Ok since I didn't want to hijack the other thread I figured I'd start this one.

Some of my favorite beers:

Pyramid Hefeweizen

Pyramid Apricot Ale

Redhook ESB

Grolsh

There are a few great beers from Germany I have the bottles for somewhere and as soon as I can dig them out I post them here. Generally I prefer locally (Pacific Northwest) brewed beers because as with most things, being brewed in small batches generally ensures better (but not always) quality control.

[This message has been edited by Kyle L. Varnell (edited 5/5/2008).]

At the risk of having this message deleted because of the beer's title, another pretty good one is Arrogant Bastard Ale.


[This message has been edited by Kyle L. Varnell (edited 5/6/2008).]

Newcastle Brown Ale = World's Greatest Beer

Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Fat Tire Amber Ale
Anchor Steam Beer
Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
Young's Double Chocolate Stout

Are some of my other favorites.

Newcastle Brown Ale = World's Greatest Beer

I absolutely agree. The Albertson's in Miles City carried Newcastle for a few glorious months. Now I'm back to stocking up everytime I go to Billings.

One I tried out in North Carolina was PINEHURST PALE ALE. I dont think that the PINEHURST BREWERY is still open. It had a really smooth taste to it. They had a whole line of beers out there. It was really cool to sit and watch the last round of the US Open drinking that beer and watching Payne Stewert win that year right before he died in the plane crash.

Spaten - anything from Spaten.

Here in tornado alley we have several nice breweries - current faves are from Boulevard. Their Pale Ale is top notch.

Hefeweizen choices sound good, Kyle.

After that, just keep handing me Guiness and I'll be happy.

Am I bad for finally being able to drink Corona? I feel dirty for it, though.

Sorry, nostalgia still keeps Milwaukee safely in my heart, even if not in my fridge.

Gonna take some heat for this, but I still think the finest beer ever to be put in a keg is Pabst Blue Ribbon. I have never found another beer, delivered in a frosty mug, that is anywhere near that refreshing. The cans and bottles don't do anything for me, but in a keg, PBR really hits the spot.
I also enjoy Boddingtons. The creamy taste just seems to enliven my taste buds.

Hmmmm.....commercial beers. I will list my favorites per style:

American IPA/APAs....Arrogant Bastard for sure....the local Blackfoot River Brewery Single Malt IPA rocks....there are many, many others that I like as well....Great Divide, Avery, Lagunitas, Dogfish Head 90 minute...just to hard to name them all. It is a great time to live in the United States of America.

Pilsners.....Urquell, Budvar, Golden Pheasant

Bocks.....Spaten Optimator, Aass

Porters.....Okocim

Stout....Beamish

Belgians.....Rochefort 10, Leffe Blond, Westmalle Tripel, Corsendork

British....Fuller's ESB, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Marston's Pedigree

Scottish.....Skullsplitter, Traquir House

Weiss....Ludwig Konig

Macrofactory Megaswill......PBR, Coors

Looking at everyone else's selections, with the sole exception of Larry (Mac and Jack's), it would appear that Miles Citians and ex-Miles Citians have an unhealthy aversion to hops.

Gunnar:

Budvar is the best beer I've ever consumed.

Czechvar....not so much.

I was never a big fan of Pilsner Urquell - I know it's the first pilsner, I just don't care for it...

Urquell is much better on tap than it is in the skunky green bottle.

It is much better in Prague than in the United States.

And in Pilsen.....oh my lord....it is nectar nirvana. I ordered a large beer, my wife a small beer, look what we got:

Matt,

There's at least one guy that agrees with you

I had Urquell in Prague. It was OK, but I liked Budvar much better. Call me a heretic, but I liked Staropramen better as well.

OK, question for you Gunnar:

Have you ever been to U Fleku?

If you've been there, thumbs up or down on the beer there?

Yes to U Fleku, and a big thumbs up to the tasty dark lager they serve there! I also like the shots of Becherovka which flow rather freely there.

I also like Staropramen...and I have been drinking my fair share of it, as it (as well as "Czechvar") are sold here in Helena.

Yes to U Fleku, and a big thumbs up to the tasty dark lager they serve there! I also like the shots of Becherovka which flow rather freely there.

------

I concur on the U Fleku beer.

We had WAYYYY too much Becherovka there. Ugh. I think you can buy Becherovka in the states, not that I'm looking for it or anything.

Nothing better than some Becherovka while ice fishing. Slivovitz (sp?) is rather good too. I had a bottle of it for my uncle, but it never did make it up to Montana like I hoped. It ended up getting drank in Steamboat Springs this winter on Stagecoach Res. The wives loved that day.

Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado serves some fine microbrews, if you can find a good ski area with Avalanche on tap you will feel no pain as you tumble down the mountain. I also strongly recommend Sun Valley Microbrewry.

I worked at the Sun Valley brewry for a glorious month in my college days. At least that's what people tell me.

Bunking kegs and steaming them as well, a talent that apparently was lost at MC Microbrew once Larry and Sunny sold the place.

I have great recollections of the first hour or so cleaning kegs, but after your third or fourth fresh pour off of a 1000 gallons of fresh brew, things get hazy.

As an update, MC equipment was sold and is being set up in a new brewry on the Eastern border, darn town name evades me, and I haven't even had a fresh brew today..... Rest assured, the equipment is being well cleaned now.

I think the name they are using is Beaver Split Creek Brewry, which makes me drool already without having even tasted it...... the beer, you dirty bastards.

It's too bad that there isn't a good microbrewery in Miles. It's a great enviroment to kick back and have a beer. I didn't start drinking microbrew until I moved to Denver. I also love Denver Mayor Hickenlooper's place downtown. Great beers!

http://www.wynkoop.com/index.html

FYI Cory....Hickenlooper sold his share of the Wynkoop shortly after he became Mayor, so there wouldn't be any ethical issues for him. He also sold his share of the Redroom, and Rocky Mountain Dinner. At least that was what I was told by the bartender at the Wynkoop.

Maybe the thread topic should be non-disgusting beers that can be purchased in Miles City.

Had a great meal, and sampled from the very good wine list at the Wynkoop while in Denver for a Monday Night Football game last fall. Superb establishment! Really nice people, great service, and the beer selection looked quite impressive. I chose to drink wine, because it was to far from our seats to the mens room that night. Not really far actually, but much to far after an afternoon of drinking beer.

Maybe the thread topic should be non-disgusting beers that can be purchased in Miles City.

Well, then....I could see that. But a thread limited in discussion to PBR only would be a bit limited in content.

Gunnar:

Ditto, to coin a phrase...

And maybe, just maybe, a person could venture away from Miles City once in a while... just sayin'

Are you stuck with pretty much the grocery store selection? I've never been in one of the state liquor stores so I don't know if they sell beer and wine or not. Pretty sure you can get all the stuff I listed in Billings at least . Actually the Rogue beers I've had better luck finding in Billings than I do here in CA.

There is a Japanese beer called Kirin Ichiban that I really like. It's got this, for lack of better adjective, "rice-y" aftertaste that's outstanding. Goes great with clam-ato. Only place I can get it, though, is World Market in Billings.

Yes....The new Micro-Brewery is in Wibaux, MT and it is the Beaver Creek Brewery. We will/have disassembled Larry and Sonny's equipment and are in the process of thoroughly cleaning it as well as adding to it. Tentative opening for the Brewery and Tap Room is late June 08'. We will be producing Old "new" Miles Town Ale for special batches to be re-distributed to 1 or more taverns in Miles City as well as several other varieties of beer. I will inform this site of our opening. Come in once we are open, let me know you heard about us from the Forum and I will buy a "cold one".

[This message has been edited by sandon (edited 5/7/2008).]

Excellent news! Best of luck to your brewery....I am looking forward to having a Milestown in MC next time I make it to town.

There is a Japanese beer called Kirin Ichiban that I really like.


Kirin Ichiban is Bud Light in disguise. I tried some of it at a Japanese restaurant and thought I was getting a genuine import.that is until I read the label. It gave me the same headache that I get when I drink BL.

A couple of good ones not mentioned are Mad Anthony's Oatmeal Cream Stout, Granite City's Broad Axe Stout.

Sam Adams Black Lager isn't too bad either.

I thought the Miles City limit might add a different level to the discussion.

It's honestly tough to find new stuff to try here, and sometimes it seems to be getting worse rather than better. Last thing I bought was Black Butte Porter, which I liked. It was probably the only Porter in the store though.

And I don't know of any bars here that offer much more than the grocery store selection.

Rick, what's typically available in the stores in Miles?

Today is my birthday - so we combined Mother's Day & my b-day and went out for burger & beer at the King Ko Inn in beautiful down King Salmon.

They had Alaskan Brewing's IPA on tap. It was a pretty tasty brew - it's a big step above their Amber. It could have stood a smidgeon more hops, but it had a definite hoppy aroma like a good IPA should. I don't know how it would be bottled, but if you get a chance to have it on tap, I'd say give it a try.

Well, Happy belated birthday, Hal.

Thanks Richard.

Yeah Happy Birthday Hal!

Speaking of bad beers....Fat Tire Beer...the orginal...pretty bad.

I saw Alaskan Pale at the store last time I looked (next to the Amber) Normally I'd only noticed the Amber before. I'll have to give it a try.

I can't find any Pyramid beers here. I remember liking their Hefeweizen better than Widmer. Widmer's all you can get here though, unless I'm missing something.

There's usually a few beers from Sierra Nevada. Alot of times I just go with SA Boston Lager, but even that's been wierdly out of stock everywhere lately. There's always your standard Euro-imports like Heine, Grolsch, St Pauli (never tried), Stella and others. We had Newcastle at Albertson's for a few months, or so I heard. Mostly I only found a price tag where the Newcastle was supposed to be. I think they stopped bothering to pretend like they sell it now.

Moose Drool... alot of different beers made in MT. And Fat Tire etc etc. Saw some spring seasonal beer made by Fat Tire. Fat Tire didn't inspire me enough to try it though.

Bought some Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat today, having no idea what it was. I was surprised to say the least. Very drinkable actually, though the beer snobbery may frown on me for saying so. My wife likes it.

[This message has been edited by Rick Kuchynka (edited 5/12/2008).]

Like I say, I don't know what the Alaskan IPA will be like from a bottle, but heck, how bad can it be ;-)

I like Pauli Girl when it has hasn't sat in the bottle so long it's gotten skunky. Sometimes that seems to be a problem with import beers (especially German imports), they are sold way past the end of their shelf life. New Castle is a good ale - again there might be a problem with staleness, but I've never had a bottle of it that was really skunky.

I think Bass Ale is a good bet when it comes to English imports. A lot of people pooh-pooh it, but it's not bad. Given its history (the pale ale was developed to be shipped to India in the days of sailing ships) it travels well and has a long shelf life. They really ramped up production Bass in the 90s, but the quality seemed to remain fairly constant and consistent.

I think many of the Montana beers are best when you can get them on tap (but then I guess that's true for most beer). Take for example, the beers brewed by Juergen Knoeller at the Bayern Brewery in Missoula. His pilsner and dopple bock are great draft beers - while they don't stink from a bottle, they're just not the same as from the tap.

I've never tried that Sunset Wheat - the only Leine's I've had is the Original and the Red - I thought the Red was a good bottled beer.

Cory--I agree, the Wynkoop is excellent. Another great place is McMennamin's in Forest Grove, Oregon. They make a Ruby Ale that's really good.

I tried the Alaskan IPA from a bottle - it's probably not as a good as the draft, but it's better than their Amber from a bottle.

Too bad only a couple of people got to try my HOMEBREWED IPA at the BHS....I did leave 4 growlers in possession of 2 individuals when I left town....

I discovered, albeit by accident, a tasty oatmeal stout made by a "local" company-Free State Brewing. The discovery was made by going to a local Chili's Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was chosen because it was the closest one to the movie theater. According to the Free State Brewing website, they are working on making all their beer available via bottling.

http://freestatebrewing.com/beer

Working with that Miles City selection limit I've found that I like Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown and 1812 Bock reasonably well. Big Sky Brewing's got Moose Drool Brown Ale and Scape Goat Pale Ale are not bad. I still don't think that it's possible to buy an IPA anywhere in MC and aside from the Beaver Creek Stout at the Rib and Chop house, I think you are limited to Guinness if you want a stout.

It really blew my mind when I got back and found that Albertson's in MC has a much better wine selection than they do beer. Beer has to be by far the most popular alcoholic drink in Milestown but everybody drinks Bud Light. One of my friends from Billings went to the Cattle-ac and asked the waitress what kind of beer they had and she said "we have everything". My friend was skeptical but asked if they had any Rogue beer. Of course "everything" meant Bud, Miller, Coors, and their respective light versions.

OK, I have to throw this in.......someone said there are "few good' German beers.
Although I am currently deployed to Afghanistan (Again...x4) I am stationed in Bamberg Germany, known to the Germans as Bavaria's beer capital.
Bamberg has no less than 100 private breweries, most of which have been around long before the U.S. of A.
If you ever have the chance to visit (also in the top 100 of the book "999 things to see and do before you die")
Try the following
Mahrs Brau Ungespundet (a Keller-bier) In Bamberg -I know the brewmaster They also make a kick ass bock beir in the fall season and a white bock in the spring, along with Pils and some yummy others.
Klosterbrau Braun-bier In Bamberg
Kreuzberg- A monistary near Wildflecken
Also try Spezial Keller, Kaiserdom, Fassla,Keesman,Brauerei Greifenklau....(I needed the 1 year deployement to sooth my liver!)
and Schlenkerla's Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, a smoked beer, a product of burned down brewery. One is OK< 2 tastes like a charcoal pit with cigarette ashes.
I am truley very fortunate to have been near these places for the past 7 years (aside from the combat deployments).
I always bring a mixed rack home to MC when on leave..........and no I dont share with anyone other than my family and best friend!

See some of you this summer while I am on my R&R leave from here in Poopcanistan......I'm at the point where I will even drink a Busch light!

Matt Hom

[This message has been edited by Matt Hom (4/21/2010)]

[This message has been edited by Matt Hom (4/21/2010)]

I still don't think that it's possible to buy an IPA anywhere in MC and aside from the Beaver Creek Stout at the Rib and Chop house, I think you are limited to Guinness if you want a stout.

Why are you saying this like it is a bad thing? Guinness Extra Stout is very good beer. Much better than having some "know-it-all" bartender try to pass of a Flat Tire as a dark beer.

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr (4/21/2010)]

Lets face it....although Miles City is in Montana, technically it is in the Midwest, and is populated by Midwesterners. Midwesterners have a strange aversion to hops.

I had to fly to Rapid City a couple of weeks ago, and I stopped in the Firehouse Brewery for dinner. I asked the bartender for an IPA, and was amazed that they did not have one. What kind of microbrewery doesn't have an IPA???

Good to see Matt enjoying the fine beers of Bamberg....fortunately, many Bamberg beers are available here in Helena, and all are quite delicious. I bet they are unbelievably good at the source.

Cold Smoke Ale ( also known as Rehberg on the Rocks)

Say it is so, we get our own brew pub...here in Miles Town...so cool. I've been making the trip to Wibaux to fill my growler and will look forward to having it filled right here. I'll see you there.

Nothing wrong with Guinness except that it's $4 a can but it would be nice to be able to have some other options. I occasionally have to import some Rogue Chocolate Stout from Billings.

Forgive me if I butcher terms here but Richard, can you explain the following brew terms:

Pilsner
Bock
Stout
Ale
Porter
IPA

Also, what brews go good with Mexican food? I'm heading to a local Azteca tonight and don't want to guzzle the typical Corona stuff.

Beer 101 for Kyle.

There are two types of beer: lagers and ale. They refer to the types of yeast used to ferment the wort (that boiled hopped malted barley soup generated by brewers before the yeast turn wort into beer). Ale yeasts usually are fermented at 60-70°F, and have more character from the yeast, such as fruity esters or spicy phenols. Lagers ferment at 45-55°F, and are much "cleaner" (e.g., little yeast character). Pilsners and bocks are lagers, IPA, Stout and Porter are ales. Pilsner, bock, IPA, porter and stout are beer styles, look at the style guide link I posted in the other beer thread that you started.

Mexican food? Definitely the beer of choice is Negra Modelo. Ask your waiter to hold the lime.

So Kyle...did you try a Negra? All of at milescity.com await your review with baited breath...