Powderhaus Brewing, situated at the West end of Garden City, got started in late 2015. Its Bavarian Alpine style and log building style distinguished itself aesthetically from other craft beer locations. Its leanings toward offering European lagers also helped set it apart. The population of craft beer venues in the area had been growing fast in recent years. Distinguishing yourself and carving out your own niche and market share was becoming more important.
Powderhaus’s success, influence, and overall impact have ebbed and flowed over the decade since it opened. I recently spoke with Tyler Schmidt about the brewery’s journey—its successes, challenges, and how it arrived at its current position—as well as his vision for its near future
Modest Beginnings
Starting as 3 friends on a 1 Barrel system. “Brewing hard”, dialing in recipes and consistency in a small space in Garden City. Putting a business plan together and getting some surprise financial assistance from family, Powderhaus launched. Going from a wild-hair idea to an ambitious, sizable brewery/taproom.
Stein Distributing approached Powderhaus, and the two worked out a deal right away. It’s thought that maybe Stein was looking for a local brand to get with, and Powderhaus was the new producer on the block, aiming high. A year and a half or so later, both parties agreed that maybe that deal didn’t “roll out” so well and cut ties. The Powderhaus crew then made the decision to self-distribute. That turned out to have its advantages and disadvantages.
About this time, Tyson Carden, one of the 3 that started it all, moved on to Sockeye Brewing. Tyler then assumed the sales and marketing side for Powderhaus, with Tyler Evans running brewing and production. Consequently, with their own small fleet of trucks, Powderhaus was able to be much more responsive and was even delivering some orders same-day. However, Tyler and team also learned a big part of the business. Distributing your own product and dealing with merchandising, etc.
Growth…Covid…Changing Plans
This was a period of growth and some success, as the team grew to 25-30 employees. Powderhaus was making deliveries all over Idaho, as far as Post Falls and Pocatello. It was also the time when some household name recognition started happening, as Powderhaus introduced a few special releases. “Evan’s Gate” scotch ale being one of the favorites.
Soon after, COVID slowed everything down, like it did for everyone else, and coming out of that, the Powderhaus crew reassessed their plan and vision. Production essentially slowed after rising costs and canning options became infeasible. Tyler E. moved to Sockeye about then, and Sean Thompson came in for a time as brewer, working to maintain Powderhouse’s signature beers.
Teaming up with Tyler S., the two leaned even further into their focus on German styles. That push included a collaboration with a German brewer built around a hop swap. Sean brought some regional Idaho hops with him and returned with a unique German variety. From there, he and Tyler worked up a recipe that blended the two regions into a genuinely international collaboration. Not many Idaho breweries can say they’ve pulled that off. To this day, Tyler credits his passion for and love of traditional German beer styles to Sean and their partnership over those 2 years or so.
As it stands now, and moving forward, Powderhaus, the building, the brand is still open to deals and entertaining whatever market interest there may be for the business. At the same time, Tyler will be turning his attention more to his new brand, Schmidt’s Bierkeller, which he plans to roll out in March or April. Specializing more so in lagers, Czech, German, and other true traditional old-world beers.
Traditional Old World Brewing
The opportunity to do something a little bit new and a little more unique is now at hand. Learning more about traditional lagers and old-world styles and experiencing them fully is where Tyler will be taking his brewing in the coming weeks and months. Embracing more fully the traditional aspects of the beer, the glassware, and the celebrations is where his passions will be taking this next phase.
If Powedrhaus proper experiences major changes, then Schmidt’s Bierkeller will just continue to grow and flourish in another location or facility as necessary. We will revisit Tyler’s new direction in the near future as it is officially introduced and gains some traction.
Cheers to Tyler, Schmidt’s Bierkeller, and its future success.
