Happy Birthday, Ruckus Brewing
In East Garden City, near a small cluster of wineries tucked into a commercial cul-de-sac shared with a popular sandwich lunch spot, is a little brewery in a location that has previously hosted a few others. Since 2014, 4340 W. Chinden has been home to Haff, Bella, Loose Screw, and, for just barely a year now, Ruckus Brewing.
Simple Beginnings
Kyle and Makenna Durham took over the location last fall, turning it into a popular beer spot on the Garden City/Chinden Blvd beer gauntlet. With a quality, modest lineup and a consistent product line, Ruckus has, in their first year, carved out a nice little niche in the Boise Craft Beer Scene.
Kyle’s “Mucha Lucha”, a Mexican lager, won “Beer of the Year” at the 2024 Idaho State fair shortly before he officially opened his own taproom, and it’s been onward and upward from there. There have always been a couple of hoppy beers on tap (you pretty much can’t not around here) as well as a few traditional lagers, light and dark. Ruckus’ flagship IPA, “Uphill Battle,” revealed its fresh hop self at the recent “Freshies & Friends” fresh hop festival in Meridian. I was at that event, and my write-up is available here.
Today, Ruckus turns one. So Happy Birthday! It seems like a lot longer than a year in some ways; perhaps Kyle would sympathize with that sentiment. But also, it seems sometimes like just last weekend we all showed up for the “brewery-warming” party. For me, it’s been a staple on my westbound after-work drive from downtown Boise proper. Matt is often behind the bar, giving Kyle a few well-deserved hours off when possible. He’s always tons of fun to chat with, plus, I kind of get a Patrick Warburton vibe from him.
Tap Lineup
Recently added to their tap lineup is their “208Smash” Idaho Pale Lager. An interesting style that tries to combine a smooth light malty pale lager with the fresh zippy hop character typical of pale ales and IPAs. In addition, a “SMASH” beer is an acronym for Single Hop Single Malt beer. These kinds of beers are good for teaching your palate what a Simcoe hop or a Cascade hop, for instance, tastes like. In this example, it is the Idaho 7 hop variety that is used, which has some characteristics of apricot, orange, pineapple, and melon. This IPL is mellow, smooth, and has nice fruity hop flavors, but not exactly punchy or aggressive like a hoppy IPA might be. The Marzen (one of their lagers) is a particularly tasty “fest” beer, suitable for this waning Oktoberfest season, is malty and smooth, and the “Backlash” porter has a nice, medium dark roast bite and a clean finish.
Ruckus is a modest brewery, run by a local couple, Kyle and Makenna Durham. It hosts a tap room that doesn’t overreach with its beer tap list. It’s a regular stop for me, I often recommend it to my visiting friends, and is one of my favorites. Ruckus is a BuddyHub, too, which gets you a discount on our first beer if you are a member. If you are not a member, ya gotta …BecomeOne!
Here’s to many more years. Happy Birthday, Ruckus!
