Montana 1 IPA
Philipsburg Brewing Company

From a 16oz can/bottle. Canned on on 07/08/2025.

Slightly murky golden pouring beer in the glass. There's a 2 finger white head to the beer. The head retention isn't the best, but there's great lacing on the glass.
The aroma is actually lighter than I was expecting. I am getting some citrus notes with a touch of pineapple. Very light aroma.
The flavor starts off very bland. There's a bit of a grain flavor up front. The back is where the hops come into play. There's citrus notes that hit my throat. Faint pine notes.
The body is bubbly. Crisp feeling. Slight bitterness feeling.
It is an interesting beer, but I just don't know what to think about it.

Screw-top can (odd format!) gifted to me by Nicole - thanks!

Thin yet coating. Hop profile is rudimentary...floral hops, bit of faint pine. I'd guess Cascade was used, but I'd compare this unfavorably to something like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale (it may seem disingenuous to compare an IPA to a pale ale, but my point is that the latter beer happens to have more hop pungency than the former - not a good thing).

Drinks easy enough, but it's a pretty forgettable beer in an oversaturated market segment.

C- / BELOW AVERAGE

Had a couple times in last few days - on tap at brewery (6.2%) and funky bottle can brewed June 28/23 (2 weeks) brought home - cold entire time.
Pours a near clear bright golden with half finger of tight bubbly white head with hard pour.
Aroma is off the top weedy and dank though this blows off (somewhat) giving way to a juicy/fruity hit of over ripe orange, pineapple and mango and a touch of floral hops.
Taste follows with juicy over ripe orange, tropical fruit sweetness and a dank and herbal/weedy hop hit with soft bitterness balanced by cereal malt.
Solid medium mouthfeel but carbonation a tad muted with a nice juicy sweet finish.
Could happily drink anytime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draft at the windbag in Helena MT. I like it. A lighter version of the common theme of MT IPA's. I love that theme and this will become a summer favorite.

my first from these guys, a relatively modern ipa thats mighty easy drinking and something i could happily drink pint after pint. its golden in color with just a little haze to it and a shaving cream thick white head on it that almost looks nitro dispensed, crazy retention and lace too, just gorgeous. the aroma is very dry hoppy to me, without much bitterness here at all, very fresh, with a familiar hop profile that flashes pineapple juice and pine, with a light tropical accent and some greenness to it, maybe a mosaic and simcoe thing, but im not sure what hops they actually make this with. the flavor is balanced and this is well proportioned, bitter enough without being aggressive, and the freshness is obvious. i love the grapefruit and orange citrus note right before the swallow, and i like the lightness of the grain in here, its minimal but delicious with the hops at the same time. only lightly hazy and not all dry hopped, but this seems decidedly current, where so many hoppy beers from montana seem old school to me. i thought this was great and will keep my eye out for more from these guys next time! very well done here.

Poured from pint can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a billowy head of white foam. The head has great retention, slowly fading over time to leave a good sum of foamy lace on the sides of the glass
Smell – The aroma of the brew is busting with tropical fruits of papaya and tangerine with notes of mango and a bit of herb mixed within. Along with these aromas comes some lighter notes of grass and hay and some very light grain.
Taste – The taste begins with a rather bready and slightly doughy taste that has a lighter fruity flavors of tangerine, papaya, and mango. There is a little bit of grass and herb upfront which grows stronger as the taste moves on. Along with these hop tastes also comes some grapefruit hop which actually constitutes the major hop flavor. With the taste advancing, the tropical flavors initially fade all while the bready and doughy get stronger. While the fruity tropical tastes initially fade, they seem to surge at the end, and with a little bit more herb and grass, as well as more grapefruit hop, one is left with a moderately hopped, citrusy and fruity, bready taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is on the slightly thicker and chewier side with a carbonation level that is rather normal to slightly below normal. For the bready taste mixed with the sweeter citrus and more moderate hop profile, the feel is pretty good as it matches the malt and accentuates the hop rather well.
Overall – A decent, more malty IPA, but really nothing too out of the ordinary. Worth a try, but nothing exceptional.