Ode to Big Sky Brewery

Exit Glacier, Alaska, with our precious Moose Drool beer

One cold Montana morning, Dale told me I should write a letter to Big Sky Brewing Company thanking them for providing the libation necessary for us to enjoy life. At first, I laughed and chuckled to myself in the shower almost drowning on the droplets of water that splashed into my face. He was right. Big Sky has somehow been involved during all of our life-changing moments, almost showing us our future had we been paying more attention.

August 21, 2008 Dale and I had spent the last two weeks in Alaska trekking lonely roads, camping on the beach, and spotting animals every mile. At this point we had been dating 8 months and were clearly in love. During one of our Alaskan adventures, we stopped at a Safeway in Homer, AK to refuel our beer supply only to be surprised that they had on stock a Montana Mixer pack of Big Sky Beer. Inside that precious box was all my hearts desire, Summer Honey, Scape Goat, Moose Drool and IPA. I was delirious with delight as that during our adventures all I wanted was to wash down my campfire pizza with some Summer Honey. We continued on our journey and headed towards Seward, AK where we decided to hike Exit Glacier. Of course, we packed our pockets full of beer before heading towards the ice field. There were warnings about grizzlies which quickened our pace and before the hours end we were staring into an old glacier listening to the wind howl through the icy caverns, enjoying our refreshing Summer Honey courtesy of Big Sky. Now, you may ask, what was life changing about that? The story continues.....

Our epic campsite near Exit Glacier, Alaska. If you closely, right next to our fire is a coveted box of Big Sky brews.

We drove away from Exit Glacier peaceful and relaxed and found a campsite right along the glacially carved river nearby. We parked, hiked in, built a fire, and just sat in a comfortable silence enjoying the sound of nothing more than the fire crackling and the river running by. We washed our lentil soup down with more of our Montana Mixer and started talking about the beautiful day we had just shared. Dale rambled on as I tried to listen but I was intoxicated with the nature around me and the piney taste of IPA....all of a sudden, "will you marry me?" echoed through the timbers. I swallowed my last sip of beer, leaned over, kissed him, and said yes.

The morning after Dale's proposal....pure bliss

Clearly, Big Sky beer did not force Dale to pop the question but it was big part of that day. We were both so happy and relaxed and both of us, beer in hand, just kept thinking how perfect life was.

Montana sunset, October 2008, when we decided to move back to Montana

A few months later, we got married and headed to Montana to tell my family about our nuptials. After three days of being spoiled by Montana air and adventure we headed back to Seattle, where we currently resided. Tears rolled down my face as we left Bozeman, the home I longed to return to. Dale sat quietly watching the road disappear between mountains. About 1 mile from Missoula he told me that he and his sister had passed through Missoula on a road trip and stopped at the Big Sky Brewery. He couldn't remember exactly where it was but we were committed to finding our own personal Mecca of beer. We pulled off the freeway and drove down a couple streets, hit a dead end, got lost, and decided to get back on the freeway, seeing the sign less than a 1/4 mile away. Of course, we made our speedy exit all over again, this time rewarded with the smell of hops and taste of beer. I perused the brewery sipping on a specially brewed Belgian trippel that tasted like bananas. I briefly fondled a baby onesie that said "my mom hearts drool" before spotting a Summer Honey pint glass that I insisted on adding to my collection. Dale and I bought a growler and hit the road again. Before we pulled out of the Big Sky parking lot, we decided to move to Montana. We talked the whole way home about living in Montana and started an action plan.

Outside our new house in Missoula, with our dog, Emma, who enjoys the occasional sip of Moose Drool.

Two months later, we moved into our house in Missoula that happened to be on that street we got lost on and hit the brewery to refill our lonely growler.

Last week, Dale's sister moved from Boston to Missoula and remembered her stop at the brewery a few years back. It was Tuesday's $5 growler fill day and we headed to the brewery in search of libation, and chatted about our memories of Big Sky beer. Dale and I told her about how we were drinking it in Alaska when Dale proposed, that our stop at the brewery was when we decided to move to Montana, and of course, how we felt the brewery had somehow shaped our lives. That night, our friend Jarred and Dale's sister, Dalyn, presented us with a baby onesie that reads "my mom hearts drool" as we are now expecting our first child, a boy, to be born in October.

The onesie I cant wait to dress our baby in!!

It is again, $5 growler fill day, and I am headed to the brewery to fill my growlers with some IPA, of course I wont consume them, but I savor the continued joy they bring to so many in my life. So, thank you Big Sky for the mysterious ways in which you have shaped our lives, surely our child's first drink wont be a beer, but we will indeed be toasting with your brews (hopefully some Slow Elk!) once our bundle arrives in October.