Sam Koenen and I were lucky enough to be able to go on a tour of the Bozeman Brewing Company ’s facility. Upon entering from the back loading bay, the intense aromas of malts and hops slammed into my nose. We were lucky enough to some in time see the brew house in full boil with a batch of the Bozeman Amber. Bill and Tucker greeted us with sniffers of Plum Street Porter and Nitro Pale Ale. The Nitro Pale Ale is available only at the tasting and the use of nitrogen with the Pale Ale gives this beer a Boddingtons-like mouth feel and refreshing, cutting bitterness.

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