‘Idaho’s first world-class brewery’ says it’s coming, Boise, and ‘sky’s the limit’

After opening in 2018, Western Collective established itself as a fast favorite among Boise beer drinkers.

But the brewery in Garden City plans to be more than a popular taproom.

It’s gunning to create elite-caliber beer — on a global level, it says.

Western Collective, 111 W. 33rd St., recently overhauled its brewing staff. As a result, “the groundwork for Idaho’s first world-class brewery has been laid, and the sky’s the limit,” Western Collective said in a press release.

Changes “include an entirely new brewing team — consisting of Kyle Manns, Matt Bryant, Kerry Bloxham and Marco Montero — that plans to make a leap to craft the best beer in Boise. With decades of experience and awards between them, the expectation will be set much higher for the Treasure Valley and Idaho.” The intention, owner Cary Prewitt said, is to make Western Collective “capable of competing on quality and innovation with any program around the world.”

Manns, director of brewing, will be a familiar name to West Coast beer geeks. Known for his work at Orange County, California, breweries TAPS and Bottle Logic, he has earned dozens of awards at the Great American Beer Festival. Those honors include two-time Small Brewer of the Year and more than 30 medals. In the past decade at GABF, Manns racked up eight gold, 12 silver and eight bronze medals, Prewitt said.

“Getting Kyle on board is not just a huge win for us, but for beer in Boise,” Prewitt said.

Other members of Western Collective’s newly hired team have extensive brewing experience and a stack of North American Beer Awards. Bloxham’s resume in the Treasure Valley includes Mother Earth, Edge and Table Rock; Bryant’s includes County Line and Boise Brewing.

The brewers are revamping Western Collective recipes and overhauling the beer program. By the end of September, regulars should begin to notice differences. A new Double IPA, called All Signs Point West, will be released Oct. 2.

Next year, Western Collective also plans to open a new downtown Boise restaurant, bar, entertainment center and music venue in the former Old Spaghetti Factory building at 610 W. Idaho St. Originally planned for this spring, the 10,500-square-foot project was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prewitt said the new goal is to open by May 2021.

But for now, the main priority is to raise the beer bar at Western Collective’s Garden City location.

“We are at an exciting crossroads for Western Collective,” Manns said in the release. “Whether that is buying those trusty Western Collective products at your grocery store, or the small batch specialty releases in the taproom, you know you’re going to have the highest quality product possible. I am excited for the path of growth that Western Collective has been on and will continue with.”

This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 6:15 AM.