Butte Breweries & Bars: Montana’s Hidden Craft Beverage Gems

Butte breweries are proof that Montana’s mining legacy pairs surprisingly well with a cold pint. Once a copper-fueled boomtown, Butte has traded pickaxes for pint glasses, transforming its rugged history into a craft beer and spirits scene that’s as bold as its past.

You’ll find breweries named after mines, distilleries housed in old industrial buildings, and locals more than happy to share a ghost story over a barrel-aged stout. Whether you’re wandering past towering headframes or diving into Butte’s underground tours, there’s always a place nearby to raise a glass to the city’s rowdy roots.

This isn’t just beer—it’s a boozy tribute to one of the wildest towns in the West. And trust us, the flavors go way deeper than the mines ever did.

Short on Time? Here are key takeaways:

• There are only 2 breweries in Butte
• If you want to try a lot of beers, check out Slainte with 40 taps
• Keep in mind that the breweries have to stop serving by 8 PM

About Butte 

Butte is Montana’s 5th-biggest city and is just slightly bigger than the capital city of Helena.  It was established around the same time as Helena, in 1864, as a mining camp, but not for mining gold. 

It was mining for another valuable metal, copper.  Because of its huge copper industry, Butte experienced rapid development in the late-19th century and was Montana’s first major industrial city.

The copper industry, whose remnants can still be seen all over this industrial and rugged city, attracted a great number of immigrants to work in the mines, particularly the Irish.  Today, and surprisingly, Butte has the largest population of Irish Americans per capita of any city in the US. 

You know what that means?  These people like their booze!

Montana Alcohol Laws: What to know before you go

Let’s start this thing out with a quick lesson on Montana beer laws because they can be rough for the local Montana breweries (if you like to drink the amounts we do).

As of 2019, Montana ranked second in the nation for breweries per capita. 

BUT, Montana state law sure makes it difficult for beer-lovers to saddle up at a Montana brewery for a few pints.  That’s because breweries can only serve customers between the hours of 10 AM and 8 PM.  

Also, it is unlawful to serve a customer more than 48 ounces of beer in a single day.  That’s 3 pints FYI. 

Even worse, if your brewery produces more than 10,000 barrels a year, you can only provide free samples to customers. (There are some loopholes to all of these, for what it’s worth). 

These rules are all in place to “protect” the bars and restaurants of the world. 

Although unfair to the craft breweries across Montana, it did force us to brewery-hop (and the rest of Montana) and taste everything that these local Montana breweries have to offer.  Poor us!

Map of Butte Breweries and Distillery

Click the interactive map below!

Butte Brewing

• Hours: Daily from 12 PM – 8 PM
• Food Available: Yes, pizza kitchen

Butte Brewing can trace its roots back to 1875 when the first beers were brewed here to quench the thirst of parched miners.

Situated at the foothills of Butte’s famous copper mines, Butte Brewing reopened in 2015 after closing in the 1960s (like so many other breweries). Today, brews like the Ore Digger Ale and the Haul Truck Hefeweizen are on the year-round menu honoring the 130-year tradition of this mining town.

They even have a Ca”beer”net which is a light beer aged in a Cabernet wine barrel for 3 months. You can smell the oak/wine on this one and it has many of the same characteristics of a sour beer.

Come enjoy a flight or a pint of beer (maximum of 48 oz per day per Montana state law) at the bigger of the two Butte breweries in their large taproom or on the outdoor patio overlooking the city of Butte.

Quarry Brewing

• Hours:
  • Monday – Saturday: 3 PM – 9 PM
  • Sunday: 3 PM – 6 PM
• Food Available: Rotating food trucks

We just mentioned some of the mining history of the city of Butte. And mining towns love beer. You might say, they “dig” beer (shameless dad jokes as you read about the Butte breweries).

In addition to the 5 solid signature brews and the rotating seasonals, Quarry Brewing is located in the basement of a building in Butte’s downtown district, so you even get the feeling of walking down into one of Butte’s copper mines.

The taproom itself is quiet and relaxing, as far as brewery taprooms go. They even have a nice outdoor patio to enjoy some fresh air while you sip on one of their gluten-reduced beers (all beers are gluten-reduced).

Something that we don’t see everywhere we visit: mixing beers. We tried the “Triple” creation which was 45% of their apricot golden ale, 45% of their sour, and 10% of the porter. This was a great combination that highlighted all 3 of the beers.

Beer Bar: Sláinte! Butte America Pub

• Hours:
  • Monday – Friday: 3 PM – 12 AM
  • Saturday: 11 AM – 12 AM
  • Sunday: Closed
• Food Available: Yes, full kitchen

If you only hit one beer bar in Butte, Sláinte! Butte America Pub should be it. With 40 rotating taps and over 100 bottles and cans, it’s basically a playground for craft beer lovers—and yes, they’ve got everything from hazy IPAs to wild sours and barrel-aged beauties.

Not sure what to order? Their weekly Thursday tastings are the perfect excuse to sample something new (or just pretend you know the difference between Czech and German pilsners).

But this place is more than just beer. There’s a rooftop deck for soaking in mountain sunsets, a basement arcade for reliving your 90s glory days, and a laid-back vibe that makes it super easy to settle in for just one more.

Add in some cheeky Irish charm, solid bar snacks, and friendly bartenders who actually know their stuff and you’ve got yourself a killer night out in Butte.

Sláinte (pronounced slawn-cha, you’re welcome) means “cheers” in Irish. Once you visit, you’ll be saying it a lot.

Distillery: Headframe Spirits

• Hours:
  • Monday – Sunday: 10 AM – 8 PM
• Food Available: No

Butte has often been called the richest hill on Earth because of its history mining huge amounts of copper and other valuable metals. Today, it’s mining connections are still on full display and there are nods to the mining culture all over the city.

No more so than at Headframe Spirits where a full lineup of spirits including vodka, bourbon, rye whiskey, Canadian whisky, gin, and bourbon cream liqueur is combined with a lengthy list of delicious cocktails to tickle every fancy. Of the Butte breweries and distilleries, this was our favorite!

In the mining world, a headframe is the structural frame above an underground mineshaft. Butte has 14 different headframes across the city, making this local distillery a perfect complement to the city’s heritage.

Our 4 drinks – the Vanilla Old Fashioned, the Cucumber Cooler (gin), the Whiskey Sour, and the Canadian Campfire (whisky, strawberries, oranges, and habanero simple syrup) – were all delicious and left us wishing we could have more than 2 drinks per day!

Similar to the restrictions on beer, Montana state law limits you to only 2 drinks per day per person (2 oz total) and you can only buy 2 bottles of liquor per day while in the tasting room.

Hitting up Butte’s breweries and distilleries isn’t just about scoring top-notch drinks—it’s a full-on dive into Montana’s mining past, one delicious pour at a time. From Butte Brewing’s 130-year legacy to Quarry Brewing’s underground vibes and Headframe Spirits’ cocktails that raise a glass to the city’s copper days, every spot is dripping with history and flavor.

Just don’t forget: Montana’s got daily alcohol limits, so pace yourself—this isn’t your average bar crawl. Whether you’re a craft beer nerd, whiskey lover, or just in it for the wild stories, Butte’s boozy scene delivers something truly Big Sky-worthy.

Thirsty for more? We’ve got several guides for Montana that’ll keep your next trip buzzing:

• Helena Breweries in Montana
• Whitefish and Kalispell Breweries
• The Ultimate Guide to the Breweries in Bozeman Montana