Here in Montana, we have great beer and great views—how could you ask for more? But have you ever thought about just how vital the beer community is to the Treasure State?
“Breweries here in Montana are such a stronghold in every community,” said Loy Maierhauser.
Maierhauser has been part of the brew community for more than 10 years.
“I started home brewing when I was 21 and always wanted to work in beer,” said Loy.
When MAP Brewing opened in 2015, she found a place to follow her passion.
“I love everything MAP stands for in the community. I love having MAP be a community space where people get together and connect over a beer,” she said.
Maierhauser is now the COO of MAP Brewing—one of about 10 breweries in Bozeman. But she says it’s not just Bozeman that puts Montana on the map.
“I think we’re really lucky with the beer industry we have here in Montana, and sometimes I forget that,” Loy said. “Montana is actually kind of unique in that even tiny little towns will have their brewery.”
That begs the question: just how many breweries are there across Montana?
“Our count right now is 94 breweries in the state,” said Matt Leow, executive director of the Montana Brewers Association. “We’ve been hovering just shy of 100 breweries for about seven or eight years.”
The Montana Brewers Association represents the state’s craft brewing industry—an industry that might be bigger than many people realize.
“We’re producing 217,000 barrels of beer each year,” Leow said.
A barrel is twice the size of a standard keg. That’s roughly 430,000 kegs—or more than 53 million pints of beer annually.
As far as economic impact?
“This is beyond just what breweries are making,” Leow said. “It also involves the distributors we work with, the barley growers, the maltsters, the hop growers we’re buying ingredients from. The total economic impact of the industry is over a half-billion dollars.”
In 2025, that figure was $574 million.
WATCH: Montana beer making pours millions into state's economy
“I think that just tells you the economic force and power that breweries have,” said Maierhauser.
That’s one reason Montana’s brew community is celebrating with the annual Spring Rendezvous beer festival.
“It’s a really good time. You get to taste things that you don’t really get here in Bozeman because there are brewers from all over the state,” Loy said.
Eighteen breweries from across Montana will share their craft at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds this Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.
For tickets and more information visit this link: https://montanabrewers.org/upcoming_events/2026-spring-rendezvous-brewfest/
