Blackfoot River Brewing Company

Staff

Brian Smith Legacy Partner

Brian, like every other American of his generation started out drinking pale, fizzy, flavorless industrial beer. After joining the military and spending 3 years serving in Germany, he had the opportunity to experience & enjoy many different traditional European styles of beer. Brian returned home and attended graduate school in Missoula, where he worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Economics. However, his meager TA stipend didn’t allow for much quality beer drinking. Mostly at that time it was 60-cent Heidelberg drafts at Charlie B’s. He was aware that you could make beer at home, but just didn’t have a place to do it.

After moving to Helena to work in politics in 1990, Brian got a real job as an Economist with the State. It was there that he worked with Brad Simshaw and the two of them started homebrewing, and they haven’t stopped brewing since.

Besides beer, Brian enjoys kayaking, rafting, fishing, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, hunting, gardening, cheese-making, chicken-raising, and his latest hobby is trying to build and maintain the “perfect” saltwater reef aquarium.

Brad Simshaw Legacy Partner

Brad was born in Glasgow Montana with stops in Sunburst, Kalispell, Polson, and Missoula before settling in Helena. Brad developed a passion for good beer as a home brewer where he went through the three stages of home brewing; first that it was a good way to get cheap beer, then discovered that you could make great beer, and finally that learning all about beer was great fun. What he hadn’t realized was that there would be a fourth stage – being involved in building a legitimate brewery.

Brad takes great pride in the great beer and the great beer experience that has become Blackfoot River Brewing Company. He also is quick to acknowledge the contribution of the hard working staff at the Blackfoot. “I learned early on that one of the best things you can do for the success of a business is to hire good people and then get out of their way”. “I learned that one day while working in the taproom and one of the staff told me to ‘get out of my way’.”

“I am often asked if I ever dreamed that this brewery would become the successful brewery that it is today. My answer is yes! But most of those dreams also involved Courtney Cox, so they probably don’t count.”

Greg Wermers Legacy Partner

My interest in beer started well before my taste for the frothy, malty beverage matured.  As a 12-year-old I began collecting beer cans in the roadside ditches of the Black Hills of South Dakota in the late ‘60’s.  Now that beer can collection has a permanent home in the taproom.  As I grew to beer drinking age I tried most of the “commercial beers” available, then moved into imports and finally microbrews became available.  Then “The Joy of Home Brewing” turned my kitchen into a part-time brewery, which eventually led me to Brian and Brad.  Partnering with Brian and Brad in the development, building and nurturing of Blackfoot River Brewing has been a challenging, exciting and fun journey.  Thanks Brian and Brad.

I moved from South Dakota to Helena in 1982 to work as a civil engineer for the State of Montana.  Many different jobs and career changes came along the way and I am truly thankful for them all.  I spend my free time telemark skiing; camping, hiking, and biking the mountains of Montana; along with enjoying the rivers and creeks of our great state.

Favorite beer quote from a monk stuck in Kansas in the early 1900’s: “Because without beer things would not go as well.”

Bethany Flint Managing Partner

Managing Partner

Bethany grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and only made Montana home after many life adventures that took her to the beaches of California and to the city of New York and many places in between.

Beth has an under-graduate degree from the University of Puget Sound in Asian Studies and a Graduate degree from Columbia University in Chinese History. She is passionate about education and life-long learning.

Beth joined the staff of Blackfoot River as Office Manager in 2009 and is inspired everyday by the owners and staff of Blackfoot in their quest to make great beer and run a great business.

When not at the Blackfoot, Bethany enjoys the Montana life of being on the water, hiking, cross-country skiing, reading and enjoying time with her partner & their dogs Chloe, Blue and Lulu.

[email protected]

Tim Chisman Managing Partner, Head Brewer

Tim was born and raised in Cape Girardeau, MO and went to Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. During college, Tim became interested in craft beer and became an avid home brewer. As his interest craft beer grew stronger so did his love of the mountains and his desire to live out west.
In 2004 he started his professional brewing career with Big Sky Brewing Company in Missoula, Montana. In 2007 he attended the American Brewers Guild and receive his Brewing Diploma in Brewing Science and Engineering. In October of 2010 Tim got his dream job as Head Brewer of the Blackfoot River Brewing Company.
When he’s not at the brewery Tim loves to mountain bike, ski, hike the dogs, and spend as much time as he can with his son, Cameron, and his wife, Kara.

[email protected]

Sarah Simpson Taproom Assistant Manager

When not pouring our delicious beers in the taproom you can find Sarah outside enjoying various mountain sports or tending to her garden. She also thrives on travel and learning to recreate the culinary delights she finds on her journeys.

Sarah found herself in Helena via a summer field work job with the Forest Service. She made her way to the Blackfoot via both a desire to break free from a desk job and a fledgling hobby as a homebrewer and lover of all things beer.

 

[email protected]

Ben Webster Taproom Manager

Ben grew up in Billings, MT and first became aware of craft beer at a young age through his father, brother-in-law, and older brother. Ben remembers that they would drink Anchor Steam or Fat Tire and he was fascinated that they weren’t drinking the typical domestic beer of the time.
Ben has always been captivated by history and science, and is particularly interested in the relationship between craft beer and society.
In the early Summer of 2015, Ben and his wife moved to Helena, her home town, and he found his sense of purpose as an employee at Blackfoot River Brewing Company.
As someone who is dedicated to hands on work, he completed fly fishing guide school and lived on a farm in the Big Belt mountains for a year.
Ben continues to explore new and old styles of beer while camping, fishing, or cooking extravagant meals with his wife Ellie and dogs Marlo and Roo.
Favorite beer: Single Malt IPA
Favorite seasonal: Baltic Porter

[email protected]

Jeremy Bauer Taproom Supervisor

A born and raised Helenan, Jeremy is a familiar face to many. For 20 years Jeremy worked at On Broadway, Helena’s beloved downtown restaurant. Needing a change after two decades in the restaurant industry, he made an easy transition down the hill at the Blackfoot this past summer.

Jeremy is thrilled to have landed at another downtown business with fabulous staff and customers, especially one that serves Single Malt IPA! ?

In his free time, Jeremy is an avid disc golfer and golfer. If he’s not playing in a disc golf tournament or golf league you may find him fishing, hiking, or camping.

As you can tell from his history at On Broadway, Jeremy has an incredible palate. He loves cooking but loves to eat even more. He and his better half Erin are often scheming up incredible meals and cocktails.

Kirk Jackson Brewer

Kirk joined the Blackfoot production crew in the fall of 2019. He is originally from central Ohio and received a BFA in Ceramic Arts from The Ohio State University in 2013.

Prior to working for Blackfoot, Kirk traveled the country working in different ceramics studios. When he landed in Montana, Kirk knew he’d found the place he wanted to establish roots.

Kirk’s favorite beer to drink is Blackfoot’s West Coast-Style IPA, and his favorite beer to brew is the Imperial Stout. When Kirk isn’t crafting delicious beer, he enjoys traveling, exploring the great state of Montana, fly fishing, and camping, especially in the company of his wife Summer and his dog Roger.

Seth Berg Brewer

One of Helena’s own prodigal sons (go Bruins!), Seth was a child of classic rock hippies and grew up in the back of a pickup truck in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. He loves his family, friends, and the sweet blend of art and science that is craft beer. Seth is an all-grain homebrewer that enjoys creating new beer recipes and bending traditional styles.

Before working at Blackfoot River Brewing Company, Seth worked as an Executive in Healthcare. He currently attends university for a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – Management. Seth is also working on completing the Professional Brewer Apprenticeship Program in Montana. Seth loves all things craft beer and aspires to the possibility of owning his own brewery someday. He is grateful that Blackfoot River Brewing Company gave him his professional start.

One of Seth’s favorite things about Blackfoot is the quality of the ingredients and people he works with while creating “real good beer” for the fine people of Montana. His favorite beer is free, but the style is typically nomadic with the earth’s tilt. Seth is an ordained Dudeist Priest, Licensed Nurse, Green Bay Packer Shareholder, lover of Space, social campfire circles, cool mountain-fed water, and dusty backcountry roads. Seth relishes time with his wife and their two daughters looking for life’s next adventure when not in the brewery.

Chris Cote Brewer

Chris grew up in New England and graduated from Boston University majoring in Environmental Science. He relocated to Helena in 2008 and worked for 13 years as an environmental scientist for the State of Montana and completed a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from Montana State University.

A longtime fan of craft beer, Chris began homebrewing out of his garage in 2015. After deciding to turn a passion for brewing beer into his profession, Chris got his start in the craft beer industry with a position in the cellaring and barrel program at Barreled Souls Brewing Company in Saco, Maine. Since returning to Helena, Chris has been a brewer for Blackfoot River Brewing Company.

Outside of the brewery, Chris enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, the Montana outdoors, and cooking great meals with his wife Dru. He also continues to enjoy experimenting with new recipes on his homebrew system.

Chris is currently completing the Professional Brewer Apprenticeship Program certified by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry and a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling.