For a couple months now, FLBC of Missoula has been dropping hints about its newest seasonal beer, a Tripel. The wait for the new brew is almost over. On Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 4-8 p.m., FLBC of Missoula will launch the Tripel at a “Kill the Tripel – Support Adopt a Cat Month” event…
For much longer than I’ve been writing Growler Fills, I’ve tuned into The Session, a collective effort of beer bloggers around the world to write on a common topic once each month. The idea originated with Stan Hieronymus and his long running, excellent blog Appellation Beer and is co-pioneered by Jay Brooks, beer author and…
Last year, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. released four fantastic beers in celebration of its 30th Anniversary. Each beer was a collaboration with one or more of the pioneers of craft brewing. These corked and caged 750ml beers looked great, tasted great and were fun to explore. For 2011, Sierra Nevada has a new project, releasing…
While in Helena recently, we had a chance to try a pint of Madison River Brewing Co.’s double IPA, Hop Juice, on tap. The name conjures up great images of hop cones and the flavors and bitterness that lie within. While Madison’s four flagship brews are widely available regionally in six-packs, if you’re not reasonably…
While over in Helena this week we had a chance to try a pint of Bozeman Brewing Company’s Black IPA which had just been put on tap at Bert & Ernie’s. The bartender said we were the first to order it, continuing our string of lucky beer timing. It’s been years since we’d had some…
I stopped in at Hamilton’s Bitter Root Brewing Co. this week and asked for a pint of whatever the newest beer on tap happened to be. That’s not my usual M.O., but it was a fortuitous change of pace. The newest turned out to be Bitter Root’s Belgian Honey Trippel. Belgian Ales are one category…
For not being a trip focused on beer, we certainly did end up doing a fair job of checking out the San Diego beer scene during our warm weather visit in early March. So far, we’ve written about our “chain conundrum,” The Ritual Tavern, The Local Eatery & Drinking Hole, and The Neighborhood. In this…
Last year, Missoula’s Big Sky Brewing Co. began a series of limited release beers available only in Montana, to the dismay of fans in the 23 other states where Big Sky is distributed. The latest release, just in time for this week’s St. Patrick’s Day, is Irish Stout. Here’s Big Sky’s description: Butte American once…
Bitter Root Brewing brought a keg of Red Dread Imperial Red Ale to Missoula’s Winter BrewFest last month and it was the first beer to run out. There’s a good reason for that. It is a great brew. Red Dread Imperial Red Ale is a spring seasonal first brewed last year, but being bottled in…
Back in 2007, Full Sail Brewing Co. (Hood River, OR) released the first of its new LTD series of seasonal beers. LTD 01 was a medium bodied, copper colored bock. LTD 02 was a light bodied helles bock. LTD 03 was a crisp, medium bodied pilsner-style lager. I had the impression when the series started…