BILLINGS — The Western Heritage Center in Billings has opened a new exhibit exploring the city's deep ties to beer culture, from its first brewery more than a century ago to the thriving craft beer scene of today.
Get a taste of Billings' brewery past here:
“Having a Beer in Billings,” which opened March 17 and runs through December, traces the city’s brewing history from its earliest days to today’s brewery culture. The timing aligns with Billings Craft Beer Week later this month, providing a deeper look at how the city has become a regional hub for breweries.
"You think of beer in a certain way, or the brewing industry, but there's actually a lot of different ways to focus on it, whether it's economical, social, ... or just kind of like your local bars," said Cecelia Gavinsky, collections manager at the museum.
Today, bustling breweries are easy to find across Billings, serving as gathering places for residents and visitors alike. That sense of community connection is nothing new. Becky Jeter, executive director of the Western Heritage Center, said beer has long played a role in bringing people together.
"Beer culturally has always been a part of people's lives," said Jeter. "Saloons and pubs have always been gathering places for community members, and we just wanted to talk about that and how it worked in Billings.”
The exhibit shows how the city’s beer story dates back more than a century, to the early 1900s, not long after Billings was founded. It has a large focus on the Billings Brewing Company, the city’s first brewery, which was previously located next to the Rex Hotel.
"You can't talk about beer without that company," said Gavinsky. "Some people aren't familiar with them because the building was torn down in the 1950s.”
Gavinsky said the exhibit has been years in the making and required the broader community to bring it to life, including MSU Billings professor Dr. Cody Patton and local historian and breweriana collector Jim Peter. Former Mayor Bill Cole and former Executive Director Kevin Kooistra originally developed the concept. When Kooistra died in 2024, Gavinsky took over.
"People who collect different types of beer artifacts are called brewerianans, and so there are a group of brewerianans that are in town, and we were able to get a hold of one," said Gavinsky.
The exhibit dives into the politics, laws, and personalities tied to the industry. It is also full of untold stories, including one about a former mayor with an unexpected connection to the industry.
"Mayor Trennery, he was president of the Brewing Company in the 40s and 50s, and he was also the mayor," said Gavinsky. "He got in trouble for a bootlegging operation in the Carlin Hotel."
Among the highlights is a large vinyl reproduction of the neon sign that once hung at the Billings Brewing Company, once believed to be the largest neon sign in the United States.
The museum also had a Ford Model T remade to represent the Billings Brewing Company “beer mobile” from the early 1900s.
"People may have seen it in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. We won the best float," said Jeter. "We're just happy to get it out and about, and for people to be able to see history in living color.”
Related: Billings rings in St. Patrick's Day with its 43rd annual parade
Like the amount in a pint glass, the industry has had its ups and downs. Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s forced breweries to shut down and reshaped drinking culture across the country. A lull in craft brewing followed for decades.
That changed in 1994, when the Montana Brewing Company opened, helping spark a resurgence in local brewing.
"They are the first to have food along with drinks, which is really interesting because that's what the first breweries in the 1800s were like,” said Gavinsky.
Since then, Billings’ beer scene has grown steadily. The city is now home to more than 11 breweries, many of which are participating in this year’s Craft Beer Week, scheduled for May 11–16.
The event includes activities like a mini pub crawl organized with Visit Billings, starting at Angry Hank's. The week also includes the Last Best Beer Run, a 5K through downtown breweries that ends at Dehler Park.
"That's what this exhibit does for us, as well. It allows us to partner with businesses in Billings that we really hadn't before," Jeter said.
For visitors, the exhibit offers a chance to see how the past connects to the present, so the next time someone orders a beer in Billings, they may also be taking a sip of history.
