Grizzly Growler

Australia, Bozeman and Cantillon to be exact. There was no order to this tasting, nor was there a theme. Conveniently, I found a loosely threaded theme to follow in a simple song my two-year-old sings. My buddy Luke from Kettlehouse, grabbed a growler of schwarz beer from Bozeman Brewing Co., I threw in two bottles [...]

Missoula’s legendary beer is back, albeit in a different flavor and brewed in Whitefish. Highlander, that Scottish-themed beer that defined generations of Montana beer drinkers from the early 1900s until the 1960s, is back, at least for this weekend. The beer, which is brewed by Great Northern Brewing Co., will be available at the Garden [...]

Bayern Brewing recently released the 2008 Maibock, a delicious comfort beer that helps big-beer lovers like me transition to the lighter fare of summer. Brownish red and with only a hint of that malty sweetness found in its winter brother, Doppelbock, Maibock is easily digested on the back porch watching the mosaic that is the [...]

According to Avery Brewing Co.’s website, Maharaja comes from two Sanskrit words, Mahat, meaning great and Rajan, meaning king. You have to love powerful and thought-provoking names for beers. Me, I love names like Old Rasputin, Arrogant Bastard, Skull Splitter or Gonzo Imperial Porter. They all leave a great aftertaste. What I liked: Maharaja Imperial [...]

Great show last night. Good Kettlehouse beer, great friends and God’s own music. There’s nothing else I can say, so take this: Yeah Mitch-L, GG

I find myself excited for the 16th Annual Garden City Brewfest coming up May 3. It will mark a year since I decided to take a job here at the Missoulian, though I didn’t actually start until late June. My mind was on Missoula, and as I researched the city, I found myself wishing I [...]

Continuing a tremendous streak, Montana brewer Travis Zeilstra of Montana Brewing Co., picked up some hardware at the 2008 World Beer Cup in San Diego. Travis picked up two bronze medals and a silver, continuing his streak after picking up the Small Brewpub of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, [...]

My wife had a craving for ribs today, which was unfortunate because there were a couple inches of fresh snow on our grill. Not wanting to disappoint the wife, which is never a good idea, I decided to do ribs winter-style, indoors. Pressure cookers are the next best thing to a grill. Now I know [...]

It’s hard to type right now. I’ve got a callous on my thumb the size of a small hill. Last week I decided to buy my son Guitar Hero III. Then I got hooked on it. So instead of sitting around watching television and sipping on a cool beer in the evenings, I’ve been slamming [...]

Who would have thought? I found this delicious lager at the Good Food Store last week. I was going to save it for a sunny day, but it looks like we’re back to winter weather here in Missoula. So I popped it open for dinner tonight instead. This is a great fresh-tasting lager with more [...]