By Bob Hubler
Here's the latest Idaho Brewery News featuring a bit about Idaho's Newest Breweries:
Jim Dandy Brewing in Pocatello, and
Idaho and Western Collective Brewing in Boise, Idaho.
JIM DANDY BREWING
First of all, I would highly recommend visiting this brewery if you ever visit Pocatello. The ambiance is incredible. The crowd was made up of old, young and children, too; but no dogs unless they are service dogs, of course. Opened on July 4th, this place has quickly become a favorite hang out for many of the patrons that I talked to. When we visited, they only had three of their own beers on tap, because they can't keep up with the demand. But they have a solution; a new fermentor is on the way which will allow them to increase their production.
Their goal is to have ten of their own beers on tap to give everyone a chance to drink their favorite style of beer. I really liked their Hazy IPA, it was one of the best I have tried since the style came into vogue.
Jim Dandy is the newest member of the
Idaho Brewers United.
From the outside, you would never guess that a beautiful tap room and brew house was hidden inside the Jim Dandy Brewing building.
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| The Entrance to the Brewery |
The Jim Dandy Brewery is the brainchild of owners Davis Gove and Hailee Matkin. Both Davis and Hailee brew the beer that they sell. Hailee, who has a degree in micro biology, is the second woman brewer in Pocatello, following the footsteps of Penny Pink, owner and operator of the Portneuf Valley Brewery.
Both Davis and Hailee grew up in Pocatello, but honed their brewing skills at breweries in Washington and Montana. Now they are back in their hometown with a brand new state of the art brew house and tap room.
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| Davis and Hailee, Owners and Brewers |
The inside of the brewery reflects the railroad theme of the surrounding area, once knows as the Iron Triangle. For the last hundred plus years, this area was filled with railroad workers. The brewery was named in honor of the past Jim Dandy Bar (and brothel) that took care of many of those rail road workers.
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| The Railroad light above the bar |
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| View of the front room of the tap house. |
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| Customer view of the brew house |
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| Hailee's brother, Matt pours beer behind the bar |
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| Note the Railroad Spike Tap Handles |
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| A food truck conveniently located next the back patio |
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| The back patio for outdoor eating and drinking |
Read the local paper's story on the Jim Dandy Brewery from the link below.
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WESTERN COLLECTIVE BREWING
We visited the new Western Collective Brewing temporary Tap House on the soft opening. We met Cary Hampton Prewitt, his fiance Melissa, and Head Brewer Keith Forsgren; all new to Boise. Guns and Oil beer is celebrating their Five Year Anniversary, but they have always had to contract other breweries to brew their beer. This will be their first production brewery.
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| Head Brewer Keith, Owner Cary and his Fiance Melissa |
This new Garden City brewery will be the production brewery for all the Guns and Oil beer, mainly distributed in Texas, but also on tap in many local restaurants in Boise. They currently ship their beer back to Texas to be canned and distributed, put plan to add their own canning line in Boise in the near future.
Guns and Oil Brewing is all about Lagers, but the brewery in Garden City will feature special beers for the taphouse only. Wyatt Hazy IPA was introduced last Friday with more diverse beer to be released in the coming days at the brewery taphouse.
Check them out, they are a
Beer Buddies Hub.
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| Great Tap Handle |
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| You can watch the Brewers Work |
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| The patio is open for your drinking pleasure |
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| This area will become the future Tap Room |
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| Bob Hubler and Don Larsen discuss the opening with Cary. |
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| Lots of Room for Future Expansion |
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LONG DROP CIDER TAP ROOM
Long Drop Cider is making cider at their tap room on Fulton Street in Boise.
Check out their kettles and fermentors on your next visit to their Tap Room.
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| Two kettles and two fermentors from right to left. |
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| Get your fresh cider by the glass here |
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KOTO BREWING
I talked to several people at the Magic Valley Beer Fest and they agree KOTO Brewing could open next week or next month. Apparently, they are ready to brew, but are waiting for all the licensing to be complete. Follow them on their facebook page for the latest updates
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