Who’s The Best? The Top 20 Favorite Made In Montana Beers

Ales and lagers have been around for thousands of years. In fact, the first proof of beer making is from 4,000 BCE with the Sumerians. Leave it to Montanans to perfect the art of beer brewing, and produce some of the finest beers available today. Here, we'll see a list of Montana's favorite Montana brewed beers.

The hub for all professional beer makers in the state of Montana is the Montana Brewers Association, which was created in 2008. They provide, support, community, information, organization, and events to promote Montana brewers. Their website is a wonderful starting point for anyone interested in seeing the vast array of breweries in Montana.

The Montana Brewers Trail Map is a very cool thing to check out, allowing you to see all the breweries and tap houses across the entire state. (Yes, you can download a PDF so it's at your fingertips for a road trip...with a designated driver, of course.)

With about 100 breweries across the state of Montana, there's a vast array of beers to choose from. Being such an ag-heavy state, we also reap the benefits of having some of the highest quality ingredients on the planet for making beer. (Remember when Heineken started purchasing Montana barley?)

• Midas Crush from MAP Brewing (Bozeman, MT)
• Bent Nail from Red Lodge Ales (Red Lodge, MT)
• Cold Smoke Scotch Ale from KettleHouse Brewing (Bonner, MT)
• Moose Drool Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing Company (Missoula, MT)
• IPA from Old Bull Brewing (Frenchtown, MT)
• Salmon Fly Honey Rye from Madison River Brewing Co. (Belgrade, MT)
• Dragon's Breath Dark Wheat Hefeweizen from Bayern Brewery (Missoula, MT)

The beers that made this list came from an informal online poll we created. Nothing fancy, and no incentives given. We were simply looking for the favorite, go-to, Montana-made beer that MONTANANS love. There were TONS of responses, covering the entire state. Missoula and Bozeman breweries garnered the most responses. BTW, the listed beers are in no particular order - they all received many votes.

• Pine Creek Pale Ale from Neptune's Brewery (Livingston, MT)
• Snail Mail Mountain Pale Ale from Outlaw Brewing (Bozeman, MT)
• That's What She Said Cream Ale from Draught Works Brewery (Missoula, MT)
• Fresno Wheat from Triple Dog Brewery (Havre, MT)
• Red Dread Ale from Bitter Root Brewing (Hamilton, MT)
• Party! Mexican Lager from MAP Brewing (Bozeman, MT)
• Chokecherry Chameleon Cream Ale from Crazy Peak Brewing Co. (Big Timber, MT)
• Damsel Fly Reel Pale Ale from Mountains Walking Brewery (Bozeman, MT)

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We ended up with hundreds of responses voting for dozens of different beers across Montana. Keep in mind, a great way to get a taste of the state in one location is to visit a place like SHINE Beer Sanctuary + Bottle Shop in downtown Bozeman. Places like SHINE are packed with local beers and interesting craft beers from all corners. We always find something new to like at a place like SHINE. (We bring up SHINE because they were voted Best Craft Beer Bar in America for Montana. They are legit it best in the state.)

• Rusty Beaver Wheat from Beaver Creek Brewery (Wibaux, MT)
• Bozone Amber Ale from Bozeman Brewing Company (Bozeman, MT)
• Powder Haze IPA from Ten Mile Creek Brewing (Helena, MT)
• Doppelbock from Bayern Brewing (Missoula, MT)
• Blackfoot Single Malt IPA from Blackfoot River Brewing (Helena, MT)
• Mad Mile Cream Ale from Bridger Brewing (Bozeman, MT)