Bitter Root Brewing in Hamilton, Montana

For our second day of Bitter Root Week, we’ll be looking at a recent special brew from Bitter Root Brewing: the CTZ Single Hop Pale Ale. The CTZ Single Hop is brewed, as the name would suggest, using only CTZ hops. There have been a few breweries around the state doing such brews, which I think is great for consumers because it helps to educate us on the difference between hop varieties. One great example of late is the Saphir IPA from Blackfoot River, which was brewed just like their regular Single Malt IPA, but with Saphir hops in place of the usual Simcoe and Cascade. In the taproom, they were even serving 8 oz. of each side-by-side so patrons could experience the difference. I love to see brewers and breweries interested in not only making good beer, but also working to make good beer drinkers! So to both Bitter Root and Blackfoot River Breweries I endow a BarBEERians Badge of Brewing Excellence for their efforts to make us all more educated beer drinkers. Alas, I digress, now back tot he meat of the post my review of the CTZ Single Hop from Bitter Root Brewery!

This was my second go around with the CTZ Single Hop and it was even better than I remembered. A truly beautiful beer, it is an unfiltered mellow sunshine with streaks of white lacing that follow the head down the glass. Rising from the glass was a great springtime aroma of sweet grapefruit citrus and pine, though overall the nose was fairly mild. The CTZ was a pleasure to drink during our first BBQ of the season. Light bodied and floral, small carbonation bubbles pranced across the tongue, bringing with them bits of pine that culminated in a big bitter grapefruit finish. What a treat this beer was, though I wish they had waited a few months to brew it so we could be drinking it all spring and possibly well into the summer. It was amazingly light for being 6.3%, but still managed to bring out the flavors I love in an IPA, almost like an hop infused cream ale.

The CTZ Single Hop is a knockout and delightfully delicious and superbly sessionable.  I think it was a be a great introductory IPA for someone who is just starting to develop their beer palate and interested in expanding out of their comfort zone, but isn’t quite ready to make the plunge into some of those super bitter IPAs out there. This weekend when the weather gets nice and sunny out (lets all cross our fingers), all of you Missoulians should consider making the drive down to Hamilton to enjoy a pint or three of the CTZ. Seriously, sun shining. Bitter Root Valley. Delicious Beer. I’ve almost talked myself into it!