Sitting at a table at Sacred Waters Brewing Company in Kalispell, owner Jordan Gentry, general manager Jackie Evans and Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation executive director Clifford Kipp share an award-winning IPA together.  

It’s The Bob IPA, handcrafted within the walls of Sacred Waters and well known across the valley — and the state.  

Since the brewery opened in 2018, 10 cents of each pint sold of The Bob at Sacred Waters has always gone directly to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the 1.6-million-acre wilderness area. 

As of this year, now any pint purchased of The Bob IPA, statewide, will go to the foundation, marking a pivotal moment for Sacred Waters and foundation alike.  

It’s a simple idea: drink the Bob in here, help the Bob out there, Gentry said.    

Gentry, who owns Sacred Waters alongside her father, Kirk Gentry, started the brewery in 2018 in an effort to bring the camaraderie she grew up alongside in the Bob Marshall Wilderness to Kalispell. Beer was always something that brought people together, she said, remembering guests telling stories of their days on the river over a drink.  

“We’re just selling fun and fellowship,” Kirk said, sipping a beer. “We tell stories and enjoy good drinks.” 

The Bob is often featured as a place in those stories. 

“And we all loved the Bob before we put it in a can,” he smiled.  

Kirk and Cathy Gentry, Jordan’s parents, moved to the Flathead Valley in 1993 and bought Spotted Bear Ranch, a hunting and fishing retreat in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Gentry grew up alongside the Bob’s well-known mules and horses, thick forests, rich wildlife and sacred waters. It’s the namesake for her passion project. 

“Truly, the water that comes out of the Bob is sacred,” she said.  

Their passion for the Bob Marshall Wilderness inspires the name of most beers on tap. Now, as of this year, the connection between Sacred Waters and the Bob Marshall Wilderness continues to expand.  

The work to make a statewide donation program a reality was spearheaded by Jackie Evans, the general manager of Sacred Waters and a lover of the Bob Marshall Wilderness herself. Evans reached out to George’s Distributing at the beginning of the year to talk through possibilities.  

“The feel in the market is fantastic, people are happy to be involved in this program,” said Jason Combs, director of beer, cider and non-alcoholic beverages for George’s Distributing.  

“We always try to look for those opportunities that can help our state, our region, our society... this is an opportunity to do something that pretty much everybody has some common ground with,” Combs continued.  

Six months later, the dream was a reality. In past years, Sacred Waters donated on average $3,000 annually to the foundation through this program. Now that the program has expanded statewide, they expect the number to rise.  

The Bob IPA was on tap in 44 places across Montana as of June, Evans said.  

"We are definitely the super fortunate recipients,” Kipp, the executive director of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, said.  

Realistically, the money goes right into the field, Kipp said. So much of their work comes from grants and federal matches, which Kipp said are a concern right now.  

If we’re going to continue to deliver the amount of field work that we do each year, we're going to have to turn to private citizens and local communities and businesses. So that level of support is so, so meaningful,” Kipp said.  

The partnership reveals a practical way local businesses and local nonprofits can work together.  

Participation in outdoor recreation is at an all-time high, according to a study completed by onX, an outdoor navigation company. The company found that 96% of outdoor enthusiasts, out of over 2,000 surveyed, think it's important to preserve and maintain public lands and access. 

But only 19% of those enthusiasts surveyed say they commit to yearly stewardship on those lands, whether that be volunteering, donating or advocating. 

“There’s this movement to close that stewardship gap,” Kipp said. This partnership, and outdoor enthusiasts drinking an IPA after a hike or float, is one way to address that.  

Outside of the finances themselves, the program is a testament to the power of community, outdoor recreation and a Montana way of life, Gentry said.  

“Success and goodwill are not finite resources,” general manager Evans said. “The more that we experience and the more that you can share those things, they grow exponentially beyond that.”  The Bob IPA, a contemporary, single malt IPA with notes of pine, resin and tropical flavors, won gold at the Montana Beer Awards last year. Most of the hops in the beer are grown at Flathead Valley Hops.  

To learn more about Sacred Waters Brewing Company, visit sacredwatersbrewing.com. To learn more about or donate to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, visit bmwf.org.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].