Bryce at Brown Beard Brewing has been open and serving beer for a little over a year now, in west Garden City. Over that time he has gathered and maintained a loyal local following. The spot has become a popular after-work or weekend afternoon hangout for quite a few locals. Myself included. Most of the taps are selections you’d not be surprised to see. Also, too are usually a few taps that show off his creativity. I appreciate the variety and am always checking on what is new on the times I stop by.
Early Growth
From day one, literally, just keeping up with demand for his popular brews was a challenge. So much so that he nearly sold completely out on opening day. Being equipped with a 1 Barrel system means long and/or frequent brewdays, just to keep taps flowing. After closing up shop for a couple extra days there in the beginning to catch up, he was back in business. Even with the addition of some equipment several months later and the expansion of his walk-in cooler, it has been a lot of work to maintain levels. Some guest taps and other beverage options help with this as well.
Idawild Brewing at 5720 W Chinden, just a mile away, had been open since the Summer of 2022. As of last week, owners Cortni and Matt decided to permanently close up shop and instead, dedicate more of their time to family. A new baby will tend to do that. We wish them the best of course and enjoyed the beers they made for the couple of years they were there.
So, one of the worst kept secrets among the Brown Beard regulars, was announced. Bryce would be moving in to Idawild’s location, more specifically, expanding into it. The additional location should work well for a couple of reasons. There are plans to remodel the original location a bit and expand its music venue facilities. The new space and it’s bigger brewing system will help boost production and that site will stay more of a classic taproom. New offerings perhaps, but surely, bigger batches can mean fewer brewdays when keep up with popular beers.
Music Venue
Live music is a passion for Bryce. He has had many artists on his modest stage and on a warm day with the garage door up the tunes fill the surrounding parking lots. Visiting artists include local musicians, Andrew Chappell, Landonius Monk, and the Talbot Brothers as well have made a couple of appearances. Bryce himself has occasionally picked up a guitar and joined in on some of these music nights. I’ve been there for many of these and they’re a ton of fun.
This new space has a little history many of us will recall. Barbarian Brewing, an early arrival to the area craft beer scene, got started in that space. They were there for several years until March of 2022, a few months before Idawild moved in. Barbarian has since opened a downtown taproom as well as a new location on E 32nd at the east end of Garden City.
Bryce and Kristen have a lot of fans in the Garden City area. All of us Brown Beard regulars are looking forward to the changes he has in store and to the increased availability of the great beers has been making this past year or so. Let the Brown Beard keep growin’ !
