Experience before you go............
"What, state law says you can't serve beer after 8:00 pm in Montana"! To my amazement, this is what we heard from JC, the main dude/the bartender, the head bottle washer at the Blackfoot River Brewing Co. the Saturday night before. Kinda like when I saw 80 mph on a speed limit sign heading down the Montana hwy.....a lot of 8's in this fine state. "I guess we'll come back tomorrow"!
"Ooh, I'm easy like Sunday morning, 
That's why I'm easy, I'm easy like Sunday morning." Lionel Richie singing "Easy", got to love it!! And that's how it was this Sunday morning. We met b.i.l. John and wife Rose over at neice Christy, hubby Carson and five kiddos house where we loaded up the double stroller with youngest cutie patootie Madeline (Mae for short) and second youngest Indiana (Indy for short) and we started our mile & half Sunday morning stroll to church. "I'm easy I'm easy like Sunday morning ". It was a beautiful sunny day, some of the smoke from the wild fires had cleared and we were loving life!
Mass at the Cathedral of St. Helena was fabulous! Absolutely beautiful church built in 1908 and the stained glass, built in Munich, Bavaria is priceless.
Oh yeah, this is the Hoppin Brewery Tour, not the PBS travel channel touring Europe with Rick Steves.
After some walking and milling around downtown after church, I believe it was me that said, "Did someone say beer"? So off to the Blackfoot River Brewing Co. where hopefully our buddy JC will be holding down the fort. Bing, bang, boom....JC was there and he remembered us from last night and he greeted us with open arms. Another fabulous bar made of local Ponderosa Pine and again with no bar stools....we all bellied up to the bar, some of us more so than others and we order some beers. Kat & Rose order the Cream Ale - American Light Ale (60%, 17 IBU) easy drinking and crisp, yet still medium-bodied and satisfying. John orders the OPA - Organic Pale Ale (5.9%, 32 IBU) and I order up my usual, a flight of Blackfoot's finest. I start out with the Cream Ale, next the Single Malt IPA (6.9%, 55 IBU) then on to the Double IPA (9.0%, 80 IBU) followed by the OPA - Organic Pale Ale to the Amber Ale (6.1%, 28 IBU) and bringing up the rear is the Extra Special Bitter - Blue Collar ESB (6.4%, 41 IBU). As I was enjoying my fabulous flight, one after another coming through the door were happy customers with empty growlers in hand taking advantage of Blackfoot's Sunday special of $1.50 off a growler refill and a free pint of your favorite brew while you wait......brilliant!! This place has been around since 1998 and from the taste of the very refreshing and complex beer line up to the constant stream of happy customers and add to it the very cool roof top beer garden and you have a winning combination......good for you JC and the Blackfoot River Brewery!! Don't change a thing!
This day has only been our second full day of our 10 day out west extravaganza and we're already two Hoppin Brewery Tours in....I think I'm going to like this vacation!
Until next time and remember.........
Go get'cha one!!
