2016: IDAHO BREWERY REVIEW

By Bob  Hubler

A SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR IDAHO CRAFT BEER EVENTS IN 2016.

Entering 2016, Idaho had 51 Breweries, by year's end Idaho had 54 breweries.  Three Breweries shut down during the year and six new breweries opened.  Out of the six new breweries, two were in the Boise Valley, two were in Moscow, one in Post Falls and one in Magic Valley.  Payette Brewing opened their State of Art Production Brewery with Tap Room.  Sawtooth Brewing opened a new Brew Pub in Ketchum and a new Production Brewery in Hailey.

I was fortunate to be able to visit five out of the six new breweries.  I still have not made it down to visit Magic Valley Brewing in Buhl, Idaho. Below is a list on the new breweries opened in Idaho in 2016.  Click on "Story" for more details about each brewery.

49	Rants & Raves	Moscow	Story	Brew Pub		Facebook		Tyler Hawkins	Opened January 2016
50	Magic Valley Brewing	Buhl		Brew Pub		Facebook		Rich White	Opened  April 29, 2016
51	Post Falls Brewing	Post Falls	Story	Tap Room		Facebook		Dan Stokes & Alex Sylvain	Opened  May, 2016
52	Hunga Dunga Brewing	Moscow	Story	Brew Pub		Facebook		Graham Lilly	Opened  July 24, 2016
53	Mother Earth Brew Co.	Nampa	Story	Tap Room		Facebook		Chris Baker	Opened October 8, 2016
54	Mad Swede Brewing	Boise	Story	Tap room		Facebook		Jerry Larson	Opened October 15, 2016

Complete List of Idaho Brewers

I was impressed with all of the new breweries that we visited.  All had a decent selection of craft beer. I was especially impressed by the Mad Swede beer.  Long time Home Brewer Jerry Larson has made a seamless transition to commercial brewing with some exceptional craft beer.  I am happy to see his beer showing up at a lot of the tap rooms and restaurants in the area.

Jerry Larson Standing next to his brewing system at Mad Swede

10 Barrel became the first brewery from another state (Oregon) to add another brewery in the state of Idaho in 2013.  Mother Earth became the second brewery from another state (California) to build a brewery in Idaho in August of 2016.  White Dog will become the third brewery from another state (Montana) to build a brewery in Idaho in 2017.

Daniel Love in his new Tap Room at Mother Earth

I met Daniel Love, founder of Mother Earth, at the Press Conference at PreFunk in Nampa when they announced their plans to open another Brewery in Nampa.  He explained his vision of the future of craft brewing in Idaho and how Mother Earth would be part of that future.  Dan was anxious to be accepted as part of the Idaho Beer Culture and started by joining Idaho Brewers United, the Idaho lobbying group that represents all the commercial brewers in Idaho.  We were introduced to many of the beers from Mother Earth that day and we were impressed.  Sin Tax Stout remains one of our favorites.

Probably the new Brewery that impacted most of the craft beer aficionados in Boise was the new Payette Brewing Production Brewery and Tap Room.  See Story  Their Tap Room quickly became a gathering spot for all the fans of the Payette Brewing wide selection of beer.  Most nights, there is a food truck available for those that want to drink AND eat.  Many nights, there is also entertainment.

On a sad note, we saw the closing of three breweries in the State of Idaho.  Post Modern Brewing in Boise with Head Brewer Marvin Kinney closed in February 2016.  This was one of my favorite breweries.  Very sad to see them disappear from the Boise Craft Beer Scene.

Leakey Faucet Brewing in McCall ceased operations in 2016  August Wheeler operated this brewery out of his home.  I got to try a couple of his beers at the Sushi Bar in McCall.  Very good beer as I recall.

And The Moscow Brewing Company also closed it's doors.  Luckily Rants and Raves started operations prior to Moscow Brewing Company closing, so Moscow did not go without their own brewery.