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Boise, ID is a pretty good beer town.  20-something breweries and taprooms scattered around the treasure valley gives us craft beer enthusiasts plenty of options.  There are a few spots in Eastern Idaho, as well and several more around the Post Falls, area up north.  After that, you’ve got quite a drive in store for the next closest pocket of live taphandles.

Denverc, Co  and its I-25 neighbors, Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins all have many great beer spots.  The annual Great American Beer Festival, the largest of its kind in the U.S. is in Denver each year.  Most GABF attendees know to allow for a couple days of taproom-hopping for that trip.   If you go West, Seattle, Portland and further south, both college towns, Eugene and Corvallis are worth while destinations.  Bend, in central Oregon is also packed with great breweries and taprooms.

A couple weekends ago, I drove to Portland for a Monday night concert downtown, and knowing what lay before me, I budgeted a couple days to do some beer exploring.   Planning to mainly hit breweries I had not visited before, I first stopped at John’s Marketplace. Though not a brewery, Johns has the biggest and best bottled beer (retail) selection in the US north of San Francisco.  Rivaled perhaps by Bottleworks in the Fremont district of Seattle.  John’s had apparently expanded since my last visit to include a full menu and both indoor and outdoor seating.  The Double Smashburger I had was terrific and the Coldfire Cumulus IPA paired nicely with it.

While I was there I assembled a six pack of assorted fresh hop cans from area brewers and was on my way.

Cooper Mountain was my first actual brewery visit for the day.  After finding a table, I picked out a sampler of mostly hoppy offerings.   None of them were anything spectacular, all were pleasant but were all remarkably similar to each other, light sweet and paltry hop character on each.   I gave them each a chance, but, did not finish any of the 4oz pours.  The best thing I got there was a recommendation of another taproom “out in wine country”. So off I went to “Wolves and People Farmhouse Brewery”

W&P was not much more than a couple of shipping containers cobbled together and a dozen rustic picnic tables on a crushed cinder patio area.  It was “fresh hop” season so I ordered the Honeycone Fresh Hop “Farmhouse” IPA.  It lived up to its name as the light floral hop character played nice with the farmhouse/saison yeast character.

Sipping the beer, with the view of the nearby orchards, the late afternoon unseasonably warm October sun made it all a very nice experience.  So I had another beer.  I had too and the Norse X NW was very good as well.   I really didn’t think the odds were with me, hitting two great beer places in a row judging from my earlier experience, but i pressed it.

Assembly Brewing was the next dice roll.  Most of the first sampler tray was not bad so I went ahead and powered through every other beer they had.  The Kolsch was quite good.  The IPAs had trouble living up to my expectations of them being ON the west coast and the Pilsner left something to be desired.  Namely flavor and aroma.  I felt like the staff was nice and it was getting late so I closed out the tab and left a tip that probably was not sufficient to even have either of their nose rings resized.

My favorite beer spot in the area has to be the HorseBrass Pub.  And that was going to be up next.

continued on pt. 2

The area’s latest addition in our community of craft breweries and taprooms opened its doors this weekend. Ruckus Brewing is officially open and if the turnout on its grand opening is any indication, it will be a real player.

Located at 4340 W Chinden Blvd, Ruckus is in the space formerly occupied by breweries, Loose Screw, Bella and Haff. After quite a bit of remodeling, including an amazing new custom copper bar top, Kyle and Makenna Durham have turned the space into their own.  Looks like the brewing system stayed, and was thus inherited as part of the space.  The previous occupant, Loose Screw Brewing is nearing the completion of its own expansion including a new, much larger system.  I will be posting something about that later. Ruckus has six taps online for its starting lineup including three lagers.  This was maybe a bit bold, but there is a space for it, in the immediate local market. The two IPAs on tap however were the number 1 and 2 sellers opening weekend.  No shock there, I suppose.

Myself, along with many of the regular crew of Boise area craft beer aficionados, were there this past Saturday for their grand opening.  Apparently sufficient word had gotten out beforehand as the place was completely packed.  A couple friends and family were hastily recruited to help out behind the counter to help try to keep up. Kyle was splitting his time much of the afternoon between schmoozing with customers who want to meet the man behind it all and washing glasses in the back as fast as he could.  The local Boise beer community can really get the word out.  They showed up in force that day, lining up out the door at times.

In the taproom, there are just a couple of TVs so you can keep an eye on the game, but they are not the focus.  The great beer and even better times are.  Seating about 25 at several small tables and another 6-8 at the bar, it is a cozy spot.

Currently 10 faucets are on the wall behind the till, suggesting a longer taplist before too long. Summer is officially over and some fall seasonals will likely be coming on, before long.  I talked with Kyle and he’s not concerned about running out of been in the short run.  Rest assured, there are plenty of full kegs in the back.  He’d like to increase his offerings soon and there are thoughts of stouts and ambers on the “to make” list. The focus late this summer was just “getting the doors open” and this they have done.

Open Thursday – Sunday currently, but with a little more help minding the shop, Kyle is hoping to be open a bit more.  Continued regular traffic from good beer lovers like myself and many of my friends will, I’m sure help to convince him that would be a good thing.

Kyle and Makenna are friendly, laid back folks making good beer and trying to carve out a part of the American dream here in Garden City, ID.  Stop by for a pint sometime and say hi.

-Cheers

Sockeye Brewing has been in Boise since the early ’90s. One of Boise’s original breweries and for most all of that time has produced some well know quality beers we’re all well familiar with. The classic, and their flagship beer Dagger Falls IPA is one the the best selling brands in the region. A hoppy sturdy IPA that has been making appearances at backyard bar-b-ques and BSU tailgate parties for nearly 3 decades.

When the craft beer explosion, renaissance, awakening…whatever you want to call it, took over in the mid 2000’s, breweries starting popping up in the area every several months it seemed. Many of these places had to find their own niche, establishing their unique foothold in the growing local craft beer economy. Some were largely experimental and esoteric, others focused on German styles etc. Sockeye seemed to stick with what they already knew they did well. A standard line-up. An IPA, a Brown, an American wheat, an Amber and a Pale. These and a few rotating seasonals, the menu didn’t change that often and when something new did show up, it was pretty few and far between, It also disappeared…usually for good after a short time.

I’ve often told people, and written about this on numerous occasions. The most interesting part of the craft beer industry, for me as a consumer and beer nerd is the never ending variety of what I can get a pint of at a local brew-on-premise. With this in mind the now 30 some breweries in the area, out competed for my attention, and business. Over the last several years Sockeye had dropped off my frequent rotation due to what seemed to me, a strategy of sticking mainly to just their regular lineup.

Catch and Release

I’m happy to report that evidently this is no longer the case. Something clearly changed several months ago. There are now, and have been, regular appearances of uncommon, or lesser known styles and recipes. Rogenbiers, Italian Pilseners, Saisons, Vienna lagers etc, have all recently shown up on their new “Catch and Release” list. I have to think this change was at least partly set in motion from feedback and suggestions that reflected my own view.

I had a conversation with Derek at the West Boise location recently and he confirmed that this was/is an intentional change. Maybe it is a bit of “keeping up with the jones’s” or maybe just livening things up with some “fresh blood”. Either way, I’m loving it. I’ll still order a Dagger Falls at a local restaurant, with dinner, when I see it. These experimentals at the brewpub are just a lot of fun. I’ll be trying as many of then as I can as they are released.

There is also rumored to be a rye-barrel aged “Baklava Russian Imperial Stout” on the horizon. It still has at least a few months to go, before its ready for prime time. I’ll be watching for that one especially. But with these small batch experiments coming out more often, this Idaho craft beer icon is back in my wheelhouse.

-Cheers

• A nice clean hoppy Pale Ale is one of my favorites, particularly in summer. Not too heavy, plenty of fresh hop flavor and not so big, you can have a couple-few. I tend to just wing-it as far as a recipe goes. I know that about 12# of grain will get me a 1.055ish OG. I’ll get 30 or so IBU hit for the long boil, most hop additions happen in the last 15 min. Today we are going with mostly Cascade and Simcoe.
• 8# Pale Malt
• 3# Pilsener
• 1.5# White Wheat
• .5# Crystal 15
• Plus a couple pounds of rice hulls just to keep the grain bed fluffy.

For hops, .5oz of 14.8 Columbus for most of my bitterness, an ounce of 9.4 Cascade at 10min to go, an ounce of 12.5 Simcoe at 5 min to go, an ounce of 9.4 Centennial at flame out, and another ounce of Simcoe as it began to chill at about 190F

Years ago when I was a regular participant in trading craft beer amongst other beer nerds around the country, I was sent a 22 of something, one day called “Double Simcoe IPA”. It was produced by Weyerbacher brewing near Allentown, PA and was the best tasting hoppy beer Id ever had. It just captured the flavor and bite of what I imagined as the goal for the style. Since then I assumed Simcoe was the hop that was the center the flavor profile i liked so much. Every hoppy beer I’ve made since then has featured this hop variety. To varying degrees of success.

My mash temperature came in right at 152F, a temperature that generally favors a more complete fermentation stage. So that was good. Calculated for one big batch sparge and finished with just over 7 gallons of 1.044 this also was just about according to plan.

An hour boil, per the above hop addition schedule got me to 6gallons of 1.052 chilled. A little lower than I planned, but it somehow always seems to turn out that way.

I didn’t bother with making a stated the day before, so in when the yeast right form the pouch/envelope thing. Gave it a good shake for a few minutes, and set it inside in a cool dark place.

Next morning there was plenty of activity so I knew we were off and running. By the end of the week, I transferred to secondary and saved most of the yeast into a large sanitized mason jar for later. Even though I whirlpooled the chilled wort and left much of the hop sludge behind, there was quite a bit in with the yeast form the primary vessel.

My next beer will likely be a big IPA with a similar hop blend, so pitching this leftover yeast I think will be fine even if it has some left over hop sludge in it.

Nearly a week in secondary and measured its final gravity at 1.010 A tad higher than I hoped… but again this is typical for my process and equipment. Into the cony keg it went and siphoned of a litel for myself. The first (warm and flat) sample was promising and I thought absent of any obvious flaws or mistakes.

After a couple days in the keg and in the refrigerated kegerator, at about 25psi, took my first sample. Hop flavors was about what I was hoping for, less bitterness than I expected and the beer was a little sweet and a little full/thick. Was hoping for something a lite more dry and crisp. Finishing out at the slightly lower gravity that I was aiming for probably would have got me closer to this.

Anyway, over the next week or so, as the carbonation has come up and a little more sediment has come out, I think it “passes mustard”, as my grandpa used to say. I dont filter my beer so it is a bit cloudy. It has good fresh hop flavors and sits right at about 5.2% ABV. It will be a god summer beer to have at the house and to share with friends. Next up, will probably be a big 8% IPA. Similar recipe, just taking it up a couple notches.

Greetings to both of my readers. It’s been a while…so let’s get right to it.

As we all know, or at the very least, can safely assume, a beer is a beer but a “double” is simply a stronger variant of an otherwise similarly named “non-double” version of itself.

This would be a correct assumption.

Around here most of are all too familiar with Sockeye Brewing’s flagship IPA, “Dagger Falls”.  Some of its fans may even proudly announce its reign as the “best beer in Idaho”  Most of us then can probably expect that something called “Double Dagger” is likely a bigger, stronger, hoppier version of the original. There is in fact such a beast and at 9% ABV may not be exactly Double per se’…but it is none the less ramped up a bit in all of its important qualities, and it certainly distinguishes itself from it’s “single” namesake.

There are some other styles that are famously double.  Double IPAs of course, the high gravity and high ABV on these brings them close to Barleywine territory.  Dopplebocks are a terrific malty mild smooth toasted lager that can be 8-10% and not to mention Stouts of which “doubles’ are more commonly referred to as “Imperials”  North Coasts “Old Rasputin” is a great example.

However… however. There are some beers out there that have no business being a double….anything. If the single is nothing of note.. then why would you “double” it. If the wind is not blowing outside, and you decided, if you could to double it. It would STILL not be blowing. When you are seated at a restaurant and the waitperson asks if you’d like water to start.. I cant say I’m ever inclined to say.” …yeah, know what…make it a double !”

As it turns out, someone at Widmer must have recently been pondering the fact that their “hefeweizen” is so popular and is on tap at nearly every Applebee’s and Red Robin this side of the Mississippi that it seemed like a no brainer. What about a DOUBLE Hefeweizen. That’s gotta be twice as good, right?

Turns out, though it’s twice as much of not much. The fact that it is an Americanized “hef” and as such lacking much of the classic, some would say “correct” yeastiness character of its 500 year old Bavarian cousin, doesn’t really help it any.. Not unpleasant, mind you, but there just isn’t any there…there. And calling it a double or an Imperial just comes off as a bit pretentious. Buts it’s a double, it’s new, and it’s out there, in 16oz cans, and maybe even at your local neighborhood Applebees.

Cheers,

BBB

Today, making the rounds around town, looking for new and/or interesting creations by our local fermentation locations, I stopped by the Ram on Park Center. Among the other couple dozen Brew-on-Premises places in the area, The Ram doesn’t often have something that I’ve not seen before. They are a chain, and there are some corporate standards and lines that must inevitably be towed. Even in these settings, some freedom and creative “wild hairs” are allowed apparently, however and today I got to try one and the experience turned out to be a highlight of my week.

I usually pick an off-hour time between lunch and dinner to increase the chances of some conversation with the staff as they are typically less bust before the after work crowed started to show up. Being early afternoon on New Years eve, the place was fairly deserted. Making a bee-line to the bar side of the restaurant I was greeted briefly by whom I assume was staff and possibly even a beer maker. I gave him a nod a smile on my way in and sensed that he was making eye contact a split second longer than normal. I probably should have paused a bit more and invested int eh greeting and probly came off a bit terse.

The beer menus had the same seasonals that I recalled from a week or two ago when I checked last but for the one on the bottom, “Udder Chaos” milk stout. This I had to have, and I ordered a half-pour…a “shorty” they call it. Black pour, full dense sticky dark tan head and a great mellow chocolate, and milk sugar sweetness. The character from the local Form and Function coffee was a nice touch and complimented nicely and we not over powering. At over 8% I was glad I ordered only a 8oz glass.

Shortly after, the brewer came up and introduced himself. I recognized him right away as the guy I basically snubbed on the way in. Meeting the classic caricature of a brewer, a wirely, early middle aged guy in a zip-up hoodie and wool knit beanie., Jake had apparently recognized me from earlier visits and recalled a friend at another local brewery mentioned me as a local beer nerd/social media/ writer. Aw Shucks.

We chatted a bit and got along really weel right away. When he suggested I stop by sometime for a little brewery tour, I looked around and said “…it seems pretty slow today..?” and off we went.

We walked and talked bout grain silos, gravity fed boilers and fals bottom mash tuns etc… and ass a long time home brewer, I had some good questions to ask him as far as dry-hopping, laagering, corporate recipes and standards vs creative one-off projects etc. He even shared a recent funny storiy about a minor mis-hap regarding how lactose can actually be somewhat flammable when atomized just right. Lest just say, this milk stout I was drinking might well be called a caramelized or “crème breule’ “based on the events that late October brew day.

It was a great tour and great experience and is just another example how the people in thiis business, with very few exceptions, just love to make good beer and share the experience and products of their endeavors with anyone interested.

Here’s to Jake, and the Boise Ram for

After several years worth of breweries popping up in the Treasure Valley lately, it has nearly gotten to a saturation point, for me at least. To be clear, I don’t mean there are too many options, rather there are now enough good beer spots that it is actually becoming a bit of work (good work, if you can get it) to visit each of them on a regular basis. You just can’t expect anymore to stop by both of the local brewpubs after work on a Friday and then feel like you’ve checked up on what’s new this week and covered the bases, so to speak.

Now, with 20 or so breweries, several growler fill type places, a few bottle shops, and more than a few straight up bars that specialize in getting in quality craft beer, it has become a bit of a challenge to keep up with what each of them have recently brewed, or put on tap. Particularly for those of us that consider ourselves beer-nerds.

Working in town and living in west Boise presents me with a few options as to which “gauntlet” I want to run in the afternoon on the way home.

The Chinden/Garden City strip has a few spots, beginning with the recently opened Western Collective Beer on 33^rd. Associated with Guns & Oil Brewing Co. (still not exactly sure how, even though they explained it to me at least once) these guys took over and severely remodeled the original Payette brewery/taproom, expanded it a bit and opened it up to a roomy laid back space. A dozen or so of their beers are on tap and though it is certainly not the cheapest pint in town, (some are $7), it’s a good spot and one of my regulars.

About a mile West on is Bella Brewing right on the north side of Chinden. This outfit changed hands again a few months ago and I must say I like the new direction they are taking so far. Tucked in between one of Boise’s fixture sandwich shops and a couple of wineries, its a small space, and a small brewing system. They have recently been offering a few more interesting and creative brews. Plus, free popcorn, so, there is that also. My sense is that there is a somewhat looser leash on whomever is making the beer there since this past winter, and lately I’ve been much more likely to visit than this time last year. If you stop by, aske then what in the world is a “moosechuck” .

Another couple of miles further, sort of at the West end of Garden City is HomeBrewStuff. A brewing supply retail shop that also has a dozen or so coolers of cans and bottles, focusing somewhat on local and regional offerings. They’ve also got 10 taps that someone has clearly put a bit of thought into. There is a small bar and rather Spartan seating area inside and they will set you up with a glass if you want to drink one of the cans or bottles that catch your eye.

Practically right next door, about 50′ further west is County Line Brewing. A small shop that has been slowly growing in the last 4 years or so and seems to have established a real “neighborhood pub” feel. I’ve always been impressed with what seemed like a conservative business model from the beginning.

A quarter mile west, is Powderhaus Brewing Company. An ambitious start up and an impressive building that has a great mountain ski lodge vibe. These guys started big with some large scale brewing equipment.

Next up, well pick a section of downtown and hit on the good craft-beer spots in that area.

Until then, Cheers

There seems to be no end in sight for this ongoing “brewruption” in the Boise area that has been going on now for over 3 years. Next up and now open for business as of last week, is White Dog Brewing.

Boise locals will immediately recognize the location as the original spot for Table Rock Brewing, one of the Boise “Old Guard” so to speak. Table Rock went out back in 2014 and soon after, the space was taken over by Rick Boyd of Brewforia fame, and his vision of an up-scale burger joint “Grind Modern Burger”, with Post Modern Brewing doing the beer side of things on premise. That didn’t quite take off and ultimately went out in March of 2016. I never got to try the food there but I loved the experimental and “no holds barred” style that Marvin was slinging on the brewery side. I mean a Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout and a Peanut Butter Porter you just don’t find very often.

    Now, about a year and a half later, beer is flowing once again at 705 W Fulton St. No kitchen this time, just food trucks…which is becoming more and more common with breweries and tap rooms in this day and age as evidently, a full restaurant and traditional food menu is just too much trouble, or too expensive. Which may be the same thing. I don’t mind this, I’m all about the beer. White Dog’s arrangement sort of hybridizes this model as menus are on the table and you place you place your order with the wait staff and it’s brought to you…just from the food truck out back.

    I stopped by on a Sunday afternoon, after a 10 mile ride on the greenbelt to try what they had. Besides the Hopzilla double IPA which is a TableRock recipe, and so I skipped that, the line-up was solid. If anything I thought the Scotch was not very “peaty” and the English IPA was pretty dark and malty. But these are brewers interpretations/variations on the style and not incorrect per se’. The Blood Orange Hef was very good, just a touch of the orange and a mild Bavarian yeast. The Blonde was pretty sharp and crisp and a bit more interesting than most of its style.

The staff was great and their “newness” was more than made up for by being attentive and very willing to chat. I was a couple minutes in to a conversation with one of them before he introduced himself as Dan, one of the owners. Found out from him that this is in fact the same White Dog brewing from Bozeman, MT and that there will be some beers made just in Boise and others made just at their original site in Bozeman. I asked if that meant that if I wanted to try the entire White Dog lineup, I’d have to make the 7 hr drive each way. He broke the news to me as gently as he could. He also mentioned that everything on tap here, was made here, and vice versa for the Montana location. No trucking kegs 8 hours back and forth between sites.

It is a pretty big, open space and the tables and furnishings are a bit Spartan but it is early and there is still a little work to do. While there is evidence of some significant remodeling in the dining/drinking area, I was told that they are in fact using the original Table Rock brewing equipment. I wasn’t too excited to see electronic dart boards and video games there but I must confess, “Galaga” is one of my favorites from back in the day, and I can understand they are trying to keep it family friendly. They will be tweaking a few things and completing interior improvements this next week or two and are expecting some good crowds during “Art in the Park” coming up. A grand opening will be in a week or two.

Boise Beer Culture also has a little write up here about this newest Boise brewery.

I asked about their rather generic names they have for their beers and Dan explained to me that they have intentionally opted out of the “name game” so as to not have to deal with potential copyright issues and also just for ease of knowing what kind of beer you are ordering or buying at the store. So, everything here will be “Pale Ale” or “English IPA” or “Hefewiezen”. Makes sense I suppose, but I was kind of hoping for a dog themed taplist like maybe a “West Highland Wit” or “Samoyed Stout”. Oh well, maybe I’ll drop a note in the suggestion box.

Seems like things are off to a good start here and it may turn out to be a regular stop for this beer guy.

-Cheers