Take an armchair visit to a unique brewery, pub or other intoxicating venue that has a story you’ll love.
Bayern Brewing:
Today’s Vacation in a Glass takes us to “Big Sky” country, aka Montana, and a brewery in Missoula.
Big Sky Country
Known as the “only German brewery in the Rockies”, Trudy and Reinhard Schulte founded Bayern Brewing in Missoula in 1987 with Master Brewer Jürgen Knöller at the brewing helm. Literally translated, Bayern (pronounced Bye-ern) means the German state of Bavaria. And Bayern Brewing is Montana’s oldest brewery in operation.
In 1991 Jürgen Knöller purchased the brewery when the Schulte’s decided to return to their native country of Germany. Knöller and Brewmaster Thorsten Geuer brew German-style beers in accordance with the German Law of Purity (Reinheitsgebot) of 1516.
You’ll find a wide variety of year-round, seasonal or specialty beers on tap and available in bottles. Bayern Amber debuted in 1987 as their first beer and is still the biggest seller. This Marzen style beer has rich malt flavor with a smoothly balanced hops finish.
Order a beer flight
My wife and I visited Bayern Brewing in 2019. During our visit, I was thrilled to see a rauchbier on draft. Rauchbier is a German-style lager brewed with “rauch” (smoked) malt. Green malts are dried over an open fire of beechwood, imparting a unique smokiness to the final beverage. Rauchbier originated hundreds of years ago in the Franconian district of Germany, most notably the town of Bamberg. There are still nine breweries within the city of Bamberg, and two of these have become synonymous with traditional rauchbier — Bauerei Schlenkerla and Christian Merz Brauerei Spezial. Expect toasty-rich malt in aroma and flavor, restrained bitterness, low to high smoke flavor and an attenuated finish. Bayern’s rauchbier was so spot on in appearance and flavor that I could easily imagine myself visiting the town of Bamberg once again.
Bayern Brewing proffers a comfortable tap room and outdoor beer garden to enhance your drinking pleasure. To compliment the beer, the Edelweiss Bistro at Bayern offers a variety of traditional German dishes made with fresh ingredients.
Bayern Brewing
Bayern Brewing incorporates an interesting approach as a part of their comprehensive, everyday-operations sustainability program. In Spring 2010 Bayern became the first brewery in Montana, and one of the few in the nation, that recycles (or reuses) its entire packaging material. As of 2018, 100% percent of beer bottles filled and distributed by Bayern Brewing come from reused glass – both theirs and other compatible bottles. Washing and reusing bottles reduces the carbon footprint of their operations, even more so than using recycled glass bottles or single use cans. According to Bayern Brewing, one hundred uses of a reused, washed glass bottle produces about 1 lb. of CO2. Whereas, a recycled bottle generates 37 lbs. of CO2 and a single use aluminum can generates 88 lbs. of CO2. You can learn more about their sustainability program here: https://www.bayernbrewery.com/sustainability.
If you ever find yourself in Missoula, Montana, Bayern Brewing is a must visit!
Even better viewing the review on the blog than email!!
Thanks Mike! Yes the other version you see is my very first draft without edits. The blog version is revised, edited and formatted.