Tuesday, November 15, 2016

BOISE AREA BREWERY UPDATE 11/11/16

by Bob Hubler

October 2016 saw the Opening of the Mad Swede Brewery and The Tap Room Opening at the Mother Earth Brewery in Nampa as the number of breweries in the State of Idaho increased to 54! But they will be the last breweries to open in the Boise Valley in 2016.

I checked in at The Clairvoyant Brewing Company and The Lost Grove Brewing Company last week. Clairvoyant has made a lot of progress since my last visit  four months ago.  They have most of their brewing vessels and equipment installed.  They need to finish up the plumbing and wiring and remain 8 to 12 weeks away from their opening.  They are now planning an early Spring 2017 opening.  Lost Grove has not begun their construction yet so they will be not be opening for 6 to 8 months.  Maybe the Summer of 2017.

White Dog Brewing from Bozeman, Montana will open a second brewery in Boise this spring.  They will be located in the former Post Modern/Table Rock location.  They plan a brewery with a tap room, differing from the prior brewpubs that occupied that space.  They will feature a "frost rail" on their bar to keep the beer cold for slow beer drinkers.  Longdrop Cider Company also opened a new tap room in the same building.  They will occupy the short lived "Brewforia" location.

I also heard through the local craft brew grapevine that David Krick has delayed his plans for the WPA Brew Pub in Boise. But we do have another new brewery that will open in the Boise area in 2017.  Jeff Badigian and Marc Grubert  will open the Springs Creek Brewery Pub and Pizzeria in the Avimor Community in the Summer of 2017.

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Mad Swede Brewing Company  became Idaho's 54th and Boise area's 20th brewery when they officially opened on October 15, 2016.  Mad Swede is owned and operated by Jerry and Susie Larson with Jerry brewing their beer.

Jerry Larson, Head Brewer at Mad Swede

I attended the grand opening at Mad Swede and got a brief tour of their facilities by Jerry.  After the tour, I got to taste the first six beers that they were pouring.  I have been to a lot of breweries over the last ten years and this was the first time that I really liked all six of their beers.  Here is a list of all of their beer.  If I had to pick a favorite, I would  pick their Longship IPA and their Varangian Nector Stout.

Mad Swede is located about a mile south of the Boise Costco providing a local brewery in a part Boise without other breweries.  I look forward to seeing Jerry and Susie have great success with their new brewery and I look forward to seeing their beer on tap at venues around the valley.

The Mad Swede Tap Room is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 4:00 to 10:00, Fridays from 3:00 to 11:00, Saturday from 2:00 to 11:00 and Sundays from 2:00 to 8:00.

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Mother Earth became Idaho's 53rd and the Boise area's 19 Brewery in August when they started brewing in north Nampa, but did not open their Taproom until October 8, 2016.  Their brewery and taproom may be a challenge to find the first time, but well worth it. Check out our Mother Earth Makes #53 story for a  map to the brewery.

We attended the Mother Earth's Tap Room grand opening on October 8th.  We tried many new beers and drank some of our favorites like Cali Creamin and Sin Tax Stout.  We also got to drink some of their excellent seasonal ale, the Four Seasons of Mother Earth Summer Belgian Golden Ale which is aged in red wine barrels.

They had a great crowd for their opening and gave brewery tours of what could become Idaho's largest brewery.  Mother Earth's Nampa Brewery is new, but Mother Earth is an established brewery that has a great lineup of beer.

The Mother Earth Tap Room is open Thursdays and Fridays from 3:00 to 7:00 and Saturdays from Noon to 7:00.

:ME Owner Daniel Love at Tap Room Opening
Nampa, Idaho now has two breweries,  Mother Earth and Crescent Brewing located downtown.


Check out the Updated List of Idaho Breweries Here.