At long last, the text of the Montana Tavern Association’s and Montana Brewers Association’s collaborative bill was released late Friday. Industry members in all tiers (and craft beer fans) can finally judge the potential effect of the bill, something not previously possible despite months of press releases and other media correspondence touting broad based support.…
The game of politics is one filed with points and counterpoints. For 2013, the Montana Tavern Association stayed under the radar before launching an all out offensive against the craft brewing industry. When that effort was defeated, the various alcohol industry groups spent the next 1.5 years searching for common ground in Montana’s alcohol licensing…
It may be nothing more than an arbitrary point on an arbitrary calendar, but the last week of the year always sets our minds toward reflection. A chance snowstorm brought a pleasant white Christmas to Missoula this year. A pending snowstorm has Montana’s doing pretty much what they always do before a snowstorm . .…
The Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association (MBWDA) announced today it has withdrawn from a coalition of alcohol industry groups over a disagreement with the Montana Tavern Association’s and Montana Brewers Association’s plans to seek changes to alcohol licensing requirements during the 2015 Montana Legislative Session. For background on the proposed “license stacking” bill, see…
An “historic coalition,” as its being billed, took center stage at the Montana Brewers Association Fall Conference in October in Missoula to discuss a proposed bill to allow license stacking in the alcohol industry. The bill, expected to be introduced at the 2015 Montana Legislative Session, would effectively allow breweries to directly purchase a retail…
The Montana Farmers Union hosted its first Harvest Montana Brew Fest and Competition this past weekend in Great Falls. Twenty two breweries participated in the brewfest portion, handing out samples and chatting with participants while enjoying the rockabilly sounds of Cold Hard Cash. Many more Montana breweries took advantage of the opportunity to have their…
Astute beer fans in Montana may have noticed a decreasing number of Ninkasi Brewing Co. tap handles and six-packs/bombers on the shelves of their favorite stores over the past several weeks. Or maybe you didn’t. Ninkasi, the rapidly expanding Eugene, OR, brewery (which caused a bit of a flap earlier this year with Montana…
Montana was predicted to top the list of barley producing states this year with an expected 900,000 acres of barley to be planted, according to the Prospective Plantings Report released by the American Malting Barley Association last March. Actual production is an entirely different matter with storms causing wide-spread damage across Idaho, Montana and Alberta.…
On a day when the weather provided everything from pouring rain to sunny October blue skies to howling winds, 2,500 participants at the 6th Annual Montana Brewers Festival had 137+ opportunities to appreciate some of the finest beer anywhere. The 2014 festival, held Saturday, October 11, was my fourth and one thing was readily apparent:…
On a day spent giving back to its loyal patrons, Missoula’s Draught Works Brewery received the best gift of all: being named the Very Small Brewery and Brewmaster of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival. Draught Works also received a Gold medal in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category for its Scepter Head,…