The Blacktooth Brewing Company- Sheridan, Wyoming

 Blacktooth Brewing Company employees and Andrea

Andrea and I get along really well, we are quite good friends at this point, having similar interests, both professionally and in regard to our hobbies.  One such hobby is our mutual appreciation for good beer.  I love a regular beer too, no doubt.  A PBR sure tastes great while you are floating the river, or out camping in the mountains. But there is something so much greater about a beer that has been considered, worked and re-worked, in an effort to achieve the right balance in taste, alcohol content, finish, all those traits that are attributed to those select beers that make you not only appreciate them, but actually become a bit of a nerd in your appreciation for them.  Beer snobs, nerds, what have you…a growing trend and increasingly common moniker, one that Andrea and myself embrace.

 

 Check out those sweet pint glasses

 

We were driving through downtown Sheridan, about to visit our mutually favorite bar in the state of Wyoming, The Mint, when Andrea remembered that a brewery was opening up.  We walked into the building, a former auto shop; entirely industrial, with gorgeous brick all around; black and granite accents, and a wide, open floor plan.  The co-owner, Tim, was busy working on the finishing touches for the grand opening of The Blacktooth Brewing Company, set for this Friday.  The brewery takes its name from Blacktooth Moutain, a peak in the Bighorn Mountains. Blacktooth is second largest after Cloud Peak, which stands at a nice 13,167 feet.  We began chatting with Tim and one of his employees, a sweet young woman named Andrea. We were interested in the merchandise, and of course the beer.  Generous samples of the four beers on tap were passed around: Pronghorn Pale Ale, Wagon Box Wheat, Bomber Mountain Amber Ale, and Stumpy Ridge Stout, each possessing a name that has resonance with residents of the Bighorn Mountain region.  Locals, you know what I mean.

 Even awesome growlers!

Tim informed us of a sweet deal he’s working on, “If you give me an empty Growler from another brewery for my wall collection, I will give you a Blacktooth Brewing Company Growler full of your choice of beer”.  I thought quickly back to the growler that I had purchased back at the Kettlehouse Brewery in Missoula, which was still in the car.  I ran out into the snow, grabbed the growler, and in a few minutes had a full beer ready to share with everyone for the remainder of the holiday break.  Sweet! 

 Symmetry is beautiful

Gorgeous steel brew vats

Everyone at the brewery was awesome; despite not being officially open, Tim encouraged Andrea and I to stay and have a pint.  We asked him questions about beer, and found out that they are dreaming up a holiday Porter, so that’s something fun to look forward to.  He also gave me the go ahead to walk around the facility and take some photos, which I was eager to do, since this was the only my second brewery I’ve been to.  We thanked everyone for their hospitality, and promised to return this Friday night for Sheridan’s ever-popular Winter Stroll.  It was then that Tim told us that Andrea and I were Blacktooth Brewing Company’s first ever customers, a title that we were so excited about, which only served to further forge our “Beer Nerd” identities. 

           

 Top of the line brew equipment

So, point is, if ever in Sheridan, and you consider yourself a fan of good beer, do yourself a favor and stop into this fine establishment.  And don’t forget to bring an empty growler to trade!

 

Travis the Brewmaster