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Four legendary Montana brands are teaming up to craft the best giveaway of the year. Peeler's Seafood, Simms Fishing, Bridger Brewing, and Distinctly Montana Magazine will be giving away thousands of dollars in prizes: a pair of G3 Guide Waders and boots from Simms, 2 Taste of Alaska boxes from Peeler's, 24 six packs of fine Bridger Brewing libations, and five annual subscriptions to Distinctly Montana Magazine.

But why are these great Montana businesses teaming up with Distinctly Montana to offer up these incredible prizes?

Well, it's because Montana is just a big small town. Not on the map, of course. There, it's a huge swath of North America stitching together mountain ranges, endless prairies, winding rivers and streams, deep glassy lakes, and arid badlands. But socially it's very Main Street out here; everyone knows everyone else, and good relationships pay off.

Is it any wonder that the most iconic Montana brands are often the most well-liked?

Take Simms. If you've hefted a reel on one of Montana's waterways more than a few times, then you've seen firsthand how important Simms is to the state's fly-fishers (and around the planet). The company's first breathable, waterproof waders were called the #1 innovation in the (hundreds of years long) history of fly-fishing according to Field & Stream.

Now, the flagship waders, the successors to those first waterproof/breathable waders, are made right here in Bozeman by people who use them. And if there's a problem with them, they’re taken over to the Repair Center. That dedication and commitment to customer service extends to every part of the process.

"Everything we make in Bozeman is made of the most premium materials. It's not the easiest way to do it. Instead, we go the extra mile," says John Frazier, head of Simms PR and Communications.

"For years, we’ve been very fortunate regarding our recognition for our Bozeman made waders whether it be in the form of industry, media, or consumer awards." he continues. "While building a product such as waders in Bozeman certainly presents challenges, those challenges are rewarded 10 fold with the advantages that come with it. For example, we are able to be so much more nimble when it comes to correcting a construction method, or implementing a new innovation because our production floor is right there. Not to mention, many of the wader makers themselves are some of the fishiest folks in the entire company."

The result is unprecedented agility in their production, the ability to alter the design based on the feedback of local experts - the very people who use the product.

As Frazier says, these waders are "not only made in the USA, but made in a mecca for fly fishing. That's important." Amen to that.

A whole lot of the people wearing Simms gear are commercial fishermen like those who supply Peeler's Alaskan Seafood with fresh salmon, halibut, and crab. They wear Simms because they trust the brand to deliver the durability and reliability they need while braving the elements on the water.

Like Frazier and Simms, Max Peeler, owner of Peeler's, has chosen not to take the easy way.

In fact, he was frequently told that his idea of delivering top-notch seafood, freshly caught off the coast of Alaska, to the undeniably inland inhabitants of land-locked Montana was crazy. It will never work, they told him.

And for a while, it looked a little dicey. Shivering in his trailer, parked on the side of the road, Max tried not to give in to hopelessness. He wondered whether his gambit would pay off. Would the customers show up?

But they did come, starting with the larger cities of Bozeman, Missoula, Helena, and Great Falls. Today, the fleet of Peeler's trucks visits Colstrip, Anaconda, Fairfield, Evergreen, Valier, and Wibaux. Frankly, unless you're a Montanan living in a state of profound, Unabomber-like isolation, there's a Peeler's trailer that stops near you.

We could tell you about how Peeler's is disrupting the supply chain in the small town of Petersburg, Alaska. Or how he's managed to give the fishermen there a better price than they would otherwise get selling to the monolithic fishing companies that otherwise dominate the field. We could even regale you with the tale of how he paved the road to his success by selling the unjustly maligned pink salmon as an affordable, healthy food. Now he carries a huge variety of the most sought-after seafood you can find.

But here's what you want to know most of all:
The seafood is really really good. The Distinctly Montana staff were privileged to try a variety of their menu items, and believe us when we tell you they tasted like they were plucked from the ocean yesterday. And with how quickly Peelers' products go from wiggling in a net to being processed, frozen, and sent on their way to Montana, they might as well have been caught yesterday.

In Montana, access to seafood this fresh was unheard of before 2018. Now, thanks to Peeler's, high-quality ocean fare is available to nearly everyone in the state, regardless of whether they're in the bigger cities, or an out-of-the-way county. Peeler's is there. And if you're one of the very few in the state not yet reached by a Peeler's truck, stand by. They're working on coming to you soon.


Bridger Brewing's beers are also available throughout the state - on-tap in person at one of their two locations, and canned wherever fine beers are bought and imbibed.

Like John at Simms and Max at Peeler's, Bridger Brewing's Jim Eberhart shares a love for Montana's community-mindedness.

"We love the town of Bozeman," Jim told me. "We all live here for similar reasons."

Some of those reasons include adventure, community, and a shared love for the great outdoors. Most of Eberhart's employees enjoy some combination of bird-hunting, backpacking, and, of course, angling.

Like Simms and Peeler's, Bridger Brewing eschews the cheap and easy. Their beers, like Vigilante IPA, Bone Dust Wheat Ail, and Premo Pilsner, are made with only the finest premium ingredients. While Bridger Brewing's new brewmaster enjoys experimenting with new recipes and perfecting classics, they never sacrifice the essential quality of their product. The beer and food they serve at their two locations speak for themselves.

Did we mention that all three of these guys, John, Jim, and Max, are all great guys? Exactly the kind of guys you'd like to go fishing or have a beer with? What, aren't you surprised?

But perhaps the main thing that unites Simms, Peeler's, and Bridger Brewing, is that they're all (forgive us for saying it) "distinctly Montana." One is a brand that is a whole lot bigger than just Montana, delivering premium, game-changing fly-fishing gear to the farthest corners of the globe, but which is nevertheless inarguably an iconic Montana brand, not to mention a vital presence in the Gallatin Valley. Another delivers exceptionally fresh seafood straight from the ocean to some of even the smallest towns of the Treasure State. And Bridger Brewing makes some of the best beer you've ever had, painstakingly brewed out of the best, and whenever possible local, ingredients they could find.

Talk about simpatico.

These brands don't just like each other, they're in love.

And you'll love them, too.

Good luck in the contest, folks, and remember to be thankful that we get to live in a place that feels so much like a great, big, mountainous, prairie-filled, seafood-loving, fishing-obsessed, fine-beer-enjoying (and superb-magazine-reading) small town.

Read the original article from Distinctly Montana Magazine here.