To beer or not to beer
The fate of the popular Beer Barter event at the Whitefish Winter Carnival will be decided tonight by the Whitefish City Council.
Great Northern Brewing Co. has appealed a decision by the city to deny a special-events permit request to close a portion of Central Avenue in downtown Whitefish for the fourth annual Beer Barter competition.
The Beer Barter is a competition that allows contestants to offer over-the-top, outrageous barter proposal in exchange for a year’s supply of Great Northern beer. More than 1,000 spectators are expected this year.
If the council grants the appeal, the event will go on as usual following the carnival parade on Saturday, Feb. 8. If the council upholds the city’s denial, the event will be canceled, Great Northern Brewery Manager Marcus Duffey said.
“We will not pursue it any further,” Duffey said. If the appeal is denied, “we won’t host Beer Barter this year if we can’t hold it where we planned. It’s too short a time to shift gears.”
In a letter sent Jan. 23 to Duffey, City Manager Chuck Stearns said the permit was denied because the brewery in the past did not control the expanded beer and wine premises allowed with the catering and special-events permits granted for the event.
“Police Chief [Bill] Dial warned you after that inaugural event that he would not recommend renewing the permit the following year,” Stearns wrote.
Stearns pointed out that last year Duffey promised to control the premises and wouldn’t allow open containers beyond the controlled area, yet Dial and Stearns observed open containers outside the expanded premises and up and down Central Avenue.
“Given your failure to live up to the promises you made last year, Chief Dial has strongly recommended that you not receive a special-events permit this year,” Stearns wrote, concurring with Dial’s assessment.
In a follow-up letter from Duffey to Dial, Duffey acknowledged the brewery didn’t have enough volunteers to control the event premises and hadn’t hired security workers for crowd control.
To mitigate the situation this year, Duffey offered to hire security workers to police the borders of the open container area and would limit the hours from 4 to 7 p.m. Previously the open container permit was valid for the sidewalk in front of the brewery beginning at 11 a.m.
“We are constantly striving to participate and contribute to the community of Whitefish as responsible stewards,” Duffey said. “Our intention is to always partner with the city. We want to see this work and we want their help and support to do so.”
A post Friday afternoon on Great Northern Brewing Co.’s Facebook page said the brewery is confident a compromise will be reached at the council meeting and encouraged people to register for the event.
The council meets at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall, 402 E. Second St.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.