Grizzly Growler

It’s currently 92 degrees in Missoula. That means several things. First, I’m inside trying to stand as close to the air-conditioning vents as possible. Second, the Clark Fork River is flowing by outside my window with little white riffles that make me think of the foam on top of a beer. Third, I’m probably still thinking about beer, especially what kind of beer I’ll want to drink when my face melts as soon as I leave the pleasant 71-degree atmosphere of the newsroom.

Hot-weather beer is not as simple a topic as one might think. Selecting a beer light enough to quench your thirst while maintaining good taste characteristics is tough, what with all those nuclear-hopped IPAs, double IPAs, and Imperial IPAs out there.

A stout or porter just won’t cut the heat, and your traditional hot-weather fallbacks like PBR and anything with a “Light” after the name have as much flavor as that bottle of yellow soap on your kitchen counter.

Last Sunday as I scoured the Web sites of the Missoula Three for an open tasting room, I happened upon UNPilsner. Yes, that’s the UNofficial name according to Bayern Brewing tasting room maven Greta Jernberg.

This unfiltered Pilsner is thanks to the brewers’ fondness for tasting beers right off the barrel, before they are filtered for clarity.

And thanks to those tiny little yeast particles, which give the light-yellow beer its cloudy look, this Pilsner has some nice flavor characteristics.

I like the way it has a nice clean taste with less body than an ale but without sacrificing taste. Besides, the unfiltered beer looks great in a growler.

So when the heat gets to you, unwind and have an UNPilsner at Bayern Brewing.