Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 29 A visit to the taproom will give you a chance to taste a wide range of flavors and styles like the incredibly sippable Gin & Juice Kolsch and the smooth Maverick Mary IPA. According to Amanda, one great thing about having a tiny brewery is it gives them the freedom to play around. Another great thing is the satisfaction she gets from running a business that has become a community hub. Other businesses have started popping up on Main Street like Bread Zeppelin next door. A window opens into the brewery so patrons can enjoy a slice of pizza with a pint, and Bread Zeppelin uses Ruby Valley's spent grain in their recipes. Local musicians play regularly in the taproom and the dancing often goes way past last call. Amanda says, "It's almost like the community owns it. They are why we keep the doors open and keep us going through the winter." In White Sulphur Springs, bartenders Taryn and Holly an- ticipate regular patrons' beer selection before an order can be placed at 2 BASSET BREWERY. "That's going to be too hoppy for you," Taryn tells one local. A stroll down Main Street in this tiny agricultural town takes you past the famous Spa Hot Springs Motel. Hints of sulphur swirl around the boarded up Mint Bar and Van Oil gas station. Everyone you meet gives you a heartfelt "hello." You may be inclined to walk right down the middle of the street without fear of oncoming traffic, but then you would miss the chance to enter the busi- nesses that have begun a resurrection of this town of just under 1,000 souls like Red Ants Pants, The Jawbone Restaurant and 2 Basset Brewery. A desire to revitalize their community and bring people in were big reasons why brewery owners Chris and Barry Hedrich opened 2 Basset. "Bar- ry and I got to talking once our kids left the nest and we thought it would be fun to open a busi- ness here," says Chris. Barry had experimented with brewing beer at home and would invite friends over for tastings. "So we started asking, 'Would you spend $4.00 a pint for this?'" says Chris. The answers were a resounding "yes." The two bassets are Leroy and Stanley. Sadly, Leroy left us for the dog park in the sky in May, but he and Stanley are both forever commemorated in the dozens of photos that hang on the taproom walls. A sweet-faced Leroy oversees all in a some- what miscaptioned photo for Bad Bad Leroy Brown American Brown Ale. Stanley sports goggles and sits in front of a mini brew- ing set for Breaking Basset Farmhouse Ale. According to Chris, close to seventy percent of their business comes from people passing through or coming off the ski hill at Show- down. But the heart and soul of the brewery is the local community. "When we were working on the building people weren't saying 'Barry and Chris are opening a brewery,'" says Chris. "They would say 'We are getting a brewery.'" In the winter Taryn can tell who's coming in because she sees them sitting in their cars with the heater running at 1:45 patiently waiting for the doors to open at 2:00. PHILIPSBURG BREWING COMPANY owners Cathy and Nolan Smith have been so successful they now have two locations in this mountain hamlet. The Vault is their flagship location, operating out of the his- toric Sayrs bank building. On weekends you'd be hard pressed to find an empty table as both locals and tourists find a seat and sample staples like Otter Water Session Pale Ale and seasonals like Bad Finger Imperial Stout. Consider what a special place A BREWERY IN A TOWN WITH A POPULATION OF LESS THAN 1,000 PEOPLE HOLDS IN THE COMMUNITY.

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