Burnt Tree Brewing’s head brewer Dave McAdoo is earning recognition in Ennis and beyond

"Dave is part scientist, part artist and 100% beer lover," raved Scott Kelly owner of Burnt Tree Brewing in Ennis about his head brewer Dave McAdoo who just received two silver medals at the Montana Brewer's Association second annual beer awards at the Lewis and Clark Taproom in Helena. 

"He puts his whole heart into every beer he makes," he continues. "He has too much respect for his craft to do otherwise." 

The Montana Beer Awards featured 25 judges who evaluated 344 beers over the course of four days. In the end, 30 breweries won awards across 60 categories. Eighteen breweries were recognized in all. 

“It is nice to get yourself on the radar of Montana beer consumers and other brewers. It can be nice to get the recognition of your peers,” said McAdoo. 

“The most fun is the joy it brings to our regulars. The people who drink our beer on a regular basis are always excited to hear we receive accolades,” he said. 

In the Strong Lagers category McAdoo’s entry was a collaboration beer created during a special event for the Montana Chapter of the Pink Boots Society, an organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging women in the brewing community. 

“It was an honor that the Montana chapter of Pink Boots chose Burnt Tree as their collaboration partner for the year,’ he said. 

“Craft brewing is a very male dominated profession so it is nice to play a part in encouraging women to be more comfortable and increase their participation in the industry,” he continued. 

The brew day when the doppelbock was created was part of a larger event that included a tour of Willie’s Distillery and a variety of classes regarding beer production and beer tasting. The three day event in November saw roughly a dozen women of varying brewing experiences participate in the brew day. 

“Any Pink Boots Society brew day is about coming together to learn and share about the brewing process,” said Pink Boots society leadership team member Heather Rapp, who also is a beertender at Beehive Brewing in Big Sky. 

“Everyone involved was buzzing with pride and excitement to be included in the process,” she continued. “The vibes were high through the brew day and I think the beer exudes some of the magic that was made.” 

In addition to the doppelbock McAdoo won a silver medal in the fruited beer category with his Maui Magic beer, that is a riff on one of Burnt Tree’s flagship beers the Mountain Magic Wheat lightly hopped American Wheat beer. 

The concept for Maui Magic started several years ago when an assistant brewer encouraged McAdoo to buy hibiscus as a beer addition. The hibiscus tea went into the brew and created a beautiful color, but not the flavors McAdoo was hoping for. Through the aging process, he tasted and tinkered with vanilla, passionfruit and more hibiscus leaves until he had something he liked. 

“I see him as a modern day Merlin in tie dye brewing tasty concoctions with Grateful Dead music on the speaker, and a disco ball above the brew deck,” said Rapp who also happened to be present on the Maui Magic brew day. 

The beer was a crowd pleaser both in the Burnt Tree tap room and Maverick Mountain Ski Area, before McAdoo decided to send it to the judges.

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