Sports on Draft

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny winter day, which made it perfect to go on a small road trip. My friend, his girlfriend and I, headed to Philipsburg around 10 a.m. Friday morning, including a fun plan of beer and candy.

Philipsburg is a small town (population: 921) and in the county seat of Granite County, Montana. The town was named after famous mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer, according to Wikipedia, who designed and supervised construction of the ore smelter around which the town originally formed.

It was only about an hour and 15 minute trip from my town in Butte, Montana, so the Phillipsburg trip was a nice and also scenic drive.

The Philipsburg Brewing Company, on Broadway Street, immediately caught my eye with the historical structure and matched the small, tourist town vibe. It is very inviting when entering the town square/downtown area.

I was excited to go to Philipsburg Brewing after trying some of their brew from nearby bars/restaurants, and stores. I’ve had the “Haybag Hefeweizen”, and the “Razzu” on tap, but finally got the pleasure to try one of my favorites, “Otter Water”.

I’ve tried a couple of beers from the nearby liquor store in Butte, but after having the Otter Water Session Pale Ale on tap at the brewery, it was like trying something completely new. I was very impressed by the variety and quality of their brew, I had to grab several samples and a flight, because I wanted to try almost all of them.

The porter, and Montana IPA was great, but I was blown away by Philipsburg Brewing’s “5 Phantoms Pumpkin Spice Barley Wine”.

I’m not a fan at all of barley wine beer (it might actually be my least favorite of all), but since it wasn’t aged very long, a fresh 2019 barrel of the 5 Phantoms resulted pretty much like a pumpkin spice ale. The barrel age gave the beer character, not making it too sweet, but it wasn’t bitter or had that barley wine taste that normally turned me off to this type of beer.

The bartender put cinnamon around the rim of the glass, giving the 5 Phantoms a nice touch and aftertaste. Since it was the 5th year anniversary brewing this award-winning ale, Philipsburg Brewing actually has five taps dedicated to vintages from 2015 to 2019.

I loved trying the brew at Philipsburg as much as I loved the brand and atmosphere of the brewery. It was a cute, little brew pub that matched the vibe of the town itself which was fitting.

Check out some of their merchandise they have upstairs, their symbol of the dog is just awesome! Philipsburg Brewing has a good amount of shirts, hats, sweaters, and even vests – which I had to get, and was very happy about it (always wanted a vest).

This brewery has actually been my favorite since I have been to Montana, which is saying a lot, since I’ve been to a few and definitely going to bring myself back, along with growlers and such to go.

Another great reason to check out downtown Philipsburg is for their well known candy store, “Sweet Palace”. Sweet Palace might be the king of candy and chocolate stores in recent memory.

From chocolates to huckleberry gummy bears, and white chocolate bear claws, the Sweet Palace has pretty much every sweet sensation you could think of. I made fun of my friend initially for including candy as an essential part of the road trip, but quickly understood the hype after visiting.

After grabbing some candy to go, we discussed for a quick lunch on our way out, and that ordinary meal ended up being a unique eating experience for me. A cool little restaurant/sandwich joint called, “Doe Brothers”, introduced me to one of my favorite pulled pork sandwiches I’ve had in quite some time.

Ever since I have moved to Montana, or even before, reminiscing my favorite hazy IPA back home, I accumulated a huge obsession for huckleberries. Doe Brothers had a BBQ Pulled Pork Huckleberry Sandwich, and it was to die for.

The quality, tender pulled pork pieces of the sandwich and fresh huckleberries made for one delicious meal, and just thought it was somewhat unique. I loved it, and would recommend anyone going into Philipsburg to check out Doe Brothers Restaurant.