WELCOME LOST GROVE BREWING TO BOISE IDAHO

By Bob Hubler

Lost Grove Brewery before the opening awaiting the first customers

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Lost Grove Brewing became the 23rd Brewery in Treasure Valley on Friday, October 6th, 2017.  They also became the 60th Active Brewery in the State of Idaho. 

This brewery is the brainchild of Jacob "Jake" Black.  You probably know Jake from his time pouring beer at the original Payette Brewing Tap House in Garden City.  Jake was the original Sales Manager for Payette Brewing.  Jake and Mike Francis, the Founder of Payette Brewing, were friends from their high school days at Boise High School.

The Lost Grove Brewery and Tap House is just a couple of blocks from the Boise State University Campus and is surrounded by BSU Student Apartments.  They are "dog and bicycle friendly" with plans for plenty of bicycle parking out front.  Their unique location between BSU and Ann Morrison Park and just two blocks from the Greenbelt Bike Path should allow many customers easy access to the brewery.

Customers in line waiting to drink a beer at Idaho's newest brewery

The lines were long for the opening on Friday night.  Those customers got this collector's silver pint cup and two beer tokens for $10.00.

The Lost Grove Collector's Pint Cup

There were two basic beers pouring Friday and Saturday.  The "Say Shhhhh! Smash IPA"  and the "Teddy Bear Picnic" which was a sessions IPA.  They were accompanied by different varieties of each with a dry hop versions and a version with Ginger Peach added.  The Say Shhhh! Smash IPA was my favorite and I will be drinking again soon.

The Beer is flowing inside the Tap Room

The Grand opening was a huge success with a large turnout of local craft beer fans and many of Jake's friends there to help him celebrate the opening of his brewery.  The Tap Room was crowded when I was there with a lot of beer drinkers also on the side patio behind the Food Truck.

See any familiar faces at the outdoor area?

Food for the opening was provided by the Sushi Shack.  We received a lot of positive feedback about their great food.   I look forward to their next visit  to Lost Grove.

Related Story

The latest list of Southwest Idaho Breweries:

SW IDAHO BREWERIES

*Breweries with Food  #Breweries with Tap Rooms

1. Highlands Hollow* - Boise
2. Sockeye BrewPub* - 2 Locations - Boise
3. The RAM - 2 locations* - Boise & Meridian
4. Crescent Brewery# - Nampa
5. Beer Valley Brewing Company- Ontario, OR
6. Payette Brewing#- Boise
7. Crooked Fence Brewing - Ada County
8. Slanted Rock# - Meridian
9. 10 Barrel Brewing* - Boise
10. Woodland Empire Ale Craft# - Boise
11. Edge Brewing* - Boise
12. Cloud Nine* - Boise
13. Boise Brewing#- Boise
14. Bear Island Brewing - Boise
15. Bella Brewing#  - Boise
16. County Line Brewery# - Boise
17. Barbarian Brewing# - Boise 
18. Powderhaus Brewing# - Boise 
19. Mother Earth Brewing# - Nampa
20. Mad Swede Brewing# - Boise 
21. White Dog Brewing* - Boise
22. Clairvoyant Brewing# - Boise
23. Lost Grove Brewing - Boise 

Lost Grove may not be the last brewery to open in Southwest Idaho in 2017.  Payette Brewing is rumored to be selling their original location to another brewery.  This location is a "turn-key" ready brewery that could be up and running by the end of the year depending on all the red tape.

There are three more breweries slated to open in Southwest Idaho in 2018:

FUTURE SW IDAHO BREWERIES

24. Spring Creek Brewing - 2018
25. New Caldwell Brewery at Stewarts - 2018
26. 2C Family Brewing - Nampa - 2018

Clairvoyant Brewing Becomes the 22nd Brewery in the Treasure Valley

by Bob Hubler

Check the brand new sign

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Clairvoyant Brewing opened it's doors to the public last Friday, September 22, 2017, becoming the 59th Active Brewery in Idaho and the 22nd Brewery in the Treasure Valley (if you include Ontario, Oregon).  The blog I wrote two weeks ago was about White Dog Brewing and I claimed that they were the 57th Brewery in Idaho, failing to count the Shattuck Brewery in Elk River, Idaho. So White Dog Brewing was actually the 58th Brewery in Idaho.

Mike Edmondson actually opened the doors to Clairvoyant Brewery for the very first time on Thursday, September 14th to the members of the Snake River Brewers homebrew club with an offering of four of their beers and giving the members a tour of the Clairvoyant 7 bbl brew system. He described it as being a "hands on" brew system without any automation.  It takes a lot of attention to brew 210 gallons of beer and it is a long brew day.

Mike behind the bar at Clairvoyants soft opening for the Snake River Brewers Club

Mike giving tour of the 7 bbl Brew System

It was a "Long and Winding Road" for Mike Edmondson, Ryan Kowalczyk and Tim Carter as their original target date for opening their brewery was way back in 2015.  Once they found their location and drew up their original plans, many changes pushed back their opening.

They originally were going to occupy half the the former garage/car repair shop at 2800 West Idaho street in Boise and brew their beer on a 2.5 beer barrel system.  After the business that was set to occupy the other half of their building pulled out, they decided to continue their plans, but now they would occupy the whole building and build a 7 bbl brew system.

Clairvoyant already had three competent brewers, but all of them had full time jobs.  The decision was made to add a full time brewer.  The following is a short story about their full time head brewer from their website:

Head Brewer, Eric Brooks 

Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Eric moved to Colorado after college to study and brew craft beer. There he met his fiancee Lindsey, a native Idahoan, who also worked in the craft beer industry. After having a baby named Madison, Lindsey and Eric decided it was time to move back home to her family in Boise.

Eric has been in the beer industry for almost 8 years. He brings his craft beer knowledge, artistry and practical skill to your pint glass. He enjoys brewing stouts, kettle sours, and non-traditional experimental beers. He also has a solid foundation in brewing the traditional favorites. 

Clairvoyant Brewing is located about a mile west of Boise City Center and just a few blocks from the Ester Simplot Water Park. It is a short walk for many customers in the neighborhood of 27th street and State Street.  There is very little parking in the brewery parking lot, but many of their regular customers will probably be able to walk or bike the short distance to this neighborhood pub.  There is a lot of on street parking in a two block radius of the brewery also.

Clairvoyant has a taproom but no restaurant.  It will rely on food trucks like many other Boise area breweries.

Statesman Video Story about Clairvoyant from 2016

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The Shattuck Brewery

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And now a little bit about the brewery that I overlooked earlier.

Idaho's 58th active brewery is easily the most remote brewery in the state.  It is about 50 miles east of Moscow, Idaho, nearly an hour & half drive through the scenic mountains.  It has a 10 bbl brew system.  Owner/Brewer Nate Schwartz is very proud of the pure mountain water that he uses to brew his wide variety of beer for the locals and the tourists.
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The Current list of Treasure Valley Breweries

*Breweries with Food  #Breweries with Tap Rooms

1. Highlands Hollow* - Boise
2. Sockeye BrewPub* - 2 Locations - Boise
3. The RAM - 2 locations* - Boise & Meridian
4. Crescent Brewery# - Nampa
5. Beer Valley Brewing Company- Ontario, OR
6. Payette Brewing# - Boise
7. Crooked Fence Brewing - Ada County
8. Slanted Rock# - Meridian
9. 10 Barrel Brewing* - Boise
10. Woodland Empire Ale Craft# - Boise
11. Edge Brewing* - Boise
12. Cloud Nine* - Boise
13. Boise Brewing#- Boise
14. Bear Island Brewing - Boise
15. Bella Brewing#  - Boise
16. County Line Brewery# - Boise
17. Barbarian Brewing# - Boise 
18. Powderhaus Brewing# - Boise 
19. Mother Earth Brewing# - Nampa
20. Mad Swede Brewing# - Boise 
21. White Dog Brewing* - Boise
22. Clairvoyant Brewing# - Boise

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 FUTURE SW IDAHO BREWERIES

23. Lost Grove Brewing - Boise October 2017
24. Spring Creek Brewing - 2018
25. New Caldwell Brewery at Stewarts - 2018
26. 2C Family Brewing - Nampa - 2018
27. Black Bird Brewing - 2019
28. Charters House Brewing - 2019
29. Summit Ridge Brewery  - 2019
30. Accomplice Brewing - 2019
31. Simian Brewing - 2019
32. Dandelion Brewing - 2019
33. WPA - 2019

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Latest Idaho Breweries List

WHITE DOG BREWING BECOMES IDAHO'S 57TH BREWERY ON SEPTEMBER 1ST

by Bob Hubler

Current and upcoming Beer List

I was pretty sure that White Dog Brewing would open the first week of September, but I was still surprised to see this message on their Facebook page on Friday: " We stayed up all night to get things ready, so our doors are open as of 11 a.m. today. Please accept our sincerest thanks for your ongoing interest, engagement, and enthusiasm. We can't wait to meet you."  It was posted at 2 minutes after 11:00.

I checked Facebook a little after 1:00 as I was preparing to do some yard work.  So I changed clothes and call my buddy, Mike Johnston, and told him to meet me at the old Table Rock Brewing location at 2:00 and I was on my way.

It was great to drink beer at 705 W. Fulton again; good beer and a wonderful staff.  Sara, the manager was very happy to take time to talk about the brewery, the beer and their concept of a full time food truck (fifth wheel).  Dan, owner and brewer, came over and talked about their beer and how they are planning to keep the history of Table Rock alive by offering two Table Rock signature beers, Hopzilla and TD's Nut Brown Ale.  The Hopzilla is currently on tap and brought back great memories as I drank a pint of one of my favorite beers reborn.  It was not on the untappd app, so I added it plus the new location.

My wife, Nelda and I have a long history of drinking beer at that location.  We were there on the opening day of Table Rock Brew Pub 26 years ago.  The original brewery was owned by Mike and Peggy Fitzgerald.  Their first Head Brewer was Terry Dennis, a long-time home brewer and member of Boise's first Home Brew Club, the Boise Quaffers.  Table Rock became our favorite restaurant in Boise.  We only lived three miles away, so we were there a lot.

We bought our first Growler there.  It was a clear bottle that still had an Apple Cider Vinegar label on it.  We used to buy a couple of growlers of TD's Nut Brown Ale on Christmas Eve every year.

Over the years we drank Table Rock beer brewed by Terry Dennis, Bob McSherry, Kerry Caldwell and Derek Anderson.  We drank beer brewed by Marvin Kinney when it was the Post Modern Brewery and now we are drinking beer brewed by White Dog Brewing's Dan Jordan and Troy Moore, who are both the owners and the brewers.

We are very excited to be able to take our friends to White Dog Brewing for food and drink. It is a new brewery to Boise but the location has been home to a brewery since 1991.

I checked out the new brewery on Friday and brought my wife to see it on Monday.  We planned to check out the food that they served from Smoke and Thyme.  Smoke and Thyme food is cooked in a fifth wheel mobile kitchen that sits in the alley next to White Dog.  You don't leave the tap room to order or get the food.  Your server at White Dog will take the order and deliver your food.  It is included in your bill at White Dog.  You can also order their food from the Longdrop Cider Company which is in the same building as White Dog.

This is where the food is prepared

I had the BLT (photo below).  It was very good and they served it on a slice of a tree.  Nelda had the street tacos that she loved. We are looking forward to trying some of their vegetarian fare, as well.

My BLT, served on a slice of log

When we visited Monday, Dan gave us tour of the brewery and showed us a few changes.  It still has the 15BBL original system, the wall was moved to allow more room for the brewing process.  The loss in floor space from the tap room was made up for by moving the wall where the former kitchen was. What's left of that space is now used for keg and canned beer storage.

The 15BBL Boil Kettle and Mash Tun

Fermentor containing a Fresh Hop Ale

Fermentors facing west

The old kitchen space holding cans of White Dog Beer

The old kitchen space holding kegs ready to distribute

White Dog Brewery becomes the 57th Brewery in Idaho (counting only current breweries) and 21st brewery in the Treasure Valley.  White Dog becomes the third brewery in Idaho that had a brewery in another state before coming to Idaho.  Ten Barrel Brewing opened it's second Brew Pub in Boise after their highly successful Brew Pub in Bend, Oregon.  Mother Earth Brewing opened a huge production brewery with a tap room in Nampa, Idaho.  Their first brewery was in Vista, California.

Oh....I can't forget the Frost Rail...it's fun to set your glass on its snowy surface to keep your beer cold.  And another great reason to sit at the bar.

The Frost Rail

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In other Valley Brewery news, I met Alvin Mullins at PreFunk Nampa. Alvin plans to open the  2C Family Brewery right across the street from PreFunk.  He originally was calling his  brewery Black Angel Brewing,  but another brewery took offense and threatened to "legal up" if he continued to use that name.  Alvin plans to have a tap room that will be open to families, hence the name.  We wish Alvin the best of luck on his new brewery, which will be the third brewery in Nampa.

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I talked to Heather and Ryan, the owners of  PreFunk Nampa about their upcoming expansion.  The expansion will double floor space of their business, but they do not plan to add a bottle shop.  They already sell a few bottles of very special releases.

TREASURE VALLEY BREWERY UPDATE AUGUST 28, 2017

by Bob Hubler


We are  coming into the Home Stretch for Boise's newest breweries with Lost Grove announcing an opening date on October 6th.  White Dog will be open the first half of September with Clairvoyant most likely opening after White Dog and before Lost Grove.  The number of Treasure Valley Breweries will jump from 20 to 23 (25 if you count the cideries).

White Dog Brewing will probably be the first to open.  They have hired their staff and are currently brewing beer for their opening in about two weeks.  The two photos below may look familiar to the long time fans of the Table Rock Brew Pub.

This is what you will see when you walk in

No Kitchen means more space for tables

And don't forget that White Dog Brewing will be a Brewery with a Tap House.  There will be no on-site restaurant like its predecessors, Table Rock and Modern Grind.  There will be a Food Truck (fifth wheel in this case) onsite serving both White Dog and Long Drop Cider company.

Where to get the food at White Dog Brewing

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Clairvoyant Brewing is the Brewery that has been the longest in the works.  Clairvoyant started their construction in early 2015.  From the latest pictures (below), they look like they could open tomorrow.  They are currently brewing beer for their opening in the next few weeks.

Look closely to see the Brewer at Work

You could be sitting at this table very soon

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Lost Grove Brewing plans to have their Grand Opening on October 6th.  I talked to Jake Black on Monday and he is confident they may open a few days before the grand opening.  Brewing has commenced at the Lost Grove Brewery. They will have two of their own beers on tap with more offerings down the road.

Brewing at the  Lost Grove Brewery

The signage is up.

Watch  for the latest Brewery Opening Dates on the Boise Beer Buddies Email List

Remember that you can click on the above photos to enlarge to see more detail.

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There will be two new breweries added to the count in 2018.  The first is Spring Creek Brewing in Avimor.  I got a chance to talk to Jeff and Marc at the Mother Earth Celebration on Saturday.  They expect the ground breaking ceremony to take place in the next few weeks.  Spring Creek Brewing will be the second brewery in the Treasure Valley to be built from the ground up as a brewery.

The other brewery will open in Caldwell, Idaho.  Tony Stewart of Stewart's Bar and Grill plans to open a brewery next to his current business.  Tony is confident that his brewery will be open by August 2018. He has not selected a name for his brewery yet.

On a sad note:  Brewers Haven in Nampa has closed.  The popular Bottle Shop and Home Brew Supply store will be missed by the Canyon County home brewers.  The Brewers Haven in Boise remains open.

In other Canyon County Brew News, the PreFunk Nampa Growler Station will double in size soon. The hope is that they will be able to carry more bottles to make up for the Brewers Haven closure.

Three new Boise Breweries to Open this Summer

by Bob Hubler

The number of local Breweries in Boise are going to see a big increase in the Summer of 2017.  Boise will have enough breweries to do a decent pub crawl.

The Lost Grove Brewing Brewery

I recently talked to Jake Black about his up and coming Brewery conveniently located across the street from Boise State Student Apartments.  Jake has all his permits and just needs to complete construction and brew some beer before he can open.  He is shooting for a July 21st opening date.
He will owe me a beer if he doesn't open on that date.

They began their construction in February and plan to be open in a six month time frame.

You may remember Jake from his days at Payette Brewing where he was instrumental in their startup five years ago.  More on Lost Grove Brewing in the next blog.

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A serving window on the South side of the Lost Grove Brewery

White Dog Brewing

I see from their Facebook page, that White Dog Brewing has their innovative "frost rail" delivered and  installed.   They have their Federal Permit, so they can begin brewing now.  They still have some local permits to get prior to their opening, but they should have a nice choice of beer on their opening day which may be announced in the next few days.

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Photo from the window of the White Dog Brewery in late June.

Clairvoyant Brewing

It has been a long time coming, but it looks like Clairvoyant Brewing will be open this summer.   Like the other breweries, they will need a few weeks to make beer before they open to the public.

Here is a quote from my blog of June 23, 2015:  Clairvoyant Brewing plans to open in 2015 at 2800 W. Idaho Street, Boise Idaho.  From their webpage: "There are three passionate brewers involved in the creation of Clairvoyant Brewing Company.  We are Ryan Kowalczyk, Mike Edmondson and Tim Carter.  We are creative brewers each with a different style of brewing. This unique amalgam of brewing will make for a fun, enjoyable, flavorful kaleidoscope of beers."

As you can see, my projection of Clairvoyant Brewing opening in  2015 may have been a bit optimistic.  I have been told by mutual friends that it will be worth the wait.  The photo below looks like they could open very soon, but I was told to expect a September Grand opening.


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Photo from the Clairvoyant Brewery window in late June

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Other Idaho Brewery News

So far in  2017, Two new breweries have opened in Idaho.  One of them is brand new in Kellog, Idaho.  And the other is a reopening of a former brewery in Moscow, Idaho.

Moscow Brewing Company Story   Facebook   Website

Radio City Brewing Company      Facebook   Website

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Another Interesting Tidbit:  The Owners of the Black Angel Brewery to be opened in downtown Nampa will be changing their name after receiving a letter from the lawyer of a brewery with that same name.   New name could be 2C Brewing.


Current Idaho Brewery List with latest brewery updates.

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P.S. Spring Creek Brewery slated to open in late 2017 or early 2018 is in the fundraising stage.  Check out their website here.  Facebook
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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.