KettleHouse Brewing founders Tim O'Leary and Suzy Rizza. © Green Door Photography

Stories in Montana

OktoberForest at KettleHouse Brewing

Celebrating the connection between healthy forests, clean water and good beer.

KettleHouse Brewing Co. Logo
KettleHouse Brewing Co. Missoula, Montana

Crafting a Better Future, Together

Missoula’s KettleHouse Brewing Company understands that healthy forests and clean water equal great beer. Here, co-founder Tim O’Leary shares more about how nature contributes to his company’s values, business practices and—ultimately—success:

"Not many states can boast having headwater tributaries of both the Columbia River and the Mighty Mo’. Montana can, and our breweries in Missoula County, Montana, rely on water pulled from a very clean and abundant aquifer. Montana headwaters charge our aquifers, so the health of the headwaters ecosystem is very important to us."

Quote: Tim O’Leary

Having healthy forests, streams and agricultural communities ensures that we will have clean water with which to brew our award-winning beers.

KettleHouse Brewing Company Co-Founder

"The water we use in our beer starts as snowmelt high in the Montana Rockies. This area boasts a pristine outdoor recreational paradise as well as productive agricultural lands. Having healthy forests, streams and agricultural communities ensures that we will have clean water with which to brew our award-winning beers. We like to say 'no clean water—no clean beer.'"

"Montana’s constitution mandates an environment with clean air and water. At our newest brewery situated on the banks of the Big Blackfoot River, we are reminded daily of our responsibility to protect that which gives us our sustenance. We work to live, and the living we do outside of work often involves playing on the Blackfoot. Therefore, protecting the river by installing a state-of-the-art water treatment plant and hiring dedicated sustainability technicians was essential. Furthermore, the visitors that we attract to our facility for a tour and a taste of beer will also learn about the Blackfoot’s headwaters and the ecosystem it sustains."

"At KettleHouse Brewing Company, our mission is to match the quality of our beers to the quality of Montana’s world-class outdoor experiences. We strive to pair our award-winning beer with our customer’s epic day spent playing or working in Montana’s spectacular landscape. Open since 1995, we have kept the quality of our beers foremost in our minds as we deliver them to our customers in reusable containers, or in the case of our cans, a highly recyclable container."

"Growing up in Montana, my wife and I enjoyed all the outdoor opportunities we could and continue to do so with our children. We are committed to running a sustainable Montana business where we and the entire KettleHouse family can feel passionate about our product and the environment in which we make it."

Love Beer? Love Forests! If you love beer, you should love forests. Forests provide 40% of the world’s usable water, beer’s main ingredient. Through OktoberForest, we’re working with breweries across the globe to celebrate clean water, great beer and the forests that make it all possible.