USA, MT: Missoula Brewing Co. reopens in Missoula on July 24

The Missoula Brewing Co., a name that hasn’t been seen in town since the early 1960s, opened on July 24, The Missoulian reported on the same day.

The beer, brewed in Missoula from 1910 to 1964, was one of the most popular in the region and was the inspiration for the city's first Celtic Festival in 2010, the brainchild of Bob and Shannon Lukes, who also own Missoula Brewing.

Shannon said it’s been busy with the grand opening of their brewery and the Celtic Festival falling on the same weekend.

“I would never have planned this week this way,” Bob said.

Highlander beer first appeared in 1910 after Missoula Brewing asked the New York Highlanders baseball team for permission to use the name.

In 2008, Bob Lukes partnered with Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish to produce Highlander Beer for the first time in almost 50 years.

“The upgrade is purposeful,” Lukes said, “We want to really make nice craft beers.”

The brewery itself is 17,000 square feet of industrial metal and huge garage doors mixed with barn wood, barrels and countless Highlander memorabilia, on International Drive near North Reserve Streetin Missoula.

“Despite the fact we’re in this industrial area, it’s really quiet back here and really charming,” Lukes said.

Lined up at the front of the building are the brewing vats and fermenters, which sit underneath a huge photo of the former Missoula Brewing building.

Missoula Brewing is located at 200 International Drive in Missoula.

24 July, 2015