Beer Me! — Big Sky Brewing — Missoula, Montana, United States

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Big Sky Brewing

5417 Trumpeter Way
PO Box 17170
Missoula MT 59808-7170
Telephone: +1 406-549-2777
Toll-Free: +1 800-559-2774
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:00am-6:30pm, Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm.
Brewer: Matt Long
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Opened: 1995

Annual Production: 50,000 bbl

Contributors: Mike Mahns, Ralph Wells, Richard R Tinurelli, Siegfried Binge

Big Sky moved into a much larger facility in 2002.

Updated: January 11, 2014

News

2014-01-04: Big Sky Brewing Co. not a stranger to dealing with trademark infringement (Missoulian)
2013-01-31: As if we needed another reason to drink more beer: Big Sky Brewing is helping to fix Brennan's Wave (Missoula Independent)
2009-09-01: Filler is key at Big Sky Brewing (Packaging Digest)

Beer List

406 Series Saison

French & Belgian-Style Saison
Barley Wine

Barley Wine-Style Ale
Awards:
- Bronze Medal, 2001 North American Beer Awards
Berliner Weisse

Berliner-Style Weisse (Wheat)
Biere de Noël

Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale

10.00% abv.
Awards:
- Gold Medal, 2006 North American Beer Awards
- Gold Medal, 2003 North American Beer Awards
- Date: January 16, 2013 (#9007)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE
  
  Score: 15½ points
  
  Appearance (2½)
  Bright mahogany. Tried to pour a head; couldn't.
  
  Aroma (3)
  Sweet dark malt, very mild. Mildly biscuity, spicy. Molasses.
  
  Mouthfeel (8)
  Big & smooth, low carbonation. Lots of sweet dark malt. Mild alcohol. Burnt bread crust. Molasses. Plums in the finish.
  
  Overall Impression (2)
  Pleasant, but there's no complexity at all.

Bobo's Robust Porter

Robust Porter

6.20% abv.

Date: February 13, 2009 (#7698)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Black. Moderate head.

Aroma (3½)
Chocolatey. Grassy. Malty.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light-medium body, smooth. Malty, chocolatey, grassy, and resiny. Sweet, roasty, resiny finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Bottleworks XI

Imperial Stout

Bourbon Barleywine

Wood- and Barrel-aged Strong Beer

Awards:

Silver Medal, 2005 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer

Buckin' Monk Belgian Tripel

Belgian-Style Tripel

Cowboy Coffee Porter

Coffee Flavored Beer

6.20% abv.

Date: January 29, 2011 (#8451)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Black. Big thick brown head.

Aroma (3½)
Richly malty, rich chocolate, roasty.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, smooth and fizzy. Lots of malt, lots of chocolate, not so much coffee.

Overall Impression (2½)
Good beer.

Crystal Ale

Golden or Blonde Ale

Date: August 18, 2007 (#6601)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 14 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Big dense short-lived head.

Aroma (3)
Very grainy.

Mouthfeel (7)
Light body. Very sweet. Huge, out-of-balance fruity-resiny bitterness.

Overall Impression (1)

Date: October 20, 2010 (#8327)

Package: bottled

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 15 points

Appearance (3)
Deep brown, clear. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Toasty, earthy malt.

Mouthfeel (7)
Medium body, smooth. Chewy, toasty malt, with a minty, grassy hop flavor. Low-medium bitterness lingers a little too long.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: January 20, 2007 (#6293)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Bright red-amber. High carbonation. Thick head.

Aroma (4)
Big spicy, piney hops.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big body, nice and chewy. Lots of caramel malt to balance the resiny, piney, floral hop bitterness. Very pleasant lingering bitter finish with just a hint of warming.

Overall Impression (3)

Date: June 21, 2007 (#6552)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright deep red. Thick brownish head.

Aroma (3)
Mildly roasty. Very mildly fruity and malty.

Mouthfeel (9)
Light creamy body. Fairly fizzy. Sweet and mildly roasty. Malty and a bit earthy. Sweet malty toasty finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: September 27, 1996 (#1664)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Brown. Sweet brown aroma. Clean finish, brown flavor.

Date: July 12, 2002 (#4346)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 17½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Bright red, high carbonation, thick head. Richly malty aroma with fruity hops. Medium body, big caramel malt flavor. Mild hop flavor and bitterness grows through the finish. Drying and warming at the end. Brewed in Portland OR. Thanks to John Peterson for the bottle!

Date: September 27, 1996 (#1663)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Pale amber. Malty aroma. Malty flavor, hint of hops, bitter finish. Hopped with Liberty and Willamette.

Date: October 4, 2011 (#8649)

Package: draught

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 14 points

Appearance (2½)
Dark dark red. Low head.

Aroma (2½)
Very very mild coffee.

Mouthfeel (7)
Light-medium body, really fizzy. Coffee/roast-malt flavor. Mild chocolate, very mild malt. Some bitterness in the middle.

Overall Impression (2)
Thin and fizzy.

Date: September 27, 1996 (#1665)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark red. Some hop aroma. Chocolate roasty hoppy...could be bigger.

Date: August 18, 2007 (#6600)

Package: bottled

Place: Liquid Solutions, Tigard OR

Score: 14½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Moderate foamy head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet, floral, honey.

Mouthfeel (7)
Light body, very fizzy. Sweet, mildly malty, with lots of honey flavor. Clean, very sweet finish.

Overall Impression (1½)

Date: December 13, 2007 (#6735)

Package: bottled

Place: Crescent Moon Ale House, Omaha NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Nice head.

Aroma (3)
Huge sweet grainy malt.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body, fizzy. Lots of grainy, sweet malt. Mild fruity, grassy hop flavor, mildly bitter, a little more so in the finish.

Overall Impression (2½)