This evening I had the Copper John Scottish Ale from the Madison River Brewing. The brew is a nose full of smoke and peat tones. The color is a bit light for the style, but the flavor is on. Overall, it is a good Scottish ale, but I think that it is a light in gravity and color.

Tonight, Sam and I went down to the Bozeman Brewing Company tasting room for a few great beers and to listen to the Bridger Creek Boys. The bluegrass was incredible and beers were just as amazing. The band seems to just getting tighter and tighter. I had 2 different brews; the Wee Heavy Barley Wine and the HopZone.

Wee Heavy Barley Wine The nose of this great barley wine is the first thing that you notice when bringing the sniffer to your face. Thick waves of malt fill your nostrils. the mouth-feel is full and soothing. The flavor has floral, almost honey, notes with a nice amount of alcohol. A great beer in a great atomshpere.

HopZone HopZone sums this one up. The aroma is full of floral and resin notes. The first sip brings a full force hop punch to your grill. This is awesome for a hop-head like myself. This is one of my perfect beers - high hops and high alcohol (~7.5% ABV).

After the Golden Trout Lakes hike, Andy, the dogs and I went down to big Sky to visit the Lone Peak Brewery. Andy had been there on multiple occasions and, for myself, it was my first visit. The brewery and tasting room are located in a small location. The tasting room is inviting with shuffleboard table and a full service kitchen. I had the 3 beer maximum and got a little tour of the brewery by Gervaise Purcell. The brewery equipment consists of 4 20-barrel and 2 10-barrel fermentors along with a mashtun and kettlehouse. All the equipment was purchased new and was in excellent condition. Folowing paragraphs are reviews of the 3 brews that I tried at the Lone Peak Brewery.

Wit’s End Wheat

The beer poured a hazy amber with a short-lived head. In the aroma, you can really pick up on the coriander and a faint hop floral. With taste was infused with citrus from the orange peel and the herbaceous qualities of the coriander. Overall, a very nice summer cooler, especially after a little speed-hiking.

Hippie Highway Oatmeal Stout

Dark as the ace of spades and a aroma full of malt , smoke tones and a pepperiness. Light on the carbonation and the taste is full of malts and subtle smokiness. The gravity on this stout seems to be lighter than other oatmeal stouts that I have had, namely Moose Drool, but overall a fine beverage.

Hellroaring ESB

Poured a medium, hazy brown with very little head. The nose was full hop bitterness with some floral and citrus overtones. The mouth feel come on with floral and fruit followed by a pleasant lingering bitterness.

I received this in my email today and I definitely want to get everyone to lend their voice to fighting these proposed changes that would negatively affect the craft beer industry in Montana.

“The Montana Department of Revenue is proposing an amendment to Montana’s Tasting Room already restrictive laws. The Department of Revenue is proposing to hold Montana breweries to the same rules as all beverage licensees which allows no consumption of alcohol after closing time. This means that, like bars, breweries around the state would have to have all drinks off the bar and all customers physically out of the building by closing time. However, unlike bars who must close by 2am, our closing time would remain at 8pm. The Department of Revenue is having a public hearing regarding the proposed amendment next Thursday, August 7th in Helena. This amendment would obviously be a huge detriment to tasting rooms around Montana so the majority of active brewers and brewery personnel are all traveling to Helena next week to oppose this amendment.”

Glacier Brewing has created an online petition that we are planning on presenting at the hearing. Here is the link for that petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/MTTROP/petition.html

I encourage everyone to sign this petition and help the Montana craft brewers.

There’s a party in my mouth and everyone’s invited. That’s how good this beer is…simply amazing. Hazy amber in color with a white head - 2 fingers high - floating on top. The aroma was thick with floral, caramel and malts. Surprisingly, the alcohol is rather subtle in this beverage. Overall, one of the best IPAs that I have had the privilege of drinking.

The other night was walking the aisles of my local organic food store, and what did I spy with my little eye? Maudite! I have been hearing things about this beer for quite some time. This was not an opportunity to be passed up and the liquid love had to be shared with Sam.

The beer poured with a thin head with a brown sugar nose. The mouth feel was light on the carbonation and the flavor was absolutely spectacular. This is a beer that is deserving of being sought out by any beer lover.

Pours reddish brown with a huge creamy off white head. The lacing is excellent and the head shrinks back a little, but it is fully lasting. The aroma is awesome, sour cherries, with a little malt sweetness. Taking a drink, I am blown away. What hits you first is some caramel maltiness, followed by a very distinct Belgian fruity yeast, then thirdly a tartness of cherries. In the finish there is a slight sweetness of brown sugar or maple syrup. The duration of the finish is quite long, the sourness of the lambic and the sweetness go back and forth. The body is medium to full with a creamy texture and lively carbonation. One word can describe this beer - Awesome!

As a self-profused beer snob, I have tendency to look down upon the “macro” brews. You know those rice and corn bottles of pissy water. Everything from their lack of balls to the awful color turns me off to these beers most of the time. That’s right, I said most of the time. Imperial Cerveza is a macro-brewed beverage that is native to Costa Rica, and when I am down there it is great. Light, cool and readily available. It’s a great beverage when looking out onto the the seemingly never-ending Pacific from a swing at a beach bar. Even the way condensation sweats along the recycled a thousand times bottle is attractive.

Truth be told, if I were to have this beer at home, I would most likely rail against it. I would say something like, “Its Bud Light’s Latino cousin. All of the pissy flavor with a Central American flair.” But, have it on the beach in Costa Rica, Imperial is a great brew. It enjoys what few beers have - situational greatness.

Appearance: Nice pillowy, retaining head. Medium amber in color. nice lacing, as if lacing means anything.

Aroma: Rather floral, reminds me of the lilacs that are currently blooming in the valley.

Mouth: Short, sudden hop burst with little aftertaste. Very nice and refreshing.

Overall: Not a slap you in the mouth IPA, but a good summer sipper. If I had to rate it on a 1 to 10 scale, I would give it 7.5.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of beer podcasts, and on The Good Beer Show, Mikey Mason performed one the funniest and most true songs ever.

Drinking with Satan from Jeffrey Meyer on Vimeo.