Bend-based 10 Barrel Brewing opened a pub in downtown Boise, creating 122 new jobs.
From KTVB.com in Boise co-owner Garrett Wales says his company is about simplicity and beer. “Just nice and simple and clean,” he said. “Just make it about the beer.”
Wales said the company started in 2006 with a small ten barrel brewing system. “And (we) just really grew organically, very slow and just started off selling beer to our friends that owned bars,” Wales said.
Idaho‘s unemployment rate held steady at 6.2 percent in March, but there’s a sliver of a silver lining in Boise.
That’s because a newly-opened brewery in Boise added 122 new jobs to the state’s workforce.
10 Barrel Brewing Company — founded in Bend, is finally ready to open their pub in a historic brick building on the corner of Bannock and Ninth Streets in downtown Boise.
As he walks around the brewery, Wales said has one message that should come across solid. “We want people to feel like you are walking into a brewery that has a restaurant in it, not a restaurant that brews beer,” he said.
Wales said the company started in 2006 with a small ten barrel brewing system. “And (we) just really grew organically, very slow and just started off selling beer to our friends that owned bars,” Wales said.
“(We) had our eyes on Boise pretty much the whole time,” recalls Wales.
BREWING STALLED FOR A SHORT TIME
10 Barrel opened their Bend pub in 2010 and soon after, work started on Boise. Although, they were already distributing their beer to the Boise market, they ran into hurdles with state law when it came time to finally open the Boise pub.
“There was some legislative issues as far as statutes on the books and the interpretation of those, I guess you could say,” explained Wales.
Beer lovers can remember walking along the building at Bannock and 9th reading signs taped to the windows, saying 10 Barrel Brewing was “Coming Soon,” in the summer of 2012.
But it didn’t quite happen that way, and many in the community were curious as to why.
“It took a lot longer than we had hoped for, but at the end of the day we got exactly what we wanted which was to open up this spot in downtown and just join the community,” said Wales.
The Boise community is certainly glad they joined, bringing with them over a hundred new local jobs. “We have got a big family that we are putting together,” said Wales.
“I am pretty excited I am pretty pumped,” said 10 Barrel Brewmaster Shawn Kelso. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Kelso comes from Baker City, Oregon and has been brewing beer for twelve years.
10 Barrel will showcase 15 of their original beers on tap in the form of twelve 600 gallon tanks. Kelso said the operation is a bit different than what beer-goers might be used to, instead of the serving tanks hidden behind glass; he will be perfecting his beer recipes out in the open pub house.
“(They) get to smell when the hops go in the kettle, the aromas and the grain when it’s being mashed,” said Kelso.
The love of craft beer is rapidly growing in Idaho and this Oregon-based brewery is hoping to add to it.
“We are really excited to officially join the community and add 10 Barrel to the mix of great breweries that are in town already and are coming into town soon and we just want to have fun,” said Wales.
