Montana Made Scotch Ale Taste Test

Montana is a state full of microbreweries.  It seems everywhere you look a new one is popping up, even in the smallest of towns.  If you enjoy good beer, it is a great place to be.  One of the most famous beers that have emerged is the Kettle House’s Cold Smoke Scotch Ale.  Demand for Cold Smoke was so high that the Kettle House actually decided to scale back its distribution rather than make the step up to a larger brewery.  This only increased its fame and notoriety.  Montanans passing near Missoula often stock up on the deliciously smooth, dark and flavorful beer, even at $2 a can. 

But Cold Smoke is not the only Montana made Scotch Ale and I, for one, wanted to know if people liked Cold Smoke because it is popular or because it is a Scotch Ale (a more off-the-beaten-path microbrew beer type).   So we conducted a taste test in our backyard.

The test included four Scotch Ales: Back Country (Lewis and Clark Brewery Co. - Helena),Lock and Lode (Belt Brewing Co. –Belt), Copper John (Madison River Brewing Co. – Belgrade) and Cold Smoke (Kettle House Brewing Co. – Missoula).  There were six participants in the test, most of whom enjoyed Cold Smoke but had never tried the other three Scotch Ales.  Participants were asked to rank each beer on a 1-5 scale with five being best.  They were also asked to guess which beer they were drinking as it came.  Each round came out without the participants seeing the label and each participant tasted about two ounces of each beer.   

The results were decisive.  Even though Cold Smoke was third to be tasted, every participant guessed it to be Cold Smoke.  It also won the overall taste test, with participants ranking it a 4.67 out of 5.  Back Country was second with a 4.08 out of 5.  Copper John and Lock and Lode struggled far behind with rankings of 2.79 and 2.58 respectively.  One participant summed the results up best with his guesses for each beer next to the ranking: “Don’t Care”- Copper John, “I’d Drink Again” – Back Country, “Cold Smoke”- Cold Smoke and “Don’t Care”- Lock and Lode.   It is worth noting too, that Back Country is the best buy option, considering its relatively high ranking for taste and its comparative advantage in price per ounce on Cold Smoke (typically 2 cents per ounce difference in price).