As the hub of western Montana, Missoula is the home of four breweries, two brewery outposts, and more on the way. Perhaps the most interesting and oddball way to tour them is with a group of your favorite beer loving friends on a strange looking contraption known as the Thirst Gear pedal pub. Sure, residents and visitors alike are certain to laugh and point with amazement as you pedal through the streets of Missoula, but you’ll be too busy laughing yourself to care.
Creators Alex and Tom Snyder call Thirst Gear “a big bucket of awesomesauce” that fits perfectly with Missoula’s active and beer loving lifestyle. “In order to enjoy Thirst Gear,” Tom notes, “one
needs a semi-functional brain, the ability to breath, and the general belief that life improves dramatically when drinking beer and being outside.” “Missoulians were pretty much tailor-made to enjoy a giant brew bike that takes them to all their favorite breweries all summer long.”
Thirst Gear offers set routes and fully customizable tours. “Tours are 3 hours long and offer three stops of the rider’s choosing,” says Tom. “If you want beer at Kettlehouse Brewing Co., great. If you want Montgomery Distillery cocktails, let’s do it. If you want water, we kindly suggest you stay home until hydrated enough to hit up the Plonk wine bar for some wine.” Since launching Thirst Gear in earnest this spring, they’ve hosted bachelorette parties, team building exercises, business groups and plenty of locals just looking to explore their city in a new way.
Alex and Tom are clearly enjoying their Thirst Gear trips as much as their patrons. The idea for the pedal pub came as “basically just a way for us to legitimize our own drinking habits,” jokes Tom. “Like 11:00 a.m. football on Sundays. ‘Honey, it’s not weird to drink this early if there’s football on, I swear!’”
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A version of this article first appeared in the June/July Issue of Rocky Mountain Brewing News. If you know of Montana beer stories which need to be told, contact Alan.
