Both Joe Barberis and Great Northern Brewing Co. have been part of Montana’s craft beer scene since the mid-90s, well before Big Sky Country burgeoned into a beer destination, today clocking in with approximately 60 microbreweries. Since Barberis joined Great Northern as head brewer in the early 2000s, he has led the company’s mission to crank out approachable creations uniquely qualified to fit into the Montana (and greater Pacific Northwestern) lifestyle.
In addition to four flagship lagers and ales, the brewery offers a well-rounded series of seasonal brews (including a fresh-hopped ale), plus its single-batch specialty Bushwhack Series on tap at the Whitefish, Montana, Draught House. Great Northern’s location, which lies on the outskirts of Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest, further proves what Montana may know best: perhaps nothing pairs better with a fresh, cold beer than miles of sprawling scenery.
But which brews does Barberis himself favor? Is he occasionally more of a cocktail guy? It only takes four questions to find out.
1) Which of your own current offerings are you digging the most?
That’s a difficult question because we’re really working hard these days to keep 11 or 12 different beers available in our taproom. When I get to the point in the day where I’m close to having my first beer, I’m usually thinking about Alpenglow, our Belgian-style Tripel. If I’m having more than one beer, my go-to is still Frog Hop, our wet-hop pale ale that was released back in October. We had such a great local hop harvest this year that we made a hundred barrels of it, but it’s going to run out any day now.
2) Any brewing pipe dreams you’re dying to make a reality?
If I’m daydreaming about beer recipes these days, it’s usually about figuring out the perfect combination of hops to make my ideal IPA or discovering some local wild flavor that would make the perfect gose for summertime drinking.
3) What non-beer beverage is in your glass most these days? What is your favorite way to enjoy it and where?
I want to say bourbon because that would have been my honest answer for a long, long time, but the real answer is fancy cocktails. Not like martinis, but well-thought-out drinks based on an interesting artisan alcohol with fresh-squeezed juice and exotic ingredients mixed by skilled bartenders. I have some very creative friends and we are fortunate enough to have a couple of great local distilleries in our area.
4) Favorite song, album or artist to jam out to while throwing a few down the hatch?
Our lead brewer, Roger, fronts a punk band called The Lucitones and he tends to take charge of the music while we’re working. We listen to a lot of 70s and 80s American and British punk, but also stuff like Rockabilly, Bowie and whatever you can hear over our pumps and bottling line.
