For this particular brew, I am using two hop varieties that I have not previously used; the Magnum and Motueka (a New Zealand variety). Another first for me is the use of Juniper Berries, which should lend a pleasant, bitter-sweet aroma which reminds me of gin. The berries are sweet, with a hint of pine and turpentine. This ingredient is traditional in the Scandinavian beers…the homeland of the northern lights.

Fermentables
2 lbs. – Rye Male
7 lbs. – Pale Liquid Male Extract

Hops
2.0 oz. – Magnum 13.5% AA – 60 minutes
1.0 oz. – Motueka 8.9% AA – 15 minutes
1.0 oz. – Motueka 8.9% AA – 5 minutes

Yeast
White Labs American Irish Ale (WLP004)

Steep rye malt for 30 minutes at ~150 F.

Add pale liquid malt extract, and return to boil. Add 2 oz. of the Magnum hops to the boil. A heavy curtain of hop aroma steams up from the kettle. Add 1 oz. of Motueka hops (whole leaf) in steeping bag. Steep the juniper berries in a small pot and pour mixture into a food processor. A quick pulse will crack the berries and create a juniper “slurry”.

With 5 boil minutes remaining, place the remaining 1 oz. of Motueka hops to another steeping bag. Pour the juniper “slurry” through the hops into the kettle and let the berries fall into the bag. Let the entire mixture steep in the boiling wort for the remaining time.

Cool the wort, place into the fermenter, pitch the yeast, and wait for the bubbles.

Overall: I have never had a juniper-infused ale, but I have been thinking of using that ingredient in an upcoming homebrew. So, when I saw this on the shelf at Rosauers it was quickly grabbed and purchased. I enjoyed this brew; however, it is not what I find to be a session beer. It is great for a pint or two. I can’t wait to brew my Northern Lights Juniper Rye PA…coming soon.

Sticky Sweet Maple Honey Porter

Dark as the ace of spades and fully on the alcohol. The taste was mild on the roasted coffee notes and the high ABV lent a wine-like warmth. This will be a great winter warmer-type ale.

South by Southwheat Agave Ale

Definitely citrus notes in both the aroma and taste. The color is great orange-tinged straw yellow. Low flocculation caused a very hazy beer, but hey it’s a wheat ale…perfect!

Fermentables
2.5 lbs. – American Two-row Barley
1 lbs. -  Flaked Wheat
4 lbs. – Wheat Liquid Male Extract
1 lbs. -  Agave Nectar

Hops
0.5 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 60 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 15 minutes
0.25 oz. – Sorachi Ace 14% AA – 5 minutes

Yeast
White Labs American Hefeweizen (WLP320)

Steep American Two-row Barley and flaked wheat for 45 minutes at ~155 F.

Add wheat liquid malt extract and agave nectar, and return to boil. Add 0.5 oz. of the Sorachi Ace hops to the boil. Smell the goodness.

After the boil was over, the color was a tad darker than straw yellow – perfect for the wheat ale…I can’t wait to taste this one.

Fermentables
7 lbs. – Dark Malt Extract Syrup
1.5 lbs. -  Honey
1.25 lbs. – Maple Syrup
1 lbs. -  Rye Malt
1 lbs. – American Black Patent

Hops
1.0 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA
0.5 oz. – Fuggles 4.6% AA

Yeast
White Labs Irish Ale (WLP004)

Steep black patent and rye for 30 minutes at ~155 F

Add dark malt extract and 1oz of Fuggles hops. Bring up to a boil.

Add honey and 0.5 oz. of Fuggles hops at 15 minutes.

Add maple syrup and the remaining 0.5 oz. of hops at 2 minutes.

Postscript: The fermentation is healthy to say the least.

Wit’s End Wheat

The beer poured a hazy amber with a short-lived head. In the aroma, you can really pick up on the coriander and a faint hop floral. With taste was infused with citrus from the orange peel and the herbaceous qualities of the coriander. Overall, a very nice summer cooler, especially after a little speed-hiking.

Hippie Highway Oatmeal Stout

Dark as the ace of spades and a aroma full of malt , smoke tones and a pepperiness. Light on the carbonation and the taste is full of malts and subtle smokiness. The gravity on this stout seems to be lighter than other oatmeal stouts that I have had, namely Moose Drool, but overall a fine beverage.

Hellroaring ESB

Poured a medium, hazy brown with very little head. The nose was full hop bitterness with some floral and citrus overtones. The mouth feel come on with floral and fruit followed by a pleasant lingering bitterness.

“The Montana Department of Revenue is proposing an amendment to Montana’s Tasting Room already restrictive laws. The Department of Revenue is proposing to hold Montana breweries to the same rules as all beverage licensees which allows no consumption of alcohol after closing time. This means that, like bars, breweries around the state would have to have all drinks off the bar and all customers physically out of the building by closing time. However, unlike bars who must close by 2am, our closing time would remain at 8pm. The Department of Revenue is having a public hearing regarding the proposed amendment next Thursday, August 7th in Helena. This amendment would obviously be a huge detriment to tasting rooms around Montana so the majority of active brewers and brewery personnel are all traveling to Helena next week to oppose this amendment.”

Glacier Brewing has created an online petition that we are planning on presenting at the hearing. Here is the link for that petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/MTTROP/petition.html

I encourage everyone to sign this petition and help the Montana craft brewers.

The beer poured with a thin head with a brown sugar nose. The mouth feel was light on the carbonation and the flavor was absolutely spectacular. This is a beer that is deserving of being sought out by any beer lover.

Truth be told, if I were to have this beer at home, I would most likely rail against it. I would say something like, “Its Bud Light’s Latino cousin. All of the pissy flavor with a Central American flair.” But, have it on the beach in Costa Rica, Imperial is a great brew. It enjoys what few beers have – situational greatness.

Aroma: Rather floral, reminds me of the lilacs that are currently blooming in the valley.

Mouth: Short, sudden hop burst with little aftertaste. Very nice and refreshing.

Overall: Not a slap you in the mouth IPA, but a good summer sipper. If I had to rate it on a 1 to 10 scale, I would give it 7.5.

Drinking with Satan from Jeffrey Meyer on Vimeo.

Aroma: Orange nose (duh) with banana and other flavors in the background.

Mouthfeel: Sharp fruitiness up front followed by clove and orange.

Overall: I love this beer, a great fruit hefe. I know a lot of tasters do not give it favorable reviews, but, hell, I like it.

RockiesBrew Information

The sad note about this beer is that it may never be recreated, but like a great work of art, some things are meant to once in a lifetime. And maybe that paradox allows the memory of this experience to be that much brighter and clearer.

The brewery itself consists of three 20-barrel conical fermenters and two 40-barrel conical fermeters. There is also a small (relative) 9-barrel fermenter that is used to experimental or special brews. It currently had an intriguing brew bubbling away, an India Red Ale. Bill said that the idea was to combine to the sharp bitterness of an India Pale Ale and the rich, roasty maltiness of an Amber ale. It is just another example of how this brewery keeps up its innovative attitude. Looking up the storage shelves, a lone cask barrel sat atop the top shelf. I asked, “What’s in the cask?” I was pleasantly surprised to learned it was a cask of the Great One, which is one my favorite barley wines of all-time because of its high-alcohol warmth coupled with wine tones coming from port cask aging. But this particular cask of the Great One had a twist. Bill had added a bit of Brettanomyces yeast strain to the cask, which should lend a subtle horse-blanket (I have always disliked that characterization) character to this brew. It will be available at the tasting room, and I cannot wait until I can get my lips on a sip of this one. I think that it a great that many brewers are beginning to branch out into using different bugs for Belgian-style brewing.

As a devote homebrewer, I was like a kid in a candy store inside the brewery. Seeing hundreds of pounds of grains, boxes full of hops, and 40-barrel fermenters got my wheels spinning – time to upgrade the home brewery, now how much money is in the account?

Meeting with Todd Scott, the head brewer, later, we discussed the direction of the Bozeman Brewing Company and, in particular, the effort to gather all the hops for wonderful Terroir, which unfortunately is all gone – we will have to wait until the next harvest…only 10 months away. We talked in their tasting room, which is an inviting place with particular folks and popcorn. What a great way to wind down a busy day, talking and drinking great beer.
The Bozeman Brewing Company is expanding their brewing operation soon as they have obtained the space next door for a brewery expansion. This means more great Bozeman Brewing Company beers and more amazing ideas coming from this great brewery.

Visit the Bozeman Brewing Company