Grizzly Growler

I grew up in LaGrange, Ill., a suburb outside of Chicago, and one of my best friends back then was Craig Frymark, who lived three houses down from me. When I moved to Missoula in 1995 at age 13 with my family, we lost touch, as is bound to happen. Recently, through my parents and [...]

Bloomberg Businessweek has Montana as the second biggest beer-drinking state in the country. According to the article, Montana’s beer sales come in at 30.5 gallons per person, just shy of New Hampshire’s 32.7 gallons per person. The national average was 20.7. Rounding out the Top 5 is North Dakota, South Dakota and Nevada. It also [...]

I was lucky enough to go and see Brandi Carlile and Ray LaMontagne on Monday night and happy to say that not only was the show great, but all the woes of the first Modest Mouse concert at Big Sky Brewing Co. were cleared up. The lines for the bathroom were no problem, and the [...]

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced Thursday that he and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, have come together to form the Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus. The caucus, according to the news release below, aims to push issues that are important to craft breweries in an effort to help them continue to be vital parts of the economies in [...]

Summer is technically less than a week away, but it sure doesn’t feel like it’s ever going to show itself in Montana. Sure, there have been bits of sun and warmth on occasion, but it’s been historically soggy – and cloudy – in the western part of the state. Nevertheless, we can’t let it get [...]

Writer David Erickson has a nice piece on Draught Works that appeared in the Missoulian’s new InBusiness Weekly section in last Sunday’s newspaper. As most of you probably know, Draught Works was conceived by Jeff Grant and Paul Marshall, and is scheduled to open at some point this summer. It will be the latest addition [...]

Big Sky Brewing Co. will host its very own barbecue festival this Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. at the brewery on Trumpeter Way. There will be food, beer, free activities for kids and music by Tom Catmull and the Clerics, Russ Nasset and the Revelators, Zeppo MT and House of Quist. Best of all, [...]

Last weekend’s North American Beer Awards, held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, left many Montana breweries basking in the glow of shiny medals. The event was put on by the North American Brewers Association and was said to have drawn more than 200 breweries. Last year, for instance, more than 1,200 beers were judged. In Missoula, [...]

It’s the beginning of the month so that means it’s time for Big Sky Brewing Co.’s video newsletter. This month’s clip has information on the Big Sky Brewing Concert Series, water restoration and some new beers. Sit back and enjoy, and congrats Alix! – Matt Pritchard

Flathead Lake Brewing Co. is set to unveil its new Belgian-style Tripel during a “Kill the Tripel” release party in Missoula on Thursday, June 9, from 4 to 8 p.m. Ten ounce “goblets” of the beer will be for sale for $5.50, and $2.75 cents from each one sold will go to the Humane Society [...]