Big Sky’s already vaunted powerhouse IPA will be briefly overshadowed by the emergence of an Imperial IPA, which is currently pouring at the taproom, or so I’m told. I shall venture forth to find out if that’s true.

This is the next in their Limited Montana Release Series, formerly known as the 406 Series. It should be available around the state for a short while on tap and in bottles just as the Saison was in the spring.

Prost,

GG

Big Sky Imperial IPA, the next in the Limited Montana Series

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Here’s a short video showing a couple of Stone Brewing Company head honchos as they rebuild the amazing IPA as it would have been during the waning years of the British Empire. They imported British white malt and are using East Kent Goldings, an original IPA hop, along with some other new and interesting hops that they talk about in this short clip. All in all, I think this is an interesting idea, while the brewers are remaining true to the vision and adding their own quirky additions to what should be an amazing craft beer in Stone’s 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA.

Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA Announced from stonebrew on Vimeo.

Prost,

GG

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Beer or not, these beverages are extremely fun

These questions and others filtered through our heads and our conversations on Sunday, as we brewed our first mega batch of Belgian Dubbel, one of three such batches that will fill our 55-gallon French oak Merlot barrel soon. As every brewer knows, drinking beer while brewing is a must. Mostly because the inspiration in a glass of ale is limitless, and the quaffing of such beverages helps pass the time and the arduous tasks associated with brewing.

Normally a session beer would be appropriate for brew days, but this was an abbreviated brew day being that it was Sunday. So we broke out a stash of big beers to inspire us to completely new heights. I brought over a Mikkeller/Struise Imperial IPA I’d found for sale at John’s Market recently, and beer buddy Jon brought out a Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA.

We sipped the Mikkeller/Struise while we doughed 40-pounds of grain. Our stir stack, canoe paddle rather, stuck straight up in the the gruel-like mash. But the smell was divine. As was the Mikkeller for that matter. This huge Belgian/Northwest IPA combo had about as much chutzpa as any beer I’ve had, somehow balancing an amazing amount of hops on top of layer of sweet malt complexity. In the end, we decided the Mikkeller/Struise was indeed beer. We decided that it didn’t necessarily push boundaries other than geo/political boundaries of course, and it was definitely fun. In some ways, Belgian yeasts and Northwest hops go together beautifully in a literal fruit-salad of a nose and with all kinds of candy on the tongue.

About midway through the mash, we unleashed the Dogfish Head 120-minute IPA, which tends to surprise me every time I try one.

This, we decided, is not a beer. At least not in the traditional sense of grains, hops and yeast co-mingling in that familiar bready, grainy, bitter combination. We also decided that 120-minute IPA does push the boundaries, but in and of itself, this is not a bad thing. What boundaries are you really pushing if your product has more in common with Sauternes than an India Pale Ale? And lastly, we decided that this beer is just plain fun. We closed our eyes and imagined this beer being served with a bunch of dessert wines, and we realized we’d hardly pick it out as beer, what with all the jammy sweetness present and that whiny plum center that absolutely mesmerizes the palate.

Much like a Sauternes, the Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA is sweet without being cloying, as if the brewers somehow managed to sprout their grain with the addition of Botrytis cinerea, that beautiful agent that allows for a fine balance of acid and sugar in that most noble of French wines.

Even the burnt-umber color had a whiny look to it when held up to a perfectly gray Missoula sky. We sipped and talked on and on about big beers and their place on the social pecking order of the brewing world. I for one am glad that brewers like Mikkeller and Dogfish Head are willing to brew beers that push boundaries without really pushing anything but our own taste imagination. Their beers are just plain fun.

Now we’ll see how our experimental Oak-Aged Belgian Dubbel turns out.

Prost,

GG

Our "monster mash" Belgian Dubbel

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On Friday, beer buddy Jon caught a Twitter post from a friend (Steve Leighton) in England who was about to sample Brewdog’s Sink the Bizmarck. (current holder of the title of World’ Strongest Beer) So he asked him if he’d be willing to do a video review to help some Americans understand this European war of the big beers.

Here’s the result:

Check out Leighton’s coffee blog.

Prost,

GG

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Widmer Deadlift IPA

When my friend Jon told me he wanted to give his Barista Manifesto at the Ignite Missoula event, I wondered how difficult it would be to give a manifesto with a five-minute time limit accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation. I still don’t know if it was easy, but it was done and brilliantly.

Jon’s a master barista, a coffee judge and an advocate for coffee farmers around the world. He works for Cup of Excellence, a Missoula non-profit with world-wide connections and influence. And as one friend put it recently, “the only people who seem to really understand what Fair Trade really means.”

But I digress. Jon’s Barista Manifesto touched many people last night, not the least of which was Missoula’s honorable mayor John Engen, who shook Jon’s hand shortly after the presentation and then proceeded to hug Jon. I thought that I might have seen a tear in the mayor’s eye briefly, but it could have been the lighting.

The crowd of mixed ages mingled casually, sipping craft beer out of bottles and enjoying the eight five-minute presentations ranging from early childhood development to how to start running when you hate exercise.

Our group, which had gathered to support Jon, moved casually from the Elks Lodge to Jon’s house, where we gorged on fresh-baked cookies left graciously by the babysitter. I really need to find one like that.

A six-pack of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Bigfoot Barley Wine showed up as if by magic, and we broke out tall red wine glasses and poured a whole bottle in each glass. The foam bubbled up creamy and beige, like a cappuccino, and we swirled and talked about flavors like fig, banana, coconut and dried pineapple as we tasted the big beer.

It took almost any hour to kill that bottle, but that’s the beauty of a barley wine, it just opens up the warmer it gets. Soon you’re smelling a veritable jungle of tropical fruits and tasting rich roasted graininess and a strong hop presence. We sipped and talked, sipped and talked. We slipped through the health care debate and rehashed current events here in Missoula. We relived Jon’s awesome Barista Manifesto several times and then came back to the beer. You always come back to the beer.

Until you finish it.

Another beer appeared, as if by magic, and we poured it’s clear, bronze liquor into our wine glasses and smelled a tremendously green and floral hop presence. This was a Widmer Brewing Company Deadlift Imperial IPA, and the use of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand certainly defines this beer. At a reported 9.5 percent ABV, this beer is all in the nose. I couldn’t put my glass down, and we just kept passing it around the room letting everyone stick their noses in our glass.

If I could only smell this beer and not taste it, I would rate it very high, and it’s made me far more interested in those Nelson Sauvin hops than any beer brewed with them I’ve tried before. But I did taste it, and I just wasn’t as impressed with the big-bodied beer with a funky middle to it. Something just below the tongue picks up some dark chewiness that isn’t bad, but it’s funky, and it’s difficult to describe. My friend Beau decided he liked the funk after a few sips. I drank the whole beer and still wondered whether it was growing on me or not. The funk that is.

The barley wine had better alcohol heat balance than the Imperial IPA had, and I’m a huge proponent of keep the imperial designation for beers that really deserve it. A 9.5 percent ABV IPA is good, but it’s still just an IPA. An imperial IPA should stand up for itself and take a bow in anything above a 10 percent ABV range. I see far too many in the 7.2 o 8.2 range.

We could’ve kept our conversation going until all hours of the morning, or if the beer ran out, but it was a Thursday night, and we knew there were more beers to meet on Friday and Saturday.

Prost,

GG

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Bitterroot Brewing's Winter Ale

And it has my name on it. Well, not really. It has the Grizzly Growler name on it, but since I try to fill those rather tremendous shoes by posting under that name, I’ll count it.

So I was finally able to stop into Bitterroot Brewing to try some samples of all their current Brewer’s Whims. And I was not disappointed in the least. The Imperial IPA is everything you’ve heard it is. With four hops with citrusy characteristics, it’s kind of like the Greyhound of beers. Big, fruity with a lighter body than you might expect in a an Imperial IPA, this beer literally knocks your socks off with hop flavor on a very comfortable base. Big alcohol with a nose like walking into a tropical greenhouse, the hop profile on this bad boy takes you back to the early days of Oregon and Washington when they were perfecting the Northwest-style IPAs. But rest assured, this beer retains those magical Montana qualities that have made Bitterroot Brewing such a destination in this state.

The CollaBeeration Porter, a Baltic-style porter that spent more than a little time on bourbon wood, is a fantastic early winter beer. I can only imagine joining my colleagues at the Ravalli Republic as they plot their next snowboard or back-country ski adventure over a few snifters of this. Chocolaty with some vanilla hints from the bourbon, this beer displays some deeper notes characteristic of dark malts like dried fruit and even some coconut that I thought rounded out the bourbon flavors a bit.

The year-old Barley Wine was phenomenal, as only aged barley wine can be. With honey, straw, whiskey, dried fruit and some Euro-style licorice, this beer is a conucopia of flavors. I can only imagine what it would taste liked aged another year or two. Oh, well, some beers you just have to drink now.

And finally, if you can’t get down to Bitteroot Brewing for their Brewer’s Whims, you should be able to get a hold of their Winter Ale, a very well-balanced dark ale with a hint of spices on a very smooth and drinkable malt base. With an effervescent white-ish head and some healthy hop structure, this winter bear harkens to those favorites like Deschute’s Jubalale, but the hop profile makes this one extra special. If you like those big, dark beers that warm you on cold winter days, this would be one to try.

You should see these beers in Missoula at places that carry Bitteroot Brewing beers. Try Orange Street Food Farm, Worden’s Market and The Good Food Store.

Prost,

GG

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From Jason Goeltz:

Power of 10 Imperial IPA – (9.78% ABV) – Our 1000th brew coming in at just under 10% ABV and 100 IBUs…hence the power of 10. A very hoppy beer delivering strong citrusy notes to the palate accompanied by a nice full body character, certainly something you want to get a taste of before it’s gone!

Prost,

GG

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Though it’s many thousands of miles away, Mikeller Brewery in Denmark might just be one of my favorite craft breweries anywhere. This is not a light statement either. There are many factors that surround this. For one, Mikkeller pays tribute to the adventurous American breweries who are not afraid of taste and exploration in brewing techniques and styles. Mikkeller would like to emulate that in Denmark, where light lagers dominate the market. Another reason is that Mikkeller is not afraid of collaboration with other European breweries to create fascinating Old/New World combinations like single-hop beers with the addition of brettamyoces. (a yeast strain that produces a prominent smell characteristic in many Belgian and French beer varieties. Yet another reason is that one of the original founders of Mikkeller, Kristian Klarup Keller, is a journalist, and, well, you all know how I feel about journalists, especially journalists who like good craft beer.

Struise Mikeller (Elliot Beer)

Recently, someone opened a bottle of Mikkeller’s Struise Mikeller, (Elliot Beer) a strong-hopped Northwest-style IPA with a Struise strong blond. But then again, everyone gets a long with blonds, don’t they? The marriage of these two beers is interesting. I’ll withhold any judgement as to this being the best in the style I’ve ever had, because I’ve never had the style before. But the fact that the two breweries collaborated on something this unique is extraordinary, and it’s here that the U.S. breweries could learn a lesson. Yes, your bottom line beers are important, to your bottom line no less. But what is driving the popularity of craft beer is the innovative styles unique to various communities that are becoming more readily available elsewhere. I remember when I had my first Mikkeller here in Missoula. I was astounded that a Scandinavian craft brewery could produce such wonderful U.S. craft styles. Then out of nowhere, they explode to become Rate Beer’s 5th highest-ranking brewery in the world.

It goes to show you the value of playing well with others and brewing as an art instead of a business science. Those of us who love craft beer will love you all the more for your willingness to be inventive rather than your ability to put a fairly standard IPA, brown ale or stout on the shelves of the local grocery store throughout the year. When Big Sky Brewing Co.’s Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout sells out in places like Seattle and other western cities, it brings so much more attention to the brewery for the fact that the beer is limited.

Many limited beers are now becoming full-fledged production beers, which opens many more people up to trying different styles, which then creates demands for new beers, which increases creative interest at breweries, and the whole thing is just a big, vicious circle of craft-beer loveliness.

Mikkeller beers have been available at the Good Food Store and at Worden’s Market.

Prost,

GG

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Blackfoot River Brewing Co.'s Imperial IPA

It’s no secret that my favorite Montana IPA is Blackfoot River Brewing Co.’s Single Malt IPA. I’ll often make the long trek up Snowbowl Road in order to grab a pint of it in summer and winter, being that I don’t exactly have easy access to the killer, newish taproom in Helena.

Since I had to make a road trip to Helena for business purposes, I managed to squeeze in a visit to the taproom, where I was fortunate enough to try a pint of the newish Imperial IPA, Blackfoot’s ode to the passage of HB 400. This nine-percent + ABV monster was the perfect sipper for an hour of high-tech talk and catching up with an old friend.

Two things stand out about this beer. The first is that it’s actually an Imperial IPA, not just a weak, 7.0 ABV wannabe. There is plenty of alcohol on the nose, but the classic floral nose and Blackfoot-malt backbone are balanced behind that nose to give you the quintessential Imperial IPA experience. If you’re going to pay $5.00 per pint, you want to be sure you’re having a legitimate big beer.

The second thing that stands out to me in this beer is the fluid structure of the beer. There is no strange, overpowering flavor as I’ve tried in other big beers. The hoppy exterior on the palate is married to that woodsy graininess inherent in Blackfoot beers as all well-balanced beer should be. If it weren’t for the increased alcohol and the big flavors of a higher-than-normal grain bill, this would be any one of the brewery’s classic, clean beers.

I doubt we’ll get any kegs of this big Montana beer over on our side of the divide any time soon, so if I can encourage you to take one road trip before winter locks us in for the next six months, go to Helena and try an Imperial IPA, so say nothing of their other fantastic selections on their growing beer list.

Prost,

GG

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