2012 MBA Fall Festival and Conference This Weekend in Missoula

For the first time, Missoula will host the annual Montana Brewers Association (MBA) Brewers Festival on Saturday October 6, 2012 at Caras Park. A VIP ticket will get you in the door an hour early (noon); otherwise, the event starts at 1:00 PM. $12 gets you one general admission ticket, a glass and two tokens (additional tokens are $1).

New this year is a two-day beer conference following the festival (Sunday and Monday). Held at the Downtown Holiday Inn, the conference will feature a unique panel presentation by beer bloggers, Ryan Newhouse (Montana Beer Finder) and Alan McCormick (Growler Fills), and Missoula Independent staff, Alex Sakariassen It's entitled, "How the Media and Bloggers Can Help Your Brewery," and it will take place on Monday at 3 PM.

The brewfest will be judged by the Zootown Zymurgists, and the group is still needing volunteers for pouring, carding, wrist banding, beer wrangling, and token sales. Volunteers get free entry to the festival, a t-shirt and two free tokens. To volunteer, contact Asa Hohman at asahohman@gmail.com with your name, age, email, shirt size, phone number and preferred shift (11:30-4:00 or 3:30-8:00 PM).

[Edit 10/3] How could we forget the most important part of the festival...the beer! Here is the list of the 23 new beers that will be at the festival (remember, there's 71 brews in all):

406 Brewing | ABC IPA

Bitterroot | Imperial Honey Citra IPA

Blackfoot River | Lambica

Blacksmith | Wine Barrel Tripple | Single Malt Single Hop IPA

Bozone | 3rd Virtue | Export Golden Lager Kellerbier | 2012 Bozone Terroir

Draught Works | Potato with a Mullet

Flathead Lake | Montucky Sour Cherry Brown

The Front | Oktoberfest Festiv Ale

Glacier | Ursus Arctos Hefebilus Ale

Great Northern | Frog Hop 2012

Lewis and Clark | Lewis and Clark Festival Release

Madison River | Frostbite Barley Wine | Green Emerger Fresh Hop

Neptune's | Sheze Titian

Outlaw | Outlaw Alt-Oktoberfest

Phillipsburg | HayBag Hefeweizen

Quarry | Opal Oktoberfest

Red Lodge Ales | Helio Hefewiezen

Tamarack | Single Malt Oktoberfest Wildwood | Karapiller Red Lager