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Big Sky Brewing Company

(Redirected from Moose Drool)

46°55′19″N 114°04′22″W / 46.922°N 114.0727°W / 46.922; -114.0727

Big Sky Brewing Company
Map
Location5417 Trumpeter Way, Missoula, Montana, USA
Opened1995
Annual production volume40,000–47,000 US beer barrels (47,000–55,000 hL)
Owned byNeal Leathers, Bjorn Nabozney, Brad Robinson
Websitehttp://www.bigskybrew.com/
Active beers
Name Type
Moose Drool Brown ale
Scape Goat Pale ale
Trout Slayer American pale wheat ale
Big Sky IPA India pale ale
Space Goat Pale ale
Shake-A-Day India pale ale
Pack Train Double India Pale Ale
Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout
Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout
Griz Lager Montana Lager
Seasonal beers
Name Type
Powder Hound Winter warmer
Summer Honey Pale ale
Camp Robber Coffee Porter
Beire de Noel Strong Belgian Dark Ale

Big Sky Brewing Company is a brewery and taproom located in Missoula, Montana.[1] It is owned by three partners, Bjorn Nabozney, Neal Leathers, and Brad Robinson.[1] It is Montana's largest brewery. It first opened its doors in 1995 on 120-A Hickory Street, but eventually moved to its current location at 5417 Trumpeter Way.[2] The brewery features both seasonal and regular ales and has continued to function under the same owners for twenty-three years.

History

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Big Sky Brewery began when Neal Leathers and Brad Robinson moved to Missoula, Montana from Michigan in 1990. This is where they met their future business partner Bjorn Nabozney, a native Montanan. Brad and Neal began work on starting a brewery. Bjorn created a business plan while studying at the University of Montana for a brewery that put Brad and Neal's idea into perspective. Big Sky Brewing Company was founded shortly after this in 1995.[2]

After raising capital, they purchased their original location at 120 Hickory Street Missoula, Montana, which spanned 7,000 square feet. Big Sky Brewing began brewing beer at their Hickory Street brewery in 1995. Big Sky Brewing's Hickory Street brewery was known as a "draft only" brewery, which means that they did not bottle beer at this establishment. With their eyes set on becoming a regional brewery, Big Sky Brewing planned on bottling beer, the Hickory Street location did not constitute enough room to add bottling production. After an arrangement, Big Sky Brewing began brewing beers at Portland Brewing Company for a few days each month. Portland Brewing also bottled and shipped Big Sky Brewing's beer to distributors. During this arrangement, Big Sky Brewing raised money and worked towards building a new brewery where they could bottle their own beer. Due to this plan they were forced outside of Missoula in 2002 to their current location at 5417 Trumpeter Way, which is over 24,000 square feet. At this new building they bottle and brew their own beer, and their current production rate is around 40,000-47,000 barrels. With their production moving at full speed, they now employ over forty-five full-time employees and sell beer in twenty-four different states. In 2017, Big Sky Brewing lobbied the Montana Legislature, helping pass Montana House Bill 541 allowing breweries to produce 60,000 barrels of beer.[3] Big Sky Brewing also built an amphitheater, where they hold charity events and concerts, in an effort to give back to the Missoula community.[4]

Awards

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Beer Category Medal Year Bestower[5]
406 Series Saison Strong Belgian Ales Bronze 2010 North American Beer Awards[6]
All Souls Imperail Saison Other Belgian Style Ales Silver 2013 North American Beer Awards[7]
Barley Wine Barley Wine-Style Ale Bronze 2001 North American Beer Awards
Barrel Aged Power Wagon Barrel-Aged Strong Beer Silver 2015 North American Beer Awards[8]
Bière de Noël Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale Gold 2006 North American Beer Awards
Gold 2003 North American Beer Awards
Big Sky IPA English-Style India Pale Ale Silver 2021 North American Beer Awards[9]
Big Sky Irish Stout Dry Stout Silver 2011 North American Beer Awards[10]
Big Sky Octoberfest Marzen-Oktoberfest Lager Gold 2021 North American Beer Awards[9]
Bobos Robust Porter Robust Porter Gold 2010 North American Beer Awards[6]
Bourbon Barleywine Wood- and Barrel-aged Strong Beer Silver 2005 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer
Heavy Horse Scotch Ale Scotch Export Silver 2005 North American Beer Awards[10]
Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout Imperial Stout Gold 2003 Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer
Imperial Stout Gold 2016 North American Beer Awards[11]
Strong Ales Bronze 2024 Montana Brewers Association[12]
Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout - 2015 Barrel-Aged Strong Beer Bronze 2016 North American Beer Awards[11]
Moose Drool Brown Ale Gold 2003 North American Beer Awards
Brown Porter Silver 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
American-Style Brown Ale Gold 2013 North American Beer Awards[7]
English-Style Brown Ale Silver 2021 North American Beer Awards[9]
English-Style Brown Ale Silver 2022 North American Beer Awards[13]
Powder Hound Winter Ale Old Ale Bronze 2003 North American Beer Awards
Gold 2002 North American Beer Awards
Power Wagon Other Strong Beer Silver 2013 Great American Beer Festival[14]
Other Strong Beer Silver 2014 World Beer Cup[15]
Scape Goat Pale American-Style Pale Ale Gold 1999 North American Beer Awards
Summer Honey Seasonal Ale Honey Beer Silver 2000 North American Beer Awards
Bronze 2002 North American Beer Awards
Silver 2003 North American Beer Awards
Bronze 2006 North American Beer Awards
Specialty Honey Beer Gold 2006 Los Angeles County Fair Competition
Honey Beer Silver 2013 North American Beer Awards[7]
Honey Beer Bronze 2016 North American Beer Awards[11]
Honey Beer Gold 2021 North American Beer Awards[9]
Trout Slayer English-Style Summer Ale Gold 2013 North American Beer Awards[7]

See also

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Other Breweries in Missoula, Montana
Taprooms only

References

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  1. ^ a b Hampson, Tim (2008). The Beer Book. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 23. ISBN 978-1405333016.
  2. ^ a b Bjorn. Nabozney. Oral Interview, April 19th, 2018, by Haley Wynne and George Krumm at Big Sky Brewing Company in Missoula, Montana. Digital recording and transcription in possession of Kyle. G. Volk.
  3. ^ Eaton, Joe (August 3, 2017). "Missoula Taps the Power of Beer". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Walsh, Cory (April 25, 2017). "Big Sky Brewing Unveils New Amphitheater Design". Missoulian. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Beer Me! — Big Sky Brewing — Missoula, Montana, United States
  6. ^ a b "NABA 2010 Winners" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "NABA 2013 Winners" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  8. ^ "NABA Winners 2015" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d "NABA 2021 Winners" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b "NABA 2011 Winners" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "NABA Winner 2016" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  12. ^ "2024 Montana Beer Awards Winners". Montana Brewers Association. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  13. ^ "NABA 2022 Winners" (PDF). North American Brewers. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Past Winners". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  15. ^ "2014 Winners List" (PDF). World Beer Cup. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
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Bibliography

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Bubnash, Kasey. "Missoula's Brewmasters." Montana Kaiman: The Last Best College News. October 6, 2015. Accessed March 11, 2018. http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/missoula-s-brewmasters/article_60abbcb4-6879-11e5-bc5e-9f85f0262a47.html

D.J. "Interview with Bjorn Nabozney as Big Sky Brewing Launches Griz Montana Lager ." Brew Public . September 14, 2017. Accessed March 11, 2018. https://brewpublic.com/beer-fundraiser/interview-with-bjorn-nabozney-as-big-sky-brewing-launches-griz-montana-lager/

Erickson, David. "UM partners with Big Sky Brewing to sell Griz-branded beer." Missoulian, August 28, 2017. Accessed March 11, 2018. http://missoulian.com/news/local/um-partners-with-big-sky-brewing-to-sell-griz-branded/article_f680978e-e27a-5b88-8929-25ab9a796d24.html.

King, Jon. "Big Sky Brewing, Anheuser-Busch Settle 'Hold My Beer And Watch This' Dispute." Newstalk. January 23, 2014. Accessed March 11, 2018. http://newstalkkgvo.com/big-sky-brewing-anheuser-busch-settle-hold-my-beer-and-watch-this-dispute/.

Newhouse, Ryan. Montana Beer: A Guide to Breweries in Big Sky Country. Charleston, SC: American Palate, 2013.

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