There’s been a ton of talk lately about whether the Idaho Department of Lands should lease a state-owned building at 9th and Bannock streets to a business that wants to operate a new brew pub in Boise.
Here in the craft beer universe, the question isn’t if a new brew pub should move in. Of course it should. We all want more fresh craft beer to drink. Who cares about the politics?
The question for us is what brewery is considering moving in? The answer to that, my friends, is Bend, Ore.-based 10 Barrel Brewing.
10 Barrel Brewing is in the midst of a major expansion, with a new 50-barrel brewhouse under construction and scheduled to open in Bend early next year. Once that is done, the brewery will be able to meet demand for all its current accounts and have room to grow.
That growth could spread to Boise, 10 Barrel partner Garret Wales said last week.
“We are thinking about Boise, I can say that,” Wales said, confirming 10 Barrel is the business that has discussed the 9th and Bannock property with the Idaho Department of Lands. “We are looking at a few different cities. We just love the city (Boise). We like the vibe.
“We like the proximity to Bend. We like the size of (Boise). The site is Downtown, and it’s close to the North End. We think there could be a good lunch business. We just really like everything about it.”
Boise has two brew pubs (TableRock and The Ram) in the Downtown area already, but neither is in the core. I really like the idea of a new unique brew pub in the middle of Downtown, and how it would be close to 8th Street and Basque Block restaurant nexuses but expand that area to the west, where it would be across the street from Yen Ching.
Wales said if 10 Barrel makes a deal to lease the 9th and Bannock space, the brewery is going all in to create a unique beer-drinking and dining experience. While most of the 10 Barrel staple beers — such as the S1nist0r Black Ale, Apocalypse IPA and India Session Ale — likely would come from Bend, there would be a 10-barrel brewing system built in Boise for unique pub-only beers, Wales said.
10 Barrel Brewing is a relatively new company. It began brewing in 2006 in Bend and operates a brew pub there. The company began selling 22-ounce bottles in regional markets such as Portland as business has grown, Wales said. Now it can’t brew enough beer to meet demand.
The brewery has four partners and is making a significant investment in the future, with the new 50-barrel system.
Wales’ family has been in the beer distribution business for decades and seems committed to brewing the best craft beer possible — which is an attitude you have to have in one of the most competitive beer markets in the Pacific Northwest. They’ve hired brewers from stalwarts such as Deschutes Brewing Co. and Kona Brewing from Hawaii to ensure quality control.
Bend has emerged as a craft beer hotbed over the last decade or so, with 11 breweries operating in a town of about 80,000. Boise, by comparison, has about 200,000 people in its city limits, with five breweries. There is room for growth here.
10 Barrel has not yet signed a lease for the building. The state of Idaho, which owns the building, has advertised for a construction manager to work with the brewery to ensure the infrastructure (plumbing, electrical, etc.) will support a brew pub.
If the sides can reach an agreement, we’ll get some more fresh craft beer in town and a mostly vacant building filled up with a vibrant new business, which pays rent to the state of Idaho.
The only thing for me is I’ve never had any of 10 Barrel’s beers. The company doesn’t distribute in Idaho (yet), and I haven’t stopped in Bend for a while. Brewforia owner Rick Boyd said the beers went over well at the Barley Bros. Traveling Beer Show last month in Ann Morrison Park.
Boyd has a few kegs of the Apocalypse IPA he plans to put on tap soon at Brewforia’s Meridian location at 3030 E. Overland Road, so perhaps we can get a preview from that.
Patrick Orr: 373-6619.
Patrick Orr’s beer column runs the first Friday of the month.
