Ever hear of Moose Drool? It’s a Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing in Missoula, Montana. I’ve had a bad attitude about Moose Drool ever since I first heard the name sometime in the mid to late ‘90’s. I instantly hated the name because it epitomized the penchant among craft brewers for giving screwy/odd-ball names to their beers. I think Moose Drool is the worst name in the craft brew world. I mean, naming a beer after an animal’s saliva just seems like one of the stupidest things ever. Bodily fluids, whether flowing, squirting, streaming, dripping or oozing, aren't what I want to be reminded of when choosing a beverage.
The Moose Drool graphic isn’t much better than the name itself, as it simply makes concrete what was formerly left to the imagination:
Just look at that gusher! Good grief, the moose appears to be barfing! If you look closely, you’ll notice the discoloration of the surface water where the discharge is concentrated, indicating a significant amount of gross particulates suspended in the fetid slobber. Nothing you'd want to brew ale with, that's for sure. This graphic of the Water-Barfing Moose is actually an improvement over the even less appealing Hydrophobic Moose of an earlier, though still commonly seen, label:
The Alces alces above isn’t up to his balls in a stream-fed pond but rather slobbering his way along dry land, possibly following a recent run-in with a rabid dog just outside tired old Maycomb, Alabama. I reckon Atticus "One Shot" Finch would drop this brain-addled animal in a heartbeat. "Jem, Scout, don't you go near that moose, you understand? Don't go near him, he's just as dangerous dead as alive." Something’s wrong with this moose, for sure, and I certainly wouldn't be interested in drinking any of its mouth juices.
Because of my aversion to the name Moose Drool, I’ve always had a certain contempt for Big Sky Brewing, even refusing to purchase any BS beer either at ale houses or at grocery stores. I've even passed up multiple opportunities to visit the brewery because I simply had no interest in supporting a company that would call an ale Moose Drool. I still hate that name, but due to a recent visit to the brewery, I’ve called off my one-man boycott and am now a fan of Big Sky Brewing.
If you know where to look, you can see Big Sky Brewing from I-90 as you're passing through Missoula, especially eastbound. It’s a stone's throw from the freeway, super easy to find and is a stop that can be made in conjunction with gassing up at the nearby Mobile station (Deano's, just off the freeway and almost sharing a parking lot with Big Sky). Whether eastbound or westbound, just take the Airway Blvd. exit off I-90 like you’re heading to the airport, hang a right at either Harrier or Expressway and then turn onto Trumpeter. You can't miss the place. Big facility; plenty of parking.
Big Sky is unlike any other microbrewery I’ve been to in Montana. Many breweries in the state have a fly-by-night feel to them, as if they were clandestine operations that might fold at any moment, but not Big Sky. The makers of Moose Drool have a big, well-stocked gift shop, and though a gift shop isn’t something I look for in a microbrewery, I found the offering of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, coasters, placemats, mugs and other souvenirs strangely reassuring. This is a successful business that's going to be around for a long time to come. I like knowing it'll be there the next time I'm passing through Missoula.
The taproom was crazy busy the Tuesday afternoon I was there. I found out that Tuesday is the day they have discounted growler refills, so the take-out crowd was showing up, jugs in hand, for refills. Half-gallon containers were lined up several deep as the gals operating the taproom had their hands full refilling growlers and pouring complimentary tastes. There must have been upwards of 30 people in the taproom and 10 jugs waiting to be filled at any one time--lots of activity for a Tuesday afternoon.
Because one of my pet peeves is microbreweries charging a buck for a mouthful of their brew, I was very pleased to learn of Big Sky's generous tasting policy. They limit you to four 3-ounce tastes per day, so no one's in there drinking freebies to their heart's content, but though no one appeared to be scamming more free samples than they were entitled to, it was clear that the growler refill customers made a point of getting all four samples before leaving. There was quite a festive mood in the taproom, with an apparent mix of locals and university students getting growlers filled, on the one hand, and travelers/tourists picking up souvenirs, on the other, and everyone quaffing free brew and chatting with their neighbors.
Because one of my pet peeves is microbreweries charging a buck for a mouthful of their brew, I was very pleased to learn of Big Sky's generous tasting policy. They limit you to four 3-ounce tastes per day, so no one's in there drinking freebies to their heart's content, but though no one appeared to be scamming more free samples than they were entitled to, it was clear that the growler refill customers made a point of getting all four samples before leaving. There was quite a festive mood in the taproom, with an apparent mix of locals and university students getting growlers filled, on the one hand, and travelers/tourists picking up souvenirs, on the other, and everyone quaffing free brew and chatting with their neighbors.
Above, a sample of Moose Drool fronting a couple growlers. After holding out on Moose Drool for close to 15 years, I finally had my first taste just a few feet away from the kettles it's brewed in. I was blown away. I’m not a connoisseur of Brown Ale, so I don’t know if it is considered an exemplary one, but I really liked it and am guessing it is quite a fine Brown. Full flavored with a very pleasant sweetness and mouth feel, with just a hint of bitterness.
There were six brews on tap the day I visited. I tried Moose Drool Brown, Scape Goat Pale and Big Sky IPA. I always like it when a brewery’s namesake brew is their IPA. It usually means that they take their IPA very seriously. Everything else at Big Sky Brewing has its own thematic or quirky name, but the IPA is simply Big Sky IPA. I like that. Can't read the chalkboard? Let's take a look from the other side:
That's better. At the top of the list, Powder Hound is their big Winter Ale. It's seasonal, so I should have tried it when I had the chance. Doubt it'll be available on my next trip. While sitting at the bar, I overheard lots of good comments about the Belgian as people sampled it, but the growler refills were strictly Pale, IPA and Brown.
The tap handles are pretty nice, especially Trout Slayer, Big Sky's wheat ale, there on the right. Of course, the moose is pretty cool, too:
The tap handles are pretty nice, especially Trout Slayer, Big Sky's wheat ale, there on the right. Of course, the moose is pretty cool, too:
Big Sky Brewing is a big operation, canning, bottling and kegging their ales for distribution all over the West. You won't find it back East yet, but other than Hawaii, every state west of Indiana has at least one Big Sky distributor.
I’m still not crazy about the name of Big Sky’s most popular ale, but I’ve definitely come to like the product itself. From now on, Big Sky Brewing will be a regular stop on my drives through Montana, and I'll keep an eye out for their brews in ale houses wherever I go.
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