Whitefish lawmaker sponsors bill to extend brewery hours

A measure to extend brewery hours failed in the 2017 Montana Legislature, but Rep. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, is putting the idea back in front of lawmakers this session.

House Bill 185 would give breweries permission to serve customers in their sample rooms from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. instead of the current hours of noon to 8 p.m. The bill will be presented to the House Business and Labor Committee at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

“It’s a very simple bill, but people have lots of opinions about it,” said Fern, who is sponsoring the bill. “I don’t find there’s a consensus that divides for or against the bill by political affiliation.”

Fern said his bill was inspired during a hard day of campaigning last summer.

“I was in that neighborhood with Bonsai Brewing last summer and said ‘I think I’ll get a beer, I’ve talked a lot,’” he said. “But it was 8:30 so I couldn’t do that. I thought that from the standpoint of Whitefish being a resort community, it seemed illogical that in the daylight, for tourists and Whitefish workers, it couldn’t be open.”

Matt Leow, executive director of the Montana Brewers Association, is optimistic conditions have changed enough to merit more support from lawmakers for increased brewery hours. The Montana craft brewing industry, with 75 breweries statewide in 2017, contributed $442 million and more than 2,700 jobs to the state economy that year.

“When you go back to 1999, there were nine breweries in a handful of cities,” he said. “Now most legislators are touched by this industry and they understand better than before what a positive economic force this industry is.”

Taprooms are the launchpad for the success of a brewery, he explained, and those extra hours of operating time would create significant business opportunities.

“Taproom sales are an important cornerstone,” he said. “They generate revenue, they are an opportunity to build the brand, to test beer with beer lovers. If you’re successful, you’ll have a better chance at scaling up, packaging and working with a distributor. You need that taproom, and those extra hours would make the difference, especially in the summer.”

Keela Smith, one of the owners of Bonsai Brewing Project in Whitefish, agrees it is a handicap to halt service at 8 p.m. in a tourist community. Bonsai doesn’t distribute its product except through the taproom and would see a huge boost from longer business hours on summer days. She said Bonsai has turned away many tourists, who often don’t return from Whitefish Lake or the mountains until late evening.

“It would be very impactful,” she said. “With those few extra hours we could most likely employ several more people in our taproom and kitchen. The fact that we close at 8 really impacts our ability to have a dinner service. It limits the number of people who will order dinner if they can’t have a beer with their meal past 8.”

The 8 p.m. mandate also make little sense for downtown Kalispell, said Gabe Mariman, manager and part owner of Bias Brewing. Mariman is traveling to Helena to speak in support of the bill on Tuesday.

“It’s really supported by the people and we’re hopeful that legislators will do the right thing for the electorate and pass this bill,” Mariman said. “Our ability to build community through craft brewing is restricted by our hours of operation.”

Mariman said breweries often serve a different demographic than traditional bars, and that establishments like his offer a family-friendly gathering option.

“We’ve got three new breweries that opened up recently in Kalispell, and two of them bought dilapidated historic buildings downtown and renovated them,” Mariman said. “They increase property value in the area and help all businesses downtown. But the downtown suffers after 8 o’clock when we have to shut down.”

Fern expects a lively hearing on Tuesday. He’s heard from concerned tavern owners who say beer-tasting rooms should have to obtain liquor licenses if they are going to extend their hours in competition with traditional bars.

“I understand how folks want to protect their interests and I’m respectful of that, but this is about a practical problem,” Fern said. “It’s not that I’m not supportive of various establishments, for my district it’s important that they all have opportunities to do well.”

The Montana brewing industry did score one victory in 2017 when a bill passed raising the cap on Montana breweries to 60,000 barrels a year. Breweries previously had been limited to 10,000 barrels of annual production if they wanted to maintain operation of their taprooms.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4438 or hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.