Walking on Clouds at Cloud 9 Brewery #VisitIdaho

Greetings, Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the first in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now Spuds and Suds Beer Tour, which took place in southwestern Idaho, from Boise northward to the mountain resort city of McCall. I got to experience the burgeoning Boise craft beer scene and several impressive breweries in the small but vibrant resort towns. Open a can or bottle of your favorite beer and follow along on my journey through the Gem state of Idaho and my discovery of the beers that make it famous. Cheers!

 

What is your definition of happiness? I know, happiness is a philosophical construct and the way I define happiness is going to be different from the way you define happiness. But one thing my craft beer brethren and I can agree on is that good beer makes any mood, any situation, any experience that much better. And a brewery that invokes feelings of bliss is Cloud 9 Brewery, located at 1750 W. State Street in Boise, Idaho.

Walking on Clouds

Cloud 9 Brewery has been around for a short time, but its tenure in the industry is, in fact, longer than that of other craft breweries. The establishment was founded in 2012 and it utilizes a small, 4- barrel brewing system. The beers are switched out on a routine basis so it is common to find new beer on tap with each visit.

Besides the beer, Cloud 9 Brewery is also known for its quality food. The restaurant strives to serve only the finest foods using locally sourced meats and produce whenever possible. The food is prepared fresh and often features beer as one of its ingredients.

Cloud 9 serves appetizers, salads, burgers/sandwiches, a few entrees, desserts, soups, and assorted sides. They even brew their own root beer using burdock, dandelion, sarsaparilla, cinnamon, honey, and other ingredients for a taste of distinction.

Stratus or Cumulus…..I Mean Ale or Lager?

Cloud 9 brewery serves about 12 of its own beers, with a mixture of regulars and rotational/seasonals. Here is a list of the beers I sampled when I visited, listed alphabetically by name followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a 5- point scale:

• American Amber, Red/Amber Ale, 4
• Fallen DIPA, Imperial IPA, 4
• Helles Munich Pils, Helles Lager, 3.75
• Honey Basil, Mead, 3.5
• NSN IPA, American IPA, 3.75
• Salted Caramel Stout, American Stout, 4

Overall Average Rating: 3.83

Cloud 9 Brewery serves up the usual ales, but they also had a lager on tap when I visited and a spicy mead. I liked the beers almost equally well with a special nod to the Salted Caramel Stout because I’m a fan of darker brew.

Feeling High

Cloud 9 Brewery is yet another Idaho craft brewery located near downtown Boise. Situated about one mile northwest of the State Capital Building, this nano brewery and restaurant is ready and waiting to please guests with fine food and brew.

I made my way to Cloud 9 Brewery on an early fall evening with other beer and travel bloggers as part of an organized tour. It was dinnertime and with people arriving from different parts of the country, it made sense to visit a place known as much for its food as for its beer. Cloud 9 Brewery was a good choice for this reason. It’s an establishment well- known by locals, many of whom sing its praises just as much for its quality food as for its beer.

Cloud 9 Brewery has two rooms for dining, plus an outdoor patio that is dog friendly and perfect when the weather is right. The brewhouse is visible through the glass partition and is right next to the bar. If you need to see a list of beers on tap, just glance toward the bar. You will see them all spelled out, on a chalkboard, where they are easy to see. And if you squint, or walk up more closely, you will be able to see the alcohol by volume and IBU written next to each brew.

I had just eaten a meal a couple of hours before I arrived at Cloud 9 but considering that I hadn’t eaten lunch earlier in the day, I was still hungry and besides, I wanted to try something from the menu since I had heard so many positive things about the food. My choice was the chicken pesto sandwich served with a side of quinoa black bean salad. The sandwich and bean salad, washed down with a serving of Cloud 9 brew, helped satisfy any remaining food cravings and left me in a state of contentment.

Cloud 9 Brewery serves mostly ales as expected, but I did manage to find one lager and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they also brew mead! I can’t recall the last time I visited a brewery and was treated to a serving of house- brewed mead. The one they brew here is honey basil and is different from most meads I have tried. The added spiciness sets this mead in a league all its own and makes it match up nicely with most of the food dishes.

Beer makes life better and when combined with good food, well, the combination can be downright heavenly. Cloud 9 Brewery serves the best of both worlds and upon exiting, you feel like you’ve achieved a state of near- nirvana. It’s a great place for satisfying all of your bodily cravings for nourishment and more, so be sure to visit Cloud 9 Brewery the next time you’re in Boise, Idaho. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.

Special thanks to Visit McCall for sponsoring this visit!