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BOISEweekly | Brew Times 2016 | 3

Mastering The Science & Art of Craft Beer

WELCOME

OUR BEER

IT’S NEW TIMES FOR BREW TIMES

4340 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City • bellabrewing.com

Contrary to frequent quotation, Benjamin Franklin never said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and the He wants us to be happy.” While the authorship of that famous phrase is in doubt, its essential truth is not.

Just look at Boise: It’s getting to be a hoppier (and therefore happier) place all the time.

As the nation has experienced a craft beer renaissance, so too has the Gem State. Boise, in particular, has in recent years developed a robust beer scene, with more than a dozen established breweries and new ones opening their doors all the time.

Considering the increasingly important part beer and brewing play in Boise culture and economics, it seemed like a glaring mistake no one had stepped in to create a beer-centric publication focused on the local industry. Enter: Brew Times, our inaugural beer magazine.

Inside you’ll find an examination of trends in the craft beer world and a profile of a unique Idaho hop that’s earning a revered place among brewers nationwide. We also dig into the antiquated tax structures that affect small brewers and some of the efforts underway to reform the system.

Find a photo essay on the fresh hop harvest and, finally, a month-long calendar of beer-related events.

It’s our first time out of the gate with Brew Times, so expect to see changes to the format and content as we refine the publication. As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions. For now, though, we’ll raise a glass and toast our local brewers and beer retailers for keeping us happy (and definitely not thirsty).

—Zach Hagadone

COVER ART BY RYAN JOHNSON

STAFF

Publisher: Sally Freeman sally@boiseweekly.com Associate Publisher: Amy Atkins amy@boiseweekly.com Office Manager: Meg Andersen meg@boiseweekly.com Editorial Editor: Zach Hagadone zach@boiseweekly.com News Editor: George Prentice george@boiseweekly.com Staff Writer: Harrison Berry harrison@boiseweekly.com Listings Editor: Jay Vail Listings: calendar@boiseweekly.com Contributing Writers: Harrison Berry, Zach Hagadone Interns: Annelise Eagleton, Alexandra Nelson

4 | Brew Times 2016 | BOISEweekly

Creative Art Director: Kelsey Hawes kelsey@boiseweekly.com Graphic Designers: Jason Jacobsen, jason@boiseweekly. com Jeff Lowe, jeff@boiseweekly.com Illustrations done by: Ryan Johnson Advertising Account Executives: Jim Klepacki, jim@boiseweekly.com Digital Media Account Executive: Lisa Clark, lisa@boiseweekly.com

Additional copies of the current issue of Boise Weekly may be purchased for $1, payable in advance.

To contact us: Boise Weekly’s office is located at 523 Broad St., Boise, ID 83702 Phone: 208-344-2055 Fax: 208-342-4733 E-mail: info@boiseweekly.com www.boiseweekly.com The entire contents and design of Boise Weekly are ©2016 by Bar

Circulation Man About Town: Stan Jackson stan@boiseweekly.com Boise Weekly prints 32,000 copies every Wednesday and is available free of charge at more than 1,000 locations, limited to one copy per reader.

Bar, Inc. Boise Weekly was founded in 1992 by Andy and Debi Hedden-Nicely. Larry Ragan had a lot to do with it, too.

Boise Weekly is an independently owned and operated newspaper.

B OI SE WE E KLY.C O M

India Pale Ales still reign supreme among craft beers, but sours, fruit brews and coffee beers are also on the rise.

CHANGE IS A-BREWING Sours and a turn toward easy drinking top 2016 craft beer trends Z ACH HAGADONE

According to the Brewers Association, which represents more than 70 percent of the brewing industry, India pale ales continue to occupy a big chunk of the craft beer market, amounting to 26.5 percent of U.S. sales in the sector. It’s a profitable product category, too, rising 43.9 percent in dollar sales in 2015.

Just because IPAs are top of the hops doesn’t mean brewers want to leave well enough alone. From fruit infusions to barrel aging, innovation is the name of the game in the beer biz. Ask local brew watchers what’s been hot in the past year and they tend to agree that drinkers are looking for something sour.

“The sour beer category as a whole is arguably the fastest growing craft segment. Within this category you have Berliner weisse, gose, barrel aged sours, sour IPAs and more,” said Rob Landerman, “Sauce Boss” at downtown brewery Woodland Empire Ale Craft.

For the uninitiated tipplers, sour beers are notably a product of Belgium. Defined by high acidity, lending them a tart flavor, sour beers are actually anything but new. Prior to the proliferation of pure yeast and industrial, sanitized brewing operations, beers by and large contained strains of wild yeast and various bacteria—introduced mostly by accident.

Today, through controlled introduction of bacteria like Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces, drinkers can have the best of both worlds: a professionally crafted beer that features the unruly palate profile of a bygone age.

“I think it’s just something odd you probably haven’t tried before,” said Lynlee Garside, sales associate at Brewer’s Haven on Vista Avenue.

“I call it beer candy, and I think everybody likes candy even when you’re an adult. It reminds me of eating sour patch kids. It just makes you B OI S E WEEKLY.C O M

salivate and want to keep drinking it.”

As sour beers have grown in availability beyond their traditional European stomping grounds, U.S. craft brewers have riffed on the style— adding to their popularity.

“They’re more true to style across the big pond and we kind of experiment a little more here, like with cucumber sours,” Garside said. “Each one is so different that you keep trying them.”

Jordan Flynn, co-owner and bar manager at PreFunk Beer Bar on Front Street in downtown Boise, also characterized sour beers as “candy,” noting they often boast higher alcohol content (from 6 and 7 percent and above) “so people really tend to enjoy them,” he said.

As more breweries have been turning out sours, they’ve also been producing gose (pronounced go-ZUH), an unfiltered wheat beer style hailing from Germany that also delivers a kick of tartness.

“It’s a mild, light, tart, refreshing ale—kind of salty and sour,” Flynn said. “Those have been pretty popular in the past year and a half.”

Not everyone is happy with the gose revival (the style is said to have originated as far back as the 11th century). In a February 2015 article, Thrillist declared: “Craft Beer is Dead. Gose Killed it.” Describing its salty/sour flavor profile as akin to “sweat” and noting its low ABV, “It both tastes bad and won’t get you sauced.”

That may be a little dramatic—the legions of gose drinkers who have fueled the trend clearly find something to like about the style—but with the rising popularity of sours in general, it’s inevitable there would be some pushback.

For his part, Landerman mourns the corner-cutting that some breweries have resorted to in order to keep up with the sour demand.

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5 “Part of the sour trend, however, is focusing singularly on acidity and speed, not complexity and time. This is a real travesty, in my opinion, and something that points to the major trend in craft beer that has been building steam for the past five years,” he said. “With the growth of craft you are seeing lines blurring between big beer tactics and methodology and sticking to the core fundamentals of craft beer, which is actually crafting something, not being crafty.”

Specific to sours, Landerman added, rush production eschews the “myriad flavor and aroma compounds created through time.”

“The same thing is happening with the majority of fruit beers,” he said. “Fruit flavorings and extracts are being used in lieu of real fruit, and you can taste it. Many of these flavorings come in a base of propylene glycol that leaves a slickness in your mouth and has a chemical sort of flavor to it. That’s not craft beer, and I really wish the consumer would wise up and say stop.”

Still, there are exemplars of the sour style. Landerman recommended De Garde Brewing, out of Tillamook, Ore.; Austin, Texas-based Jester King Brewery; and Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co., in Gilbert, Ariz.

Flynn, at PreFunk, noted the “true sours” coming out craft beer grandaddy New Belgium, of Fort Collins, Colo.; Bend, Ore.-based Crux Fermentation Project; and homegrown Barbarian Brewing, which celebrates its one-year anniversary Saturday, Oct. 15, from 3-10 p.m. with a blowout bash at its facility at 5270 W. Chinden Blvd. in Garden City.

“I feel like every brewery has something tart,” Flynn said.

Something else everybody has is a taste for local brews. With more than a dozen breweries in the Treasure Valley, Garside said the “local beer door” at Brewer’s Haven is almost always open.

“There are some people who come in looking just for imports, but I think the bulk of people are wanting to try more local stuff because we are kind of booming in the market and they want to see what Boise’s doing,” she said. “We try get as much locally as we can.”

Among the trends Garside has seen regarding tastes in local beers has been a turn toward more easy-drinking styles like lagers and seasonal brews like Oktoberfest ales—a step away from the big, bitter IPAs that have all but dominated the craft scene for years.

“It’s definitely very seasonal,” she said.

Flynn said he’s also seen robust demand for coffee beers—both in IPA and porter styles—and pointed particularly to Newport, Ore.-based Rogue Brewery’s cold brew coffee IPA made with Portland, Ore.-based Stumptown Coffee. Radlers, a German-born mixture of lager or pilsner with lemonade, have also remained popular at PreFunk.

“We’ve had Stiegl radler on since we opened. Now you can see it downtown all the time,” he said, adding that Stiegl in the can—and canned craft beers in general—have experienced an increase in demand.

“Odell just started canning this year or earlier this year, and we’ve been selling more Odell because of that. Rogue is going to start canning next year, and that’s going to be huge for them,” Flynn said.

Landerman agreed that pilsners and lagers have been on the upswing, along with softer IPAs. Still, despite the many trends influencing craft beer, Landerman said the mission remains the same: always be innovating.

“We just released our wet hop beer for this year, a wet hop Super Saison. We just brewed our 100th batch of City of Trees, and to celebrate we are brewing a bunch of variant batches for an event in our tasting room,” he said. “We have our third release of our seasonal beer—Crispy Apple Turnover—coming out at the end of October, made with 300 pounds of apples. We brew a seasonal Berliner Weisse called Set Em Wild, Set Em Free that is fermented with a culture of wild yeast and native bacteria that we have cultured up. Each batch contains a different fruit. The batch out now was made with chioggia and red beets from Fiddlers Green Farm. We’ll have another batch coming out in December made with rye and juniper branches and berries that we forage in the mountains.”

For Flynn, the ever-changing tastes and styles make it hard to predict where craft beer might go in the coming year.

“I get surprised every day by stuff,” he said.

B OI SE WE E KLY.C O M

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN Idaho 7 hops. They’re blowing up.

HARRISON BERRY

On a Wednesday afternoon in Boise Brewing’s taproom, a retired couple vacationing in the City of Trees from Spokane, Wash., planned their next move over a couple of beers. Two seats down the bar, a circle of condensation formed under a tall pour of Syringa Pale Ale—the brewery’s second most popular beer after the Hip Check India Pale Ale. “It flies off the shelf,” said Boise Brewing Bar Manager Devin Kemp.

“It’s because of that hop. It just blows up.”

The hop in question is Idaho 7. Grown by Jackson Hop Farm in Caldwell, it began as an experiment on five acres, but it’s rapidly gaining traction both in Idaho and farther afield for its easy-on-the-palate citrusy flavor. A Gem State original, Idaho 7 is becoming a signature hop for one of the nation’s largest hop-producing states.

What Saudi Arabia is for oil, Idaho could be for hops. Between its two primary hop-growing climate zones—the sunny reaches of the high desert in the south and the somewhat damper climes of the panhandle—the Gem State is ideal for growing the pungent beer ingredient and preservative. According to USA Hops, Idaho ranks third in hop production nationwide. It provides approximately 8 percent of U.S.-grown hops and 2 percent of all hop production in the world.

Much of that production takes place up north near Idaho’s border with Canada. There, Anheuser-Busch operates a 1,700-acre farm producing a variety of European-origin hops like Saaz and Hallertau. In the Treasure Valley, however, a slew of smaller operations make use of the long summer days and warm weather to grow hops high in alpha acids. The higher the alpha acid percentage or rating, the more bitter the beer.

Saaz hops, which are grown up north, typically have a 2-5 percent alpha acid content. Idaho 7’s is 14-14.6 percent, giving it a rich, citrusy flavor that has made it a favorite for craft beer brewers.

“It’s exceptional for dry hopping, for IPAs and pales and stuff like that—very tropical stone fruit,

B OI S E WEEKLY.C O M

a little bit of pine,” said Jackson Hop Farm owner Nate Jackson.

Idaho 7 grew from an experiment into a hot seller in 2015 when Sierra Nevada rolled out the Harvest Single Hop IPA-Idaho 7 varietal.

“We just had a bag of hops that was already in advanced selection.

We sent them a bag and they asked if we could expand to five acres for the following year,” Jackson said.

Brewers took note. The hop is now in beers made by Boise’s own Sockeye Brewing and Boise Brewing, renowned Delaware-based Dogfish Head, Lagunitas and others. Jackson said his distributor has buyers nationwide, and breweries as far afield as Australia and Russia have purchased his hops.

“I expect we’ll see some export demand, hopefully very strong,” he said.

A year after its debut, Idaho 7 is growing on more than 100 acres in Idaho and at a small farm in Washington. In the future, Jackson said, he may expand production into the Willamette Valley in Oregon—another major hop farming region, albeit one with a radically different climate from the Treasure Valley.

Idaho 7 has given Jackson’s operation a boost, but the increased demand for the experimental variety has also had an impact on the economics of hop farming itself. Typically, Jackson said, hop farmers grow harvests with high yields per acre. It’s an arrangement that privileges the growth of the most consistently high-yielding varieties, and puts a damper on experimentation. Idaho 7 has changed that.

“I was more concerned with having my own than the economics and yield advantages you typically breed for. Some of the buyers are indicating that if the aroma is amazing, they’d pay the price per pound to make it work,” Jackson said. “We got pretty lucky with Idaho No. 7.”

BOISEweekly | Brew Times 2016 | 7

BONNERS FERRY

SANDPOINT

COEUR D’ALENE WALLACE

MOSCOW

LEWISTON

COTTONWOOD

SALMON

MCCALL CHALLIS

SUN VALLEY

HAILEY

NAMPA BOISE

FAIRFIELD

BUHL RYAN JOHNSO N

8 | Brew Times 2016 | BOISEweekly

IDAHO FALLS

VICTOR

POCATELLO

TWIN FALLS

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Idaho Breweries 10 BARREL BREWING COMPANY 830 W. Bannock St., Boise

DAFT BADGER BREWING 1710 N. 2nd St., Coeur d’Alene

MAD BOMBER BREWING 9265 N. Government Way, Hayden

POST FALLS BREWING COMPANY 112 N. Spokane St., Post Falls

SOCKEYE GRILL & BREWERY 3019 North Cole Road, Boise

BARBARIAN BREWING 5270 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City

DOWNDRAFT BREWING CO. 418 W. Seltice Way Suite A, Post Falls

POWDERHAUS BREWING COMPANY 9719 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City

SOLDIER CREEK BREWING COMPANY 509 Soldier Road, Fairfield

BEAR ISLAND BREWING COMPANY Ustick and Maple Grove, Boise

EDGE BREWING CO. 525 Steelhead Way, Boise

MAD SWEDE BREWING COMPANY 2772 S. Cole Road Ste. 140, Boise MAGIC VALLEY BREWING 208 Broadway Ave. N., Buhl

RAM RESTAURANT & BREWERY 709 East Park Blvd., Boise

BELLA BREWING 4340 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City BERTRAM’S SALMON VALLEY BREWERY 101 S. Andrews St., Salmon BOISE BREWING 521 W. Broad St., Boise BROKEN HORN BREWING 201 Mission St., McCall CLAIRVOYANT BREWING 2800 W. Idaho St., Boise CLOUD 9 BREWERY 1750 W. State St., Boise, COUNTY LINE BREWING 9115 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City CRESCENT BREWERY 1521 Front Street Nampa CROOKED FENCE BREWING 3705 Highway 16, Eagle

GRAND TETON BREWING COMPANY 430 Old Jackson Hwy., Victor HIGHLANDS HOLLOW BREWHOUSE 2455 Harrison Hollow Blvd., Boise HUNGA DUNGA BREWING COMPANY 333 N. Jackson St., Moscow IDAHO BREWING COMPANY 775 S. Capital Ave., Idaho Falls KOOTENAI RIVER BREWING COMPANY 6426 Riverside S., Bonners Ferry LAUGHING DOG BREWING 805 Schweitzer Plaza Drive., Ponderay LOST GROVE BREWING 1026 S. La Pointe St., Boise *coming soon M.J. BARLEYHOPPER’S 621 21st St., Lewiston

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MCCALL BREWING COMPANY 807 N. Third St., McCall MICKDUFF’S BREWING COMPANY 312 North First Ave., Sandpoint MOSCOW BREWING COMPANY 630 N. Almon St. No. 130, Moscow NORTH IDAHO MOUNTAIN BREW 108 Nine Mile Road, Wallace PARAGON BREWING 5785 N. Government Way, Coeur d’Alene PAYETTE BREWING CO. 733 S. Pioneer St., Boise PORTNEUF VALLEY BREWING 615 S. First Ave., Pocatello

RANTS & RAVES BREWERY 308 N. Jackson St., Moscow RIVER OF NO RETURN BREWING 810 S. Hwy. 93, Challis SALMON RIVER BREWERY 411 Railroad Ave., McCall SAWTOOTH BREWERY 631 Warm Springs Road, Ketchum SELKIRK ABBEY BREWING 6180 E. Seltice Way, Post Falls SLANTED ROCK BREWING COMPANY 2374 East Cinema Drive, Meridian SLATE CREEK BREWING COMPANY 1710 N. Fourth St. Ste. 115, Coeur d’Alene SNOW EAGLE BREWING & GRILL 455 River Parkway, Idaho Falls

SUN VALLEY BREWING COMPANY 202 N. Main St. Hailey TRESTLE BREWING COMPANY 413 Main St., Ferdinand TRICKSTER BREWING COMPANY 3850 N. Schrieber Way, Coeur d’Alene VON SCHEIDT BREWING COMPANY 157 Second Ave. W., Twin Falls WALLACE BREWING COMPANY 610 Bank St., Wallace WARFIELD DISTILLERY & BREWERY 280 N. Main St., Ketchum WILDLIFE BREWING 145 S. Main St., Victor WOLFTRACK BREWING 505 King St., Cottonwood WOODLAND EMPIRE ALE CRAFT 1114 W. Front St., Boise

BOISEweekly | Brew Times 2016 | 9

RYAN J OH NSON

DRAFTS AND TAXES

As Idaho craft brewing evolves, state and federal taxes stay stuck in the past Z ACH HAGADONE That the U.S. beer industry has undergone a 21st century seachange is beyond dispute. In 2000, the Brewers Association reported there were 1,566 breweries nationwide, up from a post-Prohibition low of only 89 in 1978. By 2015 that number had risen to 4,269—beating the historic high of 4,131 breweries recorded in 1873.

We are living—and drinking—amid the greatest abundance of microbrewing in five generations, and the trend has been borne out in Idaho.

Today, Gem State beer drinkers can choose from more than 50 homegrown brands—twice the number of craft breweries in the state in 2011.

While the industry has grown by leaps and bounds, it faces a handful of regulatory and tax structures that are as flat as a day-old pint of IPA. “Even just here in Idaho and Boise, the number of breweries you’ve got today compared to 20 years ago when Sockeye started, it’s exponential,” said Sockeye Brewing Business Manager Janice Skinner, who has been with the company for 14 of its 20 years in operation. “Unfortunately, the laws haven’t changed or grown with that industry.”

Federal excise taxes on beer have remained particularly stagnant.

Under the current statute, breweries that produce fewer than 2 million barrels of beer per year pay $7 per barrel on their first 60,000 barrels. For breweries that turn out more than 60,000 barrels, the tax jumps to $18 per barrel—the same rate paid by monster facilities that might move as many as 97 million barrels in a year.

Those taxes haven’t changed since the ’70s, even as the number of small- to mid-sized independent beer producers has skyrocketed. Now, there’s a new legislative push to adjust those rates to ease the way for craft and micro-breweries.

The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act was introduced

by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden in June 2015, and seeks to 10 | Brew Times 2016 | BOISEweekly

change those rates to $3.50 per barrel up to 60,000 barrels and $16 per barrel for producers who churn out between 60,000 and 6 million barrels per year. The result, backers say, would put $37.5 million back into the smallest brewers’ pockets, and cut costs for those mid-size operations by $36 million.

“The federal tax rates and the proposal to lower those could have a significant impact on the breweries here in Idaho,” Skinner said.

To illustrate, she said if Sockeye brews 12,000 barrels this year— which it’s on track to accomplish—taxes on that product would amount to $84,000.

“If you cut that in half, you’re at $42,000 back into our company profits that enable us to hire an additional sales person, hire an additional staff member, invest in additional equipment, increase the salaries of our current staff,” Skinner said. “That’s a significant dollar amount that gives us a lot of opportunities to expand our business.”

Mike Francis, owner of Payette Brewing, told a similar story.

“Based on our production last year, that would cut our excise tax bill from about $70,000 to $35,000,” he wrote in an email.

As executive director of Idaho Brewers United, Sheila Francis is the state’s representative to the Brewers Association. For the past four years she has worked on some kind of tax reform for breweries, but the effort goes back to at least 2010, when Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry teamed up to start gathering support for a similar measure.

Republican Rep. Mike Simpson is the only member of the Idaho congressional delegation so far to sign on as a co-sponsor of the CBMTRA but, as recently as late September 2016, the legislation gained majority support in both the U.S. House and Senate. It’s a rare show of bipartiB OI SE WE E KLY.C O M

sanship, which Sheila Francis said has much to do with the wider effects of giving breweries the opportunity to reinvest in their businesses.

“It affects a lot of the agriculture here in Idaho. We’ve got a ton of barley and a lot of hops here, so it’s a win-win,” she said. “It also affects glass manufacturers, packaging companies. It’s more than just brewers.”

That said, should the legislation pass, it would support a rapidly growing—and profitable—Idaho industry. Based on 2014 figures, Idaho’s craft beer industry churned out 67,597 barrels, a staggering increase from 43,073 in 2013 and amounting to $318 million in economic impact.

But the federal tax burden is only one of the hurdles facing Idaho craft brewers. State taxes on beer are also antiquated.

According to Sheila Francis, Idaho code imposes a two-step tax structure on beer: for beers under 4 percent by weight—equivalent to about 5 percent alcohol by volume—the state takes 15 cents per gallon. If a beer clocks in at more than 5 percent ABV, which is the case with the majority of all craft beers, the tax rate bumps up to 45 cents per gallon—equivalent, by law, to wine.

“It’s considered, and therefore taxed as, wine; so it’s almost threetimes the rate,” Francis said. “The code was written quite some time ago when beers weren’t that strong, and encouraging beers at that low threshold made sense at the time. Obviously, the beer industry has grown and evolved, so 6 percent beer, 7 percent beer—some beers go up to 14 percent—are not uncommon, whereas previously they were very, very uncommon.”

Skinner, with Sockeye, said the state tax on so-called “strong beer” can add up fast.

“For the lower [15 cents per gallon] rate, that’s $4.65 a barrel. At the higher [45 cents per gallon] rate, which the majority of our beer truly is brewed at, that’s $13.95 a barrel,” she said. “Then you add another $7 a barrel on that for federal taxes, and that’s a significant amount that’s being taxed.”

According to Idaho State Police Alcohol Beverage Control records, Sockeye paid $13,955.19 in state tax on its 31,011.55 gallons of strong beer produced in August 2016, while Payette paid $13,271.42 on 29,492.06 strong beer gallons.

So far no efforts have been made to alter the Idaho statute—in part because no legislator has taken up the cause, but also because Francis said there’s some trepidation about broaching the issue with the Legislature.

“There might be some who are keen to increase it even more,” she said, “so it’s a balancing act of addressing it so it’s a little more fair toward beer. However, we don’t want it to backfire.”

At the same time as state and federal tax rates are combining to “slow the growth cycle” of breweries, as Francis put it, another recent law has opened craft brewing to a larger audience: families.

In July 2016 a new Idaho statute went into effect allowing minors into breweries and taprooms when accompanied by an adult. Payette owner Mike Francis and Skinner both said the change has been positive.

“Allowing kids to come into the brewery is a benefit in addition to just letting them see the brewing process—but we’re a pretty cool manufacturing process in its own,” Skinner said. “I’ve had kids who are interested in engineering or design or production operation management. Young people that are interested in a lot of different fields can come in and look at a full production facility and become excited.”

As Idaho adds to its robust growth in brewery facilities, its bounty of beer-related agricultural crops continues to be widely recognized and more people are now permitted to experience the process of brewing, beer advocates say it makes sense laws should be updated to reflect the increasingly strong role craft brewing plays in state and local economies.

“I think it’s wonderful that boise is starting to become this burgeoning craft beer scene,” Skinner said. “The more breweries that are opening up and coming out with a great, quality product and convincing a customer to come in and try their beer and fall in love with it and decide ‘I’m going to try a craft beer the next time I’m out,’ it’s just going to create that much more synergy for the industry as a whole here in Boise.”

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BOISE, IDAHO | 208.343.6820

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Hops lay in huge drying bins before they are packaged into bails.

HOP COMMODITY Inside the Idaho hop harvest

Z ACH HAGADONE | PHOTOS BY KEL SE Y HAWES

According to most beer historians, hops were first cultivated by growers in the Hallertau region of Bavaria in southern Germany. Going back to at least the 11th century, hops were added to beer not only to preserve it, but enhance its flavor.

Improving on 1,000 years of tradition might seem like a fool’s errand, but brewers have continued to experiment with hops, cross-breeding them into countless varieties to create the kaleidoscope of styles and tastes we enjoy today.

In Idaho, we’re blessed with two distinct hop growing areas: in the colder north of the panhandle and the sunnier, drier climes of the south.

Taken together, the Gem State’s hop regions give it the third-highest hop yield in the nation.

During the hop harvest in late September, Boise Weekly accompanied Lance Chavez and Matt Bryant—head brewer and assistant brewer, respectively, at Boise Brewing—to Obendorf Farms in Parma, where they gathered the precious ingredient for their Mr. Freshy’s Fresh Hop Ale. The process of making a fresh hop ale is deceptively simple: pluck the hops from the bine (yes, that’s spelled right) and drop them in the wort.

The trick is doing it in as little time as possible to ensure maximum freshness. The resulting flavor is as fascinating as the process is picturesque.

Top left: A specialized tractor cuts the bines from an overhead lattice of wires, dropping them into a waiting truck bed. Bottom left: A look inside the factory.

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B OI SE WE E KLY.C O M

(L-R) Boise Brewing Assistant Brewer Matt Bryant and Head Brewer Lance Chavez.

An Obendorf Farms employee wades through the drying hops in order to take moisture readings.

Once dried, the hops are compressed, then hand-tied into canvas bails for shipment.

The yellow stuff—called lupulin—is the good stuff; that’s where the hop resin and oils reside.

A view of the hop bines after being cropped and trucked away for processing.

Rows of full bines can be seen to the right.

B OI S E WEEKLY.C O M

BOISEweekly | Brew Times 2016 | 13

Beer Events

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12

MONDAY, OCT. 17

FREE BEER TASTING—Every Wednesday. 7-8 p.m. FREE. Brewer’s Haven, 1795 S. Vista Ave., 208-991-4677, brewerhaven.com

PAYETTE BREWING KEGS 4 KAUSE—Payette will donate 50 percent of tap sales to the Bogus Basin Ski Patrol. 5-10 p.m., FREE. Payette Brewing Company, 733 S. Pioneer St., 208-344-0011, payettebrewing.com

SATURDAY, OCT. 15 BARBARIAN BREWING ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY—Help Barbarian Brewing celebrate its first birthday with 20 beers on tap, including Big Bad Funky Wolf, Mystery Barrel Sour 1.0, Bourbon Barrel Sour Porter, Sour Noir, and Belgian Golden Strong with Plums and Apricots. Plus FunkShine bottle release, special bottle releases from the cellar, live music by Alturas and First Chair from 4-7 p.m., and Wetos Locos and Mister BBQ food trucks. For 21 and older. 3-10 p.m., FREE. Barbarian Brewing, 5270 E. Chinden Blvd., Garden City, barbarianbrewing.com FALLAPALOOZA—Come to celebrate a good cause, stay for the beer from featured brewery Sockeye at this event celebrating the Women’s and Children’s Alliance. Includes a silent auction and donation drive for the WCA, plus two pie-eating contests, live entertainment and guest speakers, kids area, food, beer/wine garden, and a marketplace, featuring local businesses and artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m, FREE. Ann Morrison Park, 1000 N. Americana Blvd., fallapalooza.com MAD SWEDE BREWING GRAND OPENING PARTY—Join Mad Swede Brewing Company for its official grand opening party. Stop by for raffles, games, prizes, food trucks, live music and more.

The brewery will be open from 2 p.m.-2 a.m. and events begin at 4 p.m. Follow on social media (@ madswedebrewing) for updates. 4 p.m.-midnight, FREE. Mad Swede Brewing Company; 2772 S. Cole Road, Ste. 140; 208-922-6883; madswedebrewing.com

FOR WEEKLY UPDATES ON LOCAL BEER EVENTS VISIT BOISEWEEKLY.COM OR BOISEBEERBUDDIES.COM

14 | Brew Times 2016 | BOISEweekly

TUESDAY, OCT. 18 BEER BRAT FUNDRAISER—Grab some eats and sip some suds while supporting a bushel of local charitable organizations. Organized by the Rotary Club of Boise, the event features beer from Powderhaus Brewing Company and Bier:Thirty; food from Big Mike’s Tids and Bits, The Refuge Restaurant and Lounge, and Franz Bakery Outlet; and music from Spencer Batt. 5-8 p.m., $15-30. Powderhaus Brewing Company, 9719 W. Chinden Blvd., Garden City, 208-376-4026, powderhausebrewing.com

Aging in Idaho Whiskey Company bourbon barrels since spring, the 10.5 percent ABV warmer represents County Line’s first bottle release.

A limited amount of the 2015 RIP will also be available for a vertical tasting. Join the costume contest for sweet prizes, plus enjoy Halloween-themed snacks and a surprise concoction from the resident mad (beer) scientist. 6-10 p.m., FREE. County Line Brewing, 9115 W. Chinden Blvd., 208-830-2456, countylinebrewing.com

MONDAY, OCT. 31 GEEKS WHO DRINK HALLOWEEN—Enjoy $3 pints and happy hour pricing on apps for a Halloween edition of trivia at Edge Brewing Co. Wear a costume and you’ll be offered specials. Enter the costume contest and you’ll get the chance to win awesome prizes. 7:30-9:30 p.m., FREE. Edge Brewing Co., 525 N. Steelhead Way, 208-9952979, edgebrew.com

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9

PREFUNK BREWERY TOUR—PreFunk Beer Bar and Boise Beer Tours join up to offer a tour of eastern Oregon breweries, including Beer Valley, Prodigal Son, Mt. Emily, Bull Ridge and Barley Browns. Tour includes about 100 ounces of beer, 6-oz. commemorative taster glass and discounts along the way. Sign up at PreFunk (1100 W. Front St.) and meet at Payette Brewing Company (733 S. Pioneer St.) at 9 a.m. Tour returns at 9:30 p.m.

Only 12 seats available. 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m., $150.

Payette Brewing Company, 733 S. Pioneer St., 208-344-0011, payettebrewing.com

PAYETTE BREWING TASTING—7-8 p.m., FREE. Brewer’s Haven, 1795 S. Vista Ave., 208-9914677, brewerhaven.com

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26 TREE CREEK BREWING TASTING—7-8 p.m., FREE. Brewer’s Haven, 1795 S. Vista Ave., 208991-4677, brewerhaven.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 RIP RELEASE/HALLOWEEN PARTY—Check out the release of County Line Brewing’s winter seasonal release, the RIP Russian Imperial Stout.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 PRAY FOR SNOW—10 Barrel Brewing’s annual pre-winter blowout comes to Boise with a rocking party featuring bands, giveaways, a rail jam and, of course, plenty of beer—including the brewery’s popular Pray for Snow winter ale. Times and prices TBA. 10 Barrel Brewing, 830 W. Bannock St., 208-344-5870, 10barrel.com

FRIDAY, NOV. 25 PAYETTE BREWING COMPANY BLACK FRIDAY— For the fifth year in a row, celebrate dark beers with special tappings of aged kegs of stout and porter from across the Northwest, plus offerings from local breweries, food, music and more.

1-10 p.m., $TBA. Payette Brewing Company, 733 South Pioneer St., 208-344-0011, payettebrewing.com B OI SE WE E KLY.C O M

“You Brews, We Cruise.”

Boise Brews Cruise provides a fun educational tour that celebrates Idaho craft beer and gives insight into the brewing process.

On Broad St. between 5th & 6th

Boisebrewing.com /BoiseBrewery @BoiseBrewery B OI S E WEEKLY.C O M

Call Today

208.800.9132

BoiseBrewsCruise.com info@BoiseBrewsCruise.com BOISEweekly | Brew Times 2016 | 15