Modest Beginnings
The Loose Screw journey started late 2014 in Garden City at 4340 W Chinden as “Haff Brewing”. A location now occupied by craft brew newcomer Ruckus Brewing. Not coincidentally the subject of a recent article posted a few weeks back right here by yours truly. The modest 7 barrel system at this original site has produced beers for Haff Brewing from December 2014 until early 2016, which at that time sold and became Bella Brewing. During the “Bella era” Marcos Moss came on as brewer and owners Bethany and Chris Hughes rebranded Bella as “Loose Screw Beer Company” in early 2020.
From their Bella beginning, the Hughes’ had plans brewing to expand in to Meridian. In February 2021 the time was right and their new location opened in North Meridian at 1511 W. McMillen. A big new space, more taps, more seating capacity, a large outdoor shared patio , even pizza and ice cream. Production was a bit of a challenge for a while as there was no equipment at this new location. Still, they managed to have plenty of their own taps available as well as a few guests.
New Owners and Continued Growth
About a year later, in the spring of 2022 Mike and Pam Garcia purchased Loose Screw as the popular beer spot continued to gain a West Boise/Meridian following. The latest expansion was announced in the spring of 2023, set to take over a former funeral home. I’m thinking there’s got to be some clever beer names in the works soon calling back to the former tenants. The “Loose Screw Coming Soon” sign had been on the building for quite a while, and in mid November, construction/remodeling was finally finished. Loose Screw joins Heritage Hophaus a few blocks south and other Meridian newcomer Voodoo Brewing out of Pennsylvania. The area is becoming a real hot spot for evening beers and snacks.
Family Friendly
Head Brewer, Marcos is still here, now joined by Jake McCann and we toured production facility the other day. I was impressed with how compact the brewing space is while allowing for the increased capacity. Premiere Stainless Systems was brought in for the design and construction of the custom set-up based on Marcos’ Mike’s vision. Some very nice equipment affords the team plenty of flexibility and style options. A couple of horizontal fermentation tanks are included in the system to better simulate traditional lagering.
The dining area has an assortment of seating options. The main bar with cushy personalized seats. (Presumably named for early donors/partners), classic heavy picnic tables, long high-top tables and ever a few 4-tops with tall chairs. Perfect for keeping those elbows at 90* for those of us hammering away at a new blog post. The place is dog and kid friendly with non-alcohol beverages and water bowls, not necessarily respectively…. Local food truck outfit “Big Beantz Taco Co.” has a permanent association with Loose Screw and is part of scene on-site.
Loose Screw has been growing into a major player in the area’s craft beer scene and their new location right near down town Meridian looks to be a fixture for a long time. It’s already one of my favorite spots.
-Cheers
