E-Malt.com News article: USA, MT: First brewery opens in Kalispell

It's been a long road for Cole Schneider and Maggie Doherty, but the husband and wife team behind the Kalispell brewery have finally opened their doors, NBC Montana reported on June 21.

"People joked what took so long to get open. You know, building a brewery took a lot of work, and we're not in any rush to make any bad beer," said Maggie Doherty.

Doherty is the beer ambassador and co-owner of Kalispell Brewing Company.

Doherty says she's worked in breweries since she was 16, and opening one of her own with her husband has been a dream come true.

"We are, Cole and I, are humbled by this community, we have since day one. People have rallied behind this project, offered their support and encouragement. I think everyone in Kalispell really wanted a brewery and really valued what we did to really salvage this building and stay a part of downtown," Doherty said.

The Kalispell brewery is the only brewery in town, but they have competition in the Great Northern Brewery in Whitefish, who recently won awards for their beer.

But Doherty says she isn't looking to go head to head with other breweries.

"Especially in the Flathead, the community of brewers is incredibly supportive and that is an honest fact. And so while we all have to make our way in the world, there's a lot of comradery, because as an industry and as a whole, we all want to be making the best beer possible," said Doherty.

Doherty says they won't be selling their beer outside of their tasting room yet, as they want to continue to experiment and make beer before branching out into the community.

"We're just going to keep making beer and filling those taps and seeing where the future holds for us,” Doherty said.

The brewery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.


25 June, 2014