Video: What your style of beer says about you
My brother sent me a link to a graphic displaying “what your style of beer says about you” the other day from IWasteSoMuchTime.com. I dug a little deeper and here’s a video from Bite.ca.
- Matt Pritchard
Yeti Home Brew Competition winners
The first Yeti Home Brew Competition was held over the weekend at Higherground Brewing Co. Homebrewers were asked to drop off three 12-ounce bottles in one or more of the following categories: Light Beer, Amber Beer, Specialty and IPA. Jared Robinson of Summer Sun Garden & Brew passed along a note of the winners. Congratulations to all.
Light:
1st Cole M.
2nd David FoxAmber:
1st David Fox
2nd DuncanSpecialty:
1st Dan Lee
2nd Clint N.IPA:
1st Matt Miller
2nd Clint NissenOverall:
1st Matt Miller
2nd Dan Lee
- Matt Pritchard
How much would you pay for ‘world’s best beer’?
Touted as the “world’s best beer,” the famed Westvleteren 12 brewed by Trappist monks at St. Sixtus Abbey in Belgium is now on sale in the U.S., although you’d be hard pressed to find any on store shelves. The beer is only available at select retailers, which means that if you’re in Montana you’d have to drive to Portland, Ore., or Denver. The beer is priced at around $85 for a six pack at some stores and the limited supply is going fast.
The monks are looking to raise money to pay for a new roof, which is why they decided to export some of the famed beer to the states.
Any beer that receives the label of the “world’s best” definitely piques my interest. It comes in at about 12 percent ABV and tastes like “dates, raisins and cocoa,” according to Rate Beer.
If you’re lucky enough find some, enjoy!
- Matt Pritchard
Big Medicine Brewing Co. looks to open in Missoula
Fernanda Menna Barreto Krum and Robert Rivers. Photo by Eliza Wiley/Independent Record
A new Missoula brewery is in the works, although the project is still in the early stages.
The Helena Independent Record reports that Helena native Robert Rivers and partner Fernanda Menna Barreto Krum are in the process of raising funds for a brewery that incorporates their background of helping people in conflict zones around the globe. The two hope Big Medicine Brewing Co. will help promote peace through beer.
In the first year of operation, two-day workshops are planned each month, featuring subjects related to social conflict and social change initiation, as well as one-hour dialogues twice a month.
Rivers and Menna Barreto Krum plan to draw on their own expertise and experience to facilitate these programs and brew the beer. Rivers has a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the European Centre for Peace Studies, and Menna Barreto Krum has a master’s degree in psychology and a certificate in global mental health from Harvard.
Rivers also holds a brewing certificate from the University of Wisconsin and both have been brewing beer for the past five years. They’ve raised at least $35,000 so far and are looking for about $200,000 more.
Big Medicine hopes to brew about 1,000 barrels a year once they’re up and running with beer “inspired by breweries around the world.”
You can contact them at bigmedicinebrewing@gmail.com.
- Matt Pritchard
Happy Thanksgiving from GG
Photo by the Josh Mauser via the Associated Press
Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Hope it’s full of delicious ales, lagers, friends and food!
- Matt Pritchard
Beer list for Oktoberfest at Osprey field
On Saturday, Ogren Park at Allegiance Field plays host to Oktoberfest from noon until 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for a glass and two tokens. There will be music by Miller Creek, Cold Hard Cash and Reverend Slanky. Proceeds go to benefit Friends of the Civic Stadium.
Here is a partial list of what beers to expect:
- Bayern Oktoberfest
- Bayern 25th Anniversary Kaiser IPL
- Kettlehouse Cold Smoke
- Bitterroot Nut Brown
- Glacier Select Octoberfest
- Leinenkugal’s Lemon Berry Shandy
- Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
- Deschutes Jubelale
- Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider
- Draught Works Clothing Optional Pale Ale
- Draught Works Sceptre Head IPA
- Draught Works The ID Vienna Lager
- Wildwood Brewing Mystical Stout
- Wildwood Brewing Ambitious Lager
There will also be a few beers from Big Sky Brewing, Harvest Moon, Tamarack and more.
I’ll be pouring from noon until 3 p.m. Stop by, it should be fun.
UPDATE: These beers are also slated to be on tap:
- Great Northern Good Medicine Imperial Spring Ale
- Great Northern Wild Huckleberry Wheat
- Harvest Moon Beltian White
- Big Sky Powderhound
- Big Sky IPA
- Big Sky Moose Drool
- Shock Top Pumpkin Ale
- Matt Pritchard
Oktoberfest heads to Ogren Park at Allegiance Field on Oct. 20
I heard someone say the other day that October is their favorite month. At first I thought that seems a little crazy. I mean why not September if you’re into fall? I know it’s not technically fall, but it is in my book. Or why not July? That’s a pretty, pretty good month. But the more I thought about it, October is a really great time of year around these parts. Changing leaves, crisp air, football and pumpkins, what more could you ask for?
Anyway, what’s also pretty great about October is beer. Those rich, malty brews are ready to be had. In that vein, Ogren Park at Allegiance Field will host Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 20, from noon until 6 p.m. The entry fee is $10 for a glass and two beers. The proceeds go to benefit Friends of the Civic Stadium.
The music lineup is as follows:
- Miller Creek, noon-1:45 p.m.
- Cold Hard Cash, 2-3:45 p.m.
- Reverend Slanky , 4-5:45 p.m.
If I can track down what beers will be there, I’ll be sure to post an update.
- Matt Pritchard
Great Northwest Oktoberfest, Seeley Lake Brewfest on tap this weekend
Two beer drinking opportunities await this weekend for those in, or thinking about traveling to, Whitefish or Seeley Lake.
First is the Great Northwest Oktoberfest in Whitefish, and they’re not screwing around with the festivities, either. The event takes place under the “Oktoberfest Bigtop” in Depot Park over two weekends as follows:
- Thursday, Sept. 27: 5 to 11 pm
- Friday, Sep. 28: 5 to 11 pm
- Saturday, Sept. 29: noon to 11 pm
- Thursday, Oct. 4: 5 to 11 pm
- Friday, Oct. 5: 5 to 11 pm
- Saturday, Oct. 6: 12 noon to 11 pm
There will be beer from Great Northern Brewing, including Great Northern Oktoberfest, Frog Hop and Black Star, plus beer from Warsteiner: a Pilsner, a Dunkel and an Oktoberfest. German fare will also be available, plus music and contests. The festival will set you back $3 per day to get in.
If you’re up in Seeley Lake or planning on going this weekend, it’ll be hard to miss the annual Seeley Lake Brewfest. On Friday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m. at Double Arrow Lodge, Joe Petrilli of Big Sky Brewing Co. will lead a “Brew Master Presentation” and profile some of the beers on tap at the festival. Afterward is a Pub Crawl, if that’s something your into … in Seeley lake.
The actual festival takes place “On the Green” adjacent to the Seeley Lake One Stop Convenience Store on Highway 83 beginning Saturday from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sunday’s portion of the beer fest will be a bit more limited. There’s said to be at least 10 breweries on hand and the cost is $15, which buys a commemorative pint glass and two tokens. Additional tokens and $2.
- Matt Pritchard
Does the shape of a beer glass make you drink faster?
The Economist – one of my favorites – has a recent piece on whether or not a beer glass can influence the pace of drinking.
The story is based on a study at the University of Bristol, where a researcher set out to test the difference between drinking out of a straight glass, such as a pint glass, and a glass with curved edges, like a flute. It was found that the majority of subjects downed the beer out of a flute quicker than out of a straight glass.
The reason being that those drinking out of a flute can’t easily tell how much they have imbibed because of the curves in the glass, and therefore aren’t as good at pacing themselves.
From the Economist:
Dr Attwood’s hypothesis is that a beer drinker, wishing to pace himself through an evening, is monitoring the volume remaining in the glass, probably with reference to the halfway mark. A curved-sided glass, though, makes exercising such judgment hard—as she demonstrated by calling her volunteers back a week later and asking them to estimate from pictures how full various glasses were. Most volunteers thought the halfway mark in the flute was lower than its true value, and if a volunteer had drunk from such a glass originally, the degree of misestimation correlated with how fast he had drunk. If a glass is half-full to start with, however, this reference point is lost from the beginning.
I don’t think this small study quite proves the point, but it is something to drink over.
- Matt Pritchard
Weekend beer events: Maverick Brewfest, Chain Reaction Fresh Hops Festival
It’s going to be a great weekend around Missoula for beer drinkers.
First up, on Friday, Sept. 7, the Maverick Brewfest sets up shop in Caras Park from 4 until 10 p.m. It’s the annual fundraiser for the Missoula Athletic Council and around 40 beers are slated to be on tap. Glasses are $10 with three fills and $1 per thereafter.
Next up, on Saturday, Sept. 8, Draught Works is hosting its first Chain Reaction Fresh Hops Festival, where teams of bicyclists will help carry hops from Corvallis to the brewery for a new Chain Reaction Fresh Hopped Ale. If you want to see how the teams fare, head over around noon for the festivities.
Hops for this craft beer will be harvested by volunteers at Fais do-do Farms in Corvallis, MT and transported to Draught Works by teams of cyclists in a relay- style race. Draught Works will present prizes to the winning team. While the race to the brewery ensues, eager cyclists will work to power a custom-made, bike-operated grain mill at the brewery. Cyclists will pedal to mill approximately 1000 lbs. of malted barley by the time the hops arrive via relay teams.
Once the hops arrive and the milling concludes, Draught Works will brew a Chain Reaction Fresh Hopped Ale. Proceeds from the 15-barrel, 30-keg batch will be donated to participating nonprofit organizations dedicated to sustainable transportation in Missoula.
Events at Draught Works will include bike helmet giveaways, bike tune-ups, a fleet of wacky bikes, bike safety, bike Polo, raffles and live music. With the help of local nonprofits, volunteers, patrons and beer enthusiasts, Draught Works hopes to raise awareness about sus- tainable transportation and engage local Missoulians in a one-of-a- kind, pedal-powered celebration of beer and bikes!
God, I’m getting thirsty.
- Matt Pritchard