Carnivores Classic and New Draft System

Bayern Brewing is one of the sponsors of the Corridor Carnivores Classic, a benefit for the Missoula College Culinary Arts Program, which will occur May 30 and 31 at Caras Park. Tonight, Friday May 30, is the VIP dinner, which requires that you purchase a ticket to attend. This event features a six-course dinner, pairing food with drinks from Missoula breweries and distilleries, while being entertained by music from Eden Atwood and the UM Jazz Band. Tomorrow, Saturday May 31, the event is open to the public all afternoon with food vendors, and BBQ competition and more live music by Idle Ranch Hands, Three-Eared Dog and High Voltage. There is much more to this event and if you would like more information, please visit http://umt.edu/carnivoresclassic/

If you plan to visit Bayern Brewing on Monday, June 2 or Tuesday, June 3, you should be aware that the downstairs Tasting Room will be closed while the new draft system is being installed. The beer garden and Upstairs Event Room will be open so you can still get a pint or a growler filled, but Bayern will be temporarily operating at a smaller capacity. The new draft system is going to be very exciting. I will write more about that and post a couple before and after pics next week.

Have a great weekend! Prost!

New Trout & New Hats

Dancing Trout has a new look and is now hopped using Cascade hops from the Northwest. The artwork used for our new packaging design is another Monte Dolack original and still portrays the philosophy of trout habitat preservation in Montana.

Many of you probably remember the big name change for this beer several years ago. If you are wondering why that happened, you can read about it on our website: www.bayernbrewery.com
That change had some pros and cons as far as the overall brand goes. Bayern recently made Dancing Trout a sort of seasonal, its counterpart being Groomer Dark Märzen, which returned after its first run to help Snowbowl celebrate a historic anniversary. Since the availability of Dancing Trout changed, the folks at Bayern thought it might be a good time to try a couple other changes as well. We hope you like the new design, will enjoy the new recipe and drink a few to help Bayern Brewing and Montana Trout Unlimited preserve Montana's blue-ribbon trout streams.

I also wanted to let you know we just got a whole bunch of new hats in the Tasting Room. If you can, you should stop in and check them out because they tend to go quickly. Some styles are more popular than others, of course, so if you don't get one of the more popular styles while they are available, it might be autumn before you get another crack at the new styles. The photo at right exhibits just a few of the new hats available. You can also call the Tasting Room (406) 721-1482 to inquire about new styles and have one shipped to you.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend. The Tasting Room is open so come on down and fill your growler, grab a case or just enjoy a couple pints and a brat. Prost!  

Secret Powers to Perform at Fürkin Fest Party

Brewmaster Thorsten Geuer taps a firkin during Fürkin Fest

Big party at Bayern Brewing tonight! Burgers and brats will be provided. Guests are asked (but not required) to bring a potluck side or dessert to share. A wooden barrel of Maibock will be tapped and a live performance from rock band Secret Powers will top off what will promise to be a really fun event. This will come to be known as "Fürkin Friday", part of Bayern Brewing's Fürkin Fest that has been going on all this week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week. A different firkin has been tapped each day. Each one has contained one of our regular or seasonal beer styles dry-hopped (or infused) with special hops or fruit. They were all interesting and some were very popular. The warehouse will be open today so you can see the bottle washer and bottle-filling line. We will probably walk a tour or two through the brewery as well so if that is something you are interested in, you should come on down, arrive early before things start really rockin' and let someone know that you would like to be part of a tour. The Tasting Room is open all afternoon, as usual, so the exact start time is undetermined, but the band will probably start around 5 or 6pm and food will start around dinner time. We hope you will join us and thanks to all of you who came down during the week!

Oh! One more thing: Fürkin Fest isn't over! Tomorrow (Saturday), there will be a Radler Fürkin. A radler is a light beer (Bayern Helles Lager in this particular case) that is mixed with lemon-lime soda. The legend goes like this: a group of bicyclists in Germany were out for a long tour and stopped in a brewery at the end of the day to have some cold beer at the end of their ride. The brewery had not anticipated this large group of thirsty cyclists and so, apologetically, mixed the beer available with lemon soda (to make it go further for the group). They loved it - so much they told other people about it and eventually it became popular all through Germany (especially among cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts). Ride on down and try one! We are just off the Milwaukee Trail making Bayern Brewing's Tasting Room easily (and safely) accessible from anywhere in mid-Missoula.

Prost!

Fürkin Fest

A different fürkin will be tapped and offered to those who visit the Bayern Brewing Tasting Room each day to celebrate American Craft Beer Week next week! At the end of the week, Friday, May 16, there will be a BBQ in the parking lot (or in the warehouse should weather make that necessary) and a wooden barrel of Maibock, Bayern's traditional German beer, will be tapped. Also, the band "Secret Powers" will perform on Friday. Attendees are asked (but not required) to bring a potluck side-dish or dessert to compliment the burgers and brats that will be provided. The image included in this post includes descriptions of each of the fürkins that will be offered, including several of Bayern's year-round and seasonal beer styles infused (or dry-hopped) in the fürkin with special hops or berries. You should know that a fürkin isn't that big (about 30 liters) so don't be late: they will be tapped at around 5pm each day and other celebratory events will start around that time as well. We hope you will join us.

By the way, you should check the Bayern Brewing Blog the next couple of weeks. We have lots of news to share such as the two great awards we recently earned and the return of Dancing Trout, with some changes! There will probably also be a few photos posted from fürkin fest! 

Prost!