Hoppy trails
Great Northern Brewing Company head brewer Joe Barberis works out a kink with the labeler while bottling 22-ounce Frog Hop Fresh Hopped Pale Ale at the brewery in Whitefish on Thursday. A single batch of the seasonal beer is brewed in September with fresh hops locally handpicked at Purple Frog Gardens near Whitefish within 24 hours of the brew.
Montana regulations require craft brewers to use cereal grain malted barley like the pale malt and carafa malt barley, shown front to back, to increase alcohol content, not alternative products such as corn or candy sugar.
Hop heads, rejoice.
A bit of recent legislation has come to fruition in Northwest Montana with the advent of barley wines, bocks and India pale ales brewed in Lakeside, Whitefish and Polson.
The passage of state House Bill 400 by the 2009 Legislature gave Montana's craft brewers the green light to increase alcohol content from 7 percent to 14 percent. The law also permits beer and wine vendors to sell strong beer made in Montana and other states nationwide.
"We're pretty excited about the change in legislation," said Marcus Duffey, general manager and part owner of The Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish.
Duffey said the brewery is working on a barley wine, which is a beer that can achieve alcohol content levels of 8 to 12 percent, and is so named for the tendency to be as alcoholic as wine. Duffey said the yet un-named brew will debut next spring or fall after it ages for six months to a year.
Also in the works is a Belgian double or triple pale ale. The true fun lies in experimentation, he said.
"I know brewers like to try new things, explore new styles," Duffey said. "It's what the job is all about."
In Lakeside, Josh Townsley, a partner at Tamarack Brewing Company, looks forward to the business opportunities that come with the ability to brew a new range of beers.
"It opens us up," Townsley said. "We're able to compete. It puts us on par with other craft brewers across the nation. People like craft beer; people travel for craft beers.
"Craft brewing caters to hop heads - people who like hoppy beers," he continued. "Hoppy beers tend to have higher alcohol content."
On Oct. 1, Tamarack unveiled Headwall, a double India pale ale that's 9.1 percent alcohol by volume.
Townsley insists that the increase in alcohol content is not a reason for people to relive college beerfests, but rather a way for people to experience and savor new kinds of beers.
"It's a difficult thing to make a beer high in alcohol content and palatable," Townsley said. "It's not the beer you'll sit and have three or four of. You'll have one, and enjoy the way it crosses your palate."
LAST FALL, brewers across the state struggled when the price of hops rose exponentially. Poor seasons in Australia and Europe, coupled with a dwindling number of hops producers sent costs soaring.
Locally, Lang Creek Brewery near Marion and Flathead Lake Brewing Co. in Woods Bay have closed their doors. The California-based owners of Lang Creek decided to no longer invest in the company, said John Campbell, former owner and brewmaster.
The new owner of Flathead Lake Brewing, Greg Johnston, said the brewery is closed until further notice following a reorganization of management.
"We're trying to figure out if it's a viable company to continue in this economy," Chicago resident Johnston said.
Despite these setbacks, the remaining local breweries are seeing an upswing in business.
"Craft beer is on a resurgence," Townsley said. "It's grown at least 12 to 13 percent nationally. We're in a time when you'll see Montana brewers and the craft-brew industry grow."
Townsley has designed Tamarack to function as the community brew house.
"Before Prohibition every town had its own brewery, the gathering place. Each town had its beer," he said. "We pride ourselves on being community-oriented."
The brewery owner looks forward to local breweries gaining nationwide reputations.
"We are trying to make our niche in the nation, to let people know Montana is a good place for beer, whether in Missoula or Billings or the Flathead. We're excited that we can now grow our portfolio of beers."
IN POLSON, Glacier Brewing Company brewmaster Dave Ayers is celebrating the legislation by kicking off "one barrel batch" specialty brews, which allows for a greater variety of beers flowing from the taps.
"Customers want different beers more often," Ayers said. "It's fun to see what will be created."
Glacier Brewing plans to create a dopplebock, barley wine and imperial styles in small quantities.
"This was a long time coming," Ayers said of House Bill 400. "Holding back craft breweries on alcohol content is a rather neo-prohibitionist attitude. It will be a fun thing for Montana breweries and Montana beer lovers. It will give the craft beer drinking public a chance to expand their own wet whistle."
Reporter K.J. Hascall may be reached at 758-4439 or by e-mail at kjhascall@dailyinterlake.com