What We Are Thinking
It's time for us to share our opinions. This area is dedicated to editors' and writers' beer thoughts and brewery experiences this week.
The Doctor Is In
By: Aimee Wortman
Big Sky Brewfest
By: Matt Parsons
Missouri Breaks Brewing is one of my favorite microbreweries in Montana (and not just because it is the closest). Operated out of Doc Z’s pub in Wolf Point, you can sample any of their six tasty brews. Plus, they offer two seasonal brews as well.
Doc Z’s is co-owned by Dr. Mark Zilkoski, and yes, he is a real medical doctor (however if you see him at the clinic, he probably won’t prescribe a beer as a remedy). If you catch him at the pub, as I did one night, ask him about your favorite brew. Dr. Z will entertain you and explain how he and his family produce the beer.
My personal favorite is the Wolf Den Wheat. When I ask Dr. Z about it, he explained the process to me, but he said, the best part was the orange garnish (and not just any orange will do).
Doc Z’s has oranges specially shipped to ensure they are fresh picked. Dr. Z gave me one of these oranges to take home with my growler of Wolf Den Wheat to test. I have to say he was right, it was one of the best oranges I have had in a while.
Though Dr. Z is not likely to prescribe a growler of his brew for what ails you, Doc Z’s will provide you with a beer and dose of vitamin C (if you’d like) to go along with it. And oh, what a tasty dose it is!
You can check out their website missouribreaksbrewing.com for more information on each of their phenomenal beers.
"He said, the best part was the orange garnish (and not just any orange will do)."
Even though the glasses are small, the beers are big and bold at Big Sky's Brewfest.
Some breweries are so small they don’t distribute, and then there’s that silly 10,000 barrel limit on
breweries with tasting rooms. For those of us who think that the only thing better than discovering a
great beer is having a different kind of beer every night, this can mean travelling a long way to sample something new and exotic.
It’s a shame, because Montana brew masters are creating some really unusual combinations of wheat, barley, hops and even watermelon. But most people are unwilling or unable to hop in the car and drive hours to get to Missoula, for example, just to give Daught Works Scepter Head IPA a try.
Brewfests are a great way to get to know your local brewscape, without the need to put all those miles on your car.
Not to worry! Your fearless editors from Big Brew were on tap to check out the Big Sky Brewfest this July.
Held in the shadow of Lone Peak, Big Sky Brewfest is an annual beer festival held at the base of Big Sky Resort. For ten years, this celebration of Montana beer has been packing two large tents full of the finest suds around, live music, and kids activities like face painting, steer ropin’ (it’s Montana people!), and a bouncy house.
"The propane heaters warmed bare legs while the raspberry stout danced on our tongues."
Unfortunately, this year’s 10th Annual Brewfest also featured lots of rain, putting a damper on the music and the bouncy house (which had to be deflated because it was filling up with water). But inside the beer tents, you wouldn’t know all hell was breaking loose outside, as the propane heaters warmed bare legs while the raspberry stout danced on our tongues.
Raising a glass of Katabatic English Summer Ale we’d have sworn we’d died and gone to heaven, the kind of heaven where they have Katabatic ales on tap and glasses a wee bit bigger than the little plastic tasting glass we were provided upon entry.
But brewfests operate on the idea that the more you can taste (and remember) the better. At Big Sky for $25 you get a taster and ten wooden tokens you can exchange for a few healthy sips each. It’s enough to get a sense of some of the ales available, but you’d have a hard time trying everything.