Down the Street: Madison River Brewing

Rain dashed hopes of walking to the last stop on this Montana brewery tour - Madison River Brewing in Belgrade, the first brewery I saw in Montana (it sits adjacent to Gallatin Field, Bozeman's airport). It would not be missed as long as it was only a mile down the road.

The rain poured as I stepped into the industrial taproom, which contained only a barhand, a patron and a border collie/husky mix lounging on the floor. Behind the bar, a wet-dry board track their "Buy a Beer for a Friend" program - you had to redeem it six months after purchase. The bottling line clanged in the background, and barley perfumed the air. I had sampled most of Madison River's brews in the bottle or on tap at Montana AleWorks, so their chalkboard coughed up some surprises.

Fortunately, they still had the last keg of Saison . Madison River takes some unusual steps with its saison, adding limes to the brew kettle. The lime and honey backbone definitely made for a cleaner experience than most saisons. But the spice and hop on the finish rough it up enough to fit saison's expansive definition. I never expected an encore from my Montana Beer Festival experience in April.

If I had scheduled my trip any later, I might have missed the Parachute Pilsner as well. A new addition to their regular lineup, they were down to four kegs. Balanced beyond belief, this was an assertive take on pilsner brimming with fresh ingredients. Too many American pils fall prey to American brewers' love of hops, but this one manages to pack in beautiful textures of grain and a touch of sweetness prior to the hop bitterness. Domestic pilsner rare hits such heights, so maybe Parachute was the appropriate name.

As I finished the pilsner, the taproom rapidly filled with a surprising age range of drinkers. The husky-border collie began circulating, perhaps in an attempt to herd, but it had no idea what drunk, unpredictable beasts that would soon surround it.

To close (damn state brewery regulations), I returned to Copper John, Madison River's Scotch-Style Ale. The gentlemen at the bar had a growler and a pint, so I couldn't turn down one more scotch ale. This Wee Heavy blew away the Cold Smoke I came to view as the bellwether for Montana Scotch ales. The creamy malt nose bore traces of smoke. Copper John threw out flavors of cherry (very faint yet critical to its appeal), sassafras, chicory and molasses, all of which took brief bows behind the supple red malts defining this mighty ale. It served as a stronger companion to the Charlie Russell Red that started the tour seven days earlier.

The bartender and I chatted about beer a little. He tipped me off the next concoctions under consideration, a quick Oktoberfest (it was already September) or moving onto a fresh hop ale with hops he grew and with some courtesy of Montana State University's hop-growing efforts.

At almost every brewery, they were glad to see faces from across the country. Howie, the bartender at Madison River, was no different, tossing me a sticker with my Salmon Fly Honey Rye T-shirt. I didn't get another Salmon Rye thanks to the law, but I could not forget its delicate yet complex blend of rye malt and honey.

Those pints meant the end of my brief tour, but strengthened my resolve to take another and finish off the breweries missed this time.