Your top 5 Montana brews

I'd take:

Midas then Hopzone for IPA's
Single Hop then Prickly Pear for a little less hop
Cold Smoke or Mountain Man on occasion if straying from the usual
 
Guess I'm in the minority. I think MAP is mediocre beer. Cheap ingredients. I'm an IPA guy, so maybe that's an influence, but their Midas Crush is just poor beer. It's a bummer it's unseated Hopzone around town as the go-to local IPA. I'm a bit ambivalent about MT IPA's, but forced to chose:

1). Hopzone
2). Mountains Walking June Grass
3) Polar Brewing
4). Big Sky IPA

That's about it. My favorite IPA's are from Melvin in Alpine, WY, and other brewers like Fremont.
 
1. Prickly Pear Pale Ale (L&C)
2. Juicy Obsession IPA (L&C)
3. Fish On Pale Ale (Kettlehouse)
4. My Ruca Pale Ale (Draughtworks)
5. Swifty Session Pale Ale (Map)
 
IN ORDER:

1. Bitterroot's Last Cast (Black IPA) is hands-down my favorite.
2. Lewis and Clark's Prickly Pear
3. Highlander's Strange Haze
4. Draught Works Blood Orange Gose

P.S. I can't stand Cold Smoke. I don't understand why everyone seems to love it.
Agree about Cold Smoke. Too syrupy for me. I'd say the same about Moose Drool. To each his own though. I'm a pale ale and session IPA guy. Less alcohol = drink more beers! :)
 
1. Kettlehouse- Coldsmoke
2. Uberbrew- White Noise
3. Belt Brewing- Beltian White
4. Jerimiah Johnson- Scotch Ale
 
I can get behind this pale ale wagon. Pale ales now are what IPAs used to be before it became fashionable to hop and haze the shit outta them.
Agree. Don't mind hoppy, but most of today's IPA's are just too damn strong for me. That's why I really like the Juicy Obsession IPA, which is under 5% I think. In fact I probably should have put that first, but Prickly Pear is great because you can drink a LOT and feel zero hangover. That's a clean beer.
 
Guess I'm in the minority. I think MAP is mediocre beer. Cheap ingredients. I'm an IPA guy, so maybe that's an influence, but their Midas Crush is just poor beer. It's a bummer it's unseated Hopzone around town as the go-to local IPA. I'm a bit ambivalent about MT IPA's, but forced to chose:

1). Hopzone
2). Mountains Walking June Grass
3) Polar Brewing
4). Big Sky IPA

That's about it. My favorite IPA's are from Melvin in Alpine, WY, and other brewers like Fremont.
Not defensive here, I mean beer popularity is entirely subjective and based on personal taste. But what exactly qualifies as " cheap ingredients "?
 
Not defensive here, I mean beer popularity is entirely subjective and based on personal taste. But what exactly qualifies as " cheap ingredients "?
Poor / lesser quality hops.
 
If you are driving just bring your own beer...you will be happier in the long run :). I have been to MT many times and have yet to find a decent local beer there for my taste. I'm amazed how many people like that cold smoke.
 
If you are driving just bring your own beer...you will be happier in the long run :). I have been to MT many times and have yet to find a decent local beer there for my taste. I'm amazed how many people like that cold smoke.
It’s a collective memory brainwashing similar to reliving the former glory of the British empire or some chit.
 
Determined how?
Seriously, just curious.
Hem, a completely fair question and one I honestly can't answer except with my palette, and wallet - I don't "know" they're cheaper hops, I'm making an assumption based on what I taste (or don't taste) in the Midas. It's not complex - just sort of mediocre/flat taste-wise. It isn't esepcially pricey (good quality hops cost more money). Compare it to a Melvin. A totally different experience - complex flavors /depth of taste. I don't base what I taste on what I pay, but it just happens that more complex IPA's tend to cost more, just like a Cabernet you buy at Town Pump isn't going to be as complex a wine as, say, a Paul Hobbs Napa Cabernet. Whether the addtional cost is worth it is up to one's own taste, and we only have ourselves to please.

At the end of the day, to paraphrase Duke Ellington, "if it tastes good, it is good." And as you say, that's a very personal and subjective thing.
 
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