Missoula Breweries Raise Donations for Food Bank

Posted On January 21, 2015

Re-posted from NBC Montana, Jan. 17th, 2015

Missoula, Mont. – Missoula breweries are challenging each other on who can raise the most food items for the Missoula Food Bank.

The competition was organized by Joe Berryman at Bayern Brewery.

Berryman says it’s typically a difficult time of the year for the food bank, after the holiday food drives have ended.

The goal for the brewery drive is 1,000 pounds of food all together, a goal two out of the four competing breweries have already exceeded.

So, Berryman set a new goal of 3,000 pounds of food by the end of January.

“It’s amazing how all the breweries in town just jump on board with it. They’re really excited to be a part of it and everybody really, really brings it together,” said Berryman.

Some breweries are offering deals with an exchange of food.

You can drop off nonperishable food donations at any of these participating breweries:

Bayern Brewery: offering $1 off a growler fill or a beer with every three items of food you bring

Draught Works Brewery: This Wednesday, the brewery will be offering half-off of all growler fills throughout the day if you bring any amount of nonperishable food items

KettleHouse Brewing Company (both Northside and Southside locations): you can drop off nonperishable food donations

The drive goes until the end of January.

The 2015 Montana Brewers Act

Posted On January 20, 2015

The 2015 Montana Brewers Act will allow Montana’s craft brewing industry to grow within the current three-tier system that regulates the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol in the state. The goal of the legislation is to allow microbreweries to keep their tap rooms and employees as they grow, and to provide brewers with choices about how they can grow their business. It will ensure that brewers, their businesses, and employees are not penalized for success by current artificial limits.

“I am proud to sponsor legislation that will allow the craft brewing industry to grow and continue employing people in my district and across Montana,” stated Representative Pat Noonan, D-Anaconda. “This bill is a common-sense-solution that allows the craft brewing industry to become an even greater point of pride than it already is in our communities and our state. This bill will provide a boost to the Montana economy by providing brewers with clear paths to grow and expand their businesses, grow jobs, and produce more beer for in state and out of state distribution. ” continued Noonan.

The Montana Brewers Act is a product of collaboration of industry members who met throughout this past interim to hammer out a solution. This industry coalition included 15 members, including the Montana Brewers Association, the Montana Tavern Association, the Montana Restaurant Association, the Gaming Industry Association, the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association, and the state’s Alcohol Control Division, and is a solution that most industry members support. The solution lifts the 10,000 barrel sample room limit to 60,000 and allows breweries to grow beyond 10,000 barrels and not cause them to close their tap rooms and forfeit the ability to sell their beer on premise. Brewers exceeding 10,000 barrels will be able to operate modest tap rooms with on-premise consumption of not more than 500 barrels annually.  Additionally, the bill allows brewers to co-locate a retail license, if they choose, under the brewer’s name for those brewers that prefer to sell their beer past 8pm and to have greater retail ability. Sam Hoffmann owner of Red Lodge Ales in Red Lodge, and a member of the coalition said: “I am happy to have worked with our partners in the industry on this compromise bill. Retail-focused breweries can participate in Montana’s retail system, and production breweries can continue growing without shutting down their popular tap rooms.”

And current taverns who would like to get into the brewing side of things and purchase a brewers license and hold them under the same name, and to provide stability co-located license holders are limited to holding only two additional retail licenses.  “Some of our taverns and restaurants would like the opportunity to serve their customers a beer that was crafted in house and to transition their businesses more toward the brewpub model and this compromise will allow them to do just that” said Mike Hope President of the Montana Tavern Association.   Brad Anderson, representing the Restaurant Association on the coalition, and owner of Montana Buffalo Wild Wings in Montana stated, “This bill supports the three tier system and allows all members to participate in the growth in the industry, while placing parity on the industry”.

Josh Townsley, President of the Montana Brewers Association said, “Our goal is to give our members options. Current brewers and new entrants can continue to operate tap rooms, and are not forced to give them up as they grow. Craft Brewers have developed a reputation for providing outstanding craft beer in our communities, and the local and visiting public enjoys sampling our beers at our breweries. This bill will provide needed choice for brewers to successfully grow these small main street businesses in Montana”.

The only known opposition to the proposed legislation is the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association consisting of the 22 beer and wine distributors in Montana.  Originally a member of the coalition of industry members who met throughout the interim, the MBWDA has since pulled out of the coalition in December of 2014, citing concerns about how the bill would affect the integrity of the three-tier system. Other industry members do not share this concern and point out that breweries in other states throughout the country are able to own retail licenses without disruption to the three-tier system, and that the “middle” tier is doing fine in those states. “Our brewers want and need our distribution partners in Montana, and we’d like them back at the table. This bill will not change the facts one bit that 97 % of all beer sold in Montana goes through the distributors, and only 3 % is sold directly by our brewers. To the contrary, it is likely that passage of this bill will send more beer through the distribution tier, added Townsley”.
For further information contact:

Tony Herbert, Executive Director of the Montana Brewers Association, 406-439-8075, [email protected],

John Iverson, Government Affairs Director of the Montana Taverns Association, 406-459-3344, [email protected].

Beverage Breakdown

Posted On January 8, 2015

Re-posted from The Missoula Independent, Jan. 8th, 2015

Nearly two years have passed since Montana brewers and tavern owners clashed over a legislative proposal to radically reform the state’s craft beer industry. House Bill 616, referred to by some as the “brewery killing bill,” would have forced breweries to either purchase a retail license or restrict the amount of beer sold in taprooms. The bill failed in committee, and from its ashes rose a new Alcohol Beverage Coalition aimed at finding compromise among the players in Montana’s alcohol industry ahead of the 2015 Legislature.Whatever unity those players may have established began to fall apart months ago as the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association grew increasingly troubled with the coalition’s direction. Kristi Blazer, the association’s executive director, says it became clear early on that the Montana Tavern Association and the Montana Brewers Association intended to pursue a regulatory change that would permit stacking of licenses—in other words, allowing brewers to hold a retail license and bars to hold a brewery license. Despite protests by her and others, Blazer adds, the coalition’s path seemed “pre-ordained.”

“If we were to say right now what our goal is, it’s to preserve economic fairness,” Blazer says. “We see that the stacked license bill, which is currently being proposed, will do exactly the opposite. It will give a few big players an economic advantage to the detriment of others in the system.”

The distributors publicly backed out of the coalition in December. Brian Clark, president of Kalispell-based Fun Beverage, says the association sent coalition members a letter as early as last April expressing disapproval with the stacked license approach, and reiterated the position directly during a meeting in August. He adds that the group felt withdrawing was the only way to avoid having its continued presence on the coalition misconstrued as support for the pending bill. “Anybody would prefer to have a seat at the table if there’s true negotiation and discussion than to walk away,” Clark says. “But there was no discussion or negotiation after that.”

The “vigorous opposition,” as Blazer calls it, on the part of the distributors stems from the fear that allowing businesses to stack licenses will “distort and destroy” the system of checks and balances that’s been in place for decades. Montana’s alcohol industry is split into three tiers—manufacturing, retail and distribution—and existing laws prevent any one entity from occupying more than two. Since small brewers are legally allowed to self distribute, Blazer says, stacked licenses create the potential for “vertical monopolies,” or businesses occupying all three tiers.

“Rather than wreck a whole system and throw into chaos the economic balance that currently exists, we suggest take care of the problem at its heart,” Blazer says, adding her association instead supports increasing the 10,000-barrel production cap on small brewers.

At least two brewers have also come out against license stacking: Blackfoot River Brewing in Helena and Bayern in Missoula. MTA lobbyist and coalition member John Iverson acknowledges that support wasn’t unanimous among tavern owners either, though a majority of MTA members favored the proposal.

“What’s neat about this bill relative to [HB 616] is it doesn’t require anyone to change if they choose not to,” Iverson says. “Every person that’s currently operating in the business can continue to do what they’re doing. Nobody has to change anything. It simply creates extra opportunities for brewers and extra opportunities for tavern owners that choose to exercise that opportunity.”

According to Iverson, several bar owners in the state have already expressed a desire to act on that opportunity. Frank Chounet and his wife, Melissa, purchased the Timber Bar in Big Timber last fall with the goal of one day opening a brewery as well. But under current Montana law, Chounet’s status as a bar owner forbids him from obtaining a brewery license. S ubsequently, Chounet says he’s a “big proponent” of the coalition’s stacked license proposal.

He adds he’s aware that there is a precedent for working around the current restrictions. Several breweries across Montana have undergone complex legal restructuring in order to obtain retail licenses for their taprooms. “I knew that with some long-term planning there were ways to do it, and I’d already researched and kind of come up with a plan on how to achieve that without this new legislation,” Chounet says. “It was going to be a little longer, maybe three to five years, to be able to do that.”

Those still on board with the coalition have expressed disappointment with the distributors’ decision to walk away. “We continue to try to reach out to the wholesalers to try to bring them back to the table,” says Josh Townsley, Tamarack Brewing co-owner and president of the MBA. Iverson agrees that having the distributors back at the table is a desired outcome, particularly since he sees the coalition’s work continuing beyond the current session. In his eyes, the coalition represents “a new day for alcohol regulation in Montana.” But unless the approach changes, Blazer doesn’t anticipate a reconciliation during the 2015 session.

“It doesn’t do anybody any good for us to be in there pounding our head against the wall,” she says, “because all they want to talk about is the stacked license bill.”

Starting over in Darby: Couple opens nano-brewery, finds joy in new simpler small town life

Posted On December 15, 2014

JC and Hilary McDowell hope their new Bandit Brewery in Darby will become a family-friendly meeting place for the community.

Re-Post by the Ravalli Republic

DARBY – It’s no secret that the Great Recession turned many people’s lives upside down.  Afterwards, some wallowed in grief over what they’d lost. Others simply gave up.  And then there were those who decided there was no better time to stop, take a deep breath and reconsider what was really important in this life.

After considering the lessons learned during that upheaval, some folks opted to move forward to reinvent themselves and create a new life from the ashes of the old.  Down at the end of Darby’s Tanner Street, there’s an old building where Conner Logging’s mechanics once repaired helicopters and diesel trucks.

Today, people walking through its doors aren’t met with the smell of grease and oil. Instead inside this building now reborn, the aroma of hops and grain fills the air of the simply set, brand-new nano-brewery called Bandit Brewing.  For JC and Hilary McDowell, this place with its huge barrel stove over in the corner and recycled corrugated metal roof (purchased from a farmer in Arlee) is an important piece of the new life they’ve been working to build.

Before the recession, JC was a successful developer who thought he had hit the housing market just right in the Atlanta area. He and his wife saw their life savings disappear when the market turned south.  They lost their house and moved what they had left to their sailboat. Over the course of a few weeks on the water, they set a new course for their lives.

“One of the advantages of losing everything is that you don’t have a lot of overhead,” JC said. “When we made our million and lost it by age 40, we decided it was time to consider the quality of our lives. I couldn’t invest another 30 years in building another business only to lose it.”

“I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life,” JC said. “In my mind, getting a job would be the worst thing that could happen to me. I’ve always been self-employed.”

And so they bought a food concession truck and began following the fair circuit. Along the way, they kept looking for new opportunities.  With their own young children in tow, they noticed that most fairs didn’t have a nice place for parents with children too young to ride the carnival rides.  JC went to work and built a Wild West Fun Theme Park that the couple began booking at fairs around the West.

“I’ve learned that you follow the money,” he said. “When one thing works well, build on that.”

All the time while traveling from one fair to the next, they were looking for a new place to land.  After working the Ravalli County Fair, fair manager Deb Rogala offered them a place to stay two winters ago to see if they might like life in the southern Bitterroot.  They liked it so much that they decided to make it their new home.

“We were looking for a small town where we could raise our girls,” he said. “We wanted it to be a place where there was no Walmart or Home Depot. With a population of 733, Darby seemed a good fit.”

Both agree they came here because of what Darby is already. They had lived the big city life and that’s not what they wanted for their two youngsters. They wanted that sense of community that comes with small-town life.  They bought the old shop at the end of Tanner to store their fun park props. The property had another small building that they turned into their home.  It was first time they had a place of their own on dry land since 2007.

When they started considering the options for the portion of the shop not needed for storage, the couple decided it might work as a small brewery.  The zoning for the building fit that use. The necessary power was already in place.

“When we started, we agreed that we would do this, but not go into debt making it happen,” JC said. “I’d rather go slow than go broke.”

Using construction skills that he’d acquired throughout his life, JC put together the equipment necessary to operate a small brewery that would fit right in with the couple’s new small-town home.  Their idea was to take a step back in time in a town that treasures its past and recreate an old-time neighborhood pub where families could gather.

“We didn’t come here to change this community,” JC said.

“We wanted to keep this building intact as much as we could. It’s part of Darby’s history. That’s important.”

The couple knew they wanted to create a family-friendly place.

“We wanted it to be a community-based gathering place for families,” Hilary said. “We have our own two young children. … We plan to have a lot activities for children here.”

To make that clear to everyone in Darby, in their first week of business, they brought in Santa and offered free photographs. Their 7-year-old offered memberships to her lemonade mug club in one corner of the tasting room. Their youngest daughter wants them to host a cartoon night sometime soon.

They believe their brewery may be the smallest in the state.  JC serves as the brew master. His equipment allows him to brew 40 gallons at a time.  In comparison, JC said Bitterroot Brewing can brew more than 1,000 gallons in a day.

“We’re not in competition with any of the big brewers,” he said. “We’re not in competition with the local bars either.”

The brewery’s tasting room only stays open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.  At their recent opener, their tasting room was filled with people from the town and the surrounding area.

“It was really a lot of fun,” Hilary said. “No one was drunk. It was more like a big block party. That’s what we want this place to be.”

Both hope their business will play an important role in an economic resurgence in their new hometown.  In a small community like Darby, the same $5 bill can get a lot mileage, JC said.

It might start out paying for a haircut down on Main Street. By afternoon, it could end up in the cash register at one of the local restaurants. And later that same day, it could be buying a brew at Bandit Brewery.

“We know that’s how it works,” he said. “We also need to find ways to bring money in from the outside. That’s what our business can do through tourism. We all just need to work together to ensure that people stop here and see what we have to offer.

“We already have the traffic coming through town,” said JC. “We just need to get them to stop.”

The couple plans to offer specials to skiers and others traveling through town. Their brewery will also be added to a tourism map that includes all the breweries in the state.  They also plan to do what they can to help out local causes. In the near future, JC plans to brew a Darby Tiger Ale. They’ll donate a portion of the sales to the school system.

“Breweries have a long tradition of giving back to their community,” he said. “We want to continue that.”

The McDowells are happy they’ve found this new niche that will still leave them with time to slip away each year for a couple of months of sailing south of the border.

“Our daughters have really embraced their new lives in the West,” he said. “And they’re pretty good sailors too.”