Last night I set aside some time to stop by Bowser Brewing Company located at 1826 10th Avenue South in Great Falls. They’ve been open a few weeks and I was curious to see their operation.
They serve from 10am to 8pm. I visited with co-owner Evan Bowser and he explained that since they are a brewery they need to stop serving by 8pm. And there is a 48 ounce limit for each person which is Montana law.
I could see the huge brewing containers through glass from the lounge area (I think they are called vats). Evan let me in to the brewing room and I took a quick photo of him.
They were busy last night and even with several people working they were all scurrying. The service we received was excellent.
The next thing that caught my eye was the menu. It was posted on the back of a Montana license plate! That was worth a photo!
I could see that the Bowsers have proudly supported and promoted Montana – eclectic Montana artwork was hung on the walls, local grains and products are used in the brewing process and several of the beer names had Montana ties.
I ordered Farmer’s Daughter Strawberry Blonde beer – a pale ale which is what I prefer. It was just perfect for me and even came with a fresh strawberry on the glass which some of us could consider a healthy beverage!
I also sampled an order from our table called Electric City IPA. The description for it said it had a variety of hops in an American style IPA. I liked it but my favorite was still the Strawberry Blonde.
The menu also showed the alcohol content for each variety and the bitterness. My Strawberry Blonde beer had an alcohol content of 5.0 ABV and the bitterness was listed as 20 IBU. Well, that stuff was over my head but I did like the beer! The only reason I can write about it is because Evan explained the numbers to me.
Another variety of beer listed on the menu was Smoot Honey Ale made with 98% local barley and honey from Power, MT, just a few miles north of Great Falls. This particular brew was sold out, obviously it must be popular.
Another very catchy title I noticed was for a dark ale titled Midnight on the Missouri Coffee Stout. That description said it contained roasted barley and coffee from Morning Light (local Great Falls coffee roaster) in a complex dark ale. Probably too dark for me although I like coffee…might be worth a try some day.
The Bowsers have come up with some fun ideas to promote business. Monday is Board Game Night and I noticed a stack of board games, pretty clever! Tuesday was termed Study Hall which may or may not be a productive study time. There is live music on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Since I was there on a Thursday night I was able to enjoy the awesome tunes of local musician Chuck Fulcher as he sang and played guitar.
We had 12 ounce beers but it would also be fun to try the 24 ounce sampler ($8). The variety of beers is pretty extensive and the sampler would be a good way to try some different brews for those of us who tend to find one we like and then not try anything else.
It was a fun evening at Bowser Brewing Company and I’ll be back!