MICROBREW MONTANA

Angry Hanks Brewing: A Method to His Madness

By Bill Schneider, 6-23-08

	Happy Tim (above) and the Angry Hank's taproom (below), the best possible use for an old gas station. Photos by Bill Schneider.

When you meet the owner of Angry Hanks Brewing, you can quickly see that he isn't angry. In fact, he isn't even Hank. He's happy, and he's Tim.

As in Tim Mohr, founder, owner and head brewer at two-year old Angry Hanks Brewing of Billings. And I'm probably about the thousandth guy to ask him why he calls it Angry Hanks.

The mysterious Hank, the story goes, was a friend of the family, and he was always angry, it seems, especially when he wasn't drinking MGD. On that particular day, Mohr and his family were struggling to decide what to call their new business. As usual, Hank was upset, so somebody said, "Don't be angry Hank," and a light went off, and somebody said, "That's it. Angry Hanks."

The name stuck, and not only turned into the type of brand people really remember, but also became the best possible use for an abandoned gas station. "That name has really worked for us," Mohr says with a smile.

Angry Hanks is part of the de facto "Brewery District" in downtown Billings, where four breweries (Angry Hanks, Carter's, Montana and Yellowstone Valley) thrive within four blocks of each other, making it convenient to stay at a downtown hotel and do a microbrew tasting tour on foot. Nobody knows why all the breweries located in such close proximity, but it certainly is serendipitous for craft brew fans.

Mohr worked as head brewer at Red Lodge Ales for five years before moving to Billings and opening his own brewery with used equipment outgrown by his former employer.

What's different about Angry Hanks? Not much, according to the owner. "We don't do anything different," Mohr insists. "We're just like every other taproom."

Angry Hanks Brewing Address: 2405 First Avenue North, Billings, MT 59101 Email: Phone: 406-252-3370 Web site: None Map: Click here. Taproom Hours: 4 to 8 pm, Monday through Saturday. Closed on Sunday Author's Favorite Beer Name: Anger Management Belgian Wheat

But based on what I've seen over the past few months on the Beer Trail, I'd say a bit more crowded than most.

On the wall of his taproom, there's a sign saying "Angry Hanks Social Club: Where the Neighborhood's Finest Hang Out." You could hang up a similar sign in most Montana taprooms, which have begun to fill the niche of European-style neighborhood pubs.

I met Mohr and had my nickel tour about 3 pm and soon could see he had something special going. Long before he opened the doors at 4 pm, people were lined up outside waiting to be among the first to get in.

One difference is, unlike most other Montana breweries, Angry Hanks sells about 90 percent of the beer it makes right on site in its incredibly popular taproom with the rest going to a few local draft accounts. Mohr also does only kegs--no time or space or unsold beer for bottling.

"All the beer we make sells right here in the taproom," he says. "Fortunately, the Billings market is big enough so we can pull it off. We don't do any promotion or advertising, and we still sell everything we make."

Mohr charges $3 for a pint, less than many taprooms, to compete with happy hour specials occurring at the same time of day at taverns around downtown, which might also contribute to his success. "Essentially, we are a happy hour," he says, referring to his 4-8 pm taproom hours. "In fact, it's always happy hour at Angry Hanks."

But growth is stretching his supply, so Mohr is currently in the process of expanding production capability, just to keep his taproom customers happy. He's also thinking about getting a bigger place, partially because he's also starting to attract a lot of tourists, commonly sent to him by nearby downtown hotels. He might even start opening at 3 pm and on Sunday when he's convinced he has enough beer to keep his customers from drinking him dry.

He would also like to see the Montana law changed to allow him to stay open after 8 pm, especially in summer when there are a plethora of downtown events. "We have to shut down about the time the events start up."

When you check out the list of beers on the taproom's board, you quickly see that "angriness" extends into the beer naming. Not a pleasant sounding bunch, especially his bestseller and signature beer, Anger Management Belgian Wheat, followed closely in sales by Head Trauma IPA. "Once they move up to the IPA, they never go back."

He refers to the so-called "brewmaster effect" where craft beer drinkers often start out with the lighter "conversion beers" like pilsners, blondes and whites and gradually move up to the more hoppy beers with IPAs usually the strongest and hoppiest of the bunch.

So, in conclusion, if you can't quite get all this angriness, don't fret because Mohr assures us that "there is a method to our madness."

Editor's note: This profile is part of a Bill's year-long tour of Montana's best breweries. Below is a map of the breweries Bill has toured so far. Click on a dot on the map and you'll find information about the brewery and a link to Bill's profile on that brewery. You can also find all of his postings at www.newwest.net/microbrew.


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