Saturday, April 6, is Montanans’ favorite unofficial holiday, Montana Day, also known as 4-0-6 Day. It also happens to be New Beer’s Eve, the day before National Beer Day, making this day the natural time to celebrate Montana craft beer with the release of the 2024 Peaks to Prairie collaboration beer at eleven breweries across Montana.
Peaks to Prairie is a collaboration of Montana Brewers Association (MBA) member breweries, Montana’s barley and hops growers, and local maltsters. Brewers have creative freedom to brew the style of their choosing with a recipe using ingredients grown and malted in Montana. This is the fourth annual Montana collaboration beer organized by the MBA, and the first MBA collaboration without a specific style requirement.
“Montana brewers and craft beer lovers are in the fortunate and unique position of living and brewing in a place where all the ingredients necessary to brew great beer are produced right here,” says MBA Executive Director Matt Leow. “Montana is a special place where you can know your brewer, know your farmer, and know your maltster. We’re the leading barley malt producing state, we have a fast-growing hops industry and are fortunate to have several local maltsters. There aren’t many states where brewers can produce a beer with all local ingredients like we’re doing with Peaks to Prairie.”
The name of the collab beer, “Peaks to Prairie,” represents the wide range of geographical features in Montana, reflecting the diverse landscapes of mountains, canyons, river valleys, forests, grassy plains, and more that are found in Big Sky Country. This collaboration beer aims to showcase the unique flavors and ingredients sourced from these environments. By combining elements from Montana’s peaks to prairies, the beer represents a fusion of the state’s natural beauty and agricultural abundance.
Thanks to the generous support of Bell Crossing Farms, Big Sky Orchards, Crooked Yard Hops, Flathead Valley Hops, Farm Power Malt, Gallatin Valley Malt, and Montana Craft Malt, brewers were able to purchase their locally-sourced ingredients at a reduced rate. With their own unique recipes, brewers unleashed their creativity and now they are eager to share their delicious brews with craft beer enthusiasts.
“We look forward to the Peaks to Prairie beer every year, and I think there is a lot of pride in everyone’s Peak to Prairie brew as it uses Montana ingredients and also showcases how incredible the Montana craft beer scene is. I think the option of brewing any style you want this year makes it even more exciting for all the breweries participating,” says Zach Nelson, Head Brewer at KettleHouse Brewing. “We’re very excited to see what gets put on tap across the state, and as always, we love to support the Montana Brewers Association, and keep helping to grow the Montana Craft beer scene.”
So far, eleven Montana breweries are brewing the Peaks to Prairie beer. Each brewery will donate a portion of the proceeds of their Peaks to Prairie beer to the Montana Brewers Association to continue to further the mission of promoting the production and sales of the freshest and highest quality Montana-made beers. The MBA will use some of the funds raised to support scholarships for student researchers at MSU’s Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab.
To celebrate Montana Day and New Beer’s Eve, craft beer lovers can show their support for the collaboration beer project by visiting any of the following participating breweries and enjoying a pint of Peaks to Prairie:
- Bitter Root Brewing (Hamilton)
- Blackfoot River Brewing Co. (Helena)
- Burnt Tree Brewing (Ennis)
- Cranky Sam Brewing (Missoula)
- Gally’s Brewing Company (Harlowton)
- KettleHouse Brewing (Missoula)
- Lewis & Clark Brewing Company (Helena)
- MAP Brewing Co. (Bozeman)
- Outlaw Brewing (Bozeman)
- Sacred Waters Brewing Co. (Kalispell)
- Ten Mile Creek Brewery (Helena)
For more information on each Peaks to Prairie beer, visit montanabrewers.org/upcoming_events/2024-peaks-to-prairie-collaboration-beer-release/.
Participating breweries will be pouring the Peaks to Prairie collaboration beer throughout the year while supplies last.
Be the first to comment