Blackfoot River Brewing Company

What Blackfoot River Brewing Company does

Blackfoot River Brewing Company is a craft brewery founded in 1998 in Helena, Montana, by Brian Smith, Brad Simshaw, and Greg Wermers. It produces handcrafted, unfiltered draft beer using traditional brewing methods and maintains an archive of more than 50 beer styles. The company operates a taproom at 66 South Park Avenue in Helena and, since relocating to a new facility at 2400 N. Montana Ave in October 2008, runs an annual production capacity of approximately 3,200 barrels.

Its go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer taproom sales with wholesale distribution through two regional partners, George's Distributing and Summit Beverage, covering Western Montana. Revenue streams include on-premise draft beer, packaged beer, wine, merchandise, catering, gift cards (processed via Toasttab), and event-based sales. The company has built a community-engagement layer through its Community Mondays program (active 2009–2020, hosting roughly 500 events and donating over $227,000) and recurring Helena Ridge Challenge outdoor events.

Governance is partnership-based. In 2014, Bethany Flint and Tim Chisman joined as partners, with Chisman assuming the Managing Partner and Head Brewer roles. The business is privately held with no disclosed external funding. AI/ML capabilities are not in evidence; operations rely on standard hospitality SaaS tooling (Toasttab, Constant Contact).

Name

Blackfoot River Brewing Company

Legal name

Blackfoot River Brewing Company

Website

https://blackfootriverbrewing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blackfoot River Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Helena, Montana, operating a taproom and Western Montana wholesale distribution to serve local consumers and regional off-premise accounts with handcrafted, unfiltered traditional draft beer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Brewing

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Breweries (312120)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer Brewing & Craft Brewing (AFAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beer Brewing & Brands (CRADAIAA), Taprooms & Brewpubs (CRANACAF), Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA)

Keywords

• Craft beer production
• Taproom hospitality
• Draft beer distribution
• Unfiltered brewing
• Cask-conditioned ales

Headquarters

HQ city

Helena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Taproom Beer & Wine Sales: Direct sales of hand-crafted beers and featured wines to consumers at the taproom. Also offers growlers and liters of beer and wine to go. Summer hours Mon-Thurs 2-10pm, Fri-Sun 12-10pm.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Draft beer sold to retailers through distributors in Western Montana (George's Distributing for Helena/Butte/Bozeman; Summit Beverage for Missoula/Kalispell).
3. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including hats, shirts, glassware, growlers, apparel, and accessories sold at taproom and online.
4. Beer & Wine Catering: Beer and wine catering services for special events, available by calling 406.449.3005.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blackfoot River Brewing Company is a craft brewery that produces hand-crafted, unfiltered and never pasteurized draft beer on a 2001 Bavarian Brewing 15-bbl three-vessel steam-fired brewhouse. It sells these beers directly through its Helena taproom, plus growlers, kegs, and wine/cider/non-alcoholic beverages, and distributes draft beer via two regional wholesalers across Western Montana. It also offers branded merchandise, gift cards, and beer/wine catering for special events.

Product overview

Blackfoot River Brewing Company is a craft brewery offering a diverse portfolio of handcrafted beers, merchandise, and hospitality services. The core product is their draft beer lineup including flagship beers like Blackfoot Amber Ale, Single Malt IPA, and Cream Ale, along with seasonal and specialty offerings such as Hazy IPA, Belgian styles, and Barrel-aged beers. Beer is available exclusively on draft through their taproom and via keg sales for off-premise. The company also operates a taproom with wines, ciders, and non-alcoholic options, and sells branded merchandise including apparel and glassware. A unique offering is the Beer Engine program featuring traditional hand-pumped cask ales that change weekly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blackfoot Amber Ale American-style Amber Ale with toasty and caramel malt forward flavors, low hop bitterness but nice hop aroma. Served on draft at the Helena taproom.
• Very Berry Gose Kettle soured beer with raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, featuring white wine-like flavors from lactobacillus.
• Black Ale Schwarzbier-style dark ale with chocolate and roasted barley flavors, lighter body than porter or stout.
• Blackfoot Cream Ale Early-style American light ale, easy drinking, crisp, and medium-bodied popular everyday beer.
• Bray Brickyard Pale Ale Hop-forward pale ale brewed for Archie Bray 75th anniversary, featuring Dolcita hops with fruit-driven pineapple, peach, and orange notes.
• Cerveza del Rio Mexican Style Lager Very light lager with hint of malt sweetness and crisp refreshing finish, lime-like flavor from Motueka, Mandarina Bavaria, and Lemon Drop hops.
• Hazy IPA New England Style IPA with ridiculous amounts of hops, intense citrus and tropical flavor, hazy appearance.
• Hazy Pale Ale Pale ale featuring Nectaron, Galaxy, and Dolcita hops with passionfruit, peach, guava, and citrus notes.
• Session IPA Crushable IPA at 4.5% ABV brewed with Simcoe, El Dorado, and Chinook hops.
• Single Malt IPA IPA brewed from 100% Maris Otter barley, generously hopped with Simcoe, Citra, Centennial and Cascade hops.
• SUTS Summer Shandy Refreshing wheat-based ale blended with fresh lemon juice, designed for Symphony Under the Stars event.
• Tartanic Scottish Ale Traditional Scottish-style strong ale, dark copper, full-bodied, smooth and malty.
• Zest Coast IPA Fruit-forward IPA with light body and balanced bitterness, featuring orange, melon, and fresh zest flavors.
• Keg Sales Kegs of Blackfoot River beer available in 1/6 bbl (5 gallons, starting at $95) and 10 liter (2.6 gallons, $55) sizes for kegerators or events, with $50 keg deposit and $25 tap deposit.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available in any amount, redeemable for merchandise or beer, never expire, sold through the Toasttab platform.
• Merchandise Branded merchandise including hats, t-shirts, zip hoodies, glassware, growlers (1/2 gallon glass $5 and MiiR 64oz insulated $59), MiiR insulated travel mugs, Merino wool beanies, pint glasses, dog collars, coozies, stickers, LED lights, playing cards, and Rastal wine glasses.
• Taproom Taproom at 66 South Park Avenue, Helena MT, serving hand-crafted beers, featured wines, local Montana hard cider, and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages, with two levels of indoor seating, a 2nd floor deck, and an outdoor parklet during summer months. Summer hours Mon-Thurs 2-10 pm, Fri-Sun 12-10 pm; winter hours begin September 1st serving until 9 pm daily.
• Beer Engine Traditional hand-pumped beer engine program serving two unique cask-conditioned beers each week. Beer is naturally carbonated in the cask with sugar addition and dispensed by air pressure rather than CO2/Nitrogen forced through tap lines, producing a creamier texture.
• Beer & Wine Catering Beer and wine catering services for special events, available by calling 406.449.3005.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 500 community events hosted and over $227,000 donated to Helena nonprofits from 2009-2020
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• George's DistributingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale distribution partner covering Helena, Butte & Bozeman areas in Western Montana. Contact: 406.442.3980, www.georgesdistributing.com
• Summit BeveragecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale distribution partner covering Missoula & Kalispell areas in Western Montana. Contact: 406.549.3900, www.summitbeverage.com
• Great Divide CycleryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 Helena Ridge Challenge outdoor event. Special thanks to Great Divide Cyclery for being this year's sponsor.
• Humble TwigminorOthersCreated amazing artwork for the Helena Ridge Challenge event.
• Montana Bicycle GuildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEric Sivers and Montana Bicycle Guild created the map for the Helena Ridge Challenge.
• Fernie Brewing CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPioneered the original ridge challenge idea that inspired the Helena Ridge Challenge.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Bridger Brewing: Bozeman, MT craft brewery with a taproom and pizzeria. Comparable Western Montana craft taproom operator with similar on-premise and limited distribution model.
• Bayern Brewing: Missoula, MT German-style craft brewery producing lagers and bocks with a taproom. Comparable Montana craft brewer with traditional European-style brewing positioning similar to Blackfoot's Bavarian brewhouse heritage.
• Big Sky Brewing Company: Missoula, MT craft brewery producing a range of ales and lagers with regional wholesale distribution across the Mountain West. Comparable category and Montana regional presence but at significantly greater production volume and packaged-format reach.
• Outlaw Brewing: Bozeman, MT craft brewery and taproom serving Western Montana. Comparable craft taproom model and geographic focus, competing for similar Helena/Bozeman regional accounts.
• KettleHouse Brewing Company: Missoula, MT craft brewery with multiple taproom locations and broad regional wholesale reach including canned distribution. Comparable craft brewing model but materially larger scale and packaged-format capability that Blackfoot lacks.
• Yellowstone Brewing Company: Bozeman, MT craft brewery with a taproom and regional distribution. Comparable Montana craft operator competing for similar regional on-premise and wholesale accounts.
• Madison River Brewing Company: Belgrade, MT craft brewery with a taproom and regional distribution. Comparable Montana craft beer operator with similar Western Montana wholesale footprint and a beer portfolio competing for similar on-premise occasions.

Broad incumbents

• Deschutes Brewery: Oregon-based regional craft brewery with multiple pub locations and broad multi-state distribution. Comparable craft taproom + wholesale model but at materially larger scale, offering an incumbent benchmark for what scaled craft operations look like.
• New Belgium Brewing: Fort Collins, CO-based national craft brewery with taproom operations and broad packaged distribution. Provides an incumbent reference point for a craft brand that has scaled beyond its regional origins via packaged formats.

Direct peers

• Lewis & Clark Brewing Company: Helena, MT-based craft brewery operating a taproom and producing a portfolio of ales and lagers. Direct local competitor in the same city with comparable scale, distribution footprint (Western Montana), and on-premise/brewpub model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/realgoodbeer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackfoot-river-brewing-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackfoot River Brewing Company