Montana Winners at the Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival is down to its last day in Denver, CO, and the winners of the annual competition were announced during a ceremony this morning. For 2014 there were 5,507 entries in the commercial side of the competition. Montana’s big win came from Missoula’s Draught Works Brewery which was named Very Small…

Great Northern Brewing Co’s Beer Barter Cancelled

The good news and joyous celebrations that followed permit approval by the Whitefish City Council on Monday were short lived.  Great Northern Brewing Co. has announced the cancellation of their popular Beer Barter, a major talent show of sorts during the annual Whitefish Winter Carnival.  The City initially denied the permit after the police chief…

Great Northern Beer Barter to Go On After Initial Permit Denial

Since being revived in 2011, Great Northern Brewing Co.’s Beer Barter has been a highlight of the popular Whitefish Winter Carnival. Fellow blogger Ryan attended the 2012 event and received the VIP-behind-the-scenes treatment. This annual event asks “What would you do or trade for a year’s supply of beer?” Contestants display their creativity by offering…

Red Lodge Ales, Great Northern and Big Sky Earn Medals at GABF

The winners of the 2013 Great American Beer Festival’s competition were announced yesterday morning in the always electrically charged and highly anticipated ceremony before the final session of the massive brewfest.     It was the biggest competition yet, on beer’s biggest stage, with 4,809 entries from 732 breweries evaluated by 201 judges from eleven countries.…

Great Northern Brewing Ends Production of Black Star Beer

Re-launched on February 6, 2010, to great marketing fanfare and a push to create a national brand, Great Northern Brewing Co. has ended production of Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager. Black Star sought to cut into the traditional macro-adjunct-lager market by providing a beer with better flavor and quality, but retaining a similar price…

How Important Is the Origin of Your Beer?

I caught this little nugget today over the Twitter wires from Stone Brewing Founder and CEO Greg Koch: @StoneGreg  If your beer isn’t actually brewed there, why do you spend so much time, energy & money trying to convince people it is? How about #honesty Tracing back the short conversation reveals no specifics. Rather, he’s…

Great Northern Hosts Hop Swap September 18

Great Northern Brewing Company wants your hops.  For the second year, Great Northern invites all Flathead Valley residents to bring in their locally grown hops and trade them for vouchers redeemable for products at the Black Star Draught House.  The hops will be used in the 2012 version of Frog Hop Pale Ale. The hop…

Craft Beer’s Collaborations

We craft beer enthusiasts are quick to side with our favorite breweries and beers. Yes, we enjoy trying new beers when we have the chance, but we often keep our favorites tucked away in the backs of our minds, asking ourselves, “Do I want to take a chance on this one, or do I just…

2012 Black Star Beer Barter One for the Books!

The second annual Black Beer Barter, held February 4, was one for the beer-stained record books. As you can see in the above picture of me (on right) standing next to Marcus Duffey, General Manager of the Great Northern Brewery, I was right in the middle of it. The weekend kicked off in style with…

Western Montana New Brew Roundup

Western Montana breweries have been busy lately creating a variety of new beers for the fall and winter season.  From big IPAs and porters to pumpkin ales and even a wintermarzen, there’s a lot to try and something for everyone.  With Thanksgiving week upon us, now is a great time to take a break, head…