‘Why not?’ Award-winning Boise brewery to open 2nd location — next to another brewery
Bars thrive next to each other. So do competing restaurants.
Why not breweries, too?
Beer drinkers can ponder that scenario as it plays out under their bar stools next year. Mad Swede Brewing Company, which debuted in 2016 at 2772 S. Cole Road, plans to open a second, taproom-only location at 816 W. Bannock St.
If all goes well, it will be unveiled in March on the first floor of The Garro Building. Mad Swede will be a bottle cap’s toss away from 10 Barrel Brewing Co. — separated by a parking lot. Both buildings, and the lot, were purchased in 2016 by the O.L. Halsell Foundation.
“It’s an opportunity to engage directly with more customers,” head brewer Jerry Larson says. “The center of the beer universe is downtown.”
Larson, who owns Mad Swede with his wife, Susie, can’t be blamed for feeling a little ambitious. His Naked Sunbather nut brown ale won a gold medal in October at the Great American Beer Festival, the nation’s largest and most prestigious brewing competition. “We’re pretty jacked,” Larson admits.
Even in this city’s dog-eat-dog brewery environment, spinning off a location in downtown Boise isn’t a wild concept. Garden City’s Barbarian Brewing opened a taproom there in 2017. Boise’s Edge Brewing launched another brewpub there this fall. Other breweries, such as Boise Brewing and Woodland Empire Ale Craft, base their entire operations downtown.
“It’s like, ‘Why not?’ ” Larson says. “We looked at it, and kicked it around, and said, ‘Geez, it seems silly not to.’ This was an opportunity to be as close to the heart of Boise downtown as we ever thought we could get.”
Along with its brews, Mad Swede will sell local wine, cider and other non-beer refreshments — as is the case at the original 15-barrel brewery and taproom, which will remain open near the Costco part of Boise.
At about 2,100 square feet of useful space, the new Mad Swede will feel roomier, with separate low-ceiling and high-ceiling sections. The Garro Building’s acoustics are quieter than “echo-chamber” brewpubs, Larson adds. “All of that combined makes it a really socially conducive space for not being overwhelmed — sensory overload. We’re hoping we can use that to our advantage.”
Purists who want to drink local will pick Mad Swede over its neighbor, 10 Barrel, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Conversely, 10 Barrel and its restaurant menu will be the choice for drinkers seeking food with quality beer. Mad Swede won’t have a kitchen. Instead, patrons will be encouraged to bring their own grub. “You want to pop over to Even Stevens and bring a sandwich in? Great,” Larson says.
Mad Swede plans to keep growing its line of cans and bottles after the taproom launches, Larson says. The Cole Road brewery also will explore and expand new beers such as Kuyt, a “historical Dutch beer,” he says.
In other words? “The madness deepens.”
“It’s kind of nuts,” Larson quips. “We’ve been doing this, now, for three years. Our stress level has gone down one notch, so we decided that we should crank that back up.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 12:20 PM.