Montana: Tamarack Brewing

During our recent trip to visit family in the Flathead Valley of Montana, I made a point to drink regional brews whenever possible. We also squeezed in visit to a couple of local brew pubs. One of the places we visited was Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside, MT.

We started our visit with a couple of beers and an appetizer while we perused the rest of the menu. Colleen enjoyed a refreshing, and mildly tart Wind Knot Raspberry Wheat. I started with the Lakeside Pale Ale. The Pale Ale had "juicy" citrus flavor with a hint of pine resin. The finish was slightly bitter. 

As an appetizer we selected the "Railroad Ties." These are fried eggrolls filled with grilled chicken, green chilies, cream cheese, and mozzarella and served with a jalapeño honey sauce. Our assumption would be we'd get just a small something to hold us while we waited for lunch. What appeared at the table was three large, fully stuffed egg rolls. They were delicious but the portion size should have been a hint of things to come.

For my main course, I ordered "Verde Pork Burrito." The menu description read, "A huge flour tortilla filled with barbacoa pork, green chili sauce, melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Served with Baja black beans, tortilla chips, salsa, and sour cream." Huge was the operative word here. The entrees that Colleen and our son ordered were equally generous in size. 

My burrito was quite tasty, and pint of Rye Sally Rye Pale Ale was my selection to accompany it. The Rye Pale Ale had a soft citrus and grassy flavor, with lightly sweet caramel malt in the background. 

We enjoyed the beers and open air seating at Tamarack. The food was delicious and the serving sizes were exceptionally large. Even our waitress commented that the servings are big for a lunch as she handed us a "to go" box for leftovers. I think a good plan at Tamarack would be to share "appetizers" and order more beer.