Idaho Brew Review – Northwestcentric Beerventures

Alefort is long over… but it was a hell of a good time

April 15, 2016 by Ben Leave a Comment

As the greater Boise area continues to develop as a source for local craft beer, we’re seeing our beer festival’s grow and mature. Case in point, if you didn’t make it down at some point to Alefort, part of the Treefort Music Festival, you definitely missed out and your tastebuds may never forgive you.

All of the local players that you would expect to find (Meriwether, Cloud9, Sockeye, Slanted Rock, The Ram, Payette, Woodland Empire, EDGE, Bear Island, Crooked Fence, Powderhaus, Barbarian, Longdrop, Highlands Hollow, County Line and Boise Brewing) were on hand along with regional, representation from New Belgium and some outside sources (national and international) courtesy of Bittercreek, Bier:Thirty, The Front Door, and Prost. To say that this was an expanded event over #Alefort2015 is an understatement and then some. The brewery tent was easily 3 or 4 times larger than the year before and included secondary tent for some beer panels and belly dancing. I was more focused on drinking the beer personally, but when I stuck my head in the second tent there was a belly dancer on stage doing her thing. Bottom line, there was thankfully a lot more space to hang out, drink beer, and meet up with fellow beer lovers….

Payette Brewing Black Friday 2015

December 21, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

The Friday following the Thanksgiving holiday, for many it’s a day filled with standing in line, braving the cold, and fighting the crowds to save a few bucks on electronics. What if I told you that there was a much better way to spend your day? Payette Brewing’s “Black Friday” is day filled with a possibilities and incredible beers from around the region! You can sate your need for deals with a few minutes online in the morning before you head out to enjoy the a breathtaking selection of Stouts and Porters that will delight your palate and ensnare the spirit. Ok, ok, that may be a little deep, but seriously… this event and theses beers are worth blocking out the day on your calendar and shipping the kids off to the grandparents so you can maximize your experience.

This year, Payette Brewing hosted the event at their new facility in downtown Boise off River Street. Since the building is still being renovated, a large tent was erected in the parking lot filled with tables, music, lights, and thankfully a generator nearby to provide power and some heat! To say that it was cold out is an understatement. To say that the generator was unruly is too kind, especially for those employees & volunteers who were on-site getting everything ready hours before the event started. I arrived at 10, an hour before the “League of Outlaws” members early access and you couldn’t miss the frost that was forming on the inside of the tent walls. Once things really got hopping around 1:00 there was enough heat inside from the heaters and warm bodies that the ambient temps were getting bearable although we had some intermittent rain from all that melting frost. By that time however, I don’t think anyone noticed… or cared. There were simply to many people to talk to and way too many beers to dive into….

Boise Brewing Hoptober Freshtival 2015

November 5, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

Beer festivals! These two magic words can make a beer lovers knees quiver. Sadly, in Boise, we’ve been without a honest to goodness beer festival for the past few years as costs, permitting and other issues with the city brought about their untimely demise. Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend (and volunteer) at the inaugural Boise Brewing Hoptober Freshtival (read about it here). The initial event in 2014 brought out mostly local brewers to a central location (5th & Broad St) in front of the Boise Brewing brewery. Beer lovers heard the call and purchased their $25 tickets and received a taster mug (roughly 5oz) and were treated to unlimited tasters until the beer was gone or until 8pm.

This year, the Hoptober Freshtival was bigger and better in all the ways that count. Instead of 13 breweries we had 25+ for a total of more than 50 tap handles to choose from. All the local players were on hand and some regional breweries made the trip up as well, including Fort George, Deschutes, & Mazama Brewing. Sadly, we did loose the “all you can drink” component due to permitting changes with the city, but that may have been for the best. Who wouldn’t get into trouble at an All You Can Drink craft beer event? The new system offered attendees their taster mug and 20 tickets which, if fully redeemed, would equate to 80+ oz of beer. Still, a pretty damn good deal for a $25 ticket ($30 at the door). Once again, Broad Street between 4th & 5th was blocked off in front of Boise Brewing. At noon, with people lined up along the fence, the gates opened and people started filing inside….

Review – Bullets2Bandages .50 Caliber Opener

November 2, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

One thing we all have in common, if you’re reading this post, is an affinity for craft beer. Now, that craft beer that you’re imbibing may have come fresh from the tap, out of a can, or maybe even out of a bottle. If you need to crack open a bottle in style, you have no shortage of options from classic, cheap grocery store bottle openers, bic lighters, or even crowd funded aluminum/titanium constructs. But if you like to show off your bottle opening prowess by breaking out the BIG GUNS, Bullets2Bandages has you covered in spades with a .50 Caliber opener that will kill any beer you throw at it. (Disclaimer, I do not recommend that you throw the .50 caliber opener at your beer to open it… but if you do please record it and send me the link).

Bullets2Bandages makes these from once fired, military grade brass casings and demilitarized projectiles. Each shell is then notched (so that it can free your beer from its glass prison), polished, and painted/engraved depending on the opener ordered. As a veteran owned business, they donate at least 15% of their profits to various veteran charities. I think that’s worth noting, always nice to be able to get great tools & or toys and support worthy causes at the same time!

The model that I received to test out for this review is a matte black with IdahoBrewReview emblazoned on the side. On the off chance that you haven’t gotten up close and personal with a .50 caliber shell lately, these are substantial, measuring 5.5″ long. Leverage against even the most stubborn cap is never lacking. The size and weight are very good. While opening is handled with ease, the .50 Caliber Opener does make a slight, but noticeable, crease in the cap. If you’re just going to go throw the cap away, this is a non-issue. If you keep/collect your caps and want them to remain as pristine as possible this may be troubling. Personally, I keep one cap from each brewery for my BottleCapMap, who said beer can’t be art? The folks at B2B do offer a Bourbon Barrel 7.62mm Bullet Bottle Opener which I have heard gets the job done without any creasing on your cap. No personal experience with that yet though. Hopefully I can get my hands on one and do an opener breakdown between 3-5 custom openers… but I digress.

This opener is a strong performer and a definite conversation starter making it a staple for your bar at home and would contribute handsomely if you have a display area where you keep your other beer accessories like growlers, pint glasses and snifters. Due to the size and shape of these rounds, carrying it about town in your pocket is probably going to be a little uncomfortable if not down right impractical. That said, how often are you out on the town opening your own bottles…?

My only complaint is a minor one, but centers on the bullet shape. If stored horizontally, and not contained, this is going to roll about. Storing vertically is preferred to ensure it stays where you put it, but at over 5″ tall it’s not going to fit in a drawer. I would love to see the installation of a magnet inside the casing so that it could be stored horizontally on the side of your favorite beer fridge. This minor issue aside, the .50 Caliber bottle opener is both an excellent opener and an eye catching conversation starter that comes in a wide variety of finishes to suit your individual taste.

10 Barrel Beer Wars Boise 2015

October 1, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

On a surprisingly hot day in late September 2015 10 Barrel Brewing put together a blind IPA tasting event dubbed “Beer Wars” in the parking lot behind the brewery in downtown Boise. While you may not be expecting to melt into the asphalt under a blistering afternoon so close to October; those in attendance were rewarded for their stamina and perseverance with a wealth of IPA goodness from around the West.

Now, I was expecting that the beers would be hidden, but I didn’t expect to be in the dark on which states the taps were from. The scenario that we found upon entering after purchasing our tulip and tokens were five stations, each with six tap handles with absolutely no identifying marks. The only information given to us was that each station represented a state. The states on hand were Washington, Oregon, California, Boise and last (but not least) the rest of Idaho. As a lover of beer this would have been a wonderful adventure to try to discern the various states and narrow down the respective beers from each had I been free to stay for the entire event. Having only an hour or so to spend at Beer Wars due to other commitments, this completely blind scenario was disheartening. I love our Boise & Idaho breweries with a passion, but it’s not every day that you can stroll up and grab Barley Browns, pFriem Family Brewers, Breakside Brewing, Backwoods Brewing, Silver City, Naked City, Green Flash, Ballast Point, 21st Amendment (just to name a few) on tap and at such a reasonable cost. I wanted to devote my time to exploring those beers that are harder to come by on tap here in Boise. But, what are you going to do.

The first order of business was to do a slow pass to see if there was any visible clue that could help my case. On this walk about, I caught sight of part of an uncovered keg which was plastered with a large Barley Browns sticker. Win! With no other visual clues I decided to pony up to what I was now sure was the Oregon tent and order my first beer. Beer in hand I retreat to a table and strike up a conversation with a few other beer lovers to compare notes and sip my beer. During my brief stint at beer wars I must say I met some great people, drank outstanding beer, and had a hell of a good (although far too short) a time. To my, and my tables credit, we were able to identify the California, Washington & Oregon tents… unfortunately, I was totally off on all my tap handle predictions. When you’re playing for these stakes though, even when you loose you win. 🙂 Beers that I ended up putting my hands on were Firestone Walker Double Jack, 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die, 10 Barrel Pearl IPA (From Portland), Breakside Wanderlust IPA, Boneyard Notorious IPA.

As the evening progressed the crowd increased substantially, at 7pm, all taps were revealed and the thirsty group gathered was able to drink to their hearts content, now knowing exactly which beers they’re drinking. I also heard that there were protesters, why I can’t imagine, across the street. Not that I need an excuse to drink good beer, but events like these seem to have a strong draw and give craft beer lovers around the valley the chance to get together, explore beers both local and regional while comparing notes and sharing beerventure tales.

Radio Boise Pre-Fat Event (New Belgium Shout Out)

August 24, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

New Belgium Brewing, not a name that requires much introduction for their wide variety of beer and of course the traveling Tour de Fat festival. This summer, on the evening before the bicycle parade and TdF festival, Radio Boise (our non-profit; community radio) hosted their annual Pre-Fat street party to raise money to support the station. This block party on 8th street between Idaho & Bannock from 4pm-11pm featured a variety of live music and Radio Boise DJ’s, street vendors, food, and of course beer.

I wanted to send a shout out New Belgium for donating all the beer, which was sold throughout the evening to raise funds for KRBX. As a volunteer, selling beer for four hours or so, I have to think that we must have sold (at least) a few thousand cans. At $5/each that adds up to a nice contribution to a local non-profit.

The evening went off without a hitch, as far as I could tell. The crowd was in good spirits, thirsty and the music was varied enough to keep the groove going. It’s always nice to see craft beer giving back and I see it it regularly on the local level, but to see large regional brewers step up to the plate as well is refreshing. Craft beer, from brewer to consumer continues to have a healthy sense of community that macro brew will never have; not to mention flavor and good beer.

Here is to the continuation of great beer, good people and incredible events.

Kegs for Kerry 2015

July 24, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

3:10 and the line is almost to the corner!

On July 18th 2015 the brewing community in and around the Treasure Valley came together to support Kerry Thomas, head brewer at EDGE Brewing in Boise who was injured in a boil over accident. It has always been my impression that the competition in craft beer, at least here in the Treasure Valley, is pretty good natured and generally friendly. The wagons were circled to support one of their own from the get go.

In case you didn’t make it out to Prefunk for ‪#‎kegsforkerry‬ here are just a few of the things you missed. The crowd was of course, great and the turn out was pretty amazing. When I arrived a few minutes after 3pm there was already a line out the building of people waiting to get some beer. There was both a raffle (personally I didn’t win anything, but Rick & his wife Sarah cleaned house at the table we shared) and a silent auction. Auction items ran the gambit from a beach house stay in Oregon to gift certificates, growlers + fills, amazing beer packages, art and more.…

Sacramento Beerventure Day 2

July 16, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

It’s Sunday morning and I’m feeling fine, surprising as that may be. It’s time to get up, get ready and jump in the car to check out as many breweries as possible before it’s time to jump on a plane and head back to Boise!

TRACK 7 BREWING

This place is HUGE, you could probably park a 737 in here.

This is another brewery that has seen explosive growth recently, having just relocated to a new facility that looks to rival Knee Deep in sheer size. It is enormous, and I’m talking on a scale of 1.5 to 2 aircraft hangers humongous. On our way into the brewery, being that this is California, we made the required stop at In-N-Out burger to grab some lunch before rolling into Track 7 and starting the day. At the time that I was here, they were still waiting for quite a bit of brewing equipment so the space seemed especially vast, and empty. The people however, both staff and patrons, were chatty and very friendly. After spending 15 minutes at the bar tasting all of their offerings and chatting about beer in California & Idaho I settled on their Panic IPA which paired exceptionally well with an “animal style” In-N-Out burger & fries. After lunch and some quiet reflection time I was presented with Track7’s Left Eye Right Eye Double IPA which is also outstanding. Hoping that I’d make it home with at least a few souvenirs I grabbed a Track 7 tulip glass as we headed out to make our way to over to Yolo Brewing. Hopefully the fine folks at Track7 will start getting some of their beers up North and into Idaho in the near future.

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Sacramento Beerventure Day 1

July 13, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

After so much pain on the train it was time to get serious and start checking out some of what Northern California has to offer when it comes to our most favorite hopped beverages!

AUBURN ALE HOUSE

Bright and early Saturday morning in Sacramento. The sun’s out and the first thing we need is coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. The plan is to meet up with some friends in Auburn (40 min outside of Sacramento) for lunch then make our way to Knee Deep Brewing before heading back to Sacramento & Device Brewing. The Auburn Ale House, which is a restaurant with it’s own brewery attached (similar to The Ram, or Grind Modern Burger) put out quite a spread for us. Being that this was California, IPA’s are quite prominent. The black and blue burger paired with the Gold Digger IPA set the stages for a great day of tasting with a combination of loads of protein and bread to help soak up some of the impending flood of alcohol. If this had been a leisurely trip with no agent and no burning desire to hit as many incredible breweries as possible it wouldn’t be any trouble spending a half day here or more. In fact, they were setting up for a street party which was closing down the entire block as we were heading out. Clearly these guys know how to have a good time!

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California Beerventure Summer 2015 Intro

July 10, 2015 by Ben Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that it’s already come and gone, but the trip to California this year was everything that I could have hoped that it would be. In short it was an adventure in which I made a host of new friends, got to see and experience a ridiculous amount of great beers and made my Hollywood debut all in one trip.

Leaving… on a jet plane!

Everything is better in first class.

Kicking off the trip was un-eventful, grabbed a morning flight out of Boise to Seattle for a brief layover before making the second jaunt on to L.A. It was boarding the second flight out of Seattle that I knew, beyond any doubt, that this was going to be an incredible trip. I lucked out and took advantage of a Delta promotion to upgrade my 3 hour flight from Seattle to First Class and if you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend it (on any kind of extended flight at least). Aside from far superior seating, you’re actually treated like a valued customer with extremely attendant flight service. Before I was even settled in my seat, a flight attendant was ready to take my drink order and I started sipping on whisky while the rest of the plane was boarding. Hot towel, yes thank you I would like to freshen up. I mean come on, this is over the top in an all sorts of wonderful way. Ohh yes, I would like another whiskey while the rest of the plane is boarding, why thank you very much!

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