Grizzly Growler

This week, Sen. Max Baucus held the first meeting of the Small Brewers Caucus, which he co-chairs with Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo. The caucus aims to showcase issues important to craft brewers and push those issues forward. Montana’s barley and the role it plays in the brewing industry was the focus of this week’s meeting: [...]

Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, will sponsor several bills related to the Montana craft-beer industry in the upcoming Legislature, which convenes on Jan. 3. The first is a proposal to shift the hours that taprooms are allowed to be open from the current 10 a.m.-8 p.m. to noon-10 p.m. The Montana Brewers Association has a petition [...]

Here’s a story from Anne Creighton of the News-Review in Roseberg, Ore., on Tom Johnson, head brewer at Roseburg Station Pub and Brewery, which is part of the McMenamins chain in Oregon and Washington. Johnson, who went to the University of Oregon to study finance in the ’80s, decided he needed to take a different [...]

If you have tried or are going to try this year’s version of Big Sky Brewing Co.’s seasonal Powder Hound, you’re going to notice some changes. Matt Long, head brewer at Big Sky Brewing, says it was “just time to change things up.” He said they haven’t changed the recipe in five or six years. [...]

Raise your glasses, lager lovers: Craft beers have more than just weathered the recession. While other segments of the economy – and the hospitality industry, specifically – have slumped, sales of craft beer have skyrocketed. In fact, sales of craft beers have increased by about 50 percent over the last five years. Consider these interesting bits [...]

One of my favorite brewers and one of Montana’s most awarded is leaving Montana Brewing Company to start his own brewery in Sheridan, Wyoming. Travis Zeilstra sent me a note today to tell me of his plans and introduce me to the man who has taken over for him at MBC. It’s one Evan Taylor, [...]