This new brewery had to close because Boise liked it too much. Here’s when it reopens

Brown Beard Brewing Co. owner Bryce Tuttle knew opening weekend might be a little hairy.

“I’ve never even poured a beer commercially before this,” admitted Tuttle, a former home brewer.

But he didn’t have much time to stroke his whiskers and think about it.

Brown Beard was so busy that Tuttle temporarily closed shop afterward — two normal days off, three unplanned — for a total of five days dark.

The brewery will reopen Saturday.

“Crazy,” Tuttle said about the experience.

“We have to brew more beer!” Brown Beard explained on Facebook.

A microbrewery, Brown Beard debuted Friday at 9165 W. Chinden Blvd. in Garden City. With creative, reasonably priced pints and a happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m., the local business pulled in curious, knowledgeable customers.

As Brown Beard’s sole employee, Tuttle relied on volunteers to help him through the weekend. Brown Beard sold completely through three of its eight beers, he said, with “very little of the rest left.” That forced him to shut down and restock.

Bringing additional small tanks from his Boise home and working 18 hours Monday, Tuttle began a marathon. It ended with a couple of gallons of beer spilled on the floor two days later. “It was kind of a mess — all sticky,” he said. “I got all cleaned up, and I was like, ‘You know what? This probably wouldn’t have happened if I had some sleep.’ So I went home and slept about seven hours. Then went back about 8 a.m.”

Beer menu

Brown Beard will serve five beers and pour from three guest taps when it returns to action, he said. Open from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, the brewery will host live music from Scott Sweet and Greg Bridges, plus offer nourishment from Emily’s Mexican Grill food truck.

An online menu showcases the five Brown Beard beers that will be sold:

▪ Weissbier ($5.50): “Light-bodied, unfiltered Bavarian Hefeweizen with flavors of banana, clove and Weihenstephan yeast.”

▪ Dunkelweizen ($5.50): “Bavarian dark wheat beer.”

▪ Juicy 5 ($6): Double IPA with “a massive amount of Lupomax hops ... leaving your palate feeling like it was roundhoused by Chuck Norris.”

▪ The Alley Cat Breakfast Stout ($6): “With hints of chocolate, maple syrup and a light-roasted malt finish. Aged on bourbon barrel staves for a barrel-aged finish.”

▪ The Beard Labrewskie ($6): “Golden stout with lactose, aged on vanilla bean, arabica coffee beans and single barrel rum staves.

‘Dream come true’

Brown Beard Brewing’s normal hours are 2 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2 to 11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Assuming that its bearded owner doesn’t run out of liquid again.

After brewing at home for the past seven years, Tuttle, a former electrician, still sounds shocked by his grand opening.

And grand entrance into the beer industry.

“It was kind of a dream come true, kind of a rush,” he said. “Unbelievably unexpected. But yeah, it was just fantastic. Got a lot of good feedback, too.”