By RYAN NEWHOUSE
The 2nd Annual Missoula Craft Beer Week will return Sunday April 28 and run through Saturday May 4. The week-long celebration of craft beer will include over a dozen different events at bars, breweries, restaurants and other public venues around Missoula. In the similar spirit of a craft beer festival, Missoula Craft Beer Week honors the fact that Montana is now home to 39 breweries (and counting) and receives beer from another 29 craft breweries from around the United States.
“Our first year went insanely well,” says Ryan Newhouse, co-planner for Missoula Craft Beer Week, “and we are excited to build on all that made last year a success. A wider variety of venues are participating this year. We’ll have lots of giveaways, and some of the events offered are truly one-of-a-kind.”
The week’s events include a beer-and-bacon-breakfast, beer-movie showing, various and exquisite food/beer pairings, mechanical bull riding, a homebrew demo class, a beer run, a women-only chocolate/beer pairing, dance-and-beer classes, an “Iron Man” promotion, a beer-variant tasting, brewery bus tour, and, of course, the MDA Garden City Brewfest at Caras Park on May 4.
One signature event will be the first “Craft Beerd” contest, allowing facial-hair-clad individuals to compete for the best “beerd” at the brewfest. Entry is at least one canned food donation to support the Missoula Food Bank.
The organizers would like to thank its title sponsors, Draught Works Brewery, Missoula Downtown Association, and Summer Sun Brew Supply.
A full list of events and supporters is available at the Missoula Craft Beer Week Website. Contact Ryan Newhouse at (406) 546-5280 or ryan@missoulabeerweek.com for interview requests or for more information.
About Missoula Craft Beer Week
Launched in conjunction with the 2012 Garden City Brewfest, Missoula Craft Beer Week showcases craft beer served and/or made in Montana at businesses and venues throughout Missoula. The events are designed to grow appreciation for the art, science and social nature of craft beer, the people who make it and the fans who enjoy it. Missoula Craft Beer Week was founded by Craft Beer Promotions, LLC, and the 2013 event is sponsored by Draught Works Brewery, Missoula Downtown Association, and Summer Sun Brew Supply.
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Ryan Newhouse has lived in Missoula since 2002 and has tipped his glass in most of the town’s establishments. He is (in no particular order) a full-time writer, husband, and parent, and a part-time zymurgist. He makes a mean hard cider and pairs his cocktails with dishes from his blog, Cooked Animals: Recipes for Wild Game.His latest concoction is Montana Beer Finder.