Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 28 F OUR-LEGGED DUSTY TROTS INTO RUBY VALLEY BREW SEVERAL STEPS AHEAD OF HIS HUMAN. "How's the knee?" asks brewery owner Amanda LaYacona. Dusty had surgery last week, but you wouldn't know it the way he's working the taproom, bounding from patron to patron laying his anvil head on every knee for a scratch behind the ears. Amanda continues to get an update on Dusty as a handful of other regulars stroll into the taproom located smack dab in the middle of Main Street in Sheridan, population 650. Close to seventy craft breweries span the length of Montana from the western mountains to the eastern plains. While a great deal of these are clustered in the bigger towns like Missoula, Billings and Boze- man, several small towns hold their own with a single top-notch brewery. Consider what a special place a brewery in a town with a population of less than 1,000 people holds in the community. Not only does it satisfy the palate of local beer lovers, it also serves as a gathering place for the community, a venue for local musicians and a much-needed source of employment and tourist dollars to quench the local economy. Amanda is the sole owner of RUBY VALLEY BREW, a woman in the male-dominated world of craft beer. Ruby Valley is one of only two breweries in Montana owned solely by women, the other being CABINET MOUN- TAIN BREWING COMPANY in Libby. Amanda hadn't planned to open a brewery when she and her family finally realized their dream of living in Montana, but as she got to know her new neighbors she continued to hear how much the locals wanted one. This got Amanda brewing beer in her garage and inviting locals over for tastings. Slowly she turned this Bud Light-loving crowd on to the flavors of craft beers such as Kolsch and IPA. Based on the response Amanda decided to move forward, hired a brewer from Spokane and opened Ruby Valley. ontana's M B reweries Small Town Craft article and photos by SUSIE WALL

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