Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 10.29.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS OCTOBER 29, 2014 | 15 Bonsai Brewing Project Sets Sights on New Location
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Whitefish Planning Board unanimously recommends approval of conditional use permit
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
The Bonsai Brewing Project is draw- ing closer toward its goal of relocating from the Whitefish Mountain Mall to a building on Wisconsin Avenue, and the so-called “nano-brewery” could receive final approval at the Nov. 3 Whitefish City Council meeting.
At a public hearing Oct. 16 before the Whitefish Planning Board, Bonsai Brewing Project’s owner, Graham Hart, received unanimous recommendation for approval of a conditional use permit to operate the brewery at 549 Wisconsin Ave., at the intersection of Denver Street in a building previously occupied by the Rising Sun Bistro.
Hart has been looking for a new ven- ue for the brewery since learning this summer that a Shopko department store would displace his business and seven others at the mall. Construction of the Shopko will not begin until February, and Bonsai continues to operate at its current location.
The brewery and taproom will oper- ate under State Liquor Board require- ments, which limits hours of operation to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and requires them to only serve each customer a max- imum of 48 ounces of beer per day.
Hart explained that while he may sell a few kegs to local businesses, he has no current plans for bottling or greater distribution. The focus will be on sell-
Bonsai Brewing Project in Whitefish. BEACON FILE PHOTO ing craft beer in the taproom. While the
brewery is technically a microbrewery, capable of producing about 500 barrels per year, city code does not differentiate between nano-brewery and microbrew- ery so the same requirements apply.
Bonsai Brewing moved into its un- likely location at the Whitefish Mountain Mall in January after raising $17,800 through crowd-sourced funding.
With its doors open, Bonsai offers five beers on tap – a blond, a pale ale, an IPA, a brown ale, and a stout – and has proven a popular staple in the growing craft beer community.
The brewery is open Wednesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hart previously worked as an assis- tant brewer for Tamarack, and in 2011 applied for the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp, a contest where participants compete to be one of 10 people across the country to go to Chico, California, for a week to brew with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. He applied via a video submission and won.
At the camp, he brewed an Imperial Red Ale called Raiders of the Last Hops, two kegs of which made it to the Craggy Range Bar.
Bonsai Brewing Project is located in the Mountain Mall in Whitefish near the food court. For more information, visit the brewery’s Facebook page at www. facebook.com/bonsaibrew.
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Municipal Matters
A recap of recent city council and county commission meetings
WHITEFISH
• At last week’s meeting, city council- ors approved an emergency order requiring all city residents to store their garbage cans indoors over- night or use secure lids to avoid at- tracting bears. The decision came after several residents reported bear sightings in residential neigh- borhoods. According to the city po- lice department, bears are traveling through the Whitefish River corri- dor and have become accustomed to eating residents’ garbage. The council unanimously passed the emergency order, which requires homeowners to store their cans in a secure location until 4 a.m. on the
day of city pickup. Previously, only residents north of Denver Street and Bay Point Drive were required to have bear-resistant containers and keep their cans inside until pickup day. The new emergency or- dinance will be in effect for 90 days.
• Last week the city’s Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend a 60-unit apartment complex that is being proposed on U.S. 93 South. The request by the Montana Devel- opment Group was for a Planned Unit Development overlay and zone change to develop the apartment project on 3.5 acres of land at 6348 Highway 93 South. The 60 units would be built in five buildings, each containing 12 apartments, and
construction could begin as early as next year if the proposal is ap- proved. The matter will go before Whitefish City Council on Nov. 3.
COLUMBIA FALLS
• City manager Susan Nicosia re- ceived a one-year contract exten- sion at city council’s approval last week. Nicosia will receive a salary of $73,000.
• The city council unanimously ap- proved a conditional-use permit for Randy Jones Construction for five six-plex buildings on Diane Road.