The Missoula Downtown Association’s 3rd Annual Winter BrewFest is Friday, February 15 and heads outside for the first time.  The event takes place at Caras Park under the canopy from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.  It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Propane heaters and bonfires will provide warmth while enjoying live music and some of the 30+ beers on hand.  Tickets are $10 which includes a tasting glass and two beer tokens.  Additional tokens are $1 each.  Current weather forecast is for mostly cloudy and a low of 21 degrees, following a daytime high of 39. 

The beer list has a few familiar faces, but by and large this will be a good opportunity to try a number of new beers.  It looks like Big Sky will debut their new Brush Tail Saison and will also have their All Souls Imperial Saison for comparison. Kettlehouse will have a rotating selection of  Huckleberry Cold Smoke, Joe Eddy, American Honey, Merlot Barrel Aged Cold Smoke and Poshed Porter, the latter made with chocolate from local Posh Chocolat.  Philipsburg Brewing Co. will show off their Tramway RyePA, while Bitter Root Brewery will offer up the first tastes of this year’s Red Dread.  Bitter Root debuted Red Dread at the first MDA Winter BrewFest in 2011 and the beer has been gathering fans in droves ever since. 

Even the regional and national brewers beyond Montana are sending new choices, like RedHook’s Audible, Widmer’s Columbia Commons and Ninkasi’s Renewale.

For years, the beer lists at Missoula’s festivals were getting downright stale, but event holders, breweries and distributors have begun catching on in the past couple of years.  Craft beer fans like their variety and the breweries are certainly delivering.

For the full beer list and other details, head to the MDA’s Website.