At the end of my couple of months working at Big Sky Ski Resort, I road tripped back east with my mom. The first half of the route mirrored my travels there: Bozeman to Rapid City, Rapid City through Sioux Falls, and then it changed in Iowa. Moving through Rapid City our first night we stopped for dinner. I was able to make it to a brewery this time: the Firehouse Brewing Company. This place was quite unique! One of the oldest (if not the oldest) breweries I have been to, the Firehouse Brewing Company has been around for over 20 years. It is the oldest craft brewery in South Dakota. The building itself was built in 1915, as the old firehouse. The brewing company still has the original fire pole! The brewery opened its doors is 1991 and has been a hit since. They serve food along with their beer and house made wine. Since they are located in South Dakota, no they do not grow their own grapes. They are imported from California. They didn't have the typical selection of craft beer styles. No stout, no porter, no IPA! I tried to navigate their list of beers like a stranger. They had nine beers and one non-alcoholic beer. Whether they have a smaller flight or not, I do not know, I somehow ended up with a 9 drink flight. The waiter, a fun spunky guy who we actually quite enjoyed, accidentally told us they were 2 oz beers. I found that odd but who was I to tell him he was wrong so I ordered it. The second they came out I looked at him puzzled...I knew they were at least 4 oz glasses. I had a lot to try. We were on the move that night and so kind of on a schedule. There was no way I could finish each glass, but I was definitely going to taste each one. They went around in a circle with the darkest beer, the last to try, in the center. I had in front of me the Bell Tower Lager, the Apple Cider, the “Deerbeerski” (an extra special bitter), Double Tap (an American Amber), the Chukkar Ale (an American ale), the Firehouse Red, the Rocklicker Red Lager, the Black Hills Brown Ale and finally, the Brown Ale Spruce. Starting on one end, going clockwise. I picked up the Bell Tower: sweet, kind of wheaty, light and with a slight hop at the end. 2. Apple cider: unique because I don’t try or see many ciders at breweries . There was a sweet finish and the apple flavor came at the end. 3. The “Deerbeerski” was a type I had never had before: an ESB (Extra Special Bitter). I was very confused at how NOT bitter it was. Back at home I became more familiar with this style at the local brewery in downtown Silver Spring called Denizen’s. 4. Double Tap: Smelled of clove with an overall spice taste. It had pop of flavor! 5. Chukkar: tasted like an IPA; hoppy smell and taste strong bite at the end. 6. The Firehouse Red: lighter with a bit of hop, citrusy notes, and a slight malty/wheaty addition. It was sweet all around. 7. Red Lager: surprisingly strong and alcoholic. Over all taste is similar to the Firehouse Red but with a higher alcohol content and a brown sugary overtone. 8. The Black Hills Brown: tasted like a stout though I could see how it wasn’t from appearance, it was more translucent and lighter in color. There was a strong brown sugary smell, no bitterness and a light chocolatey taste. 9. The Brown Ale Spruce: this was the most unique tasting beer they had. It was a darker color (looked like a stout) but lighter in taste. It had this unique candy aroma I couldn’t put my tongue on. Kind of buttery in a way. I finished some….didn’t get close to finishing others. As for food not bad, my mom loved hers. The environment was great, I wish it was warmer so we could have sat outside on the patio!
Adding to the uniqueness of the place; they have promotional firetrucks along I-90! It’s pretty cool to see these random firetrucks on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
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