#92 Fat Jacks, Burgers and Taps

I needed to buy cat food and kitty litter.  An excellent reason for a three brewery day, don't you think? 

The cat food I buy is at Costco, and Costco is two hours away, but --- within minutes of some of my favorite Montana breweries.  Enough said.  So I rounded up a couple friends, we hopped in the Huckleberry (my purple Honda Fit), and off we went to Billings.  My ultimate goal was to make it to my 92nd brewery.  Mission accomplished.

We first stopped at Target to load up on some of the necessary staples not found at Costco.  That worked up my appetite.  As my pals were game for anything, I suggested we stop for lunch at Überbrew, a relatively new brewery in Billings I was already acquainted with.  I'm not a fan of their brews, unfortunately, but their burgers are some of the best I've ever had, and their cheddar ale soup... I can't think about it without salivating.  I opted for an ice tea over a not so tasty beer and made short work of my Beer Bleu Burger.  As expected, I was not disappointed.  The girls seemed extremely happy with their choices as well.

We got in and out of Costco as fast as we could - cat food and kitty litter acquired - and hightailed it over to Yellowstone Valley Brewing.  The night before leaving for Billings I found out that this great all girl band I'd seen once before was going to be the opening act for that Saturday's musical entertainment.  They're called Maxie Ford and they are something else.  Extremely talented, all cute, and very, very impressive, especially considering they're all in high school. 

 

Maxie Ford

Note the girl in black, second from the left.  She's their percussionist.  Her instrument, tap shoes.  That's why she's a bit of a blur; she's tapping her ass off.  That is also where they get their name.  Maxie ford is a tap step.

I enjoyed a lovely Black Widow Stout and the band.  If it had worked out, I would have enjoyed the band that followed, Cure for the Common, as well.  They sounded pretty damned good during their warm up.  However, we still had plans to make it to #92.  We couldn't stay.

 

 

 #92 - Fat Jack's Tap Room in Laurel, MT

Oh, what fun!  The place was busy.  Every stool at the bar was taken, one long line of men.  Nearly all the tables in the place were also taken.  We found a table across the room and staked our claim.  Immediately, one of the bartenders was there to take our order.  I asked if they did tasters, thinking I'd like to try a sample flight.  "Sure!" was the reply.  I selected three beers off the board - the Vanilla Oat Stout, the Honey Porter and the Aiming Oil Pale - and within a minute she was back with three little tasters, no charge.  How great was that?  Usually, if it's not going to be a sample flight, you have to head to bar for the little tasters.  Nope, she just poured them and brought them over without batting an eye.  All three choices ended up being tasty, too, but I opted for the Pale since I was going to be driving home and it was a lower octane than the others.  I paired that with some goodies the Tap Room had laid out:  chips, dips, chili, deviled eggs, and little pigs in a blanket.  Happy sigh.

While we enjoyed our choices, and the snacks, we got to know our neighbors at the next table, a funny bunch of ladies.  We all kept each other entertained for quite a while.  I told them about some of my brewery adventures, and they asked how soon they would be visiting my brewery.  Oh, how I wish!  "As soon as I win the lottery," I told them.  

Since the next day was Black Out Superbowl Sunday, I had been sure to bring a bunch of growlers to fill.  I went with the stout and the pale and nearly polished off that stout at the party - one glass left.  I also filled up another with the IPA as requested by a fellow proper beer-loving friend.  I could find no takers for the rest of my booty at the party, though; it was a Busch Light sort of crowd.  What is wrong with those people?  Oh well, more for me!

Groundhog Brew!

If there's a way to tie beer into it, I'll find it!  Groundhog Day is one of my favorite "holidays" and Groundhog Brew does exist.  It's a German-style alt-bier brewed by Straub Brewery in St. Marys, PA.  I just finished reading some reviews on beeradvocate.com.  Of the first two I read, I have to assume they are either fans of typical domestic lagers (like Straub Beer) or they have no taste in beer at all since the few reviews I read gave it high ratings and mentioned things like "...I would easily pick this up over a case of Yuengling lager," and "Heavy grain bill loads this one up, there is a few notes of hoppiness to this beer but just hints scattered here and there. Lots of toasted malts some caramel."  However, beeradvocate.com's overall rating for Groundhog Brew is POOR.  As I've had it, right there in Punxsutawney, on Groundhog's Day, I can fully agree with that rating.  It is downright awful, disgusting swill.  But they put a different label on it each year, making it collectible.  And, as I have a pint or tasting glass from most everything beer related I've been to, I have a Groundhog Brew pint glass, circa 2007 or 2008 - also collectible, if you're into all that groundhog nonsense (and I am).

Me at Gobbler's Knob with a wanna-be Phil, 2007

I attended my first Groundhog Day event at the source, Punxsutawney, in 2007.  There were only four of us who made the trek, but oh, what a great time we had!  As lodging is VERY limited in Punxsutawney, we ended up staying a half hour away at the Super 8 in Brookville, PA, off Interstate 80.  We drove up right after work, grabbed some grub at the neighboring truck stop, then hit the beds for as much snooze as we could squeeze in before our 2:30am departure for Gobbler's Knob.  We arrived in Punxsutawney just in time to make it to the pick up spot for the first Knob Bus to to the Knob.  My friends tried to sneak in some alcohol to this non-alcohol event.  One nearly had his flask confiscated until he promised to leave it in the car.  But SJ was smarter and put hers down the front of her pants.  No one was going to pat down that area so off to the Knob we went with small flask of whiskey to keep us warm until sunrise.

Three and a half hours of well below freezing temperatures (I think it was around 17°F for a low that night), a lot of really cheesy, yet entertaining entertainment, and a nice fireworks display brought us to that crucial moment - when Punxsutawney Phil, the Prognosticator of Prognosticators, is taken out of his "hole" and asked whether or not he saw his shadow.  We were completely frozen, but we had a ball.

All that fun was followed up by all sorts of groundhog-related activities back in town, including at a showing of the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, which we, of course, had to watch.  The real deal is a bit different than it is portrayed in the movie.  Gobbler's Knob is out of town a couple miles, not right in the town square, and there are a hell of a lot more people in attendance.  People come from all over.  The couple next to me for most of the night had gotten married on Groundhog Day, but hadn't had a honeymoon.  Several years later, there they were at Gobbler's Knob, enjoying a belated one and celebrating their anniversary.  For some people, Groundhog Day is such a big thing that the event organizers include a mass wedding ceremony every year after the main festivities.  I tell you, if a wedding day every comes for me, I'll be hard-pressed to decide between the Groundhog Day fanfare and a drive-thru Elvis wedding chapel in Vegas.

After we had enjoyed all that we could find to do, we stopped in at the only bar in downtown Punxsy for a brew.  That's where we discovered Groundhog Brew.  It was a boring place, though, so we did some investigating and found there was another bar about a mile or so away on the other side of town (yes, only two bars in all of Punxsutawney - at least that we could find).  There was already an abundance of snow in town, but it started falling in earnest as we began our walk to the other bar.  By the time we reached it, we all looked like abominable snow creatures.  I can't say it was much of a place, but we had the right people and ended up having a great time.  Fried foods, more bad beer, excellent company - what more could you ask for after all that groundhog fun we'd had?

It was such a goofy, entertaining experience, I just had to make the trek again the following year.  There were a lot more than four of us who made that journey, though events followed much the same.  Instead of the movie, though, we went to one of the many pancake breakfasts offered around town, waiting in line forever and not getting enough.  I recommend finding a snack at the Civic Center or somewhere else along the way if you find yourself hungry after all that bitter cold fun on the Knob.  Then we ended up at the main square where we actually got to meet Phil himself (or herself, there is some debate about that).

 Me and Phil, 2008

Phil and one of his handlers, 2008

I really hope that I can make the trip to Punxsy for Groundhog Day again sometime.  I will happily endure another Groundhog Brew, if only for the bottle.