Frequently Asked Questions

We are proudly located in the Old Firehouse #6 on Fairview ave and Liberty Street in Boise (1620 N Liberty St, Boise, ID 83704).  It’s just off the Curtis Exit, across from Zamzows and down the street from Flying Pie Pizza.  Our hours are currently:

Come visit us soon!

To see what we are regularly pouring:  https://www.bearislandbrewing.com/taproom/

**Please note that we often rotate our specialties so the best thing to do is come in and ask the Barkeep what’s new. 

Do we do to-go’s?…Yes!! Here’s what we do:

+Growlers (32oz, 64oz, 128oz)
+Crowlers (16 oz Cans filled on site)
+Kegs for events (based on current inventory, please see our off-site event FAQ)

*We are unable to provide our kegs for personal kegerators at this time as we need our kegs back in a more timely fashion (to clean them and put more beer in them). 🙂

For our first year and half, we did not meet the brewery exception law to allow kids, thus no one under 21 was allowed at our facility as per Idaho Law.  Now we have the brewery in place, BUT due to the nature of our business and to continue to provide a safe and comfortable environment,  we do not allow dogs or anyone under the age of 21 inside our facility.  We do allow well-behaved kids and dogs on a leash on the patio only.  (Legitimate service dogs are of course allowed inside).

***There was a lot of time and research into updating our policies, please respect them and plan accordingly when you visit us.  Thanks!

Bear Island Brewing makes ‘liquid bread’ only.  BUT we do enjoy supporting local brands whenever possible.  Therefore currently we have some local ‘snacks’ available and you are able to order in food as you like as we build the snack menu up.

No worries!  We nabbed your card at the beginning so we can close it at the end of the night even if you forgot.  Please note though that we charge a 22% gratuity for tabs left open, unless you specifically instruct us otherwise.

We love to support our community and do so whenever possible, but please realize that we get contacted daily for donations. Thus please follow our procedure for these types of requests:

See our donation policy and request form here:  https://www.bearislandbrewing.com/donation-request/

AT BEAR ISLAND: Our event space is now taken up by the brewery!!!  Thus, we have outdoor space that can be reserved to accommodate large groups (20-90 people).
For smaller groups, we can sanction off some tables in the bar area.

We just need a heads up to be able to have enough staff scheduled and to prepare your area  Please use our ‘contact us form’ to give us the date, time, amount of people, and any special requests.

**If your group is smaller than 12 people, please come ahead to save a few tables.

Thanks!

EVENTS OFF SITE: Events are awesome! However, they do take planning and at least 3-4 weeks notice if you want us to be there to participate. Please use our contact form to send us the following information:
+Type of event
+Location, Date and Time
+Specifics of what you are asking Bear Island to provide (kegs only, kegs and party pump, kegs with bar service, full setup with bar service)

*If you are selling alcohol at this event and your location is not already permitted for consumption of alcohol on site, we legally have to go through a permit process through the city (catering permit). We will need a drawing of the premise (where alcohol will be served) and a copy of the facility’s occupancy license. This process usually takes about 2 weeks to process.

**If your event is for charity and you are requesting a donation, please go through our donation procedure.

PLEASE NOTE that we never host or participate in events that could be construed as political in nature.

While we do not have any specific positions that we are hiring for currently, we are always looking to grow. Thus if you feel you would be a great addition to our team, please drop off your resume or send it in here: Email

We started this entire operation in our 2-car residential garage at our home in west Boise!  We brewed there for about 5.5 years before upgrading in June 2020 to new custom equipment by Specific Mechanical Systems and now brew exclusively out of Ol’ Firehouse #6 (or as we like to call it “Brewhouse #6). We are still very small but this gives the ability to expand our operations and serve our nearby community as the ‘neighborhood living room.’

No, Idaho® Potato Ale is not Gluten Free because it is still made with barley.

Technically none of our brews can be called ‘gluten free’ because they all are made with barley.  We have 2 “Gluten Reduced” brews that we have had much success with: “BrewHouse#6” and “Ammo Bocks”)

Beth and Steve are proud US NAVY Veterans that served as EOD technicians (Explosive Ordnance Disposal).   Everyone who works at Bear Island is either a veteran or related to one!

We are very proud that we have literally ‘bootstrapped’ this company from scratch and remained debt free (this is why we started in our garage).  Therefore, every pint goes towards growth and our team members directly instead of a pile pile of bills or paying off investors.  Thank you for your support!!!

We are huge advocates of financial stability and highly recommend checking out “Financial Peace University” by Dave Ramsey.  Cheers!