Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Expands Montana Footprint

Jeremiah Johnson isn’t your typical American craft beer story. He didn’t find his passion for beer by brewing at home in his garage. He didn’t go to school to become an engineer, only to find art amidst the science of beer.

In fact, Jeremiah worked in sales and marketing and then economic and real estate development before craft beer wafted him away.

When Jeremiah and Katie, his wife, finally decided to jump into the craft beer business, it was out of love for the beverage, but even more so about a passion for entrepreneurship.

“We always loved beer. But an opportunity presented itself and I had very strong feelings that I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had a career, but in my heart, I knew I had to be an entrepreneur,” said Jeremiah.

The Founding of Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Co.

When the opportunity to take over the struggling brewery The Front in Great Falls, Montana, presented itself, Jeremiah and Katie didn’t hesitate. They recognized the opportunity to finally realize their entrepreneurial dreams while keeping their roots steadfast in the bountiful Montana soil.

Being born and raised in Montana, and named after the legendary mountain man, Jeremiah had no desire to take the brewery elsewhere. He just wanted to make the best beer possible and grow his brewery into the best possible business he could.

Despite taking over the Front and starting up Jeremiah Johnson Brewing in its place in 2018, challenges abounded. Chief among them was no space for a taproom at the Great Falls brewery that now dons his name.

That’s right, in an era of craft beer that is synonymous with drinking in the taproom, Jeremiah Johnson Brewing doesn’t have its own bar on premise to welcome fans of Mountain Man Scotch Ale or Hazy IPA. Jeremiah’s beer is available around Great Falls but he doesn’t have his own taproom for folks to flock to.

Taprooms in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Whitefish, Montana

He has built Jeremiah Johnson Brewing as a production brewery focused on seven key brands on shelves across Montana and throughout the region.

That’s something that could be changing soon, however. Jeremiah opened his first taproom in 2019 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, just a stone’s throw from where he grew up in the Flathead Valley of Montana. But he’s always wanted a taproom in Great Falls, where the main brewery is located.

It’s not happening just yet, but he’s getting closer. Jeremiah opened a second taproom in 2022, this one even closer to home, in Whitefish, Montana. It’s quite literally in the backyard of his family’s homestead in the valley.

When he learned in 2020 that Great Northern Brewing was giving up the Blackstar Building in Whitefish, he pounced on the opportunity to put his own brewery in the Flathead Valley.

Partnering with real estate developer Rob Isackson and restauranteur Scott Gerber, it took nearly two years to open because of supply chain woes and pandemic-induced delays, but Jeremiah Johnson Brewing is cranking out new beers alongside the fine food of the Blackstone restaurant in Whitefish.

The opening of Blackstar allows Jeremiah a place for his new brewer Alex Johnson, formerly of Big Sky Brewing, to create and try new recipes. The hope is to keep the Whitefish location fresh with exciting new beers, but also to use it as a proving ground for the next big hit to scale up to a production level.

“This is our opportunity to take our brand and create new and innovative products. In Whitefish, we’re going to brew new and inventive beers,” said Jeremiah. “Doing Whitefish for us was a dream come true… a no-brainer!”

Alex Johnson is creating exciting new beers that will easily benefit from some of the new malts that Malteurop has developed. He has already created a Fruited Tea Saison, a Belgian Wit, a Double New England IPA, a Dark English Mild, an Imperial Stout, and even a non-alcoholic hop water. These are all very different from anything Jeremiah Johnson Brewing has released before.

Jeremiah Johnson Eyes Expansion in Great Falls, Montana

Jeremiah’s biggest problem now? He’s running out of space at his production facility in Great Falls. Despite the supply issues in getting the Whitefish location finished, he’s had no problem getting all the brewing supplies he needs, such as malt from Malteurop, his main malt provider.

“They’ve been a great partner. It’s been super easy to work with Malteurop,” he stated. “We haven’t missed a beat on our supply. When we need our malt, we have our malt.”

Now such a demand for Jeremiah Johnson beer that he’s started to consider building a new facility in Great Falls. There’s simply no more room to expand in his current location.

In addition to facilitating the ever-growing demand for more of his beer, a new facility would also fulfill another piece of Jeremiah’s dream, that being to finally have his own taproom in Great Falls.

He said it is sometimes a little “weird and confusing” for people that come to Great Falls looking for his taproom when there isn’t one. He’d love nothing more than to have a place where he can sit down and talk about his beers and his days on Flathead Lake with his neighbors and touring beer geeks.

Though he hasn’t pulled the trigger just yet, don’t be surprised if, when the new year dawns, Jeremiah Johnson breaks news on breaking ground.

Having only been in business since 2018, it may sound as if Jeremiah is taking a lot of risks. He’s the first to admit that’s true. But it’s not going to stop him. And his track record thus far stands for itself. Jeremiah has more than doubled production since purchasing the brewery.

“I’ve had to roll the dice a few times. I’ve definitely made some mistakes, but if I wasn’t a little bit of a risk taker, I wouldn’t have got to where I am. If I were a football coach, I’d go for it on fourth down, every time.”

Malteurop is proud to have partnered with Jeremiah Johnson from the moment that he entered the brewing community. And we’re looking forward to many more years of growing alongside him in Great Falls, where we both have deep roots.