Hold a brewfest in Missoula and you’re sure of one thing: big crowds of beer lovers.  Such was the case last Saturday at the Missoula Downtown Association’s Winter BrewFest, a fundraiser for Caras Park.  Thousands turned out at the old Macy’s building to taste some of the 30 beers and listen to great music on a day unusually warm enough to hold the event outside.

We got there early, which is the key for any brewfest if you’re interested in getting some of the more coveted brews and want to avoid much of the jostling elbows.  Even then, beer was running out around 3:00 and I suspect those who arrived after that were a bit disappointed in the selection.  Not so for us.  We know the drill.  We happily sampled several Montana brews we’ve not seen before and tapped along to the sounds of the Lil’ Smokies and Cash for Junkers. After visiting with a few friends, it was time to escape back out into the sunny, beautiful winter afternoon.

And the beer?  We liked Tamarack’s Double Black Diamond IPA the best, though it was a very close call with Bitter Root Brewing’s Imperial Red.  Both were excellent.  Blacksmith Brewing brought along their winter ale.  Blackfoot River Brewing had a keg of their doppelbock.  It has all the elements of a classic European doppelbock and is currently available on tap at Missoula’s Red Bird Wine Bar.  Butte’s Quarry Brewing was there with Gneiss IPA and Sandstone Stout.  We also had to have our first taste of the year of Bayern’s Killarney, a beer we eagerly await each spring.