I am flying to Seattle and driving back to Chicago...collecting beer along the way! I am looking to hit a bottle shop with mix-6ers or an awesome selection at least once per day. And try to hit a brewery or great lunch spot with great beer each day. If you have any suggestions, I truly apprecate them. Here's what I've gathered so far: Day 3 - Lewiston ID to either Billings, MT, or Sheridan, WY. From what I gathered in the Northwest forum, Worden's in Missoula is a must-stop. Are there any other great bottleshops or brewpubs? Where would be the better stop for a Friday night - Billings or Sheridan? From Sheridan I'll be taking 90 East through SD, MN and WI. Thank you in advance for any help. I truly appreciate it and will keep this updated.
This is totally a guess, but I'd bet MT would have better selections. If you could dip down to Portland, OR there are some nice shops there (BeerMongers and Belmont Station), where I spent about $400 EASY.
SD doesn't have a whole lot to offer in terms of beer, but since you're traveling 90 I'll recommend the best available places. The best brewery in SD is Crow Peak, which is located in Spearfish, SD right off I90. That would be my number one recommendation for SD breweries. On the East side of the state I would recommend Monk's House of Ale Repute in Sioux Falls as the best beer bar in the State. They do have food, but make sure to check the kitchen hours. The best bottle shop in the state is Good Spirits, which is located in the Taylor's Pantry convenience store. SD doesn't get much for distribution but Good Spirits gets the best of whatever is available. The one thing about Good Spirits is that releases don't tend to sell out real fast so you might find some things on the shelves that sold out quickly elsewhere. My guess is that Billings would be a better stop than Sheridan because I think there is one brewpub in Sheridan but I believe that there are a couple of breweries in Billings. You might check out the breweries in Bozeman/Belgrade MT. I'm kind of partial to Madison River Brewing Company in Belgrade, which is right by the Bozeman Airport and not to far off of I90.
