Close to my home of Parker, ID, Brownstone Brewing Inc. just happens to be within 100 yds of the Best Western Driftwood Inn, where we are staying on our Idaho leg of the trip.  We noticed it last time we were here but didn’t get a chance to visit, so I made a point of walking down after the kids were in bed tonight.  Pretty darn glad I did, to be honest.  While I wouldn’t say this is the best in the west, it isn’t bad for being the only brewery I can find in the city.  I arrived just as they were doing last call and was able to get a taste of their five that they had available on tap from their brewery: pilsner, pale ale, amber bock, nut brown, and winter.  The pilsner was pretty damn good… different but good… the pale like no other pale I have ever had, the amber bock was like a smokey dark lager… really pretty good, the nut brown had no nose or taste, and the winter smelled like ass (seriously… not even joking) and I couldn’t bring myself to tasting enough to know what it would taste like.  For the novelty, I chose the pale ale in a 1/2 gallon growler ($12 this time, $10.50 to refill), bought a beer glass to enjoy it in ($3), and headed back to the hotel.

So… here I sit on the free wifi after polishing off my first glass, feeling very relaxed after a good day of chilling with the family.  I guess I need to get to the review…

The color is darker than normal… I wouldn’t usually expect a pale to be more of a copper/amber color, but this one is.  The nose is sweet… almost like they used brown sugar in it a bit hoppy but not much… the body is ever so slightly hoppy but really taste the malt in there.  I don’t know if folks out here could handle real hoppy beer, to be honest, so maybe this is a good call… the finish is short and compact, refreshing and clean.  Really quite easy to drink, this isn’t your typical pale ale but I like it… it is different and tasty and that is about all I need.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again