One of Boise’s biggest breweries just got into the canned cocktail business. We tasted.

Payette Brewing Co. marked its 10th anniversary in May, but if you’re not into quaffing a celebratory IPA — no worries.

They’re happy to pour you a stiff cocktail instead.

On Friday, July 23, the Boise brewery is launching AnyTimers, a new line of ready-to-drink, canned cocktails. Starting with Moscow Mule and Greyhound drinks, AnyTimers are being sold in four-packs of 12-ounce cans for $14 at the brewery, 733 S. Pioneer St. They’ll appear in Idaho and Colorado stores in the coming days and weeks.

If you belly up to the bar at Payette, they’ll also sell you a garnished $8 version of each cocktail — poured from a tap and served in a double old-fashioned glass.

At 10% alcohol by volume, each can of AnyTimers contains about two shots of vodka. Unless you’re Alan Jackson or Jimmy Buffett singing “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” drinking one anytime might be a stretch.

Or not.

“If you’re on a river trip, we don’t judge,” marketing director Paige Francis said with a laugh.

“It’s the idea that you have multiple sides,” she said, “and you could be the person that wants to throw them in your cooler and take them on a rafting trip, or you want to pour them over ice and have a nice cocktail at the end of the workday.”

As one of Idaho’s largest breweries, Payette is known for beers such as Rustler IPA and Fly Line Vienna Style Lager. AnyTimers are mixed and canned at the brewery; Payette does not make the vodka. The brewery isn’t sharing where the liquor is sourced, except to say that AnyTimers are “crafted using Idaho vodka.”

So how do AnyTimers taste?

Approachable.

The Moscow Mule is the clear winner. Simply put? It tastes like a Mule. It’s refreshing and not overly sweet, although it nudges over the line toward the sweeter end of the Mule spectrum. There’s a pleasant ginger presence, particularly on the nose. These four-packs should sell.

The grapefruit-powered Greyhound isn’t quite as inviting, but it does avoid a potential pitfall: Too tart, dog. Instead, this is a muted citrus attack — not too sour, easy to drink. Like the Mule, it has enough vodka kick that you know it’s a cocktail without being remotely boozy.

Both drinks are lightly carbonated and should be swirled gently to mix before consuming, Payette says.

The brewery hopes to produce more AnyTimers cocktail varieties in the future, Francis said, probably staying with vodka before making the jump to other liquors.

It might seem strange for a brewery to admit it, but sometimes even the most passionate beer drinker can get, well, beered out.

AnyTimers fills that void. It’s for drinkers who don’t always want to stick to beer, Francis said — “but it sort of has that Payette spirit behind it.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 4:00 AM.