USA, ID: Mad Swede Brewing Company saying goodbye to Boise

A local brewery is saying goodbye to Boise, Boisedev.com reported on October 10.

In an email to customers, Mad Swede Brewing Company announced that its Cole Rd. taproom and production facility in South Boise will permanently close next week. The downtown Boise taproom will close at the end of the year.

The email cited “a tough run ever since the pandemic” as the reason for the closure.

Additionally, the email hinted that another brewery could take over the Cole Rd. space, saying “…rest assured, we want to raise one more glass (or several) together before we pass the torch to the next generation of Boise brewers.”

Jerry and Susie Larson opened opened Mad Swede in South Boise in 2016. While the two spent much of their careers working as engineers for Hewlett-Packard, brewing beer was always a hobby, and eventually a business.

Mad Swede is known for Viking-themed brews with edgy and cheeky names. The brewery offers Bad Motha-Fika Coffee Brown Ale, Naked Sunbather Nut Brown Ale and Lollygagger Lager, among other varieties.

Jerry Larson told BoiseDev that the craft beer industry already appeared poised for a flattening out when the pandemic hit. At that point, cash flow for the business essentially went to zero, he said. Then, he said there was an overestimation of how well the industry would bounce back afterward.

“You can only be screaming expansion for so long,” he said.

The Larsons are inviting the community to a farewell party at the Cole Rd. location on Tuesday, October 14, which will be the last day of operation.

“This has been an incredible nine years brewing beer and building community in South Boise, and from the bottom of our hearts we thank you for making this journey an incredible one,” the email said.

The downtown taproom will close after New Year’s Eve.

“Stock up on your favorite beers, snag future-vintage glassware and merch, and let’s make these last months ones to remember,” the email reads. “Let’s send Mad Swede off the way Vikings would’ve wanted — with music, laughter, and a whole lot of beer.”

Larson said that when they opened in 2016, they estimated they had about ten years to work before they planned to retire. With a new grandbaby in their life, he said the timing is right.

“We’re looking forward to a little bit more relaxation and a little bit more time on our hands instead of working six and a half days a week,” he said.