The latest entry into the fray of Treasure Valley breweries is Edge Brewing. Backed by multiple partners/investors, local home-brew supply shop, HomeBrewStuff’s owner Marcus Bezuhly is behind it and Kerry Caldwell, formerly of TableRock BrewPub is brewing it. Edge is located in West Boise, whereas the last few openings have been in downtown or Garden city.
Edge has the interesting distinction of it’s arrangement with their investors/partners. Many of them are certified beer judges and avid home-brewers themselves, and they are encouraged to brew unusual and interesting one-offs on Edge’s 15G pilot system. These will go on a couple of “guest taps” at the Brew-pub. Free to experiment on something significantly smaller than their 15 Barrel system, who knows what concoctions will show up from time to time. A Chipotle’ porter perhaps or maybe a Butter-finger Stout..it’s anyone’s guess. With several regular offerings and some seasonal rotations that will surely make appearances, these loose cannon test batches promise to be an interesting addition and will help Edge to stand out a bit in the Treasure Valley blossoming Craft Beer scene.
I visited Edge the other day and tried the sampler of their current line up. It was no surprise to see a Pale, an IPA, an Amber and a Wheat. The IPA was even appropriately named “Obligatory”. A nod to the assumption that if you are a brewpub you better have an IPA on tap at any given moment. There was also a Belgian Tripel that was nice and so was the rather hoppy and fairly dry Imperial Stout. As a matter of fact, save for the Belgian, I thought that most of the line up reflected a slightly hopped up quality. Possibly a tendency that Edge will be known for going forward… and perhaps that characterization would not displease them. One of the two beers they had from their experimental “pilot” system was a Cinnamon Cider which I loved, and Marcus himself had the honor of kicking off it’s maiden batch.
Throwing caution to the wind and picking out an appetizer I had never heard of, I stumbled upon an epicurean delight called a “Scotch Egg”. A hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, breaded and deep fried. Delicious, and the Obligatory IPA washed it down nicely. Although now that I think of it, a Scottish Ale would have somehow seemed perfect. I even came back to Edge again several hours later, partly so I could bring a friend to try their beers…but really it was mostly so I could have another one of those little gems…and another beer…or two.
The wide tap list that Edge promises to maintain and the frequent rotation of new and potentially bizarre test batches, will keep me coming back as part of my regular rounds. Congrats and good luck to Boise’s newest brew-pub.
