Libby gets first look at blues festival

The first Taste of Blues and Brewfest took place Saturday, June 20 at Riverfront Park in Libby. The event had live music and beer sampling from local breweries.

 “People that were there really seemed to enjoy it. The venue was beautiful,” Johnette Watkins, a board member of the Riverfront Blues Festival, said. “I think for it being the first year the turnout was good enough to try it another year.”

Admission to the event was free and it cost $20 for unlimited beer tastings and a souvenir taster’s glass.

There was live music from the Mason Stone Band. Bubba B’s Texas BBQ was one of the food vendors and there were also arts and crafts vendors. They were also offering half off tickets to the Riverfront Blues Festival that will take place in August. “It’s the best deal of the summer,” Watkins said.

The Cabinet Mountain Brewing Company opened in July of 2014 in Libby. They had three of their beers to sample. The Ye Olde Spruce Ale is light summer ale. The Bobtail Blonde is easily drinkable ale. The Colter Coffee Porter is a darker beer.

The Cabinet Mountain Brewing Company invited the other local breweries to the event. The H.A. Brewing Company out of Eureka had two beers to sample.

The Kootenai River Brewing Company from Bonners Ferry had two beers for sample, including one of their more popular beers. “The Huckleberry Wheat is one of our more popular beers,” Michael Naumann, the owner of Kootenai River Brewing Company, said.  “We were just going to have it be seasonal, but everybody wanted it, so we have it year round,” Naumann said.

The Flathead Lake Brewing Company out of Bigfork had two beers that one could sample. The Swimmer’s Itch Saison is a Belgian-Style brew that is a liquid ode to summertime on Flathead Lake. The other beer they had for sample was their bestseller; the Centennial IPA that one can buy in Libby. The Centennial IPA is an India Pale Ale.  

For brewing companies events like these are always laid back and fun.

“The competitive thing in the brew world is nonexistent. Everybody is always friendly,” Lori Naumann, of the Kootenai River Brewing Company, said. “We all like to sample each other’s beer. If you set up other businesses next to each other like this they may be at each other’s throats. That’s not the case when breweries get put next to each other. We were just over sampling the competitor’s beers. It’s always a good time at these types of events.”

Watkins hopes that they are able to have the event next year, but mentioned they might try something different.

“I think we should coordinate with the Timber Beast Disc Golf Tournament so people participating in that event can come over and sample the beer.”

Watkins believes that if they continue to host the event that it could grow.

“I think it can be built on. I could see it really grow into a bigger event,” Watkins said. “Now that people know what the event is about, it could really take off.”