Monday, September 2, 2013

Adventures in Idaho-Oregon

Warning:  This is a long one.  I covered a lot of territory in a short amount of time.  I hope it's not too boring!  I tried to add lots of photos to keep your attention.

It's been a busy summer at work, and I was really looking forward to a week away when I hopped in my Huckleberry bound for Boise and beyond.  As always, I got a late start and left an hour off schedule.  I couldn't wait to actually have a real night OUT, and had plans to meet some good pals and the newest Boise brewery, 10 Barrel Brewing, at 7:30pm.  I wanted a little time prior to that to freshen up at Mom's before making a public appearance in the "big city".  If that was going to happen I was going to have to haul some ass.

I only marginally lead-footed it down I-15 to I-84.  After passing through a wall of smoke from the massive Elk Complex fire burning near Pine, Idaho - the giant cumulus clouds created by the fire were quite a spectacle, and I even saw active flames not far to the north along the foothills - I raced to Mom's, made myself pretty, and got my butt downtown to the corner of 9th and Bannock, home of my 105th brewery. I found my pals, Brandy and Eric, sitting at the bar drinking Swill.  Yes, that's the name of the beer.  Swill.  It's a style I had never heard of before, a German Radler, but after looking that up, I realized it was something familiar.  A Radler is the German version of a shandy, half beer and half lemonade or lemon-lime soda (or something similar).  10 Barrel's version is described by them as such:  "We started with a base of  German Berliner Weiss and added multiple layers of grapefruit to this summer crusher."  How do I describe it?  YUM.  Way better than any shandy I've ever had.  Light, sweet and delish.

10 Barrel Brewing Co - Boise

Being the flavor of the month, the new shiny toy, the in place to be, 10 Barrel was packed, both inside and out, which felt like one and the same since they have the big roll-up garage-type windows.  The place was filled with good beer ambiance.  The tuns and kettle were on full display to the rear, as was the "Barrel Aging Room" (woo hoo, barrel-aged brews!), and they had a huge, colorful chalkboard over the bar announcing all the available flavors.  I also liked the brick walls and high ceilings full of metal and raw wood beams.

10 Barrel Brewing Co - Boise

10 Barrel Brewing Co - Boise

As I said, they were packed, so we had to wait to be seated, but soon enough we were led to a big table with long benches on either side, and soon after that, more friends began to arrive.  Before long, our table was overflowing with good pals, food and brews.  That Swill was so wonderful, especially in the Boise heat, that I decided to go with another.  I'd already tried a taste of an English Bitter that I didn't find at all good, and didn't think I was in the mood for an IPA.  I almost changed my mind on that after trying my friend, Paul's, beer; I think it was the India Session Ale (ISA, they called it).  Very good.  But I didn't, and after perusing the beer selection again, I spotted a sour.  Yes!  The Raspberry Hibiscus Crush:  I shared a glass with my friend, Brandy, before we decided to head out to our next stop.  Mmmmm...

The beautiful Brandy and our Raspberry Hibiscus Crush (sour).

The next stop of the evening was a one of my old tried and true Boise haunts, Bittercreek Ale House, the place that is probably the most responsible for turning me into the beer crazed wander woman that I am. They were my first introduction to a craft beer taphouse and did a wonderful job of rotating their selections so I could always find something new to try.  They recently did a little remodeling, adding the coolest sign I've ever seen in a brewery, taphouse or general beer establishment:  Beer to the People!

Beer to the People - Bittercreek Ale House, Boise

I enjoyed an unusual selection, a Rye-sing Sun Saison IPA from Crooked Fence Brewing of Boise.  Two of my favorite styles mixed together like a Glee mash-up, it started very bitter like you'd expect from a rye IPA, but finished with a touch of sweet.  I would have expected that to go the other way around, but was much more pleased with the actual result. After finishing up our brews, we decided we were all getting too old to be out so late on a Saturday night, made our farewells and departed for our respective dwellings.

Sunday night I enjoyed a wonderful evening catching up with a couple former co-worker friends, Jenn and Joni.  I asked that we meet somewhere yummy with good beer, and Jenn suggested Old Chicago at Boise Towne Center Mall.  Perfect.  We gabbed and gabbed, ate some tasties (I do love Old Chicago's food offerings), and I enjoyed a Boise favorite, a Three Picket Porter, also from Crooked Fence Brewing, served in one of their gigantic 23 oz. glasses.  Happy Kimmy!

Me and my Three Picket Porter - BOING!

On Monday evening, I got a call from Brandy informing me that Payette Brewing was hosting their drink-for-a-cause night and did I want to meet up with them?  Heck ya, I did!  I'd been to PB before and usually purchase a 6-pack or two of their canned beers whenever I visit Boise.  Their Mutton Buster Brown, Outlaw IPA and Payette Pale are all solid offerings.  Big treat for me, though, this time around, they had a delicious saison.

I opted for the seasonal Leaning Barn Farmhouse Saison

The cause for the night was the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Coalition.  We felt bad because the people kept coming by to tell us how to keep our children safe from internet predators, but none of us have children except for the furry, four-legged kind. There weren't that many people out drinking on a Monday, either, so we all had an extra beer to make up for the lack of drinking participants.  Always happy to drink for a cause!

Maria, Brandy and Eric - drinking for a cause

Wednesday, Mom, my brother, Tad (aka Bird), and I jumped in Mom's car and took off to road trip all over Oregon.  Our first destination was a visit with Mom's friend, Aurie, just outside of Bend.  There are loads of breweries in Bend, but I knew we'd likely only have time for one.  After taking the scenic route through John Day, we arrived at Aurie's house in Alfafa, OR.  As we were all a bit hungry, it wasn't long before we headed out in search of dinner, settling on Baldy's Barbeque where I paired my meal with a lovely Twilight Summer Ale from local Bend brewery, Deschutes.  I've had a lot of Twilight this summer, actually.  It's an easy to drink, flavorful ale that goes nicely with most anything.

Baldy's Barbeque

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Safeway to check out their beer selection and found it to be quite extensive.  Preferring to drink canned beer whenever I can find it, I chose a four pack of very potent Vortex IPA from Fort George Brewing in Astoria, OR, a six pack of Watershed IPA from Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, OR, and a six pack of Double-D Blonde Ale from Hop Valley Brewing, also in Eugene.  

On the way to Baldy's my beer radar spotted a brewery, and as it was on the way back to Aurie's, we decided to try it out.  #106, Worthy Brewing, is the newest on the Bend brewing scene having opened earlier this year.  It is quite the place.  Huge - lots of room for growth.  And all built with eco-friendliness in mind.  They also have a nice-sized hops and vegetable garden as well as a greenhouse.  I tried a six taster flight that included their bitter, Single Hop, Eastside Pale, IPA, saison and Helles bock.  I don't think they came out in the correct order, nor do I think that I got the correct beers, so I'm hesitant to give any kind of real report. If I do remember, though, the pale was the best of the bunch.  I was really excited about the saison (I'm always excited about saisons), but I think that one was missing and that I got some kind of wheat instead.  All the same, I enjoyed the place.  They have a gorgeously muraled wood stone pizza oven.  I don't have a photo, but you can see it here: http://www.worthybrewing.com/wood-stone-oven.html

Worthy Mobile

Hops!

Dedicated to the longtime USDA Hopmeister, responsible for 23 varieties of hops.

The remains of my six taster flight.

Thursday morning we hit the road bound for Crater Lake.  We got a late start and after stopping to check out Lava Butte, part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, it wasn't long before we were feeling hungry.  Right about that time we were passing by the Sunriver Resort and lo and behold, a sign for Sunriver Brewing!  Naturally, we had to check out their lunch and beer menus.  That was easier said than done, though.  After turning off the highway, we couldn't find another sign telling us where to go.  It's a resort set-up so all the shops and restaurants were pretty much in one place, but everything looked alike and the signage was generally inconspicuous.  After going in circles a few times, we asked a guy who looked like he might be from the area and he got us pointed in the right direction.  

The brewery (#107) was nice, unpretentious and basic, doing only the bare minimum in decor.  I went with the Grandma's Pale Ale and the Brewhouse Tacos with blackened cod.  Mom had one of the salads and a cup of chili and went on and on about how good it was.  I can't remember what Bird opted for; he was all about the USA vs. Ukraine soccer friendly that was on the TV, and all but ignored the food and beer.  All in all, not a bad place, but nothing exceptional, either.


Mom and our Sunriver brews


Crater Lake was amazing, but because of all the wildfires in the area, a smoky haze marred the views.  I guess I'll just have to go back!  From Crater Lake we were headed for the coast taking Oregon Hwy 138, a beautiful drive.  Along the way, we stopped at the Idleyld Lodge (http://www.idleyldlodge.com/) for dinner. There we met the "owner's other half", as Ron called himself.  A great guy, and very excited about the lodge (bed & breakfast), the food and their future possibilities.  I wish them the absolute best of luck!  It was a neat place with a lot of history, and the food was very good.  Granted, I went for a basic three cheese grilled cheese sandwich with tots, but it was a very yummy grilled cheese.  I also selected a 20" Brown Ale from Cascade Lakes Brewing in Redmond, OR.  I really like a nice brown; I don't understand why they are so difficult to find.  

The next morning we made it to the coast and found it full of rain and fog.  Mom wanted to visit the Heceta Lighthouse so we stopped at the beach below to first hunt for shells and other treasures.  Lucky us, Mother Nature decided to be nice and give us a bit of sunshine not long after our arrival.  I found two perfect sand dollars right away, and then promptly squashed them both by accident.  Rats!  But then I found a better, if smellier, treasure, a dead starfish.  We wrapped it up to keep the stench at bay in the car so could take it home to dry it out, then we hiked up to the beautifully restored lighthouse.  They give a nice tour and the view is wonderful - when the sun is out.  The area is also filled with an abundance of blackberries which we all gorged ourselves on as we wandered around the grounds.  
  
Heceta Lighthouse
Heceta Beach

After that we found ourselves hungry again and decided to find a brewery in Newport.  Using my brother's smart phone, we followed the directions for Brewer's on the Bay, not realizing that it was actually the Rogue Brewery.  I'd been there before, long ago, but we were hungry and Mom and Bird wanted to check it out.  I can say this, they have WAY more beers on tap now than they did back then!  Criminy!


Rogue - Brewers on the Bay


Truly, this place is nothing at all fancy.  In fact, for such a nationally renowned brewery, it has the feel of a neighborhood garage brewery.  Except for all those beautiful taps.  I've never seen so many at one brewery. I had a difficult time making my flight selections.  I finally chose the Chipotle Ale (more smoky than hot), the Juniper Pale Ale (pleasantly piney), the Dry-Hopped St. Rogue Red (it was alright) and the Beard Beer.  I had no clue what that was since they did not have descriptions on their beer list, but since I'm a fan of beards, I had to try it for the name alone.  It wasn't until I got home and looked it up that I discovered this:  
Beard Beer is brewed with a yeast created from Brewmaster John Maier's Beard. No Need to freak out, Brewers have used wild yeasts in beer making for centuries. John has had the same Old Growth Beard since 1983 and for over 15,000 brews, so it is no great surprise that a natural yeast ideal for brewing was discovered in his beard.
EW!!!  But admittedly, it was pretty good.  Still... EW!!!

Lunch wasn't all that great. I had clam chowder and calamari. The chowder was so-so and the calamari was swimming in grease. The Hazelnut Ale beer bread, however, was wonderful.


Look at all those beautiful taps!
Me beer selection

After that, we stopped in a foggy Depoe Bay to stretch our legs and act like tourists for a bit, much to my brother's chagrin.  It's a nice little tourist trap, what we could see of it.  Then we continued up the coast toward Astoria, our final coastal destination.  As we were passing by Tillamook, my brother spotted the most enormous air hangar and, being a huge military plane buff, asked if we could go closer.  Turns out it's now an air museum (http://www.tillamookair.com/), but was built during WWII to house eight 252' long K-class blimps.  The word huge does not do it justice.  It was after hours so we weren't able to go inside, but we had fun taking pics of the building and the Boeing 377 Mini Guppy out front.

Bird and the Guppy at the Tillamook Air Museum

We arrived at the Tillamook Cheese Factory just as they were locking the doors.  No cheese!!!  That was a bummer.  It was also getting dark and we needed a place to stay for the night.  The next seaside town up US-101 was Rockaway Beach where we were met with one No Vacancy sign after another.  At last we lucked out and found a relatively reasonable room at the Sea Treasures Inn.  They had just had someone do a late evening check out.  The room wasn't going to be ready immediately so after taking a brief glance at the beach, we decided to wander down the street for some liquid refreshment, and ended up having some of the most fun of the entire trip thanks to those silly electronic bar game machines.  Mom and I really had a ball playing one of those find the hidden objects games while having a few beers.  For the life of me, I can't remember whose IPA I had, but it was pretty good.  All I know is that it came from an Oregon brewery.  

Friday was the last day of this family road trip adventure and it started out foggier than ever.  I was disappointed because the nifty giant ocean rocks near our hotel that I'd glimpsed in the dark the night before, were completely lost in all that pea soup.  We made a stop at Cannon Beach to see the "Goonie Rocks", the ones from the treasure map in The Goonies, but the fog was even thicker there.  We walked down the beach a bit and then wondered how we would ever find our way back up to the parking lot.  

Mom and Bird at Cannon Beach

Then it was on to Astoria, otherwise known as Goonie Town!!!  We should have found the Goonie house, but of course we were short on time and hitting up another brewery took precedence, naturally.  It's always good to have a reason to return, right?  Astoria is a nifty little town and more than worth another trip.

Astoria Brewing Company & Wet Dog Cafe (#108) was down by the piers.  I liked the place quite a lot. One wall was all open to the outdoors to their riverfront seating, and the interior is full of all sorts of things to catch the eye.  Debating between inside and out, we finally opted to sit at the bar.  They were out of the Solar Dog IPA, my first choice, but the Poop Deck Porter ended up being an excellent second.  It was strong, malty and rich.  Delish!  We only had time to stay for one brew, unfortunately, as we had to make it back to Boise, so we snagged some complimentary popcorn for the road and headed for the highway.

Me with the vast Columbia River behind me
Wet Dog Cafe & Astoria Brewing Co.

Our beer options at Astoria Brewing

Here I digress a bit for a brief moment... the road from Astoria heading east is the famous Lincoln Highway, US-30.  Most of my life I have lived near this highway, and I always seem to find my way back to it one way or another. Growing up in Nebraska I was one block away, it merges with Interstate 84 as it passes by Boise, and it goes right through Pittsburgh as well.  It was fun to make it to its western terminus.

Anyway, back on the road to Boise, Mom pointed out Full Sail Brewing in Hood River as we passed by. That's definitely on my list to return to.  They make some good beer.  My friend, Sara, recently left some Full Sail ESB behind after her recent visit and I've quite happily taken care of it for her.  

We had just passed through Pendleton and were heading over Emigrant Pass (also known as Cabbage Hill or, most appropriately, Deadman Pass), already a tough stretch of road, when we entered a huge storm cell. It was raining so hard we had to pull over to the shoulder, as did a number of other drivers.  Those that chose to continue found themselves hydroplaning all over the road as they hit deep standing waters. SCARY!  One fool on a motorcycle in shirtsleeves, only a half helmet, and a semi on his tail went roaring right through.  We couldn't watch.  Apparently he survived because we didn't find his remains along the way when we were finally able to continue.  That storm was something!

Storm cell over Emigrant Pass - the brown smoke at the bottom is from a lightning caused fire.

By the time we reached the other side of the pass heading into La Grande, we were ready for some food. The plan was leaning toward fast food so we wouldn't lose too much time getting to Boise, but then Mom said, "Was that a brewery?"  And yes, it was!  Mt. Emily Ale House (#109) was a simple place in downtown La Grande.  Bird and I decided to have pizza, and when it came, it didn't look like much, but it was wonderful.  And the beer was good, too.  I had the Hells Canyon IPA.  Nicely balanced and perfect with the pizza.  


Bird and Mom outside the Mt. Emily Ale House

Back in Boise, on Saturday my family got together at Municipal Park to celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday.  I was so happy to be able to be there.  We all had a great time catching up with one another, and I finally got a chance to try out some of those Oregon brews I'd purchased.  I mentioned earlier that the Vortex IPA was potent, but it's also a very in-your-face style IPA.  Agressive.  That's not my favorite type of IPA, but it was pretty good once I got past the initial punch.  The Watershed IPA was a little more to my liking, though it's got a hoppy harshness, and is not very balanced.  


Me and Grandpa

Grandpa sampling the frosting

After the party wound up, Bird, cousins Staci, Dyllus, and Justin, and I decided to do some more catching up. It's been ages since we've all been in one place.  I suggested we meet at the Taphouse Pub, home of the largest selection of draft beers in Boise.  Despite that wonderful, gorgeous selection, I wanted some more Swill.  So did my cousins, Staci and Dyllus, so we ordered a pitcher.  Still YUM!  We talked family history and laughed over a lot of remember whens.  Good, good times!  Several hours passed in a blink.  The next thing I knew it was Sunday and time for the long drive back to Montana.  


Staci, Justin, Dyllus and Bird

What a great trip!  I'm more than ready for the next one... coming soon at the end of the month.  Woo hoo!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

I Like Busch Light

There was a time when I behaved like a complete beer snob, snubbing everything corporate and non-craft, but I've come around.  There's been a lot of talk among the craft brewery industry and its followers recently regarding this subject, and my sentiment is this:


And taste is purely subjective.

Yes, I would most certainly prefer a proper craft beer over any other, but sometimes I just can't get what I want.  When that happens, my go-to beer is Busch Light.  And even when I can have the craft beer, sometimes what I want is still a Busch Light.  

I know many of you are cringing and screaming, "WHY????"  




1.  As the can says, "Great taste in an easy drinking light beer."  Great might be pushing it, but I certainly find it an easy drinking light beer.

2.  It the perfect base for any Red Beer.  If you aren't familiar with Red Beer, it's generally some sort of mass-produced lager mixed with tomato juice, V8, Bloody Mary mix, and the like.  Personally, I'm partial to Spicy V8.  You probably won't be able to walk up to a bartender and request a Red Beer in most places without getting a "Wha???", but it's very common in both Nebraska and Montana.  Think of it as the poor man's version of a Bloody Mary.  During my snob days, it's how I got rid of the "crap" people left in at my house after a party.  Now I often buy the "crap" on purpose so I can enjoy a nice Red Beer on a weekend morning.

3. Busch Light is "water beer".  Light, refreshing, not bitter, a teeny bit sweet and very easy to drink.  I can drink it all day without getting extremely drunk, and the after-affects are next to nothing.  Unlike it's Anheiser cousin, Bud Light, it doesn't cause me headaches or intestinal distress (which just kill me, even after just one).  

4.  It can be found at every bar and event in Montana.  And it's cheap.

5. It is almost always in my dad's fridge.  Dad will at least try the "good stuff" with me, but the only craft brew you're likely to ever find in his fridge (and that's not very likely at all) is Boulevard's Wheat, something I do not care for at all.  Busch Light it is!

I recently enjoyed a great big birthday, and my keg of choice was Busch Light.  WHY???? Especially since many of my wonderful friends gave me all sorts of the "good stuff" as gifts.  I was quite happy to save all that for a time when I could really savor it, though, and drink Busch Light because:  (a) we were going to be enjoying it for several days and all day on party day, (b) a lot of my guests were "that kind of beer" drinkers, and (c) I didn't want to get filled up on craft beers or get wasted on booze.  Busch Light treated me very well and I thoroughly enjoyed the fun.

So, no, I'm no longer a snob.  I consider myself more of a geek. You can gag, mock and disparage me all you want, but it won't change the fact that I like Busch Light.   I appreciate it for what it is, and appreciate it when that's what the occasion calls for it.  It's got it's place in my world.

And now I'm going to go grab an IPA.


Sunday, July 7, 2013

Badlands and Beer Redux

The badlands of Makoshika State Park
I didn't get enough of southeastern Montana a couple weeks ago so I decided to take the long, Independence Day weekend and go back.  This time I got pals and excellent roadtrip buddies, Adrienne and Aurora, to go with me.  We had a general agenda, but very little written in stone.  All we knew for sure was that we were planning to spend the 4th in Miles City at Niedgefest, going to see Jesse Taylor and the Rainy Day Devils at Beaver Creek Brewing in Wibaux on the 5th, and visiting the Evelyn Cameron Gallery in Terry (my primary destination) somewhere along the way. 

We loaded up Adrienne's truck with our camping equipment, our bedding and duffels, my modified Radio Flyer wagon, camp chairs, a camp stove, and most importantly: a cooler filled with those growlers Aurora and I had gotten at Carter's on Sunday in Billings (as well as a few random bottles of other craft brew).  Then, about an hour and a half after our planned departure time (my fault), we were on our way.

First we stopped in Ingomar, once the "Sheep Shearing Capital of North America" and now mostly a ghost town.  Now it's claim to fame is the historic and world famous Jersey Lilly bar, known for its steaks and beans.  I'd had the pleasure of stopping there on my way home from a trip to the Black Hills last summer and was eager to share another visit with my friends.  Unfortunately, in my excitement, I forgot that it might be closed for the holiday, and dang it!  It was.  As long as we were there, though, we gladly made use of the Heifer Pen (Bull Pen for the men), also known as the outhouse, out back.

The Jersey Lilly in Ingomar, MT
Me at the Heifer Pen behind the Jersey Lilly

Thwarted, we continued on to Miles City where, after setting up camp at the local KOA, we instead found a meal of sorts at the Golden Spur Sports Bar.  We were hoping for burgers and sandwiches, but weren't too terribly disappointed to settle for hot wings, chicken strips and steak bites.  And some good beer.  Part of the draw to the Spur was their big sign that said "MICROBREWS".  I wasn't hoping for anything wonderful, but we lucked out with a few selections from Red Lodge.  I was very happy with a Red Lodge Ales Bent Nail IPA; it's a one of my Montana favorites.  Aurora went with the Resurrection Doppelbock, also from Red Lodge.  I've tried that recently and really liked it.  It's a strong one at 8% ABV but Aurora handled it well.  Actually, it was just what the doctor ordered as she'd knocked something heavy on her foot that morning and it was causing her all sorts of pain and trouble.  Adrienne tried the Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat and let me have a go.  Shock Top describes it as "a unique, refreshing, hand crafted brewed hybrid of Belgian wheat beer and sweet cider," which pretty much sums it up.  Not too sweet; just sweet enough.  I prefer something a bit more dry when it comes to ciders, but I wouldn't have any trouble putting a few of these away if I had it around.

After a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a few supplies, like waterproofing for the tent, and another stop at Dairy Queen for desert, we went back to our campsite to get ready for the holiday festivities at Riverside Park.  We got ice for the cooler which was loaded with our beer growlers and snacks, loaded up the wagon with camp chairs and blankets, and walked over to the park to settle in at Niedgefest.  From the Niedgefest facebook page:  Niedgefest is an annual classic rock concert in Miles City, Montana. Celebrating the talents of local musicians, Niedgefest showcases Montana-made musical acts, including its house band Supersonic, Dirty Harry- a Miles City legend, and other bands, big and small, from around Montana. Band after band, most pretty darned good offerings for a town the size of Miles City, kept us entertained until it was time for the fireworks display.  My early favorite was a band with a female lead who did great on a couple Guns & Roses covers.  Sorry, I didn't catch the names of most of the bands.  Bad me!

One of the first bands to play at Niedgefest

By this time I was 3/4 of the way through my growler of Derailed IPA from Carter's and I was hyper as all get out.  Aurora and Adrienne were about that far along with their two growlers of Saison de Carter and were feeling pretty good themselves.  Also, about this time, my friend Rex arrived with his nephews.  He's the gent I met back in February in Boise at the Kilted Dragon.  It turns out he is originally from the area and was visiting his family.  Over the music and bombs bursting in air, we talked a bunch, mostly about - what else? - beer.  Perhaps I should find some new topics for conversation?  They left after the fireworks were done, but he and I made plans to try to meet up for beers again sometime when I'm back in Boise.

After the fireworks, the best band of the night made their appearance, the Moustache Bandits from Bozeman.  We polished off our growlers and headed for the stage where a great deal of crazy dancing commenced.  Here's their rendition of Charlie Daniels' Devil Went Down To Georgia from that night: YouTube Video of the Moustache Bandits.

The Moustache Bandits




Adrienne, Aurora and me.  It was a fun, fun 4th!
 ********************************

Me and Aurora about to die at the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum
Day two of this crazy adventure, we packed up our campsite, found some breakfast at the 600 Cafe on Main Street, made a couple other stops, then headed for Glendive. We stopped first at the Green Valley RV Park to set up camp (decent place, with showers!), made a quick stop at the K-Mart, then headed to the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum.  There are a number of dinosaur museums in Glendive as the badlands in the area are full of dinosaur finds, but we were interested in this one because, according to the VisitMT.com website, "it the largest dinosaur and fossil museum in the United States to present its fossils in the context of biblical creation".  We were curious to see what it was all about.  Regardless of your viewpoint on the subject, the displays were impressive.  I particularly enjoyed the skeletons of the giant turtle, the T-Rex and the stegasaurus.  I also found out, 19 years behind the time, that the brontosaurus is no longer the brontosaurus; it is now the apatosaurus.  What's up with that?  It'll always be a brontosaurus in my book.

Onto the beer!

Since we were going to be more or less in the area, I decided to check and see if there would be any live music happening at the Beaver Creek Brewery in Wibaux while we were around.  Woo hoo!  Yes, there was.  Jesse Taylor and the Rainy Day Devils were playing a Friday night show.  Of course we had to go, especially since Adrienne and Aurora had never been there.  We had plenty of time to enjoy some brews and eat before the show.  The brewery, as I mentioned before, is attached to the Gem Theater which is where the shows are actually held.  The Gem is also the source for all the eats.  Their special that night sounded excellent: ribs, spuds and more for the low, low price of $7.00, but we were geared up for their fancy pizzas.  While waiting for those, I thoroughly enjoyed a Beaver Creek Pale.  Did I miss this the last time around?  I certainly must have.  It was delish!  So, of course I had to have a several more.  Both Aurora and Adrienne ended up settling on the Paddlefish Stout.  Lucky ladies, they got a fresh made chocolate chip cookie with every pint.

Beaver Creek's brew selection

Beaver Creek Brewing, Wibaux, MT
The show was worth the trip.  Jesse Taylor has a nice, easy going, cowboy song singing voice, and his originals were good.  His Rainy Day Devils made the music that much better.  Their lead guitarist was particularly great, not only for his musicianship but for his comedy.  My only disappointment in that part of the evening was that I had to switch from the Pale to the IPA since they could no longer serve from the brewery after 8:00pm and they had no Pale on tap in the Gem.  The IPA was good enough.  I survived.  But that Pale was excellent.

********************************

On day three, Saturday, I contacted my friend, Charlie, a former resident of Glendive to get a recommendation on a breakfast spot.  He did not steer us wrong sending us to the Yellowstone River Inn.  After fortifying ourselves, we took a quick drive through Makoshika State Park.  I got to see a bit more this time around since the roads were dry and we didn't have to worry about getting stuck in the gumbo.  Beautiful!  I love the badlands.  As both of my friends are into range management, they know a lot about the flora, so we had a lot of discussion of the various grasses, flowers and shrubs in the area.  I learned the names a few more native plants - yay!
 
Crazy women at Makoshika State Park:  Me, Aurora and Adrienne
 
Then on to Terry - hip hip hooray!

A trip to Terry to visit the Evelyn Cameron Gallery was my main reason for wanting to take this trip as I'd missed the last trip through.  I became interested in Evelyn Cameron after watching the PBS documentary, Evelyn Cameron: Pictures of a Worthy Life.  She was a fascinating character.  She came from British aristocracy and ended up making a tough life of it in the Montana badlands.  She supported herself, and her ornithologist husband, through her photography of local people and places.  Her photos aren't dramatic works of art, but depict life as it was.  I enjoy her photography all the more for that.  She had a unique eye and I truly enjoy her viewpoint.  The Gallery isn't fancy, but they did a nice job with it all the same.  I only wish they'd had a camera on display like the one she used.  I would have been very interested to see one.


A photo of Evelyn Cameron


I enjoyed a delicious caramel malt.  Mmm...
I'd also wanted to visit the Calypso Trail, on old bootlegging trail through the Terry Badlands that is supposed to have some of the most spectacular sites of all the Montana badlands.  Unfortunately, with Aurora's gimpy foot, the possibility of gumbo roads (rain had passed through the area), as well as the heat and humidity, we opted to save it for another time.  Instead, we visited a couple more Terry hot spots:  the Historic Kempton Hotel and the Dizzy Diner.  The Kempton Hotel is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Montana and is supposedly haunted.  Their slogan: "Where all the ghosts are friendly."  It can also boast to hosting such guests as Teddy Roosevelt and Calamity Jane.  The Dizzy Diner was a nifty little place that makes yummy, yummy shakes and malts.  Ice cream for lunch - I love being a grown up!


The Historic Kempton Hotel: "Where all the ghosts are friendly."

From Terry, we headed to Billings for the night.  After setting up camp at the original KOA campground - quite a nice one - we headed downtown for the Thai dinner at Cham Thai Cuisine Adrienne had been craving ever since we'd decided on Billings for our final night.   Aurora and Adrienne split their dinners of yellow curry and pad thai.  I grossed them out by eating California House, a combination of shrimp, mussels, squid, fish, krab, mushrooms and onions - very tasty.

A half block down the street is the new Angry Hanks location and Himmelberger Brewing next door.  I opted for Himmelberger since I'd only been able to make it there once before.  It ended up being a very quick stop since we had decided to go see the Lone Ranger at the theater and discovered that the movie start time was only 15 minutes away after ordering our beers.  Knowing there would be at least 15 minutes or more of previews, though, we were at least able to enjoy our beer before scooting out of there.  I tried the IPA, and while it wasn't indicative of a good IPA in my book, it was still a good beer.  I liked the flavor.  Since we were in such a rush, though, I didn't really take the time to properly size it up, nor do I have any idea what the gals had to drink.

The Lone Ranger was very entertaining.  Not perfect - silly at times, overly violent at others - but definitely entertaining.  We exited the theater into a torrential downpour complete with wild lightning and thunder.  That made me quite glad that I'd done a double dose of waterproofing to the tent our first day.  All the same, not wanting to get soaked before going to bed, we ended up sitting in the truck for quite a while waiting for the rain to abate.  Eventually we made it into the tent and to bed where, despite the weather, I slept like the dead after three full days of fun.

********************************

What a weekend!  I'm glad to be home, but I can't wait for the next adventure!  It won't be long...


Monday, July 1, 2013

Save Me From Cheap Beer!

Oh, my goodness.  I think I've had more Busch Light, aka water beer, in the last couple weeks than I've had in my entire life.  First a weekend full of small town fun where other beer options were nearly non-existent, followed by two weekends of weddings where that was the primary option.  And to be honest, I didn't really mind all that much.  Busch Light is about as inoffensive as fizzy (barely) yellow beer gets; one of the few that doesn't cause me to have horrific headaches or internal distress.  My biggest problem with it - it goes right on through nearly as quickly as I can take it in.

This is what happens when your only option is fizzy yellow beer: Annie Oakley shows up on a donkey wearing her Electric Horseman hat.  Actually, this is a friend of mine getting crazy in a very small town bar at her bachelorette party.


It wasn't all Busch Light, though.  I've also been trying to work through the excessively large IPA selection in my fridge.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but most of what can be found in there are the remaining five bottles left over from each of the multitude six packs purchased in the course of my travels, tried and found wanting.  Generally I've found with IPAs that if I try one and don't really like it, by the second it will start to grow on me.  Most of these, however, only seem to get worse. 

Ninkasi IPA (Ninkasi Brewing, Eugene, OR) - When I first tried it, I thought it was horrible.  Over time, though, I've learned to appreciate it more.  One of our local dives carried it on draught for a while.  As I'd only had it in bottles previously, trying it on draught made all the difference.  Bottled, it's a bit more rough around the edges.  While it's still far from my favorite, at least I had no problem finishing off what was left in my fridge.

Lucky Bucket IPA (Lucky Bucket Brewing, La Vista, NE) - This one was recommended to me by a few different folks, and it being a Nebraska brew (Go Big Red!), I was eager to try it.  Nope, nope, nope!  I can drink it, but only just barely.  Lucky Bucket says it's "big, bold and shall we say, in your face... as it should be."  They've got the "in your face" part right.  It's not that it's aggressively hoppy; it's just harsh.

Hop Wrangler 3 IPA (Peace Tree Brewing, Knoxville, IA) - It came in the cutest little stubby bottle, and it had a great label.  I had to try it.  Eh.  It's got a bit more balance to it than the Lucky Bucket, but it's still rough.  It starts off a bit sweet, but it finishes mean.  The do have a nice description on their bottle, however:  "Hop Wrangler 3 is a multi-national take on the classic India Pale Ale, which is known for its intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma.  We use American, English and Belgian malts for flavor, body and color.  This brew includes six hop additions of American and English hops, one each in the mash and first wort, three in the boil and finally a dry hop addition in the fermenter.  It is finished with Belgian yeast which develops esters that complement the bouquet of hop aromas."  Yes, I'm confused, too, and so is the flavor, in my opinion.  Does the fact that it just took me nearly two hours to finish one tell you anything?

There are a couple others in my fridge as well, but they're ones I do like (Hazed and Infused, Boulder Brewing, Boulder, CO) or ones I have yet to try - mostly big bottles from obscure places.

************************

Happily, I went to Billings yesterday and really got my beer on.

My friend Aurora and I had a little shopping to do (mainly I really needed some paint so I can finally finish painting my front porch a bright, obnoxious lime green), and we wanted pedicures (something difficult to come by in Lewistown, MT), and WE WANTED BEER!  We barely made it through my shopping list, and even skipped one stop entirely, to get our main stop, Carter's Brewing.  Overall, Carter's is my favorite brewery in Billings.  They have a lot of really good standard options, and they usually have a big selection of seasonals and specials as well.  Big bonus: they're open on Sundays.

Aurora
Carter's is one of the only breweries I've visited in the western states, outside of Colorado where they're everywhere, that makes saison.  This is one style of Belgian ale I really enjoy.  They tend to be fruity, spicy and very refreshing.  Most folks know I'm not generally a fan of fruity beers, but saisons have an overall fruitiness rather than a specific fruit flavor.  Yummy.

This time, Carter's also had a Green Tea Saison as well.  I opted to try that one, while Aurora, who had never had a saison, went with the Saison de Carter.  I loved the look on her face when she took her first sip.  Her eyes lit up and a smile spread wide.  It's so much fun to share the beer love with others, especially eager novices.  I'd brought in four growlers to fill for an upcoming camping and road trip Aurora, my friend Adrienne and I are doing over the long July 4th weekend.  I was planning to fill one with the saison, one with their Derailed IPA (love it), one with Black Magic Porter and the last one with the Boxcar Brown, but after taking that first sip, Aurora declared that we would most definitely be filling two growlers with the saison.  No problem!  We left out the porter and went with the saison.  I would have done a growler of each saison, the de Carter and the Green Tea, but the Green Tea really didn't have the zing of the de Carter.  It was actually quite boring - kind of like green tea.

After their magnificent lady barkeep got us all filled up and we'd finished our pints, we were really jonesing for a burger at Überbrew down the street.  I know I've mentioned them before, but they truly are one of the most wonderful things ever.  As is their beer cheese soup.  I've mentioned that before, too, haven't I?  I'm drooling just thinking about it.  Please, give me a moment...

Okay.  Even though I haven't liked their beer in the past, aside from their porter, I decided to try another flight.  I selected the Diesel Punk Porter (to be sure I'd have something to wash down the rest with),the Humulus Ridiculous Double IPA, the Conehead IPA and their Diesel Punk Stout.  Aurora also chose the stout, as well as their regular kölsch (I've had it before and it's decent), their raspberry kölsch and the Calibrated Imperial Hefeweizen. 

The best word I have to describe the Conehead is dank.  As hops and marijuana are in the same family, dank is an appropriate adjective.  But instead of the definition commonly used for marijuana meaning good, potent stuff, I refer to the common definition of the word: disagreeably damp and musty.  I did not like it, Sam I Am.

I am quite pleased to say, however, that I did enjoy my other three choices.  The stout was as smooth as they come.  It had a light, simple flavor.  Nothing fancy, but nice and solid.  Aurora agreed and was planning to order a pint of it until I had her try the porter.  "Oh, that's gooood."  Yes, it is.  And while I did not love the double IPA, I did like it.  Our bartender also helps with the brewing so I was really glad I was able to give him a positive report.  I've also mentioned how great the Überbrew staff is, haven't I?  Yes, they are.

Shana & Toby
I'd also like to mention another Überbrew patron we had the pleasure to meet.  Shana was sitting a couple stools down from us and somewhere along the way we discovered that she recently left her job and life in central Pennsylvania and is bound for Portland to start things fresh.  She's taking her time along the way, though, visiting all the states she's never been to, hitting all the good coffee shops and breweries she can find.  She's camping in her car with her long-haired Chihuahua, Toby, with no definite plans, just ideas.  My hero!  She's also relatively new to the craft beer world, but she's already more than caught up with my brewery visits, and she's quickly come to realize, you meet the best people wherever you find good beer. 








************************

Back to that cheap beer issue...  I believe that I have been given the cure.  My friends, Jordan (pictured below) and Linda, were lucky enough to attend the Epic Beer Festival in Denver this past weekend.  As I was unable to go, I asked her if they would bring me back some Colorado brews.  Happy, happy me, my wish was granted!

Avery Maharaja, Avery IPA, New Belgium La Folie, Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro and a Funkwerks Saison

Thanks, Jordan!  Looks like I need to share & save you from the cheap stuff, too.