Hunting & Harvesting
A special edition celebrating autumn's traditions in Northwest Montana, with discussions on hunting, harvesting, hops and more
By Beacon Staff
Autumn is a season of preparation, when we fill up our pantries with canned fruits and vegetables from the summer’s harvest and our freezers with wild game.
These traditions, rooted in survival, are held closely in Northwest Montana. In this edition, we take a look a few of these traditional ideas — what are we foraging for now, who is out hunting, how should they be doing it — and explore how they fit into our community’s fabric as a whole.
We hope you have a bountiful autumn, and may your aim on rifle and/or bow be as pure as your grandmother’s canning recipes.
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Hunting Season is Here
Prospects for filling the freezer, tips for safety and reminders about dates, deadlines and disease
By TRISTAN SCOTT
The arrival of autumn marks the beginning of big game hunting season, a beloved time of year for the thousands of Montana residents who partake in the rich tradition.
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No Taming the Wild Huck
Despite decades of research, mountain huckleberries remain undomesticated and Montana’s huck retailers remain dependent on local pickers
By ANDY VIANO
There are few mysteries modern science has been unable to crack, but the stubborn mountain huckleberry, driver of a niche industry, staple of bear diets and the unofficial state fruit of Montana, remains a puzzle too difficult to solve.
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Hop Swapping for Beer
Great Northern Brewing Company event brings in 500 pounds of locally grown hops to produce its seasonal Frog Hop Wet-Hopped Pale Ale
By MAGGIE DRESSER
The next time Whitefish locals Charlie and Paula Collins head into the Great Northern Brewing Company, they will have an extra $108 to spend.
That’s because they traded 27 pounds of their homegrown hops in exchange for beer credits at the 2019 Frog Hop Pale Ale Hop Swap on Sept. 10 at Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish.
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A Guide to Food Preservation
How to prepare for winter by canning and dehydrating garden harvests
By MAGGIE DRESSER
As temperatures drop and nighttime frost begins to threaten gardens in the Flathead Valley, it’s time to harvest those fruits and vegetables before winter takes hold.