The 50 States of Beer - Montana

Montana

Big Sky Brewing Company - Missoula, MT
Best Beer:

Scape Goat Pale Ale

Moose Drool is a damn good beer, so get off my back. I just think Goat is the best in the Big Sky line.

Browns, to me, can be perfected. Like Empyrean's 3rd Stone, that is top of the line, so to me all other nut browns have to match up to it. Where as with Pale Ales, either they all are on the same level to me (well, all good ones) or I just haven't found my top Pale Ale yet.

With that being said, Scape Goat is a very good beer. I like it a lot better than the Big Sky IPA, which I find a little harsh.

I used to drink a good amount of Big Sky beers, but lately I have been out of the Pale Ale game. But writing this makes me thirsty for a Goat. Also, I was under the impression that Big Sky was a major brewery, but the Wikipedia page has hardly anything on it. What's that all about?

For more reading on Big Sky Brewing Company, go here (actually not that much info. at all)
And visit the official Big Sky Brewing Company website, here.

Up Next: Wisconsin

The 50 States of Beer - Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Iron City Brewing Company - Pittsburgh, PA, home of the Penguins.
Best Beer:

Iron City Beer Premium Lager

I want to be honest with you. I don't drink a whole lot of Pennsylvania beer. I picked this state without having a beer in mind. After reviewing what my options were, I knew that Iron City stood out as my clear favorite.

Pennsylvania has a lot of things I really like. The Penguins, Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company, Boy Meets World, and Paddy's Irish Pub [note, I am watching It's Always Sunny as I write this.]. Add to that list, this beer. Straight outta the tin bottle, Iron City is one of my favorite lagers.

It is a "great white buffalo beer" in my mind. I have only drank it two or three times, but the memory of how good it is stays with me. I get thirsty for it occasionally. Sad thing is, it's hard to find round these parts.

My best memory of it is drinking it at, surprise surprise, the Old Chicago in Ames with Cassada, Schenck and Marc Sellers. Them was the days. That was the beer.

For more reading on Iron City Brewing Company, go here.
And visit the official Iron City Brewing Companywebsite, here.

Up Next: Montana

The 50 States of Beer - Oregon

Oregon

Rogue Ales - Newport, OR
Best Beer:

Dead Guy Ale

You'll find that if I didn't discover a beer at the good ol' Old Chicago in Ames, then I probably first found it at the Crescent Moon while I was living in Omaha back in 2007. That's the story with Dead Guy Ale, and it's also the story of the first time I ever went to the Crescent Moon.

On Tuesday nights, the Crescent Moon has a deal where you can go, pay five bucks for a glass and fill it with the "beer of the night" for a dollar or two all night. Then, you get to keep the glass. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love things I can take home.

That first night, I was with my roommate at the time Garrett who suggested we go there in the first place. The "beer of the night" was Dead Guy Ale, and definitely had a unique taste. It was the first maibock I ever tried. I easily refilled that glass six or seven times that night.

This night was also the first time I ever heard of Rogue Ales. It wasn't long until I found Kessler's and their wide selection of Rogue brews. Which lead to me drinking several 24oz bottles of the MOM's Half-E-Weizen (with this picture on the bottle), Brutal Bitter, but I always found my way back to the Dead Guy Ale.

The only Rogue beer I don't like, is the rauchbier, aptly named "Smoke Beer". Nick bought it and we all tried some, and it is forever known as "Bacon Beer".

For more reading on Rogue Ale, go here.
And visit the official Rogue Ale website, here.

Also, here is a funny tour of the Rogue Brewery. Enjoy:


Up next, Pennsylvania

The 50 States of Beer - Minnesota

Minnesota

Summit Brewing Company - St. Paul, MN
Best Beer:

Summit Extra Pale Ale

So I was at Old Chicago. I don't remember exactly what the occasion was, but there was a bunch of us there. Cassada, Schenck and I (of course), and then Sellars, Artie, Alister and Emilie. We were all having lunch (I think) and I had just finished an Iron City Lager (in the aluminum bottle, fyi) and asked the waitress to surprise me. I got Summit EPA.

Since, I have always used it as a quick go-to beer. It never fails, and is perhaps one of the only beers I can safely say I like just as much out of a bottle as I do on tap.

Summit also makes an India Style Rye Ale, which I think just sounds wonderful. However, it's a seasonal beer, so I am going to have to find my way up to Sweet St. Paul (man, that must be the hardest luck Saint of 'em all) to get one.

I also recommend the Summit Porter, it's pretty damn good. Honorable mention for the land-o-lakes state: Granite City Food and Brewery's Duke of Wellington India Pale Ale is pretty good, but I haven't technically had it. I drank it in Cedar Rapids at a chain.

Also, for good measure, here is a shout out to Midwest Supplies where I get the majority of my Home brewing supplies, located in Minneapolis.

For more reading on Summit Brewing Company, go here.
And visit the official Summit Brewing Company website, here.

Up next, Oregon

The 50 States of Beer - Illinois

Illinois

Goose Island Beer Company - Chicago, IL
Best Beer:

Goose Island's India Pale Ale

Goose Island has long been one of my favorite breweries. Ever since I first had the Honkers Ale at Old Chicago in Ames (where you'll find, I had most of my beers), I was a fan.

Over time, I had tried others that I enjoyed, 312, Nut Brown and the Matilda. But it wasn't until some friends and I went to a concert in Chicago that I got a taste of the IPA. We were at Harry' Caray's, and the first sip I was hooked. It was the hoppiest son of a bitch I've ever drank.

Since, I have had it as often as I could, and when I home brewed my first IPA, it was Goose Island's IPA that I compared it to. I suggest to any hop lover to try it out. Cheers.

For more reading on Goose Island Beer Company, go here.
And visit the official Goose Island Beer Company website, here.

Up next, Minnesota

The 50 States of Beer - Nebraska

Nebraska

Empyrean Brewing Company - Lincoln, NE
Best Beer:

I wavered on this pick. I love Empyrean Brewing, from the very first time I ever tried it at the Crescent Moon in Omaha. (Perhaps, the best beer bar in Omaha, located directly above the 2nd best.) And of all the Empyrean's I have had, Third Stone Brown is my favorite. For a nut-brown, it is very crisp and clean. (The words spoke by Schenck also helped sway me.)


My other possible pick, was from Upstream Brewing Company in Omaha, and was the winter seasonal Ebenezer's Brew. But, when it comes down to it, the one hit wonder of Upstream in my eyes does not overshadow the continuous great beers coming out of Lincoln.

My local Old Chicago in Ames, just started getting Empyrean brews on tap, so perhaps it's just my recent partaking in this beer that brought it to the front, but regardless, it is the best beer I have ever tasted from the state of Nebraska.

For more reading on Empyrean Brewing Company, go here.
And visit the official Empyrean Brewing Company website, here.

Up next, Illinois

The 50 States of Beer - Colorado

Colorado

New Belgium Brewery - Fort Collins, CO
Best Beer:

New Belgium's Biere de Mars

While visiting the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins last March, we took the tour. At one point we stopped for a tasting, and I asked the tour guide if we could try a beer that you couldn't get outside of the brewery at that time.

He poured us a Biere de Mars Ale. It was a great beer. The first thing we did was throw it back, it had a lemon taste that invited drinking.

Then he says "Ok, now taste the beer." Ours were gone. So he poured us another, it was just as good as the first.

He told us a story of how the head brewer at New Belgium, Peter Bouckaert (a belgian) loved how American's were so different than Europeans when it came to beers. If you hand a European a beer... they sniff it, they scrutinize it.

Hand a beer to an American and we drink it. Cause, hey, you might give us another.

For More Reading about New Belgium and Biere De Mars, go here.

Up next, Nebraska