A bartender in Montana was shot after he made a customer's red beer with Clamato, which is flavored with clam broth and is not Kosher. Photo: Flickr.

A Jewish man shot and injured a bartender in Montana on Saturday after the latter served him a drink containing a non-kosher ingredient, the Associated Press reported.

Monte Hanson, 59, was furious when his neighbor and bartender Joe Lewis made his red beer with Clamato instead of regular tomato juice, according to court records. Hanson said drinking Clamato is against his Jewish faith because the reconstituted tomato juice concentrate is flavored with clam broth, which is not kosher.

Hanson shot Lewis shortly after the bartender returned home from work at the Rainbow Bar. The gunfire would have been lethal if the bullet hadn’t hit the bartender’s pitbull first, according to the AP.

Lewis’ brother, Mike Lewis, said Tuesday that the gunshot hit the dog, Jackson, in the head. He said that if his brother had not been carrying the pitbull, who had a cast on one leg from having a toe removed, the shot could have hit his brother in the head.

The dog died from the injury while a second shot hit Lewis in the ribs and went out his back, missing any vital organs.

“He’s doing all right now,” Mike Lewis said of his brother. “He’s just in a lot of pain is all. He’s staying strong. He’s out of the hospital.”

“He’s pretty broken up about his dog,” he also said. “Joe’s alive today, because he was carrying Jackson to go to the bathroom, and when he was shot at, Jackson blocked the bullet that would have hit Joe.”

Hanson has been jailed and charged with attempted deliberate homicide and animal cruelty. His bail is set at $250,000. Joe Lewis’ family and friends are hoping to raise enough money to replace his dog and help with upcoming living expenses, The Montana Standard reported.