Montana Scores Big
It was a good day in Denver…if you’re from Montana.
Travis Zeilstra, brewer for Montana Brewing Company, took home three medals, two silvers and a gold and the Small Brew Pub and Small Brew Pub of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival.
Let’s just say that’s better than a hat trick, better than the triple crown even.
A win like that is beautiful for all Montana breweries because it defines the state as a place where good beer is made.
The folks from Red Lodge added to Montana’s glory by snagging a bronze medal for their Red Lodge Ales Bent Nail IPA.
Their reaction was classic. First they went silent, trying to catch the first syllables out of the mouth of the presenter. They heard it before I did, and they jumped into each other’s arms in a wild celebration before making their way to the stage to pose for the honor and collect their new jewelry. Franklin Hughes and Justin Moore, the brewers, and Sam Hoffmann, the owner, joined the beauty and the brains behind the marketing and the director of good times, Lindsey Hayes in a frenetic celebration as the waited to learn the fate of their final entry. A bronze was what they took this year, but they seem hungry for more.
Montana Brewing Company took home a gold medal for Whitetail Wheat, a silver for Sandbagger Gold and a silver for Custer’s Last Stout.
It was a good day to be in Denver…if you’re from Montana.
Congratulations to each of you,
GG
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