Mad Swede Brewing Company

Day 5 on the ‘malt assault & 5 state hop’ loop now working our way back west to Portland. Damn near 6 hours in from Jackson. We hoteled, we beered & fooded, and hit 2 breweries within walking distance of the hotel but now we need to branch out some. Tap room downtown, but the brewery proper is a little way outside of town. Good call on this one, Greg (the guy we were talking to at the last place), definitely the play…

So, standalone delivered off a Lyft ride from awesome Joe. In and to the bar, an ‘L’ wood slat topped laminated with a horizontal plank base. Seating for 7 on black leather swivel chairs. Barback wall is glassfront horizontal and vertical looking in over the brewery. A 16 tap handle row on stainless on below the far window. Beer medals dangling from a boat oar above and glassware shelved down under. Drop mix & match filament bulb lamps tracing the bar. I’m sorry, what? Yes, of course there’s a standalone popcorn machine on the barback. Why wouldn’t there be?

Black concrete floor, black & clear panel drop ceiling with strung egg bulb lighting all across the room back & forth. Windows front & side shaded (I see you out there, food truck!), and mostly white walls save that viking mural down on the far end, the orange patch there (me pointing), and the lime green section at the end of the bar holding the draft listed on slat boards (beer, style, ABV, IBU). Light art, a single flat in the corner, & merch on one wall. A table shuffleboard table here, and another one that, well, I don’t know, there. It’s like pool with barriers (apparently, it’s ‘Bar billards’. Similar to English bumper pool). A dozen+ mix & match tables, high, low, shared, shorty, picnic. And a small seating pen with 10 tables under awning out front.

15 beers up, a good mix of standards and a few surprises (Mundo Loco, Mexican Style Lager, 4.5%; Serrano & Habanero Mundo Loco, 4.6%; Thunder Feather, Lite Beer, 4%; Danegeld, Golden Ale, 4.7%; Himinglaeva, Hazy Pale Ale, 5.5%; Sunstone, Hazy IPA, 6.3% Longship, NW IPA, 6.6%; Helm of Awe, Robust Oatmeal Porter, 6%; Caber Toss This, Ye Wee Lad, Scotch Ale, 7.2%; Naked Sunbather, Nut Brown Ale, 5%; Shakesbeer, ESB, 5.7%; Loven 890, Belgian Summer Stout, 6.5%; Midnight Saison, Dark Saison, 5.5%; Skull Banger, DIPA, 9.7%; Helhest, Dutch Oat Ale, 5.2%), + Mead (Mythic Mead, 13.5%), Cider (Meriwether Semi Dry Cider) and Wine (Split Rail Cab or Rose).

Caber Toss This, Ye Wee Lad, Scotch Ale, malty, caramel, just very fucking nice; Longship WC IPA, bitter, piney, WC solid; Shakesbeer, ESB, sweet but misses somehow, it was just okay; Naked Sunbather, Nut Brown, has some nuttiness about it, sure, and brings, you know… ‘it!’ I have deemed the Naked Sunbather Nut Brown to be best of show although the Scotch Ale & WC IPA were both very good, as well.

Fire Giants Pizza Forge truck was out front that day (I know, I know, they’re gone now, these notes are from the before times). We split a “Going to the ch’apple” pie (chicken, bacon, granny smith apples, chipotle bbq sauce). It was a solid pie. Them guys can cook.

Morgantending today, she is a self-professed “worst bartender ever”. Soon thereafter, we met her parents when they showed up. We didn’t mention that last bit of business to them. Local art, board games, a great pie, and some pretty good beers. Said Jon, 2 minutes in… “They’re all so good. I’m so happy”. That’s high praise from him.

Nice, new and clean, very welcoming. A bit out of the way from downtown. Friendly, big glass windows allow views of brewery. 12 taps with nice range of styles. Free popcorn and food trucks. Usually buzzing

Trendy little tastingroom in a small industrial park on the south side of town by the airport. Social distanced table set up with about 8 tables in the room and small patio seating outside to the left of the entrance. 10 or so beers on tap, the 2 I had were solid. Friendly, efficient service. The pizza guy is gone :-(

I like this place a lot, its a different sort of brewery than the ones nestled down in Boise and Garden City, this is south of town closer to the Airport, not a huge location but big enough to seat several parties, and has a modern feel to it. The servers are always very nice here and helpful, and the brew selection and quality is good-to-great - some fun barrel-aged options to go along with solid flagship brews. Recommended!

Visited Mad Swede on a busy weeknight right before Covid lockdown. Pretty hoppin, quick service that knew their product well. Limited product on the rotation at that time, but they seem to recognize the value of doing a few things great instead of trying to brew every conceivable trendy brew all at once and doing none of them well.

 

this is a happening spot down by the airport, worth the short drive from the center of town to check it out, they have a unique thing going on in here, seem to be making some of the more modern and interesting beers around, along with barbarian and woodland empire, and i enjoyed my time in here. they have done a lot with their taproom space, visually interesting with some eclectic decor and a view to the substantial brewing operation in the back behind the small bar. they had a great selection when i was in, lots of hoppy beers, and i liked the two i had time to drink, which were a very lively and fresh tasting brut, and a clean saison that was very summery and easy drinking. bartender was friendly and cool, other people at the bar were real nice and welcoming, and the energy in here is great. the beer list had a lot of intriguing options too, i will definitely make time for more than just a couple of beers next time i go back. this place is a little off the radar it seems, but likely not for long, the beers were great, even though it was a small sample size, and they seem poised for big things. well worth a visit if you are in boise!

edit: this place has come a long way, they now have an amazing artisan pizza food truck out front, they have built a spacious patio on the side, and they always have something interesting and delicious on tap. frankly they have become one of my favorite local breweries, its always fun and mellow here, and i highly recommend this place. raising a few scores to reflect their growth!