The Boise area’s newest player to the craft beer scene is Wild Frontier Beer Project. Taking over the site previously inhabited by Mad Swede Brewing, which called it quits last October.
The man behind WFBP is Chris VanSickle, most recently of 10 Barrel Boise. He was one of the survivors there when Tilray Brands, of Canada, made some personnel cuts in late 2024. Tilray had purchased 10 Barrel, along with a few other craft beer brands, from AB-InBev about a year before.
Training and Brewing “Reps”
Chris’s brewing timeline begins in The Dalles, OR, where he lived and managed a couple of local small pizza joints. Double Mountain Brewing was his favorite local brewery and is what made him want to get into the brewing business. He’d heard about a new brewing certification program offered through Skagit Valley College. Cardinal Craft Brewing Academy was the program, and he got in on their inaugural 2015 class. He had family in this Western Washington area, and it seemed like an obvious choice. After 5 months of essentially full-time brewing and training, he finished with 20 or so other graduates.
The academy promised a 1-month internship with a local brewery for all graduates on completion. The social mixer near the end of the course was a meet and greet with many local brewers. Seattle’s Redhook Brewing offered an internship, but nearby Farmstrong Brewing offered a much better deal. At Farmstrong, he would be doing more real-world brewery work and have a much better chance at a full-time position. That 1-month internship turned into a nearly 2-year run.
The 10 Barrel Connection
Feeling like he needed some “big brewery” experience, Chris applied to several regional brewers with large regional production facilities. After an early verbal agreement with Full Sail and during their onboarding process, an offer came in from 10 Barrel in Bend. That interview went very well, and it felt like a better place to be. Playing both ends against the middle a bit, 10 Barrel made him an offer he couldn’t resist. He gave Full Sail the bad news and moved to Bend.
This was not long after the AB In-Bev purchase of 10 Barrel, and a lot of growth and development were happening. Now at a 100,000-barrel-per-year facility, Chris was getting a lot of “reps” and gaining a lot of valuable experience. Sometimes, brewing 5 batches in a single shift, he was making more beer in a week than he was at Farmstrong all year. Before long, he was working on experimental recipes on their 3-barrel “test” system and even training newer brewers. Working with long-time 10 Barrel brewer, Shawn Kelso, for a year or two, there in Bend were some of his favorite and important professional memories.
Wild Frontier Launches
Chris then moved to 10 Barrel’s Boise location. During the year or two there, Chris saw and passed on multiple opportunities before jumping on the former Mad Swede site for his own brewery. Being the only one in close proximity to a large population was a very big factor in his planning. After a few delays, which always seem to happen, particularly the federal government’s shutdown in October and November, Wild Frontier was finally set to open. His last required license coming through just a day or two before the Feb 27-March 1 soft opening. Timing is everything I suppose.
It was “Boise Beer Buddies” night that Sunday, and your membership card got you in for an early sneak peek. By the way, if you are not a Beer Buddy… you need to become one. Sign up HERE for discounts and deals at over a hundred bars, breweries, and cafes around the Treasure Valley and beyond.
Soft Opening – Early Success
At the soft opening, I had the Pale, the IPA, and the Coffee Stout. They were clean and fresh, with the IPA being fairly mild, I thought. All had a professional feel and palate, without that “homebrew” malty sweetness that shows up in some small startup breweries. And yes, there will likely be a “Hazy” coming on soon. The bench seating is simple and also intentional as part of the gathering place and meeting place vibe Chris is aiming for.
Wild Frontier was contacted early by all the distributors in the area, and an agreement was secured with one before even a single beer was “out of tank.” A remarkable start to be sure. Chris and I agreed that there is nothing worse than opening your doors on day 1 and wondering where everyone is. From what we’ve seen in the first few days, his trouble will be just the opposite if anything. There were lines out the door during some of the soft opening, and the word was getting out with lots of early chatter and enthusiasm. Wild Frontier looks to be off to a great start.
Thanks to Chris for the meetup and to all the crew there at “the Project” for a great launch. He is a friendly, talkative chap, excited and passionate about his craft. Be sure to meet him if you can and say hi. WFBP is a little way away from my turf, but I’ll be stopping by regularly to check on how it’s going. Especially if maybe he runs a deal with, say, a dollar off a pint with my Costco receipt from that day. Good luck and great beer.
-Cheers
