Sacred Waters Brewing Co., of Kalispell, starred under the spotlight at the 2025 World Beer Cup. On May 1st, the competition capped off the annual Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®, held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Brewers gather for the 2025 World Beer Cup.
“When industry professionals acknowledge the excellence in products from around the market, the beer drinker can be sure that those brands are the finest available,” says Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director. “The World Beer Cup competition continues to showcase the global industry’s dedication to innovative craftsmanship, diverse flavors, and technical excellence.”
Judging took place in fourteen sessions across seven days, where a cohort of 265 judges representing 37 nations carefully evaluated each beer. The World Beer Cup is the largest beer competition in the world, with the 16th edition featuring 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries and cideries across the world. The world-class beer found in the state of Montana has frequently been featured at the competition, with a Treasure State brewery medalling at each World Beer Cup since 2006.
Sacred Waters won the bronze in the International Light Lager category for Snow Dust. This marks the second consecutive year Sacred Waters was honored at this event, taking home a bronze medal for their Lil’ Salmon Fire in 2024. Snow Dust is no stranger to success, having received a gold medal at the 2024 North American Beer Awards and bronze at the 2025 Montana Beer Awards.
Seth Orr (left) receiving a World Beer Cup award from Bart Watson, president and CEO of the Brewers Association.
“Sitting out in the audience and watching the awards being called can be stressful,” explained Seth Orr, head brewer at Sacred Waters. “Hearing your brewery called is amazing. There is a rush as everyone claps for you and praises your achievements. All in all it was an experience I will cherish for my lifetime.”
Snow Dust is a lager brewed with Jasmine rice & local Flathead Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. It features light and delicate flavors combined with low bitterness, which make this crystal clear beer incredibly drinkable.
Check out the full winners list here. Congratulations to Sacred Waters for representing our state at the international level!
The 2025 Montana Brewers Association Spring Rendezvous Brewfest was held on May 10th at the Haynes Pavilion in Bozeman. The event drew craft beer enthusiasts from across the state to celebrate Montana’s brewing scene. The festival showcased the diverse and high-quality beers produced by Montana’s independent craft breweries. Attendees enjoyed samples from 27 breweries from various regions of Montana who brought 97 different beers, giving attendees the chance to explore the unique flavors and styles crafted throughout the state.
MAP Brewing Co.’s head brewer, Doug Child, pouring beers at the Spring Rendezvous.
The festival atmosphere was lively, with musical performances for the VIP hour by the Lazy Owl String Band, who delivered stomping, fast picking, old-timey string music, plus a GA performance by Matt Wallin & His Nervous Breakdown, playing original and cover tunes that kept feet dancing. Attendees also enjoyed delicious local food from vendors including CC Gourmet, Follow Yer’ Nose BBQ, Ms. Sippi’s, Mo’Bowls, and Rancho Picante Bison Burgers, complementing the beer tasting experience.
The Spring Rendezvous Brewfest is a key fundraising event for the Montana Brewers Association supporting our mission to protect and promote Montana’s independent craft brewing industry. The event not only provided a platform for breweries to connect with consumers but also fostered a sense of community among craft beer lovers. The Bozeman Spring Rendezvous was the first stop on the Montana Brewers’ 2025 Brewfest tour, with upcoming events in Helena on Saturday, August 2nd, and Missoula Saturday, September 6th.
Get your tickets for the Summer Rendezvous here, and the Fall Rendezvous here. Presale for the Summer Rendezvous begins on Monday, June 2nd!
Thank you to our sponsors: Gallatin Valley Malt, General Distributing Co., Hollingbery Hops, H&R Block.
Each year, the Brewers Association (BA), publishes state and national economic data from the craft beer industry, and each year those indicators help to paint a picture of the state of the industry. The recently released data, for 2024, reflect an industry that is experiencing slowed growth both nationally and in Montana. But the BA’s 2024 state brewery data also show Montana maintaining its position in the top three of states for breweries per capita.
With 12.8 breweries per 100,000 21+ adults, Montana boasts the third most breweries per capita of any state. This is the sixth year in a row Montana has ranked third, since the state briefly jumped up to second place in 2018.
Montana is a large state (the fourth largest in the U.S. by land area) with a relatively small population of just 1.1 million people, and Montana’s craft brewers continue to have an outsized impact in the 44th most populous state.
While Montana ranks low for brewery economic impact, at 31st place with a total economic impact of $565 million, that ranking is primarily a function of Montana’s low population. Looking at economic impact per capita, Montana ranks in third place among the states with $663 per adult over 21.
While Montana remains in the nation’s top three for breweries per capita, growth of the number of breweries has slowed in Montana, just as it has in other states. This trend began around five years ago, in conjunction with the COVID pandemic and growth has not picked up since.
The number of breweries in Montana grew rapidly from 2000 to 2020, going from 10 in 2000 to 23 in 2010 and 100 in 2020. For two decades, the number of breweries in Montana was doubling every 5 to 10 years. But that growth has slowed over the past five years as fewer breweries have opened each year and brewery closures further reduce overall growth.
Production is also down, having peaked at 206,613 barrels in 2021, Montana brewers produced 182,488 barrels in 2024. That’s down nearly 12% in just four years, and down 5% since the year before, when Montana brewers produced 192,656 barrels.
But these trends of flat growth for brewery openings and a decline in production mirror national trends. The BA reports that craft brewer sales nationally are down 4%. Similarly, after years of exponential growth, the number of U.S. breweries started to flatten out around 2022. More specifically, 2024 marked the first year that the BA reported more brewery closures than openings.
These negative trends come as no surprise. Recent years have been tough for breweries, with challenges coming on multiple fronts. The COVID pandemic was responsible for a loss of on-premises sales and a slow return to normal. However, brewers in Montana, where COVID-era restrictions were less harsh and briefer, weathered that storm better than many of our peers in other states. Montana brewers even saw a bit of a rebound in 2021, but COVID is not the only headwind Montana brewers have faced.
Demographic, social and market changes have also hit the industry with overall reduction in the consumption of alcohol along with a consumer movement away from craft beer and toward other alcoholic beverages. Tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018 led to a can shortage, the stockpiling of cans, and increased prices for cans, kegs and equipment. Now, a fresh round of tariffs, coupled with higher interest rates and general economic anxiety, threaten to further disrupt the industry and cut into bottom lines.
The BA’s data do offer a silver lining for craft brewers. While production and sales by volume are down, retail dollar sales for craft are up 3%, and the BA attributes that to “slightly stronger onsite sales growth versus distribution.” Translation for all you beer lovers out there: breweries’ margins are better on a pint sold in the taproom compared to a six-pack on a store shelf, so give your local brewery a boost by stopping by for a pint or a growler fill.
Beginning Saturday, February 22nd, a celebration of Montana craft beer has been on tap across the state. The Peaks to Prairie collaboration, a 100% grown, malted and made-in-Montana beer, is back at a brewery near you.
Copper Furrow Brewing’s Peaks to Prairie IPA.
Peaks to Prairie is an annual collaboration between Montana’s breweries, hop growers, maltsters, and local beer lovers. Brewers have creative freedom to brew the style of their choosing with a recipe using ingredients grown and malted in Montana.
Brewers can purchase discounted ingredients from Montana agricultural suppliers, and in turn use the proceeds from the beer to make a donation to the MBA in support of its mission to promote the production and sales of the freshest and highest quality Montana-made beers. The MBA also will use a portion of the funds raised to support scholarships for student researchers at MSU’s Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab.
“This collaboration beer celebrating Montana-grown ingredients is a perfect match for Burnt Tree Brewing’s ethos of supporting our agricultural producers and processors, and celebrating the power of local beer to strengthen our local economy and community. All of our beers feature a majority of Montana ingredients (many recipes are 100% Montana-sourced), served in our small neighborhood taproom to locals and visitors alike,” says Dave McAdoo, Head Brewer at Burnt Tree Brewing.
This is the fifth collaboration beer organized by the MBA, with this edition featuring updates to the project. In addition to an earlier release date, Peaks to Prairie beers was also its own category at the Montana Beer Awards, where the top brews received gold, silver, and bronze medals. “I think it is a great way for us to showcase the fantastic Montana-made ingredients that are being produced in our state. With this being the first year having a designated Peaks to Prairies category at the MBA awards, I think we will see some incredible beers that highlight the exceptional quality of growers and producers we have here in Montana,” shares Jayce Hancock, Head Brewer at Lewis & Clark Brewing Co.
Katabatic’s medal-winning Peaks to Prairie brew.
A Session Pale from Katabatic Brewing won the Peaks to Prairie gold at the Montana Beer Awards, with Highlander Beer’s Bock and MAP Brewing’s Red IPA taking home silver and bronze respectively. “Montana’s malt and hop producers are continually adding new and better options for brewers. With such a wide selection, it was challenging to choose a beer style for this collaboration – the possibilities were almost endless,” adds Doug Child, MAP Brewing Co.’s Head Brewer.
The name of the collab beer, Peaks to Prairie, pays homage to the wide range of geographical features in Montana, reflecting the diverse landscapes of mountains, canyons, river valleys, forests, grassy plains, and more that are found in Big Sky Country. This collaboration beer showcases the unique flavors and ingredients sourced from these environments, as well as the variety of different beers brewers can create. By utilizing elements from Montana’s peaks and prairies, the beer is a fusion of the state’s natural beauty and agricultural abundance.
Thanks to the generous support of Bell Crossing Farms, Big Sky Hops Farm, Crooked Yard Hops, Flathead Valley Hops, Glacier Hops Ranch, Gallatin Valley Malt, Malteurop, and Montana Craft Malt, brewers were able to purchase their locally-sourced ingredients at a reduced rate. With their own unique recipes, brewers unleashed their creativity and now they are eager to share their delicious brews with craft beer enthusiasts.
To celebrate Montana-made beer, craft beer lovers can show their support for the collaboration beer project by visiting any of the following participating breweries and enjoying a pint of Peaks to Prairie:
For more information on each Peaks to Prairie beer, visit this link.
Participating breweries will be pouring the Peaks to Prairie collaboration beer throughout the year while supplies last.