New brewery opens with six beers on tap
Standing behind the bar at Bonsai Brewing Project last week, Graham Hart still had a difficult time believing his hard work had finally turned a dream into reality.
“It’s surreal,” he said. “It’s all been in the moment literally. I can’t hardly conceive that this has happened.”
The nanobrewery opened with a selection of six beers and a ginger ale on tap. Lil Blond Honey, Initiation Ale, Due North IRA, Sheriff John Brown and The Unkindness Stout are planned standards for the brewery.
Bonsai Brewing Project came out of Hart’s passion for home brewing. He started with small batches then expanded to brewing for large block parties. He would eventually go on to attend Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s beer camp and later work as an assistant brewer at Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside. But Hart still held onto his dream of opening his own brewery in his hometown.
Hart began work in earnest last year to bring Bonsai Brewing to reality. He moved into a space at the Mountain Mall where he installed a custom-made barrel brewing system. The place was painted with help from family and friends, a wooden bar was installed and old beer bottles were lined on shelves around the space.
A Kickstarter campaign held in August raised $17,800 for the brewery and allowed Graham to continue working toward opening. The names of those who contributed to the campaign hang on the wall in the brewery.
“Family, friends and being in the community really made this happen,” Keela Smith, Hart’s girlfriend, said.
Bonsai had a great turnout in its first weekend open. They plan to continue celebrating their opening this weekend with live music in the food court area next to the brewery.
Bonsai expects to serve beer from its taproom along with growlers to go, but will not be bottling its beer. Hart plans to have standard ales and rotate seasonal creations.
“We want a wide range of beers that appeal to everybody,” he said. “We want to keep it fresh. Brewing beer is artistic in getting to create something new, but there’s also science involved to make sure one beer taste the same every time.”
Lil Blond Honey uses the sweetness of Glacier County Honey Co. honey to make a naturally blond ale. Initiation Ale is the next step up with a special malt that creates a toffee characteristic to the beverage.
Due North IRA, an India Red Ale, is dark red in color with a bolder malt flavor than the common IPA. Sheriff John Brown is described as having a smooth creamy maltiness that rolls across the tongue. The Unkindness Stout is a West Coast style stout with dark roast and pine aroma that soars into deep chocolate flavor.
For the opening, Small Fry Ginger Ale debuted for both a non-alcoholic and gluten-free option. Special beer for the opening was the Big Poppa Imperial IPA.
Hart is already planning a black IPA for his next special beer as he continues to change the seasonal lineup.
“Your pallet changes throughout the season,” he said. “In the winter you probably want a dark beer to keep you warm, but during the summer it’s something light, fizzy and refreshing.”
Bonsai Brewing is open Wednesday to Friday from 3-8 p.m. and Saturday noon to 8 p.m. Growlers will be filled until 9 p.m.