It wasn’t expected to be like this. Before the 63rd Montana Legislature convened on January 7, 2013, most observers predicted a quiet session for craft beer. The Department of Revenue had it’s brew-on-premise license proposal. A smattering of proposals to provide for true bottle shops and to change direct shipment rules lurked in the fine…
We’ve been hard at work adding more events to the inaugural Missoula Craft Beer Week and all our participants are really stepping up to the plate. New events include the Run Wild Missoula Craft Beer Week Special Edition Beer Run, Meet the Big Sky Brewing Co. Crew at the Iron Horse, and Three Ways to…
The Brewers Association released today it’s annual list of the top 50 craft brewing companies based on 2011 beer sales volumes. Montana’s largest brewery, Big Sky Brewing Co., made the list at No. 37, two spots higher than in 2010. Thirty six of the top 50 are small and independent craft brewing companies which the…
For 2011, the highlight of my craft beer year was the Beer Bloggers Conference in Portland, OR. It was a chance to meet many other craft beer explorers, learn some tricks of the trade and sample a ridiculous amount of great beer. Conference friends 2 Beer Guys and Seacoast Beverage Labs teamed up this December…
Western Montana breweries have been busy lately creating a variety of new beers for the fall and winter season. From big IPAs and porters to pumpkin ales and even a wintermarzen, there’s a lot to try and something for everyone. With Thanksgiving week upon us, now is a great time to take a break, head…
The Brewers Association released today its list of 2010 Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies and Missoula’s Big Sky Brewing Company came in at No. 39. The list is based on 2010 beer sales volume for craft breweries in the United States. Considering there are now more than 1,700 breweries in the United States (not all…
Last year, Missoula’s Big Sky Brewing Co. began a series of limited release beers available only in Montana, to the dismay of fans in the 23 other states where Big Sky is distributed. The latest release, just in time for this week’s St. Patrick’s Day, is Irish Stout. Here’s Big Sky’s description: Butte American once…
Sure, I’ll admit it. I’ve had a few glasses of green beer in my days. Well, thin plastic cups are more the order of the day for the crowded streets of Butte or the packed bars of Missoula during the rollicking celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day. Guinness Draught will certainly be the choice of many,…
Among the new items I spotted this week in the beer isles was Heavy Horse Scotch Ale in 6 packs from Big Sky Brewing Co. in Missoula. Turns out, Heavy Horse is the new name for the previous Stone Thrower Scotch Ale. If memory serves, Stone Thrower was never bottled, so Heavy Horse marks Big…
I am not new to craft beer. I’ve spent the last 15 years or so trying far more styles, varieties, interpretations, classics, experiments and breweries than I can remember. Though I have my favorite styles, I’ve never let that confine my exploration. I’ve brewed homebrew following the advice of legend Charlie Papazian and his reassuring…