Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • s U m m E R 2 0 1 4 48 Beer in Montana is still the "universal beverage." The first batch of beer was brewed at the h.S. Gilbert Brewery in Virginia City in 1863. Beer in Montana is still the "uni- versal beverage." On the national level, Montana's brewing past can be traced forward to some of the biggest names in brewing today. For instance, before Miller Brew- ing Company took the name "High Life" in 1903 for its pilsners, High Life was a Montana brand from the Capital Brewing and Malting Co. in Helena. And Olympia Brewing Company's famous slogan, "It's the Water," was first used in Montana by the Red Lodge Brewing Company for its Gla- cier Beer. (Ed. Note: There are more juicy anecdotes like this.] Though Montana has 37 breweries in operation today, at one time there were at least 60 independent breweries making beer, some in towns that do not exist anymore. In 2013, Montana overtook its eastern neighbor, North Dakota, to become the top barley-producing state in the country, planting 1,000,000 acres of barley against North Dakota's 950,000, something that rarely hap- pens according to the Montana Grain Growers Association. "We have some of the best barley in the world," Steve Becker, outreach coordinator for Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, recently told a Great Falls newspaper. "That is why barley is contracted out by major barley companies." The "cream of the barley crop" comes from Fairfield, in north central Montana (population 708). It has earned the title of "Malting Barley Capital of the World," which is why Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors are the top barley purchasers there. This book contains stories about each brewery, a foreword by Max Bau- cus, illustrations, and a useful index. 2305 Montana Avenue, Billings (Next to Venture Theatre, Across from The Depot) (406) 534-6960 11am - 9pm, 7 days a week "tHE fouNDErS of ÜbErbrEW fouND tHEIr NICHE WouLD bE ExPErtLy PaIrINg fooD aND bEEr, aS WELL aS of- fErINg a grEat atMoSPHErE." Beer in Montana is still the "universal beverage."

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