USA, WY: Mountain Hops Brewhouse opens in Casper

The Oil City is rapidly becoming a Brew City as another local craft brewery opens in its historic downtown corridor, K2 Radio reported.

Mountain Hops Brewhouse launched a soft opening of its new downtown location on the corner of Center and 2nd streets in Casper this week after months of preparation. The location at 101 E. 2nd was most recently occupied by a real estate firm, and for decades before was a jewelry business. It puts Mountain Hops’ second Casper location within short walking distances from Black Tooth Brewing, Frontier Brewing Company, Bull Horn Brewing and the recently opened Cygnet Brewing Company.

“It just seems to be the place where everybody is,” said owner and brewer Eric Magnuson, who opened Mountain Hops at 614 N. Beverly in June 2020. Now, after nearly five years of successfully cultivating loyal fans and enthusiasts, he’s ready to open a second space with a different vibe and more indoor seating. “We thought we could better serve the community here and get a little bit more exposure for the amazing craft beer scene we have.”

General manager Michelle Webb said feedback was instantly positive when they first started floating the idea. “Everybody was like, ‘Hell yeah,'” she said.

Eric emphasizes that their beer and original location — known for its unique, tree-covered outdoor space — will stay the same. “We want to keep that patio rocking like it always has,” said Michelle. “That’s the first thing everybody keeps asking us, ‘Is the patio going to stay open over there?'” added Eric. “Absolutely yes.”

Most of their brewing will still take place at the original location, but the new downtown system will allow them room for experimentation. “Once we really get kicking, it’s going to be our test facility since it’s a smaller brewhouse,” he said. “We get to test out our fun stuff before we take it to the big system.”

The remodel and inspections went “as smooth as pudding,” said Michelle, and they’ve been encouraged with the number of positive comments from downtown merchants. “Everybody’s been so welcoming; that’s really cool,” said Eric.

They offered a soft opening exclusively for their most loyal customers on Tuesday, April 8, and will have their grand opening this Saturday, April 12. Michelle said their exact hours aren’t locked in yet, but they are aiming to open for lunch at 11 a.m. and close around 9 p.m. They also intend to operate seven days per week, with shorter hours on Sundays.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .