Powderhaus Brewing Company

Made the visit about six months after the grand opening, during the week when it was relatively quiet. Still a few folks in and out, which is a good sign. The interior, and exterior for that matter, of the building is nicely done. Feels like you’re on vacation at a small town Idaho resort, not in the middle of Boise. As Rich said the coolest part is probably the cutout keg for a urinal in the men’s room. The staff was relatively mute during my visit, but access to beer was easy enough. So far their beer has been hit or miss for me, with about 2 misses for every 1 hit. Word on the street is they are improving and at this point still a couple months shy of being open a year. I’m surprised to see as much of their stuff in bottles and cans at this point… I’ve been a little shy to buy even though the prices are generally okay. Overall I’m cautiously optimistic about them growing into a position as a decent neighborhood brewpub, but with 2-3 solid brewers just down the street they’ve got their work cut out for them just to keep relevant with the local scene.

Opening night, and a few kinks in the hose, so to speak. Overcrowded, bar staff had tough time accommodating the crowd, and engaged in conversation with patrons, despite the long lines and wait time. Only four taps available, some room for growth here Nice hunting lodge feel to the place, knotty pine and such, some German influence.. Will re-rate again after they’ve settled down second visit. Much more relaxed and better service, but beer is still iffy.

I stopped in for the first time last week. I had not even driven past the location since they built it. On the outside it looks great lots of space. Inside is a big cabin feel with lots of open space. The sad thing is at this point the beer is pretty bad. Maybe with time and work the brewer will learn the system and start doing good stuff. They pumped a lot of cash into this place. Now they just need some good beer and they will be set.

The decor in this place is weird. It’s trying to look like a rustic cabin with animal trophies on the wall. There is a lot of fake wood panels. Looks like they put a lot of time in making it look like they paid a lot for the decorations, even though close up you can tell its cheap. The coolest thing about this place is the urinal is a cutout Budweiser keg, which I think is trying to be a joke on Bud being piss water. I find the joke funny, but when your beer is shittier than Budweiser’s you probably should not make jokes. I tried most of the beers on tap and they were all horrible. Heavy diacetyl in most of the beers. The IPA had no hops character at all. But hey if they can get their act together and make good beer it will make a great location for another Vista pawn.