Sixteen years ago, Casey Kingsland was looking for a way to work with his hands. He was a stay-at-home dad, had recently moved back to his hometown of Great Falls from Seattle, and was looking for an outlet. Homebrewing became a way to tinker in the idle moments between taking care of his daughter, and recovering from an open-heart surgery. 

Now, that newborn baby is a high school student, yet, Kingsland still finds himself tinkering. This time, it’s with the beers on tap of one of Great Falls’ best-loved establishments: the Mighty Mo Brewery. 

Kingsland had never envisioned his path would some day lead to a “started-in-the-garage” success story. When he and his wife, Stacy Kingsland, left Seattle, they were eager to return to their hometown of Great Falls to be closer to family and escape the hustle-and-bustle of city life. But, there was one thing he really missed: the craft beers that were easy to find in the microbreweries and bottle shops scattered across Seattle.

“At one time, my favorite beer used to be Bud Light,” Kingsland chuckled as he reflected back. “It was kind of eye opening to drink craft beer. So, I started home brewing just so I could access what I actually liked drinking.”

Looking to recreate the flavors of the craft beer scene that were easy to come by in the Emerald City, but much harder to find in Great Falls, he first started experimenting with Belgian styles and American ales.  

Poker nights with friends became informal tasting sessions.

“Everybody wanted to be a tester. Everybody still wants to be a tester,” he chuckled. “So I burned through beer pretty quick back then, but I always had new stuff on hand.”

‍Brew Beginnings

After homebrewing for a couple years his longtime friend, Seth Swingley approached him with a proposition: “‘Hey, what do you think about opening a brewery?’” Kingsland remembers. “At the time, I didn’t know anything about running a business.

“Fortunately, my wife had a good paying job, so I was able to be a stay-at-home dad for three years, and figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” Kingsland said. 

He never expected his career to be … well, derailed. But, when he discovered that a heart issue he was born with could actually have lethal complications, he put a pause on his railroad career and elected to have the surgery. Just a month into recovering from surgery, his daughter came along.

“That’s when we decided it made sense for me to be the one to stay home,” Kingsland explained. 

After much consideration and spurring from Swingley, Kingsland eventually decided to transform his hobby into his career.

“I thought, ‘I might as well,’”  Kingsland said. “I love craft brewing, why not make it a career doing it?”

For the next three years, the duo worked toward their goal of opening the brewery. While they got their financing in order, they worked to refine both their business plan and their beers. Quietly and diligently, they worked behind the scenes to make their dream of opening a craft brewery in Great Falls a reality. 

“Once we acquired our building, I got super busy with the brewery,” Kingsland said.”And that's been my life ever since.”

‍A Decade of Success

The Mighty Mo Brewery is located at 412 Central Avenue, a location that at the time they chose it, back in 2003, seemed like it could be a risk. 

“The day we opened it was Christmas stroll 2013, and it was like 30 degrees below zero,” Kingland recalls. “Our doors were open and I think people, more than anything, just wanted to come in to warm up. We had a popcorn machine in the corner, and six beers on tap, and that's about it.”

It turns out … that was enough.The Mighty Mo celebrated its 10th anniversary at the end of 2023. Kingsland still holds the position as head brewer, but has since delegated many of the day-to-day brewing duties, spending his time formulating new recipes, overseeing production, and ensuring quality control. 

“Crafting new beers and watching people really enjoy them is what makes it such a rewarding career,” Kinglsand said. 

In fact, three of those inaugural beers are still on tap (Dam Fog, Lip Ripper and Smoke Jumper), speaking volumes to the skill that Kingsland brought as they opened their doors, and continues to bring to craft brewing. 

Along the way, Mighty Mo has helped spur several transformations. Great Falls is now a town that appreciates craft beer – the very styles that Kingsland himself craved all those years ago but couldn’t find. 

“It’s been really cool to watch over the years, to see people graduate from the light lager to darker ales or hoppy beers, or whatever it may be,” Kingsland said. 

With 10 years at their original location, the brewery has helped bring people to downtown as well. 

“Since the day we opened we have looked for new ways to get people in the door,” Kingsland said, “And we haven't stopped doing that.”

‍Crafting a Community

By looking for ways to continually give back to Great Falls, he and Swingley have unknowingly helped to cultivate a vibrant community. Whether through their “raise-a-pint night,” where a portion of proceeds supports a local nonprofit, or through organizing and sponsoring beloved events such as Downtown Summer Jam. 

The team (namely Enbar and the Mighty Mo) knew that if “they built it, people would come.” The Downtown Summer Jam has definitely brought big crowds, and in retrospect, some big names as well to downtown Great Falls.

In 2021, Lainey Wilson took the stage. If you didn’t recognize the name back then, you might now. Earlier this year, Wilson took home the honor of Entertainer of the Year at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards. 

“She put on a hell of a show,” Kingsland recalls. “We try to get the bands that are kind of on the rise, so it's cool when you see them actually go out and succeed past the small town of Great Falls.”

Still Tinkering

When he’s not working to put on major community events, you’ll still find him tinkering with the craft he loves, putting out seasonal or specialty beers on the taps. 

Looking back, Kingsland says he owes much of his success to his wife.

“There's no way I'd open a brewery if it wasn't for her,” he said. “The support she's given us, she's kind of allowed me to pursue this venture and be successful at it.”

Nearly 11 years later, the thing that matters most to Kingland isn’t so far off from how it all began with his homebrew in his garage: people gathering with one another to enjoy a beer.

“What I'm most proud of,” Kingsland said. “Is just to be able to provide a space for people to come hang out and have a pint of beer and talk. And it's just been a great community. Everybody from Great Falls has supported us from day one, and they continue to do that. We are just very blessed to have that support.”