For Beer and Music Lovers Only

By Bill Schneider, 3-25-08

	Caption: Getting festive at the Montana Beer Fest, coming up April 11 in Bozeman. Photo by Sam Porter.

If you like good beer, and a lot of Montanans do, they’re holding a festival just for you. It’s the second annual Montana Beer Festival, April 11 in Bozeman.

Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions, the primary promoter of the event, told NewWest.Net that he has 35 breweries lined up to serve 85 different “craft” beers.

He also has three bands on tap to provide the music for the beerfest: The Clumsy Lovers, 10 Foot Tall & 80 Proof, and Eurforquestra. And between the brew and the tunes, you can sample local cuisine and an old-fashioned Montana BBQ.

Each beer-lover receives a signature 6 oz. glass with their ticket, and there will be door prizes for the first 800 at the gate. This is a “Made-in-Montana” event, Porter says, and it will feature signature pint glasses and t-shirts, professional homebrew coaching, and much more.

A judging panel will award brewers with Best of Montana, Best IPA, Best Porter, Best Wheat, Best Amber and Best Stout beers. And the panel will leave it up to your taste buds to vote for the Peoples’ Choice Award.

Porter also tells us the event is “wind-powered, environmentally designed, and waste-free,” with proceeds going to the Montana State Brewers Association, Montana Outdoor Science School and The Montana Food Bank Network.

The event gets underway at 5 pm and goes to midnight at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds. Tickets are $28 at the door.

For more details, go to Montana Beer Festival.