By: Sarah Reish

We have enjoyed WYOld West Brewing Company beer on many occasions, but haven’t yet had the opportunity to highlight this amazing Powell brewery in Live WYld. We reached out to Steve Samuelson, the brewer, and set up a day to head over for a tour and tasting. Special thanks to our amazing sponsor Juli, owner of Libations in Cody, for sponsoring this brewery tour.

History

WYOld West Brewing Company was established in early 2014. The goal was to create a place for the community to enjoy good beer and good food. It has since grown to offer an additional location, a tap room in Cody - which they use for R&D. The Powell location is the one we visited and will be sharing about. The location itself was once the bowling alley. The brewery was opened in phases, rather than all at once. First as a liquor store and tasting room, which are no longer there, as the brewery expanded into what it is today. The official first beer brewed was the G-Street Pale Ale.

Brewers

Today the brewery and beer making sits in the very capable hands of Steve Samuelson and Zac “Spud” Baker. We met with them and started the experience with a tasting and then had a tour. Both of these guys made it an epic experience. We not only learned about the beers, but also how each ingredient needs to be handled to extract certain flavors. For example we learned the boiling time is important; 5 minutes = aroma, 20 minutes = flavor, 60 minutes = bitterness. The little details make enjoying a beer all the better.

The beers

While the Cody Tap Room only has 10 beers on tap, the Powell brewery always has 12. We did a small tasting of each and here is a look at each one.

Brow Buster Blonde

This light beer is the beer you want to give your friends as you try to bring them into the craft brewing world. If you are looking to dip your toes into craft brewing this is the perfect beer.

Heart Mountain Hefe

This is a hefeweizen beer. The classic subtle flavors are there and not at all overpowering.

Buckin’ Ryed Honey

This rye beer has wonderful depth and flavor. It is made with rye, obviously, but also with local honey from a gentleman named Buck, hence the name.

Outlaw Justice Pale Ale

This American Pale Ale is delicious, but not overpowering. The flavors hit both the front and back of the pallet, but do not linger.

Sneaky Peach

This is a great beer! The flavors have been layered and made possible because of the dry hops added during the final steps of making this beer. This beer opens with great aromatics and ends with a beautiful flavorful finish.

Sage Creak IPA

This is a fantastic IPA. The flavors are earthy and smooth with a pine and resin-y finish.

Rodeo Clown Red

This is a great red that hits the pallet with balanced flavors. It includes malty flavors and is not hop focused.

Kilted Cowboy

This is the flagship beer and is the #1 beer sold from WYOld West Brewing Company. It is a Scottish Ale that is made with a peated malt that is used when making scotch. The malt makes it red and the peat adds the smoke. The caramel malt provides the flavor. The grain in the beer comes from the Big Horn Basin and is shipped to Wisconsin to malt it. This beer is smooth and light on the pallet and packs a ton of great flavor.

Sleepy G Porter

This beer was a request from the folks at Sleeping Giant. Unique and enjoyable, this is a dry beer with tannins. Flavors of bakers chocolate, not roast-y nor burnt, more of a chocolate malt. There is control in the beer as the sweetness is balanced. Reminiscent of a cold brew coffee.

Homesteader Stout Nitro Beer

Smooth with a coffee like acidity. This beer is like velvet coffee with a creamy like texture.

Flying Diamond Peanut Butter Stout

The aromatics are that of a peanut butter jar and the beer has lactate added which provides a creamy texture and flavor. Inspired by a peanut butter cup this beer is perfect and I wouldn’t want it any other way. PAUSE: Can everyone take a moment and travel back to their childhood. Think about the Little Debby Nutty Bars. These guys have taken that nostalgic flavor and made it into a beer. They literally bottled nostalgia. This beer is incredible.

The food

We did eat and enjoyed our lunch after the tasting and before the tour. I enjoyed a PB&J burger - I need to share that it is a pork belly jam burger. It was sweet, salty and delicious. Steve enjoyed a burger as well. We love the WYOld West Brewing food served at both locations. Their Cobb Salad is fantastic! Be sure to explore their menu next time you go in for some beer.

The tour

Steve and Spud gave us the tour and explained their process of making each beer. The grain room is for milling and prepping the grains for beer making. We even had the opportunity to smell the various malts that were roasted to learn how each enhanced the beer and provided different flavor profiles. From there we discussed the different beers they make and can. By the way, congrats WYOld West Brewing Company on the new canning machine! Be sure to pick up some beer to take home and enjoy! We ended the tour with a tasting of the almost complete Jalapeño Beer named, “That !@#? Jalapeño Beer”, it will be on tap on April 6th! It has amazing flavor without the heat.

The details

Here is everything you need to know to plan your visit.

Locations

Powell WYOld West Brewing Company
221 N Bent St, Powell, WY 82435

Cody WYOld West Tap Room

1022 13th Street, Cody, WY 82414

Hours of Operation

Powell Brewery and Cody Taproom
MON – SAT
11:00am – 10:30pm

Powell Brewery
SUN
11:00am – 7:00pm

Powell Brewery
Happy Hours
MON – FRI
2:00PM – 6:00pm

Grab a pint!

Thank you, WYOld West Brewing Company - So head to the tap room or the brewery and enjoy a tasting, tour, meal or all three. Be sure to grab some photos to post on social media. Tag us @LiveWYldMag and use #LiveWYld

WYOld West Brewing Company