There’s a lot happening under the Cranky Sam roof in the heart of downtown Missoula. On the Cranky Sam Brewing side, delectable beers are hand churned. Those beers are then sold to Cranky Sam Public House next door where thirsty patrons can enjoy the finished product along with a wide selection of other libations like Montana brews, wine, cider, and hard seltzer.
Due to state liquor laws, Cranky Sam Brewing and Cranky Sam Public House have operated as separate entities since the owners of Cranky Sam Public House Jennifer and Jed Heggen opened the doors on May 15, 2020—two weeks after Steve Bullock allowed restaurants, bars, and breweries to reopen due to COVID-19. It’s been a labor of love that has paid off in a big way.
Jed is an attorney and both he and Jennifer have a background in business ownership. Jennifer also holds an associate’s degree in food service management from Missoula College and taught for some time in the culinary arts program there.
“Then we started brewing this idea, pun intended,” said Jennifer. At first their vision was just a brewery.
“As we got in here and started feeling the space and looking at its proximity of everything going on downtown we were wondering how we were going to do this and shut this down at 8 at night,” said Jennifer. They made the decision to invest in a beer and wine license which allows them to have an expanded menu of alcoholic beverages and stay open later. Meanwhile, one of their former partners purchased the manufacturing license to open Cranky Sam Brewing.
Currently twelve of the twenty beers on tap at Cranky Sam Public House are brewed at Cranky Sam Brewing. Brewer Timmy Evon was hired a year before the brewery opened and has been a fantastic addition to the Cranky Sam Brewing team. Despite not knowing Timmy before he was hired, he has impressed the Heggens every step of the way.
“Ever since he put out the first beer it’s been amazing,” said Jennifer.
Timmy's experience studying his craft and brewing in Germany has helped him make lagers and pilsners a specialty of Cranky Sam Brewing, like Spring Melt Vienna Lager and El Vaquero Mexican Lager. Timmy also brews a wide range of ales like Piper Creek Hazy Pale, Tropical Blonde, and Justa Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. A couple recipes come from Jed's home brewing experiences but most are developed by Timmy.
When Jennifer and Jed set off to find the perfect location they considered several options but none of them felt right. Then they came upon the old Reynold’s Radiator shop on the 200 block of West Main.
“He (Jed) brought me in here and said, ‘Don’t react. Just imagine what it would be like if we got it cleaned,’” said Jennifer. There were gas stains and exhaust caked on the ceiling and walls. “But the minute I walked in I thought it was perfect. It needed a lot of love but it created this great story we have now.”
That story dates back to the late 1800’s when this part of town accommodated Missoula’s red light district and Chinatown. And it’s where Chinese Opium King, Cranky Sam, built an infamous name for himself. The relationship between Cranky Sam and the Heggens all started when Timmy, having nothing to do while the brewery was being built, was tasked by Jed to do some digging at the library on the history of the space. Timmy’s digging then led to actual digging as Nikki Manning and Kate Kolwicz from the University of Montana’s anthropology department got involved and brought in a host of students for excavation. Jennifer tells of visiting the site and finding students in tears as they uncovered numerous treasures.
You can view a few of those treasures at the public house. A pretty blue bottle that likely contained a cure for venereal disease and a beer bottle covered in a pretty patina hold a prominent place above the bar. And there’s the Hidden Lady mural on the wall uncovered during the excavation. The majority of other artifacts are being held and catalogued at the university.
Jennifer and Jed aren’t just looking to the past to keep Cranky Sam successful. Their future plans involve building a restaurant next door to the public house in the stone building previously housing the Cotton Wood Traders. And on another exciting note, Cranky Same Brewing has recently begun to can some of Cranky Sam Brewing beers, which can be found in a few select stores in Missoula like XXXXX.
Whether under the roof or soaking up the sun on the open patio, visitors to Cranky Sam will experience the best Missoula has to offer from the past to the present.