MICROBREW MONTANA, AN END-OF-THE-YEAR COMMENTARY

Reflections from the Microbrew Trail

By Bill Schneider, 12-30-08

	Jurgen Knoller, dean of Montana microbrewing and owner of one of the oldest breweries in the state, Bayern Brewing of Missoula, and Sandy Stinnett, co-owner of one of the new start-ups, Beaver Creek Brewing of Wibaux. Photos by Bill Schneider and Doug Doty.

For the past year, I’ve been on the Microbrew Trail, visiting every brewery in Montana, except one, and posting articles on all 24 of them. You can read the entire series here.

Along the beer trail, I’m made a few observations about what might be Montana’s fastest growing industry and thought I’d pass them on to microbrew-loving readers.

Always Hoppy Hour in the Taprooms. Unlike most businesses nowadays, most--if not all--Montana microbreweries are prospering--selling every drop of craft beer they produce at a good margin with most expanding or planning to in the near future. So, why so much growth and success when every other business, it seems, is scaling back? There is that oft-quoted theory about anything-alcohol doing well in bad times, but the brewers were doing well three years ago, too, during good times. There’s more to it.

From my perspective, purposely or accidentally, the brewmasters found a huge, untapped marketplace. A lot of people like beer, obviously, and many of us were tired of tasteless domestics and refused to go to taverns, most of which have become smoke-filled casinos, to drink and socialize. Most people don’t smoke or pour quarters in gaming machines, and there was no place for them to enjoy a cold beer with friends until the 1999 taproom law created these European-style neighborhood pubs. It didn’t take us long to become attached to our local brewery, just as many of us to do our local coffee shop. So, ironically, it seems brewers can thank Montana’s outdated liquor, gaming and smoking laws for their success.

Budweiser Era Ending. I enjoy listening to the denial from the mega-brewers. Keep it coming! True, the country’s 1,400 microbrewers only have 10 percent or less of the overall beer market, but if you’ve been in these crowded taprooms, full of good people, good conversation, and good beer, you have to believe the Budweiser Age is ending.

In the mid-to-late 1900s, the mega-brewers destroyed Montana’s breweries by trucking in thousands of eighteen-wheelers filled with cases of Bud, Coors and Miller. Now, the worm has turned. Partly because of the high cost of distribution, the beer marketplace is turning back to local. It all reminds me of the 1980s when the big automakers kept discounted those Japanese imports had less than 10 percent of the auto market, and we all know what happened. 

Tourism Bonanza. While visiting those tasting rooms, I met a lot of tourists looking for “local color.” According to one survey done by Travel Montana, 17 percent of out-of-state visitors targeted and visited taprooms on their vacations. I know of no research for in-state travelers, but I bet it’s also huge. Some Montana brewers like Great Northern, Lone Peak and Red Lodge Ales already depend heavily on the tourism market, and you have to believe this revenue will only increase in the years to come.

They love their work. You could say microbrewing isn’t much different than any other prospering small business, but for the brewers it’s more than business. Almost all of them have taken their favorite hobby, home brewing, and made it their career, sort of an American Dream story. We all should be so fortunate, eh?

The Art of Microbrewing. Have you taken a close look at those labels on bottles of microbrew? The art is amazing. My favorites are Bayren, Lang Creek, and Madison River, but many others also have hired Montana artists to design labels. This makes Montana microbrew, in my opinion, a work of art.

Expect More Breweries. If a home brewer can successfully tap into the neighborhood pub dynamic in little towns like Belt, Marion, Stevensville and Wibaux, it seems like he or she could do it almost anywhere. I say expect more microbreweries to pop up in small town Montana.

Three Micro-Microbrew Tours. Montana already has at least three “brewery districts"--Missoula, Billings and the Flathead--where you can visit three or four microbreweries in a good day. Billings has the best; you can check into a downtown hotel and walk about a mile total distance and visit four microbreweries--Angry Hanks, Carter’s, Montana, and Yellowstone Valley.

Microbrewing, an Outdoor Sport. With few exceptions, microbrewers cater to a clientele interested in non-motorized outdoor activities such as cycling, fishing, hiking, paddling and skiing. It shows up everywhere--beer names, taproom furnishings, marketing, art, and most of all, in the minds of taproom owners and patrons.

Pricing Pints This summer while vacationing on the Oregon Coast, I stopped at the Pacific City Brewery, ordered round of beers for our group (two pints and two half-pints) and asked for two growler refills. Fortunately, I’d already downed my pint when the server brought my bill--$51, $15 each for the refills and up to $6.50 for a pint! Am I going back? Never. I sure hope this type of gouging doesn’t happen in our tourism-based markets. Some taprooms already charge $4 for a pint, but I suspect that’s a key price barrier for customer resistance, so I hope brewers can stay under that line. They already make more than twice the wholesale margin on direct-to-consumer taproom sales.

The Great Conversion It was interesting to chat with brewers about the challenge of “converting” drinkers away from the domestics, especially in rural areas and “blue collar” towns like Butte (Quarry) and Great Falls (Harvest Moon). One problem is the “dark and light” problem. People used to drinking domestics tend to believe darker beer means heavier or stronger beer, which isn’t true, but still a hard sell. One brewer told me: “If one more guy comes in here and orders ‘the lightest beer you have” for his wife or girlfriend, I’m going to scream.” Nonetheless, this challenges prompts almost all brewers to make one “conversion beer,” usually a blonde, gold or hefe that’s “light-colored” enough to get people started up the “beer ladder” to ambers and pale ales to the porters and stouts and finally to the strongest, hoppiest brews, the ESBs and IPAs.

Matching the Hatch. One question I’ve been asked dozens of times and find impossible to answer is: “What’s your favorite microbrew?” That’s a tough question. All Montana brewers make great beer. I could probably pick out my top five, but that isn’t fair because it’d only be my personal taste preferences. The brewmaster’s challenge is hitting our fickle taste buds, which is akin to matching the hatch out on the river. For example, I go for the ESBs and IPAs or at times ambers or pale ales, but I don’t care for porters, stouts or Scottish ales, even though many of my friends prefer them. My point is, you can find a beer you like in any brewery, which is why the brewers produce a variety for you--all of them better than the best from the mega-brewers.

What’s in a Name? You may have noted that on each article I picked my favorite beer name (not favorite beer) at each brewery, so what is my favorite of them all? Again, a tough question, but if I have to name answer, it’d be a tie between Double Haul IPA (Kettle House) and Irresistible Amber Ale (Madison River).

Our Archaic Law. Perhaps the most discussed (and cussed) subject at the community tables is Montana’s liquor laws. Surprisingly, though, more than a few brewers are okay with the current law. Don’t forget; it has made this little economic revolution possible.

The one thing most brewers would most like is the right to stay open longer, perhaps to 10 pm, especially in summer when patrons are out enjoying the great outdoors and don’t get off the trail or river until 8 pm--too late for a pint of the Good Stuff.

Also, it does seem archaic to prohibit a brewery making more than 10,000 barrels per year (only Big Sky right now, but three other brewers closing in on that limit) from selling beer in the taproom. Nobody seems to even know why this prohibition is even in our law, and obviously, it only penalizes a small business for being successful. Is that the message our lawmakers really want to send to small business owners?

Those two exceptions aside, though, most brewers feel the rest of the law, such as the three-pint limit or restrictions on alcohol content, really doesn’t hurt the microbrewing industry and might even help it.

My Greatest Fear I have a “I Fear No Beer” t-shirt, but one thing does scare me. As you can see, I pretty dang hoppy with our microbrewing industry, but I worry about too much growth and expansion ruining it. I hope the brewers can stay with the local, small-is-beautiful culture. If the Megas start buying up the Micros or if brewers grow too much, too fast, we might lose everything that’s special about the microbrewing industry.

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