’s Moose Drool.
A BEER WITH
MINOTT WESSINGER & FAMILY
Whitefish, Montana—like Aspen, Taos, and Sisters, Oregon—is an ultrapicturesque western town that lures hordes of affluent, influential types to soak up the vibes and spread their empires. Minott Wessinger is one of those sorts himself. There are several very well-made beers in his lineup, and, taking cues from the Empire Builder train line that serves Whitefish, there is some dynasty-building going on that might come as a surprise to lovers of craft beer.
Wessinger had struck gold developing St. Ides (a “malt liquor”) under a contract arrangement with another brewery in the late 1980s, and rap artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and Biggie Smalls expounded on its qualities in their music. In 2001, Wessinger decided to capitalize on this success, sell Great Northern Brewing Company, and cease brewing Black Star Lager in order to pursue other projects, notably a youthfully marketed alcoholic soda pop called Sparks (which caused much consternation among watchdog and parent groups). After launching it in 2002, Wessinger later sold Sparks to Miller in 1996 for a reported $220 million. Perhaps sensing his legacy and lineage—and sensing new opportunity in craft beer—Wessinger returned as a partner to Great Northern and helped relaunch Black Star Golden Lager in February 2010. Who knew craft beer and gangsta rap were bedfellows in Whitefish, Montana?
BEST of the REST: MONTANA
WORDEN’S MARKET
451 N. Higgins Ave. • Missoula, MT 59802-4522 • (406) 549-1293 • wordens.com
Missoula’s very first grocery store, now in its fifth location, originally opened in 1883 and has played a key role in the development of Montana’s beer scene. For starters, it has long stocked a good selection of kegs, stoking many a local party, but more important, its owners have introduced locals to hundreds—perhaps thousands—of imports and American craft beers, lovingly curated by the talkative and knowledgeable Mark Thomsen. Popular with locals of every stripe, it’s a friendly, bustling place. In October 2009 another of Montana’s backward beer laws was amended, finally allowing the sale of beer up to 14% ABV, a threshold that is common with many of the most sought-after styles of Belgian and English beers.
LOLO PEAK BREWING CO.
6201 Brewery Way • Lolo, MT 59847 • (406) 493-6231 • lolopeakbrewery.com
There’s a wildlife spotting scope on the deck railing of the original location of this popular brewery opened in 2014, which tells you something about everyone involved, from the owners to the locals and the animals of the area. Live music is a staple here, and the brewery has been so successful that in 2015 it announced plans to expand into a second location in Missoula’s Old Sawmill District. Try the toffee-ish, roasty Old Toby Porter (5.6% ABV).
FLATHEAD LAKE BREWING CO.
116 Holt Dr. • Bigfork, MT 59911 • (406) 837-2004 • flatheadlakebrewing.com
One of Montana’s most beloved breweries is Flathead Lake because of—you guessed it—its awesome location overlooking the largest freshwater lake West of the Mississippi—even bigger than Lake Tahoe. The brewery has done so well that they’ve added a production brewery in Bigfork and a new taproom in Missoula. But it’s the original lakeside taproom you want to hit, for sixteen taps, good food . . . and that view.
KALISPELL BREWING CO.
412 Main St. • Kalispell, MT 59901 • (406) 756-2739 • kalispellbrewing.com
Opened in 2014 in the Flathead Valley—home to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, for starters—Kalispell Brewing Co. was founded in a cool old brick building on Kalispell’s main drag by husband and wife Cole Schneider and Maggie Doherty (“English majors, telemark ski racers, and home brewers”) with a 10bbl system. Try the Two Ski Brewski Pils, and venture out from there.
the SOUTHWEST and TEXAS
WITH ITS PIÑON-DOTTED HIGHLANDS, SUN-BAKED MESAS, AND LABYRINTHINE CANYON lands, the American Southwest is mesmerizing from 30,000 feet, the distance from which most travelers view it as they whiz by from L.A. or S.F. to the East Coast or back again. But the best way for a beer lover to experience its incredible bounty is to spend some time on the ground in the cities and small towns. The soulless casinos, strip malls, and tacky strip joints are just side effects, like jet lag, because a vanguard of hard-working beer lovers has propelled the Southwest’s craft beer scene from tumbleweed to tornado, from Austin to Albuquerque, Reno, and even Sin City—Las Vegas. It used to be the kind of place where beer meant only a frosty can of Tecate with lime, the follow-up to a good tequila (which, to be honest, is still not a bad way to go). But beyond the old standbys there’s now a new wealth of great American craft beer breweries and internationally savvy beer bars springing up like Christmas cactus flowers in a dried-up arroyo, even along the iconic Route 66 amid the old adobe of New Mexico. In the end, there’s nothing better than a brewery-fresh beer and a high desert sunset, but roadside tacos and Texas barbecue aren’t far behind. Time to hit the road. Just don’t forget the sunscreen.
ARIZONA
ARIZONA WILDERNESS BREWING COMPANY
721 N. Arizona Ave., No. 103 • Gilbert, AZ 85233 • (480) 284-9863 • azwbeer.com • Established: 2012
SCENE & STORY
Located in a banal strip mall twenty-one miles southeast of the center of sun-baked Phoenix, Arizona Wilderness is the unlikely creation of bearded founder (and former window washer) Jonathan Buford, which sprang forth out of his home’s little garage brewery with a sense of dreamy yet indomitable mission. On the brink of personal bankruptcy, he became inspired while watching the short-lived Brew Masters show on the Discovery Channel about Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione’s wild travels, beery inventions, and financial success. What he and his team would succeed in doing in a short time is nothing short of amazing. Home brewing became an obsession; the beers kept getting better and better. Friends and family encouraged him to go pro, and working with a couple of partners, he went for it.
The reception by locals (and beer geeks who got to taste the early beers at prestigious off-site tastings) was, fair to say, rapturous. Working in tight quarters, Buford and Co. took to embarking on mountain hikes to dream up
recipes, over 100 in a year. Word-of-mouth was growing like thunderheads behind a mountain range. When RateBeer, one of the two largest websites in the world on craft beer, named AWBC the World’s Best New Brewery in 2014, the beautiful deluge began. Lines at beerfests, chatter online, a profile in Esquire, and high-profile collaborations with the likes of Danish gypsy brewer Mikkeller followed. Now there’s talk of another location in the summer of 2016. The brewpub menu is impressive, with an emphasis on cheff-ed up (but not pretentious) southwestern fare (pork, especially) laced with piquant chile and spices.
PHILOSOPHY
This is new school brewing at its finest, informed by Buford’s deep-seated love of the woods and wild places. Think: extensive use of wild yeast, foraged ingredients, heritage grain projects, and other interesting forays into the hinterlands of beer making.
KEY BEER
Refuge IPA has been a huge hit for AWBC, but it’s the unusual foraged-ingredient beers that are truly setting Buford and his team apart, like a recent project even Michael Pollan—best-selling author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma—noticed, using white Sonoran wheat berries (a tangy, heirloom grain said to be the oldest in North America) and wild juniper berries.
Tempe
FOUR PEAKS BREWING CO.
1340 E. 8th St., No. 104 • Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 303-9967 • fourpeaks.com • Established: 1997
SCENE & STORY
Just east of ASU’s campus, Four Peaks Brewing Company (and a good percentage of ASU students on weekend nights) calls a huge 1892 Mission Revival–style barn home. Formerly housing a series of creamery businesses, it’s got weathered brick walls and high wood ceilings with a thirty-five-foot-high glass clerestory, the rafters festooned with banners for the Minnesota Vikings and ASU Sun Devils. There’s three other locations now: the Grill & Tap in Scottsdale, a brewery and tasting room in Tempe, and an airport bar in the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.
The Great American Ale Trail (Revised Edition) Page 23