Grizzly Growler

Popped open a bottle of Dogfish Head’s Pangaea the other day, which I bought last March in Arizona. The idea behind it was to make a beer that contains ingredients from every continent: crystallized ginger from Australia, water from Antarctica, basmati rice from Asia, muscavado sugar from Africa, European yeast and North American maize. Here’s [...]

Not much to do about craft beer, but beer news nonetheless. Missoula-based Zip Beverage Co. recently completed its purchase of Butte’s Thompson Distributing Inc., which has been in business since 1976. The Montana Standard reports the Thompson family decided to sell after seeing the trend of small distributors being bought up by larger companies in [...]

Hey all, Grizzly Growler will have some slight changes in the works over the next couple of weeks starting with a new email address, GrizGrowler@gmail.com. I am moving on from my job at the Missoulian to go back to school (accounting of things), but will be maintaining the blog and Facebook page. Check out the updated [...]

A few weeks ago, I asked readers to share their most memorable beers of 2011. Here’s a selection of what you said: Sean Essen – Had to be Southern Tier’s Creme Brulee Stout, ridiculous stuff, dessert in a glass. … Actually, scratch that – ’96 Sam Adams Triple Bock. Andy Baker – About three weeks [...]

As 2011 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the year that was. So GG’s interested: What was the most memorable beer you had this year? Now, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the best beer, just one that sticks out in your mind. For instance, it could be one you had while [...]

Jeremy Cowan, owner of San Francisco-based Shmaltz Brewing Co., returns to western Montana for the second year in a row to talk about and sign copies of his book “Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing Company an International Success.” Cowan will [...]

Dubbed “Movember,” the men of Big Sky Brewing are putting away their upper-lip razors to get mustachioed in an effort to raise awareness and money for cancers that affect men. This is second year the guys over at the brewery have taken on this hairy challenge. On Nov. 1, the generally bearded crew shows up [...]

Spokesman.com has a short piece by features writer Paul Turner that takes a look at Montana’s brewing past. In what Turner calls “Know your Montana beer history?” the author complied some links to beers such as Great Falls Select, Butte Special, Billings Tap, Kessler and Highlander. Of note is that two of these beers, Great [...]

I grew up in LaGrange, Ill., a suburb outside of Chicago, and one of my best friends back then was Craig Frymark, who lived three houses down from me. When I moved to Missoula in 1995 at age 13 with my family, we lost touch, as is bound to happen. Recently, through my parents and [...]

Every first Monday of the month Scotty’s Table in Missoula hosts a special burger, fries and beer night, appropriately called First Monday. For $15 you get a locally produced burger, or a veggie burger if you prefer, as well as fries and a beer from Big Sky Brewing Co. Now you might be saying, “Whoa there [...]