New West Network

SECOND ANNUAL MONTANA BEER FESTIVAL

Beer Fans Flock to Bozeman

By Bill Schneider, 4-12-08

It only happens once each year, a chance for beer aficionados to taste the signature brews of three-dozen craft breweries without leaving the building. And that's exactly what a couple of thousand of them did Friday night in Bozeman at the Second Annual Montana Beer Festival.

At the door, after paying the $28 fee, everybody received an "Official Tasting Guide & Program" and a special six-ounce tasting glass--and a classy one, by the way, not a plastic cup--that they could fill up at no additional cost all night, from 5 pm to midnight.

But most people don't, explains Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions, organizer and promoter of the event. The early, often older crowd comes at 5-6 pm but leaves by 9 pm, about the same time the younger crowd comes to dance up a storm in front of the three local bands on tap.

Both groups like their beer, though. Porter told NewWest.Net that they might go through 300 kegs that night. He didn't have the exact figures, but expected about 2,500 tickets to be sold, about 500 more than last year. The number of brewers exhibiting their best brews grew from 25 to 36, mostly from Montana but several from out-of-state, collectively serving 85 craft beers.

	Volunteers for Kettlehouse Brewing of Missoula pouring samples as fast as they can at the Montana Beer Festival. Photo by Bill Schneider

As another sign of growth, he had to interrupt our interview to make a call to Little Stinker to bring over six more porta-potties, a dire necessity at any beer fest.

Produced along with the Montana State Brewers Association and Montana Outdoor Science School, the Beer Fest also has 18 local sponsors, including NewWest.Net. The Montana Community Food Co-op, Montana Beef & Game, and Montana Fish Company provided the food, all grown and raised locally.

Held in four huge buildings at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, the Montana Beer Festival featured the music of The Clumsy Lovers, 10 Foot Tall & 80 Proof, and Eurforquestra.

(I know I call myself "Wild Bill," but I confess to not hearing too much of the music because I was in the "early, older crowd" that headed back to the motel about the time the dance floor got warmed up.)

Many local brewers and owners were on hand to talk up their favorite brews, but they couldn't do any of the pouring of samples, which had to be done by volunteers, to stay in line with state liquor laws. That complicated Porter's job, as he had to round up a hundred or more volunteers.

Despite the extra work, it was still a huge success in Porter's view, and he's considering several expansion plans for next year, such as smaller, seasonal beer fests in other communities.

Porter wanted me to add that he tries to instill three key ingredients into this event and other Porterhouse Productions: sustainability, arts, and Made-in-Montana products. To anybody attending the Montana Beer Festival, all three were clearly in play.

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