Blackfoot River Brewing and First Interstate Bank of Helena are teaming up this fall for Blackfoot’s Community Partnership Program in support of MEIC, Montana Environmental Information Center and the Save Our Smith campaign. The Community Partnership Program is a way in which businesses work together to raise awareness and funds for a nonprofit in our community.
The Partnership members will be brewing the signature Save Our Smith Hop Harvest IPA. Proceeds from the sale of the beer will raise funds for MEIC in support of their work to stop the proposed mining at the headwaters of Montana’s treasured Smith River.
The kickoff event celebrating the partnership will be at the Blackfoot River Brewing Taproom Tuesday, October 11 starting at 5:00 p.m. where the Hop Harvest IPA will make its debut. There will be representatives from MEIC and First Interstate Bank, live music by Brett Veltri, & more.
About the Beer
Hop Harvest IPA can only be brewed during the fall of each year during the hop harvest. The hops are harvested and dried but are not processed by being bailed or pelletized which is the common process for modern brewing. Bailing and pelletizing hops crushes the lupulin gland, which can decrease the aroma by approximately 5%, so these hops, in their natural state are extremely aromatic!
About the Save Our Smith Campaign
Montana’s Smith River is renowned worldwide for its clean water, rugged canyon scenery, and blue ribbon trout fishery. The Smith is Montana’s only permitted recreational river. The permitted section of the Smith River winds 59 miles through a remote canyon in the Big Belt Mountains. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks classifies the Smith River’s fishery as high-value, owing to its bountiful population of rainbow, brown, westslope cutthroat, and brook trout. The canyon walls of the Smith also boast some of the best examples of Native American pictographs in Montana.
A small Canadian mining start-up, Tintina Resources, has partnered with Australian mining firm Sandfire, and has submitted an application to the state of Montana to build a massive copper mine at the headwaters of the Smith River, on the banks of Sheep Creek. You can read a critique of the comments here. The mine would drop below the water table, and Tintina would have to pump water out of the mine to keep it from flooding. The pumped wastewater would contain arsenic and other toxics. Tintina’s proposed copper mine is particularly concerning because it will mine through sulfide minerals, which when exposed to air and water can react to form sulfuric acid in a process known as acid mine drainage. Montana has a long legacy of mining projects that have contaminated our rivers and streams. The Smith River is not a location for another failed mining experiment.
