The grand finale of the inaugural Missoula Craft Beer Week takes place tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, and the celebration is going to be a big one.  Now in its 20th year, the Missoula Downtown Association’s Garden City BrewFest is an annual rite of spring in Missoula, marking both the end of winter (usually) and the end of exams at the U of M.  When the weather is good, more than 6,000 patrons are known to show up.  When the whether is not so good, the crowds stay strong and the best beers tend to last a little longer.

This year, 65 beers will be available, the most ever.  Many of Montana’s newest breweries will be there.  Along with the area’s well know offerings, you’ll have the chance to try beer from Stevensville’s Wildwood Brewing Co. which opened only a moth ago.  Bowser Brewing (Great Falls) and Higherground Brewing (Hamilton) will be there.  Both opened in December.  Draught Works Brewery (Missoula), which opened in October, 2011, will be pouring their new Paradise Found English Summer Ale.

Blacksmith Brewing (Stevensville) will serve their Coconut Oatmeal Stout which recently took 1st place at the Montana Beer Festival in Bozeman.  Tamarack Brewing is pouring Garden City Golden Ale which they brewed as a tribute to the Missoula Downtown Association and Missoula Craft Beer Week.

There’s a wine bar for your non-beer drinking tag-alongs, live music by Sick Kids XOXO, Lil’ Smokies and Russ Nasset and the Revelators, and plenty of good food.   Tickets are $10 which includes a tasting glass and two beer tokens.  Additional tokens are $1 each.  It starts at noon and keeps going until 8:00 p.m.

Ryan and I will be there, too, so stop by our table and say hello!