United Nations of Beer

Moose Drool Brown ale

by Kate Dalgleish
(Beer Delegate, NS, Canada)

A few weeks ago I drove down from my hometown of Calgary, Alberta to spend a weekend in a little town called Bigfork, just outside of Kalispell, Montana. After a seven-hour drive, a far more hostile border crossing into the States than I had ever seen before, and a construction-and-mountain goat slalom through Glacier National Park, I finally parked at a small grocery store near my hotel and went in to bask in what is probably my favourite aspect of visiting the United States: vast shelves of microbrew, all at less than half the price that one would pay in Canada.

Moose Drool Brown ale was a must. As soon as I saw the name of this beer, I had to grab a six-pack. Big Sky Brewing Company, based in Missoula, Montana, has given all its beers local wildlife-themed names, and the combination of the label and the name Moose Drool was just so charming that I could not resist it. I am in no position to complain about the name being unappetizing, since I am from a city that makes beers with names like Warthog and Grasshopper (both of Calgary's Big Rock Brewing Company).

I settled in to my hotel, pulled a chair out onto the balcony, watched whitetail deer gambol on a nearby golf green and cracked open one of these as a reward for a long and arduous drive. It poured deep brown with hints of cola colour and a disappearing, fizzy light tan head. Aroma of coffee malts with nice hoppy tones.

Robust malt flavours of caramel, plenty of nuts and chocolate and a slightly spicy hoppy finish, although with a surprisingly light mouthfeel for a brown ale.

This is a very nice ale, and the message under the cap ("Nuttier than a squirrel turd") gave me a good laugh. Next time I'm back down in Montana, I'll definitely try and find more of Big Sky's brews.