Bringing home the bronze

A little brewery in North Idaho took a big step over the weekend at this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Kootenai River Brewing in Bonners Ferry brought home a bronze medal for its McGreagor Scottish Ale from the nation’s largest beer event, held every October in Denver.

It was definitely a surprise, said co-owner Mike Naumann: “We’re excited about getting a bronze at GABF. That’s pretty big.”

Only three other Inland Northwest breweries have won medals at the festival since it started in 1983: Coeur d’Alene Brewing in 1988, and both No-Li and Laughing Dog two years ago.

Kootenai River, which opened in August 2011, first participated in the festival last year.

The McGreagor – named after Montana’s Lodge at McGregor Lake, which carries Kootenai River beers – is relatively light, at 5.2 percent alcohol by volume and 25 International Bitterness Units. It previously won a gold medal in June at the North American Brewers Association Awards in Idaho Falls.  

It will be pouring at a pair of Spokane events later this month: the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s OktoBrewFest on Oct. 18, and a Kootenai River beer dinner Oct. 26 at Hills’ Restaurant and Lounge (more on that here).

Naumann, a former Boundary County sheriff’s detective, owns the brewpub with his brother, Don. The brewmaster is Joe DeVita, a former Laughing Dog apprentice.