Barley's Angels Hosts Six Course Beer Dinner June 9

The Howling Wolf Chapter of Barley's Angels is teaming up with On Broadway in Helena for a six course beer dinner on Sunday, June 9.  Enjoy six, six ounce Blackfoot River Brewing Co. Beers paired with six courses of delicious Italian-inspired food from one of Helena's favorite restaurants.  The courses will include soup, salad, chicken, beef, fish and a dessert that will be handcrafted specifically for this event.

But here's the catch.  It's women only!  Barley's Angels is an international organization which seeks to provide comfortable environments for women to explore craft beer.  Becky Molm, a brewer at Helena's Blackfoot River Brewing Co., organized the Howling Wolf Chapter in early 2012 and has been leading women on a taste extravaganza ever since.  Most recently, she led the sold-out beer and chocolate pairing event during Missoula Craft Beer Week, expertly pairing desserts from Posh Chocolate with beers from Blackfoot River. 

The dinner is sponsored by Blackfoot River Brewing Co., On Broadway and McDantim.  Tickets are $65 per person and are limited to 40 women who will also receive a great 9 oz. snifter glass to take home.  For reservations, email Becky Molm at: becky@blackfootriverbrewing.com.

Sasquatch Home Brew Competition is June 15

Higherground Brewery and Summer Sun Garden and Brew are at it again. Following on the heels of the successful Yeti Home Brew Competition last December, they've teamed up again to offer a summer equivalent, the Sasquatch Home Brew Competition.  Co-sponsored by Growler Fills and the Missoula Independent, it's sure to be another great occasion celebrating the fun of homebrewing.

The Sasquatch Home Brew Competition takes place at Higherground Brewing Co. in Hamilton, MT, on June 15.  Categories are: Belgian, Dark, Specialty and IPA.  To enter follow these simple rules:

Drop off three labeled (they have labels for you) 12 ounce bottles (or two 22 ounce bottles) with your $5 entry fee at Summer Sun Garden and Brew at 838 W. Spruce St. in Missoula, or at Higherground Brewery at 518 N. First Street in Hamilton (they will be kept cold).  Entries are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 14, if dropped off at Summer Sun, or by 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, if dropped off at Higherground.

Judging will begin at 1:00 at Higherground.  Prizes will be awarded at 5:00 p.m. and you'll want to stick around for the after-fun with live music from Airstream Safari at 6:00 p.m. If you have questions about the competition, send them to Beer@HighergroundBrewery.com.

Sam Adams Tap Takeover at The Rhino Tonight

Though popular in bars in other parts of the beer-loving U.S., tap takeovers are rare in Montana.  Not sure if that's a cultural thing, a function of our relatively small distribution market, or what, but tonight beer fans in Missoula have an opportunity to take part in one.

Beginning at 5:00 p.m., Summit Beverage and The Rhino host a Sam Adams tap takeover featuring seven Sam Adams beers, five of which have never been on tap before in Missoula.  The list includes:

• Boston Lager 
• Summer Ale 
• Griffin’s Bow – Oak aged Barley Wine 
• Dark Depths – Baltic Porter 
• Grumpy Monk – Belgian IPA 
• Third Voyage – Double IPA 
• New World Tripel

Sounds like a good excuse to get out on a sunny, Wednesday evening. The Rhino is at 158 Ryman St. in Missoula.

Zoo Bike and Brew Heads to Business Plan Competition

Christina Henderson and Aimee Roberts have a question for you: Are you ready for a Montana-made 16-person pedal-powered party bike to chauffeur you around Missoula's thriving beer scene?   The two MBA students at the University of Montana are betting you are.  They've prepared a business plan for the venture and entered it in the University's highly-competitive 24th Annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition.

Zoo Bike and Brew was selected as a semifinalist and heads to the competition's day-long final round tomorrow, May 16, attended by more than 250 business professionals and community leaders.  All
teams make an initial 90 second "elevator pitch" followed by first round presentations of 15 minutes each.

The field is narrowed to eight, then four during additional rounds leading to an awards ceremony at 9:15 p.m. Teams compete for thousands of dollars in prize money and have the opportunity to network with venture capitalists, early stage investors, investment bankers, economic developers, corporate executives, and successful entrepreneurs.

Christina and Aimee are working with Free Cycles Missoula and Home Resource to build the party bike with a design inspired by Missoula's historic streetcars.  Billed as "part spin class, part pub crawl, part parade . . . . wholly awesome," the two hope to have the business up and running in Spring 2014.  Stay tuned to their facebook page for more information and check our their promo video to get the perfect picture of what Missoula can look forward to:

It's American Craft Beer Week: May 13-19

As a beer fan there little doubt you already know it is American Craft Beer Week, a celebration of small and independent craft brewers organized by the Brewers Association.  If you didn't know, it's time to step up your beer fan credentials.  American Craft Beer Week began Monday and runs through Sunday, May 19.  Begun in 2006, the week is an opportunity for breweries and bars around the country to host special events to celebrate craft beer.

Billed by the Brewers Association as "The Mother of All Beer Weeks," it's celebrated around these parts with a bit of a yawn. Certainly gaining steam, but still only and handful of events around Montana. Part of the
reason for that is explained in the Brewers Association's own words: "Beer weeks are giving craft beer fans across the U.S. ever-increasing options to enjoy and share the beverage they love. Beer weeks celebrate the culture and community of craft beer, and give breweries and beer businesses the opportunity to connect with the fans."

According to this list at the Brewers Association's craftbeer.com, there are at least 40 craft beer weeks in cities and regions around the U.S. plus two craft beer months (VA and OR). That includes our own Missoula Craft Beer Week created and organized by Growler Fills (Alan) and Montana Beer Finder (Ryan) operating together as Craft Beer Promotions, LLC.  I can tell you from experience, despite the tremendous interest these weeks generate from both the brewers/retailers and their fans, they take a ton of work to pull together.  But they also work because they are personal, specific and better capture local pride and sense of place than a national beer week. 

American Craft Beer week will continue to grow and is certainly worth doing, but "the mother of all beer weeks?" The Brewers Association acknowledges American Craft Beer Week is "just one of the many amazing beer weeks happening in the U.S. every year."  Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm also stems from the fact Missoula Craft Beer Week only ended a little more than a week earlier.  I need a break.

Helena Ales for Trails is Friday, May 17

The 3rd Annual Helena Ales for Trails beer and wine tasting festival takes place this Friday, May 17th from 5 to 9pm at the Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds in Helena, MT. Helena Ales for Trails serves as a fundraiser for the Helena trail system. This year’s Ales for Trails event benefits the Centennial Trail, a paved path connecting Spring Meadow Lake to East Helena. See centennialtrail.blogspot.com for more information. 
 
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the event and include a collectible 6 oz. Helena Ales for Trails pilsner-style glass along with 3 coupons which can be redeemed for three (3) 6 oz. pours.
Additional 6 oz. pours are $1 each. Advance tickets may be purchased at: Fuel Fitness, Tread Lightly, Bank of the Rockies, Mountain West Bank, Narrate Church, Blackfoot River Brewing, and Lewis & Clark Brewing.
 
This year's event includes a VIP Pre-Tasting Event from 4 to 5pm. Guests who purchase upgraded VIP tickets can interact with brewers and to taste limited edition beers shown on the poster below. VIP tickets are $25 and include a limited print snifter glass. The VIP portion of the event is limited to 150 people.

For more information head to Helena Ales for Trails' Facebook page or email Adam at adam@narratechurch.org.

Tamarack Sponsors "Have Beer, Need Art" Logo Contest

Got creativity? Artistic talent? Like beer?  Tamarack Brewing Co. has a contest for you. Tamarack has brewed a special beer with Montana honey, malt and spruce tips which is barrel aging until its expected release in August.  From now until midnight, July 15, 2013, Tamarack is accepting entries for a logo for this new beer, named "Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Ale."

The beer and contest celebrate Montana Senator Max Baucus' reintroduction of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, designed to provide long-term protection for access, wildlife and ranching heritage along one of Montana's inspiring landscapes.  Senator Baucus dropped by Tamarack's Missoula outpost on Friday, May 3 to announce the contest and spread the word about the Act.

“This contest is about celebrating one of Montana’s most treasured places and all the small businesses and economic activity that the Rocky Mountain Front supports,” said Baucus, who founded the Senate’s bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus. “I encourage Montanans to have fun and get creative with this contest. We look forward to seeing all the entries and enjoying Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Ale later this summer.”

All Have Beer, Need Art Contest entries must be submitted electronically, either by posting to Tamarack’s Missoula Facebook page, its Lakeside Facebook page, or by email to contest@tamarackbrewing.com.

All entries must comply with the following criteria:

• Must somehow refer to the Rocky Mountain Front (using landmarks, waterways, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, Senator Baucus, etc.)
• Must include the name “Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Ale”
• Must be at least 990 pixels wide by 1260 pixels in length
• Must not exceed Facebook’s limit of 2048x2048 pixels or 15MB in size.

Contest participants must be 21 or older. A panel of judges will pick the winning entry when the beer is released in August. Complete terms and conditions for the contest are available online at tamarackbrewing.com/contest.