The fall brewers festival is October 16. You should go.
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants to be happy,” once proclaimed Benjamin Franklin. Now it has been disputed as to whether ol’ Ben actually said those words, but nevertheless, beer is truly a blessing. And us Montanans are truly blessed with a fantastic array of local craft beers.
According to the Brewer’s Association, Montana ranks 4th in breweries per capita. As a Missoulian, I like to take advantage of this fact by sampling as much of this glorious Montana made beer as I can. Missoula just happens to host several brew fests throughout this year, which makes the pursuit of beer all that much easier.
If you are in Missoula on Friday, October 16th, and you like tasty beer, head on down to Caras Park to enjoy the 7th Annual Montana Fall Brewers Festival. Hosted by the Montana Brewers Association, this yearly celebration of state-brewed beer is easily my most favorite and it features lots of local food and live music.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the festival, or $35/$40 for the VIP hour. A ticket includes a tasting glass and UNLIMITED beer samples (no tokens). A VIP ticket lets you in early and gets you a bigger glass to do your sampling.
I cannot stress how awesome unlimited beer samples are…but please, folks, drink responsibly.
Details are below and so is the tentative list of beers being served. Personally, I’m looking forward to comparing all the variations of Oktoberfest offered and giving that Bourbon Barrell Peach Wheat from Cabinet Mountain a taste.
Details
What: 7th Annual Montana Fall Brewers Festival
When: Friday, October 16th from 5-9pm (VIP hour from 4-5pm)
Where: Caras Park, Missoula
How: Get your tickets here
Why: Montana Beers
See you at the festival…Prost!!
The author of this article is Courtney Lake. She is a freelance writer for the Montana Mint.
Tentative Beer/Brewery List
406 Brewing Company (Bozeman): Mosaic Fresh Hop, Hop Punch IPA, Chinook and Cherries Imperial.
Bandit Brewing Company (Darby): Squeeze Me IPA, Bliss Stout.
Bayern Brewing (Missoula): Bayern Oktoberfest, Montana Helles Lager.
Beaverhead Brewing Company (Dillon): Dawg Red Ale, Poindexter Pilsner, Whitetail Witbier, Beaverslide IPA.
Beehive Basin Brewery (Big Sky): Drunkelweizen, Green Bridge IPA, 50. Cal Coffee Porter,
Big Sky Brewing Company (Missoula): Missoula Fresh Hop Ale, Powder Hound Ale, Ivan the Terrible, Surprise Firkin.
Bitter Root Brewing (Hamilton): Wet Hop Imperial IPA, Bitter Root IPA, Single Hop Ale, Huckleberry Honey Ale.
Black Eagle Brewery (Black Eagle): S.O.S. IPA – Save Our Stack, Smelter Men, Smoke Stack, Half Stack Hefeweizen.
Blacksmith Brewing Company (Stevensville): Chocolate Porter,EKG IPA, Oktoberfest Beer.
Bonsai Brewing Project (Whitefish): Big Ole’ Poppa, Lil’ Miss Thang, Toasted Roper, ShowBiz, Sheriff John Brown, the Unkindness.
Bozeman Brewing Company (Bozeman): Bozone Terror, Bozone Select, Hopzone, Bozone Berliner Weisse.
Bridger Brewing (Bozeman): 2015 Saison, Lee Metcalf Pale Ale, Ghost Town Coffee Stout, McTavish Scotch Ale.
Busted Knuckle Brewery (Glasgow): Rusted Nut Amber, Black Nail Stout.
Cabinet Mountain Brewing Company (Libby): Bourbon Barrel Peach Wheat, Yaak Attack IPA, Bad Medicine Smooth Dark, Fresh Hop Ale.
Canyon Creek Brewing (Billings): O.N.S. Blonde, C4 IPA, Rabbit Head Red, What the Hell.
Draught Works Brewery (Missoula): Last Rites Mexican Chocolate Porter, Pineapple Express Tropical IPA, Mae West Huckleberry Sour, Clothing Optional Pale Ale.
Flathead Lake Brewing Company (Bigfork): Beardance Black IPA, Le Cygne Biere de Garde, Lone Walker Ale, Galaxy Pale Ale, Swimmer’s Itch Saison.
Great Burn Brewing (Missoula): Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Down Oatmeal Brown, Montana Creamsicle.
H.A. Brewing Company (Eureka): Foundation Witbier, Boulder Mountain Stout.
Higherground Brewing Company (Hamilton): Fall Fur Pumpkin Cream, Hurruh Scotch Ale, Borderland Sour, Hula Hopped IPA.
Kalispell Brewing (Kalispell): Two Ski Brewski, Winter at Noon, Oktoberfest, Fresh Hop by Pop.
Katabatic Brewing Company (Livingston): Katabatic Oktoberfest, Anabatic Amber, Katabatic APA, Katabatic Hefeweizen, Katabatic Scotch Ale.
Kettlehouse Brewing Company (Missoula): Garden City Pale Ale, Joe Haul.
Lewis and Clark Brewing (Helena): Pumpkin IPA, Miner’s Gold, Crystal Dry-Hopped Prickly Pear, Widespread Red.
Madison River Brewing Company (Belgrade): Green Emerger Fresh Hop Ale, Salmon Fly Honey Rye, Copper John Scotch Ale, Irresistible Amber Ale, Hopper Pale Ale, Black Ghost Oatmeal Stout, the Juice.
MAP Brewing Company (Bozeman): Smoked Lion Wheat Ale, Northbound Blonde, Destination Ale, Big Relief Stout, Steep Terrain Double IPA.
Meadowlark Brewing Company (Sidney): Squashtoberfest, Argo, Orion, Car Ramrod.
Mighty Mo Brewing Company (Great Falls): VIP (Vanilla Imperial Porter), Coco Brown, Lip Ripper, Oktoberfest.
Missoula Brewing Company (Missoula): Highlander Pintler Peak Doppelbock, Highlander Mount Baldy Belgian Strong Ale, Highlander Warrior Mountain Robust Porter.
Muddy Creek Brewery (Butte): Occupy Oktoberfest, Muddy Creek Chocolate Stout, Blasted IPA.
Neptune’s Brewery (Livingston): Oktoberfest, Montana Wild Hop #1, Latte Stout.
Outlaw Brewing (Bozeman): Moon’s Rising Red, Passive Aggressive Pale, Belgian Chocolate Ale, Goemon’s Honey Lemon, Fresh Hop, Amarillo Pale Ale.
Philipsburg Brewing Company (Philipsburg): Five Phantoms, Rope Swing Saison, Badfinger Imperial Stout, Razzu!
Quarry Brewing (Butte): Youz Guyz ESB, Open Cab Copper, Gneiss IPA.
Red Lodge Ales Brewing (Red Lodge): Harvest Ale, Oktoberfest Lager, Easy Sippah.
Tamarack Brewing Company (Lakeside): Redemption Red, Headwall, Rutting Raspberry Elk, Hat Trick Hop, Yard Sale, Sip ‘n Go Naked.
The Front Brewing Compaany (Great Falls): Punkin Rye Ale, Sunset IPA, Vanilla PackMule Porter.
Triple Dog Brewing Company (Havre): Vanilla Hoarder Porter, Mt. Otis.
Uberbrew (Billings): Red Vines.
Wildwood Brewing (Stevensville): Organic Lucid Cream Ale, Organic Bodacious Bock.
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