Montana Microbrew
2,864 BEERS. 644 BREWERIES IN COMPETITION
Montana Brewing Scores Big at World Beer Cup
Montana Brewing of Billings scored big at what's considered "the most prestigious beer competition in the world," the World Beer Cup held April 19 in San Diego.
World Beer Cup 2008 winners were selected by an international panel of 129 beer judges from 21 countries. A massive field of 2,864 entries from 644 breweries in 58 countries made up the competition. More than 3,800 breweries in 100 countries were invited to compete.
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12 OTHER BREWERIES SHARE JUDGED AWARDS
Flathead Lake Brewing Wins “People’s Choice” at Montana Beer FestivalFlathead Lake Brewing, nestled away up at Wood's Bay on its namesake, Flathead Lake, won the big prize at the second annual Montana Beer Festival, held April 11 in Bozeman for Rising Sun Espresso Porter.
The participants of the beer fest decide the People's Choice Awards. At the gate, everybody received a ballot with their tasting glass and rated the brews as they sampled the 85 craft beers throughout the evening.
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MICROBREW MONTANA
Madison River Brewing: Home of the Fishing Fly BeersI've been worried about readers thinking it's a stretch for the outdoor editor to write the Microbrew Montana series, but not since my visit to Madison River Brewing of Belgrade. There, in the taproom, a long cast from its namesake, the famous, trout-rich river, you can order a Hopper, Yellow Humpy, Salmon Fly, Black Ghost, Copper John, Rubber Legged Razz, or my favorite, the Irresistible.
For the non-fishaholics among us, those are all names of fishing flies, but Madison River Brewing, located in one of the hottest travel destinations in the world for fly anglers, uses them as names for their tasty, craft beers.
From a marketing standpoint, you could call that connecting the dots.
Editor"s Note: For a complete list of Microbrew Montana articles to date, click here.
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SECOND ANNUAL MONTANA BEER FESTIVAL
Beer Fans Flock to BozemanIt 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.
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INTRODUCING MICROBREW MONTANA
Montana Brewers, Taprooms Prosper in Local Markets, Drawing TouristsEditor's Note: A couple months ago, in a moment of weakness, I decided to take on a new challenge, a year-long tour of Montana's microbreweries and write an article on each one. Today, I'm launching that new series on NewWest.Net with this overview of the industry and how microbreweries fit into the economic and tourism pictures in Montana. I'm also posting the first of long series of features on individual breweries starting with the Lewis & Clark Brewing in Helena. You will also be able to see the articles on the Travel Montana website, visitmt.com. Throughout the year, I'll be visiting most microbreweries in the state and posting profiles on them and their owners. After I finish this series, my byline might be a little scarce for a few months while I'm in recovery.-- Bill Schneider
Click more below for the first installment and check in with www.newwest.net/microbrew to tag along with Bill.
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MICROBREW MONTANA
Lewis & Clark Brewing: Home of the Hoppiest Beer in MontanaLewis & Clark Brewing in Helena, Montana, used to be a Sleeping Giant. And perhaps it still is.
In March, 2002, Max Pigman bought the struggling Sleeping Giant Brewing. Ever since, his business has been anything but sleepy.
"We kept the Sleeping Giant name for about two years," Pigman explains, but then decided to re-name it. "Outside of Helena, the term 'sleeping giant' (a recognizable mountain north of town) wasn't well known, and we started marking our beer outside Helena. Also, we decided the words 'sleeping' and 'beer' didn't really go together."
Or do they?
Editor"s Note: For a complete list of Microbrew Montana articles to date, click here.
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DON'T MISS THE SECOND ANNUAL MONTANA BEER FESTIVAL
For Beer and Music Lovers OnlyIf 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.
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