Visit any of our four local breweries and you’ll taste the distinctive influence of the area on Montana brew culture. With a city so motley with influence from the mountains, prairie, old stacks, and rivers to call home, it’s no wonder local brew masters have curated a distinctly Montana-made ethos in their taprooms.
There are three basic ingredients in all beer: Grain, water, and yeast – and Great Falls has them all tapped.
The city rests at one of the three points of Montana’s Golden Triangle – a premier locale for grain production. According to the USDA, Montana farmers produced more than 197.6 million bushels of wheat and 33.6 million bushels of barley in 2018.
Now, all our brewers need is a little water.
Look no further than the Madison Aquifer – the source of Great Falls’ iconic Giant Springs. This water is so good and pure that it can be pumped straight from the ground without any treatment.
Mix it all together and you have a recipe for a tasty, locally-sourced brew. Malteurop does that is grand style here in Great Falls, making our farm to table processes the closest and quickest possible.
The brew masters at Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Co. (600 3rd Ave. S) know opportunity when they see it. They brew their beers with the bounty of Montana’s Golden Triangle and top them off with even more local ingredients.
Have a taste of their award-winning Honey Weizen and enjoy notes of orange, clover, and Montana wildflower. The summery beer is brewed with a heavy helping of honey from a Company just down the road from Great Falls.
Down at Harvest Moon Brewing (7 5th St. S, Belt), they’re using that good unchlorinated and untreated water to produce well-balanced beers like Pigs Ass Porter. It’s a local favorite because it’s creamy, smooth, and a little hoppy at the finish. Harvest Moon’s barley is grown and malted just a few miles from where they’re brewing some of our favorite flights.
There’s also something to be said for the atmosphere of a taproom. Over at Black Eagle Brewing (1602 25th Av. NE, Black Eagle), patrons can enjoy the influence of the area’s industrial past. Grab a pint of Smelter Men Blonde Ale – a crisp, light beer that conjures images of men knocking a few back after a long day in the refinery. Watch the sunset over Great Falls from your table as you enjoy the flavors of their locally grown, two-row barley.
There is no better place to round out your Great Falls brewery experience than in the heart of the city at Mighty Mo Brewing Company (412 Central Ave.). Grab a seat on the patio with a pint of Smoke Jumper – a smoky scotch ale brewed with roasted barley, cherry-smoked malt, and crystal malt with hints of dark fruit and molasses. It’s the perfect spot to enjoy the bustle of Central Avenue on a warm day or head inside for nightly live music.
When all of these ingredients come together, the result is plain and simple: Great Falls is the best place for great beer.
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