A beer blogger, an industry rep and a U.S. Senator walk into a brewery.  Stop me if you’ve heard this one . . . .

Such was the scene last Wednesday evening at Draught Works Brewery, Missoula’s newest brewery and one of it’s hottest social spots.  Rather than being a joke, however, it was the perfect reminder that craft beer is important.

Montana Senator Max Baucus is a big fan of the craft brewing industry.  Along with Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, he chairs the U.S. Senate’s Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus.  Senator Baucus created the caucus as a “forum to stand up for issues important to small brewers and examine the role of these small businesses in main street economies across Montana and around the country.”

When he created the Caucus in June 2011, Montana breweries employed an estimated 250 Montanans.  Draught Works had not yet opened, nor had Bowser Brewing, Outlaw Brewing, Higherground Brewing, or Wildwood Brewing.  See a trend here?  Several more breweries are in the works, including Front Brewing, Great Falls’ second brewery to open in less than a year.  It’s clear Montana breweries are a growth industry and fit nicely into the Senator’s Montana Jobs Economic Engine Initiative.

Senator Baucus stopped by Draught Works on Wednesday to visit with owners Paul Marshall and Jeff Grant, talk with industry reps, and get a feel for how vibrant and popular Montana’s small breweries have become.  Tony Herbert, Executive Director of the Montana Brewers Association, Robert Pease, COO of the national Brewers Association, and Josh Townsley, co-owner of Tamarack Brewing Co. and Vice-President of the Montana Brewers Association, also joined the discussions.

Ryan and I also got to take part and had a good visit with the Senator, talking craft beer, issues with Montana’s regulatory scheme, and the social nature of Montana’s tap rooms. Afterward, we sat down with Tony Herbert and Robert Pease and discussed a wide range of topics including the importance of social media to spreading the word about craft beer.

Everyone agreed Montana has one odd set of regulations on the books.  We’re not alone in that quandary, but Montana’s quota system and limitations on small breweries seem so counter to our general desire for less governmental intrusion and our small-business based economic foundation.  The Senator is well versed in federal excise taxes and their effects on small breweries in Montana and beyond, but there’s not a lot Congress can do to address our state regulations. 

That will be up to all of us.