Kalispell Finally Gets A Brewery

Billings has six. Missoula four.  Bozeman, Helena and Great Falls have two each. Butte is soon to get its second one.  Heck, even Philipsburg and Wibaux have one. For some reason, Kalispell has long remained the only one of Montana’s seven “large” cities without a brewery.  Missoula’s Bayern Brewing Co. kicked things off in the…

Quarry Brewing Announces Relocation Plans

Butte’s Quarry Brewing has purchased the “Grand Hotel” in uptown Butte on 124 W. Broadway, just two blocks from their current location. They hope to be in their new location sometime around the first of September. No word yet on whether the move means an increase in production capacity.  Quarry’s current location is a lively,…

Floyd, VA and Shooting Creek Farm Brewery: Part I

While growing up in the New River Valley of southwest Virginia, Floyd was a nearby, quintessential cross-roads, rural town. Sitting a few miles north of the Blue Ridge Parkway, it served largely as the service center for the agricultural areas that still surround it. It had a bank, two classic general stores, the Blue Ridge…

New Brewery in Billings, MT?

On a recent layover at one of Missoula’s coffee shops, I was perusing the May issue of Lively Times when an advertisement for a Young Dubliners’ show caught my eye.  The venue was a place called Bones Brewing Pub and Eatery in Billings.  Curious, I checked out the website and found a place I’ve not…

Where to Find Beer: Flathead Lake Brewing Company

Last Saturday we had an opportunity to stop in at the newly reopened Flathead Lake Brewing Company in Woods Bay on the way back from a short trip to Flathead Lake and Kalispell. Things were a bit quiet during mid afternoon, but the wind was whipping up whitecaps on the Lake and the occasional rain…

Welcome Back Flathead Lake Brewing Co.

Sometime around last June I remember going in to The Old Post in Missoula for an afternoon burger and a Flathead Lake Brewing Peg Leg Porter only to find that the Flathead taps had been replaced. Rumor from the bartender was that the brewery was closing and no longer sending out kegs.  Those rumors turned…

Great Northern Brewing: Celebrating 15 Years

I’m guessing many visitors to Montana are quite surprised to find such a thriving craft beer culture. With 25 +/- breweries at any given time for a state with fewer than one million people, it is a bit hard to fathom. And guess what? I’d hazard a guess there’s room for more.  Breweries, that is.…

Blacksmith Brewing, Music and Fall Line Winter Ale

Yes, I’ve blogged about Blacksmith Brewing Co. before and it won’t be the last time. It would be my “home” brewery –  that comfortable place that’s easy to stop by at a moment’s notice – except for the fact it is 25 miles south of Missoula. We headed down the Saturday of the new years’…

Barrel Bomber Stout at Glacier Brewing Co.

Montana is indeed a great place to be a craft beer fan, especially with breweries popping up in many small towns like Lakeside, Stevensville, Wibaux and places in between. Glacier Brewing sits up the hill from downtown Polson at the southern end of Flathead Lake.  I’ve always wondered why Polson doesn’t have a Dairy Queen,…