Beers Under a Big Sky
A local brewery merger and a beer down by the river
I’m back from last weekend’s trip to Big Sky Country. Appropriately, my first brewery visit in Missoula was Big Sky Brewing, where I ordered their flagship Brown Ale that I’ve had countless times out West: Moose Drool (it’s better than it sounds, I promise). I also visited Montana’s oldest brewery, Bayern Brewing, which is still adhering to Reinheitsgebot after nearly forty years in business. I also particularly enjoyed Draught Works, which had a standout Cream Ale, and Cranky Sam Public House, a great downtown brewpub that opened in the midst of Covid and made some of the most consistently good beer my friend and I had in Missoula.
The highlight of the trip was easily KettleHouse Brewing, but we’ll get to that later in the newsletter. Now, the news.
Torch & Crown Merges with Virginia’s Aslin Beer Co
Manhattan-based Torch & Crown Brewing is merging with Alexandria, Virginia-based Aslin Beer Co to form a combined group called The Driven Collective, the two breweries announced this week. The partnership comes after years of work between both entities and Torch & Crown’s evolving business model. The merger is being touted by the breweries as a way to integrate “production, distribution, hospitality, and brand under one roof,” as described in a press release, and hopes to deliver better access to both brands in their two home markets of New York and Washington, DC.
Aslin and Torch & Crown had a long-standing relationship. Not long after Torch & Crown began brewing at a facility in the Bronx in late 2018, they brewed beer there for Aslin as the Virginia brewery was in the midst of its expansion. That Bronx facility was shuttered by Torch & Crown last year, and Aslin is returning the favor in the new structure, brewing Torch & Crown beer at their facilities. Torch & Crown’s Soho restaurant and brewery will become a “R&D engine for small-batch and limited-release beers,” according to the press release. Coincidentally, the New York State Liquor Authority approved new brewing licenses for that space just this week.
Brewery mergers are becoming popular in recent times as the beer industry searches for efficiencies in a market where sales are down and costs are rising. Last year, Westchester-based Captain Lawrence and Bronx Brewery joined forces. Brooklyn’s Five Boroughs is part of the Barrel One Collective, which includes Harpoon, Smuttynose, Wachusett, Long Trail, and several other beer brands. Sixpoint was among the earliest in New York City to form a strategic partnership, joining Southern Tier and Victory under the Artisanal Brewing Ventures umbrella in 2018.
Upcoming NYC Beer Events of Note
Brooklyn: Wet Hop Tap Takeover at Strong Rope Red Hook, Friday 9/26 all day, free entry
Brooklyn: Fresh Picks Beer Fest at Smorgasburg Williamsburg, Saturday 9/27 from 11am-6pm, pay as you go, glass and beer tickets $25
Queens: Batch 4 (4th Anniversary) at Sweet Avenue, Saturday 9/27 from 2pm-close, free entry
Brooklyn: Blocktoberfest 2025 Presented by the NYC Brewers Guild at Strong Rope Red Hook, Sunday 9/28 from noon-4pm, tickets $60
Brooklyn: Oktoberfest in the Tasting Room at Brooklyn Brewery, Monday 9/29 at 7pm, free entry
Manhattan: TALEA Oktoberfest at Penn District taproom, Thursday 10/2 from 5-7pm, tickets $55
Manhattan: Oktoberfest at Murray’s! Beers, Brats and Cheese at Murray’s Cheese, Friday 10/3 at 6:30pm, tickets $110
Manhattan: Oktoberfest Celebration with Dickson’s Farmstand Meats at Chelsea Market, Friday 10/3 at 7pm, tickets $80
Brooklyn: Fest Fest! at Beer Street South, Saturday and Sunday 10/4 and 10/5, free entry
Manhattan and Brooklyn: TALEA Oktoberfest at West Village, Bryant Park, Williamsburg, and Cobble Hill taprooms, Saturday 10/4 from 1-3pm, tickets $55
Brooklyn: Brewminaries Present Retrospective at Strong Rope Red Hook, Saturday 10/18 from noon-4pm, tickets $45
Brooklyn: Fall Harvest at Threes Brewing Gowanus, Sunday 10/19 from noon-5pm, free entry
Brooklyn: 19th Anniversary Party at Fourth Avenue Pub, Thursday 10/23 from 4pm to close, free entry
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 3,862
Total breweries visited in 2025: 236
Total breweries visited in Montana: 35
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #3857, KettleHouse Brewing Company, Bonner, Montana (Visited 19-Sep-2025)
In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned that Scotch Ale is unusually popular in Montana, and a lot of that can be attributed to KettleHouse, a 30-year old brewery whose flagship beer is Cold Smoke, a textbook American example of that style. It’s so much a part of the brewery’s history that when you turn off the state highway to visit them, you turn onto Cold Smoke Avenue. KettleHouse moved from Missoula to a sprawling complex about six miles east of town eight years ago, and its setting could not be more picturesque. We sat on their back lawn on the banks of the Blackfoot River on a stunning sunny day last weekend and ran through their list of beers (to the extent that we could — Montana State Law limits you to 48 ounces of beer per person per day, tracked with a little card that gets stamped each time you order). Coffee Cold Smoke, a fun limited-edition variant of their flagship, was equally enjoyable as the original. The Olde Bongwater Hemp Porter was a special treat and a unique play on a style I don’t find nearly as often as I’d like. Their Northwest IPA was easily the best IPA I tried on the trip, and the Muley Buck Mosaic IPA (single-hopped with Mosaic) was a delightful representation of the hop.
As if this setting wasn’t perfect enough for beer drinking, next door to the brewery is a 4,000-seat amphitheater that hosts pretty big names each summer. Just this year, they’ve had Brad Paisley, The Flaming Lips, Alabama Shakes, Death Cab for Cutie, and The Black Keys come through. If the beer wasn’t reason enough for me to come back to KettleHouse, I’d sure as heck love to see a concert in this setting.
The Doom and Gloom Tracker
At least 3 breweries I’ve visited closed or announced their closure this week:
Brewery #22, Iron Hill Brewery - Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware [Visited 12-Jul-2008]
Brewery #2463, Iron Hill Brewery - Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [Visited 7-Nov-2021]
Brewery #2507, Iron Hill Brewery - Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina [Visited 19-Dec-2021]
The Weekly Reader
Long Island’s North Fork isn’t just a wine destination [Andrea Strong, Craftbeer.com]
The Michael James Jackson Foundation brings diverse brewers to hop selection [Olivia Palmer, Yakima Herald-Republic]
Step aside, Modelo — Michelob Ultra is America’s best-selling beer [Danielle Kaye, BBC]
Sour beers used to be cool [Aaron Goldfarb, VinePair]
One Last Thing
A reminder that the New York City Brewers Guild’s annual fall fundraiser, Blocktoberfest, is this Sunday at Strong Rope Brewery. Come out and enjoy some local beer by New York Harbor, if that’s your sort of thing. I never miss this event, and it’s nice to feel like I’m helping support our local beer industry… even if I already do that by drinking local beer. See you there!
Cheers,
Chris
University of Delaware alumni and students are mourning the loss of their own Iron Hill on Main Street in Newark, which was one of the anchors of their business district (aka “the place you took your parents” because the other bars stink in the floorboards)