The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [77]
CARTER’S
BREWING CO.
2526 Montana Ave.-B • Billings, MT 59101 • (406) 252-0663
www.cartersbrewing.com • Established: 2007
SCENE & STORY
Constructed in an old railroad depot storage building in the center of town opposite Billings’s old hotel row, Carter’s is named for owner-founder-head brewer Mike Uhrich’s son; Uhrich was a brewer with Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co. before getting the itch to brew his own styles. Carter’s is the young turk of the Billings scene, with some sixteen taps from traditional kölsch to Belgian-style saisons and farmhouse ales, Imperial IPA and even an American-style sour. There are more than thirty oak barrels for wood-aging Belgian and other experimental styles strewn around the tiny 7 bbl brew house—a marvel of space management—and it’s a popular gathering place for the local beer fanatics, who come in to chat, fill growlers, and catch the occasional game.
PHILOSOPHY
“Mike experiments and brews what he wants to brew and not necessarily what people want to drink,” says Chuck Sowell, one of three assistants who bartends, and a dedicated advocate for Montana’s growing craft beer scene. “It’s an interesting approach,” he adds. “We’ve met a lot of brewers who brew ‘to style’ or they brew to win medals, or they brew to meet demand for whatever sells the most or whatever people like the most. Mike brews what he wants to brew. He’s really, really passionate about his beers.”
KEY BEER
De-Railed IPA, at 6.5% ABV, is a big, piney, clean brew with a bitterness-to-body ratio that approaches the heartiest of West Coast IPAs.
DETOUR
RED LODGE, Montana
A former Crow Nation redoubt and mining capital an hour out of Billings, the historic town of Red Lodge (established 1884) is the gateway to the Beartooth Highway, a famed 69-mile ribbon of switchbacks on Highway 212 that leads south from Red Lodge into some of the most beautiful corners of Yellowstone National Park, with high glacial lakes, alpine tundra, and year-round snow. Ringed by soaring 12,000-feet peaks in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, including Montana’s tallest point, Granite Peak (12,799 feet), the town itself is quintessential Old West, with hundred-year-old homes and stone buildings dating from the 1880s looking over the main street (and a certain bank scoped-out—but never robbed—by Butch Cassidy, who worked the area). Despite a bit of particularly grim history—a mining accident outside of town in 1943 remains the state’s worst ever, having killed seventy-four men—it’s a vibrant place today. Make sure to stop and read the roadside attraction sign (which explains the disaster) heading into town from Billings, and stroll down Broadway, Red Lodge’s main street. Red Lodge Ales hosts an Oktoberfest every September, and there are scores of other events (including annual hoe downs, a Red Lodge Festival of Nations for Native Americans, and assorted adventure races including 10K runs and a skijoring duel).
RED LODGE
ALES & SAM’S
TAP ROOM &
KITCHEN
1445 N. Broadway • Red Lodge, MT 59068
(406) 446-4607 • redlodgeales.com • Established: 1998
SCENE & STORY
It’s hard to miss the brewery along the road into Red Lodge with its jolly crimson paint job. On a busy day, depending on the season, you’ll be on the heels of plenty of bikers and skiers, for starters. The taproom adjacent to the Red Lodge Ales brewery is Sam’s Tap Room & Kitchen, a bright, sunny space that manages to feel both retro and modern at the same time. There are shiny metal stools and wall details of rusted and corrugated metal, a large woodstove, reclaimed barn wood, and historical photographs to warm things up. There are large viewing windows inside to the brewery, and outside space is plentiful as well, with a beer garden and separate lawn for weddings and concerts. It all feels easy-does-it and well designed, and the hops growing on all the fences outside are utilized in the brew house every fall. The coldest months bring