Montana Ale Works

objectivemonkey

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Montana Ale Works is the place to go for local Montana or surrounding state beer, a whole page of the menu dedicated to local micros, their own contract beer, Bozeman Brewings' offerings. This is I guess my first real beer stop in Montana or surrounding area, and I have to admit, I'm quite surprised, even a but jealous. The selection would rival quite a few of my favorite places at home, and even give Colorado a run for its money. I mean, considering the state population, the beer scene here does pretty well.

Anywho, walking into the place, a very modern and really pretty cool place, somewhere between industrial and barn. Lots of stainless steel and concrete, lots of wood rafters. Pretty cool. And them menu looks pretty good, though I didn't have any food.

The waitstaff could have been a little more helpful, but was mostly prompt. When asked about a few of the local selections, I got pretty generic answers, even though my questions were pretty specific. So, ya. So, basically, a place I'd love to have at home, and the shining jewel of Montana beer bars as far as I can see.

06-25-2006 04:06:53 | More by objectivemonkey

kcsc007

California

3.78/5  rDev -9.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$$

I just moved to Bozeman from San Francisco and have been frenquenting Aleworks for two reasons; it is two blocks from my job and it has the best beers in town.

Maybe it is the influence of the early German settlers or the need to pass time during the extremely cold winters (compared to SF), but the beer selection there rivals any selection I have seen in California. They have an extensive list of local and regional brews plus a nice smattering of quality micro-brews from around the country and some bottled goodies from Europe.

I am also impressed by there selection of IPAs and ESBs from local and regional breweries. Locals like Bozone's Batch 101 IPA and another IPA called Tumbleweed are nice hoppy and a little herbal, similar to my favorite Anderson Valley Hop Otin or the Stone IPA.

Now the downside; the waitstaff is inexcusably beer-illiterate. Beyond describing beers by color and "strength", the waitstaff (mostly young women) provide little insight into the actual makeup and qualities of the individual beers and even general styles, this includes the bartenders. The long and short is, they don't come of as beer advocates! Also, there are little, if any meals/dishes under $12. This includes such cheap standard as fish and chips. I know there aren't much cod up here, but come on! There bison cut is over $30. Pretty decent food, but nothing that will knock your socks off.

Overall, the place is large and expansive, a good place to grab a pint or four if you don't require much guidance. Be prepared to drop some serious cash for dinner and drinks, this isn't by any means a pub.

Prost!

02-18-2006 00:18:14 | More by kcsc007

elmocoso

Nebraska

4.2/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4

What a great place to have a few beers and play a game of pool. You have a historic building, where you can view green Montana mountains out of every wall-sized window. The staff were friendly. The selections was good and local, and the food was good.

They had about 25 beers on the list with a large amount of them being on tap, there were even some listed as specially brewed for the bar.

The food was good and diverse. I had fish tacos that were good but a little spicy, but others in the group were all satisfied.

If you are in bozeman, this is the place to go for a beer lover. It seemed to have everything i look for in a good beer bar, except maybe cozyness. but there are times when you aren't looking for that either.

anyway, try it out.

07-06-2004 03:02:28 | More by elmocoso