Dump Truck, Dancing Trout and Concert Photos

Fishing and floating season in the Northwest has officially begun. So we packaged a LOT of Dump Truck this week. It will be showing up in stores and at taverns/restaurants in many markets soon. Dancing Trout will be shipping soon as well. Both are eagerly anticipated by many as they are refreshing, tasty, and quite unique. Dump Truck especially is one-of-a-kind: it somewhat defies categorization. Decoction brewed, unfiltered with a high gravity, yet you'd hardly know it with its golden color and champagne-like qualities. Dancing Trout is a "Kristall-Weizen", which is a style you don't hear about very often in markets rather saturated with IPAs and other, more English types of styles. Grab a six-pack or growler of either of these for your next float or fishing expedition. We doubt you'll be disappointed.

It was a fun Sunday night at the brewery when the rock band Royal Bliss gave a very special, intimate performance upstairs. Tickets sold out, the band and attendees all had a great time. Some fans who had seen the band before were surprised that their style sounded a bit more country than the last time they had seen them. While they call their style "Heartland Rock" with classic and southern rock roots, they've recently had a little more influence from Nashville. The newest member of the band, Sean “Memphis” Hennesy (guitar/banjo, has a lot to do with this Nashville influence. The crowd was pretty excited when he jumped up on the bar during one of their songs (see photo). 

One more bit of information to add along the lines of current events at Bayern Brewing; we have even more new Beer Gear (new logowear - hats and shirts) available in our Tasting Room. You can order then over the phone too, if you're not able to visit us at the brewery. See below for a pic of current hats available and visit the Beer Gear section of www.bayernbrewery.com to learn more.

~Prost!

St. Patricks Day, Maibock "Preview" and Upcoming Concert

Lots of upcoming events at Bayern Brewing and Edelweiss Bistro to tell you about so let's get into it!

Maibock will be available this weekend (Friday-Sunday) in the Tasting Room at Bayern. The delicious, malty spring seasonal (click here to read the Spring 2009 Bayern Brewsletter featuring the story of Maibock) is the seasonal beer typically offered after St. Patrick's Day.

Shawna models one of our new t-shirts

New logowear is available in the Tasting Room and Gift Shop. New T-shirts (including Edelweiss Cafe shirts!) and even a new Edelweiss Cafe dress. A couple of the options are pictured.

St. Patrick's Day, Edelweiss Cafe will be serving $10 plates of corned-beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots (exclusively - due to high-demand, they will not be serving items on the regular menu). There will be a wooden barrel of Killarney tapped around 5:30pm with a special discount for glasses of beer from the wooden barrel - $2 each! There will probably be some bagpipe music and other fun stuff too so come down and spend part of your St. Patty's Day at Bayern!

Sunday, March 20, the nationally-touring rock band Royal Bliss will be doing a meet-and-greet at Bayern from 5-7pm followed by an hour-long acoustic performance in the Edelweiss Bistro (upstairs). Tickets are $7 and very limited. Call the Tasting Room (406.721.1482) during business hours (11am-8pm) for more information or to purchase your ticket.

Hope to see you at the brewery taking advantage of one (or all!) of these great events.

~Prost!

German Intern Changes

Bayern Brewing will be saying goodbye to the German intern, Broder Kallsen (pictured at right), who has been with us for the past year. While his coworkers and the friends he has made here in Montana will be sad to see him go, we will soon be welcoming a new intern from Germany, Raven Fritscher.

Every six months, a new intern comes from Germany to learn and work with the Bayern Brew Crew through a Cultural Exchange program. Bayern's Brewmaster actually came to Missoula many years ago through a similar program so this is a long-standing tradition of education and opportunity. The interns who participate are typically in the process of earning their Master Brewers Diploma (or similar education) and in a journeyman phase of their education. Broder came to Bayern after doing his apprenticeship working at Flensburger Brauerei near the Baltic Sea for three years. Our other current intern from Germany, Jan Albers, worked and apprenticed at the Jever brewery. Raven Fritscher arrives in Montana soon, coming from his previous brewery experience at Koenig Pilsener in Duisburg-Wedau, Germany.

Raven Fritscher

Broder really enjoyed his time in Montana where he made many new friends, visited our national parks, played soccer and enjoyed many other outdoor activities that we have to offer here. After spending next month touring around the Western United States and particularly California, Broder's next experience brewing abroad takes him to China, where he will work for Amoy Bräu, a German brewery in Xiamen.

Please wish Broder the best of luck in his next adventure and give a warm welcome to Raven. ~Prost!

Expanded Business Hours and New Menu Items

The Tasting Room and Edelweiss Bistro are now open from 11am to 8pm. Please visit the Tasting Room any day of the week during these hours. However, Edelweiss Bistro will be closed on Sundays.

There are a number of new items on the menu at the Edelweiss Bistro. One of the most popular new items is the Jäger Gravy, a mushroom gravy sauce that can be used for dipping your fries (or smothering them). Jäger Gravy is also available as a topping for your schnitzel as in the new menu item the Jägerschnitzel, pictured above right with another recently-added side: traditional home-made Spätzel (a German noodle). Another new favorite is the appetizer, Brotzeit Teller: an assortment of sliced deli meats, two cheeses, German pickles, radishes, German rye bread, butter and hot Löwen mustard. Some people even get that one as a meal for themselves.

For a full menu, you can visit www.edelweissbistro.com.

Valentines Day is Sunday... Maybe you and your sweetie would enjoy treating yourself to some authentic German food and beer... The restaurant does have some romantic ambiance... Just sayin'...

~Prost!

Killarney is back!

Ah! The luck of the Irish is with ye' now, lads & lasses, because Bayern Killarney Irish Red Lager is here!

I might just as well let the photo do all the talking because, let's face it, you can't stop looking at that amazing red color, can you? Well, I could describe the flavor I suppose... It is 5.8% ABV, smooth, malty and complex because it is made with five different kinds of malt (Pils, Wheat, Munich, Chocolate and Cara-Red from Germany). Killarney is also medium-hopped with hops from the Hallertauer Region of Germany. Sounds rather German for an Irish Red Lager, right? That is because it is a tribute to the Irish heritage here in Montana. This beer is truly one-of-a-kind and Brewmaster Jürgen Knöller (Owner of Bayern Brewing) claims it is actually the first Irish Red Lager made in America. How can he make such a claim? Well... before I go plagiarizing myself, I'll just refer you to the Bayern Brewsletter I wrote at this same time of year back in 2009.

You can find it pouring in the Tasting Room at Bayern Brewing, as well as in bottles and on draught in the Northwest craft beer market. If you've run out of Doppelbock for your Superbowl party, no one will be too disappointed with Killarney as a substitute.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe everyone!  ~Prost!

Last Call for Doppelbock!

Get $1 off pints and growler fills from now until Doppelbock is gone at the brewery Tasting Room! With a deal like that, you had better come get some because supplies won't last very long.

Typically, Doppelbock has it's seasonal run from late October through early February (the Superbowl) on draft and in bottles. Well...it's that time of year! That means... Killarney season is coming soon! I'll blog about Killarney in a couple of weeks.

Another great opportunity at the Tasting Room is the 2nd Annual Brewery Food Drive. Drop off any non-perishable food items and, for every 5 you bring in, you will get one entry in a drawing for a Bayern Brewing Gift Basket. The gift basket is filled with some great items (mugs, a hat, a t-shirt, a growler, a hoodie, and, of course, beer!) and you can feel good about providing food to the Missoula Food Bank who helps ensure that no one in goes hungry. By participating, you're a winner even if you don't win the gift basket. For more information on the Brewery Food Drive (founded by Bayern's own Joe Berryman), you can check out this post on the Montana Brewers Association website.

Bring a few things from your pantry, save some money on delicious Doppelbock, and enjoy the friendly environment. We hope you'll join us before these opportunities are over.  ~Prost!

Food at Bayern!

Schnitzel Sandwich

Bayern Brewing now has more food offered in the Tasting Room. The Edelweiss Bistro operates Tuesday through Saturday during regular Tasting Room hours serving traditional German/Bavarian cuisine to complement Bayern's authentic German/Bavarian beers. New menu items include: schnitzel, weisswurst, brats, the popular Edelweiss Burger (Frikadelle), offered with choices of tasty sides. German "bier-hall-style" appetizers such as pretzels and Landjaegers (German meat stick) are also available along with some typical American snacks.

Sarah Gaither

Sarah Gaither is the Kitchen Manager for the Edelweiss Bistro. Originally from Polson, MT, where she was formerly the Kitchen Manager at The Cove, Sarah has 14 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Sarah has been working closely with Jürgen Knöller, Master Brewer and Owner of Bayern Brewing (who is also a gourmet chef). Their focus is providing delicious, authentic German food while still employing the same philosophy of sustainability and environmentally-responsible business practices used to make beer at Bayern. Aside from ingredients and items imported from Germany, all food is made with high-quality ingredients from local Montana producers. The beef and pork used is humanely-raised by local suppliers in Western Montana, free of hormones and antibiotics. Eggs come from local suppliers raising cage-free chickens that are free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Breads, sausages and vegetables are all purchased locally. In addition, items imported from Germany (such as pickles, mustards, condiments and seasonings), contain no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial coloring or preservatives.

Additional seating has been added at the brewery to accommodate guests - Bayern now has an upper-level deck on the front of the building. It has a window view in on the brewhouse and out to the mountains north of Missoula.

This weekend, stop in Bayern Brewing, try some of the food, enjoy some beer and, if you visit Friday evening, you can enjoy some of the same Oktoberfest festivities mentioned in last weeks blog post!

~Prost!