Flathead Lake Brewing

Some Montana breweries are hard to find, tucked away in alleys or side streets, but not Flathead Lake Brewing. You can't miss it.

It's five miles south of Bigfork right in the middle of Woods Bay, a tiny berg along scenic State Highway 35 at mile marker 26, which is also the name of one of its award-winning, handcrafted beers.

Technically, though, you almost missed it because in July 2009, after disagreements between owners, Flathead Lake Brewing closed its doors, lost its head brewer, and remained closed for nine months until it re-opened in March 2010.

Fortunately, when you walk into the taproom, you'll find the same thing you did before the short closure--great views, great beers and great people.

Greg Johnston, who co-owned the brewery for five years, is now the sole owner, and one of the first management moves he made was to re-hire head brewer Tim Jacoby, who is back at work brewing up the same award-winning beer recipes.

But everything will not be the same. Johnston, Jacoby and their crew spent months completely refurbishing the interior. "Everything will have a fresh look to it," Jacoby said, except the exterior, which remains the same and hard to miss when you drive down the east side of Flathead Lake.

Besides new ownership and new interior, the other difference from the Flathead Lake Brewing of the past will be food. The brewery added a full kitchen, so you can get some tasty pub fare with your tasty microbrew.

"It's still mainly a taproom," Jacoby said, "but we are going to also be a real restaurant, a Montana-style restaurant serving pizza, Montana beef and/or buffalo sandwiches, a fantastic Captain's Chicken wrap, beer brats, maybe some salads, kid friendly items, etc."

Since the Flathead Lake Brewing has the same head brewer, the beer won't change much. "Most of the beers will be the same," Jacoby assured--at least at first, but he also said he'd be trying some new recipes.

"We're also keeping our logo and the Flathead Lake theme, but a little more recreation and a little less nautical," Jacoby said.

In 2006, Flathead Lake Brewing won two medals at what's commonly considered the most prestigious beer competition in the world, the World Beer Cup. About 3,800 brewers compete for the coveted awards, and two of them are hanging up at Flathead Lake Brewing--a silver medal for Mutiny Stout and a bronze for Peg Leg Porter.

Besides taproom sales, Flathead Lake has gone back to distributing draught beer throughout the Flathead Valley, but plans to stay close to home for a while before trying to penetrate other markets. Jacoby said they're thinking about doing some bottling in the future, but no decision yet.

Whitecap Pale Ale will still be the flagship beer, and Flathead Lake will still be one of two brewers in Montana (along with Bozeman Brewing) to sell beer in super-cool, numbered custom ceramic growlers made by Carlburg Pottery of Kalispell.

Flathead Lake is also the first Montana brewery to sell craft beer in collapsible gallon plastic "brew-in-a-box" growers that they call The Tackle Box. These unbreakable and recyclable growlers take less room in the refrigerator, and unlike traditional growlers, the Tackle Box keeps beer fresh for up to two weeks, if kept cool. And when you've finally finished off all 128 ounces, you can take your tackle Box in for a refill just like regular 64-ounce growlers.

Flathead Lake has also started offering its beer in 22-ounce bottles they call "Bombers."

When you walk out the taproom after a pint or two of handcrafted microbrew, you're treated with a spectacular view of magnificent Flathead Lake that gives the company its name--and the beers their names. It also nourishes the tourist market so vital to microbrewery's bottom line--and probably provides a lot of the inspiration to make the highest possible product.

Owner Greg Johnston (left) and brewer Tim Jacoby.