Company is being built on family values and honors soldiers who disarm explosive devices.
Mad Bomber Brewing Company, located in Hayden, is seeking state and federal permits and is on schedule to open its new craft brewery in mid-September. The company is part-owned by three Army explosive ordnance disposal technicians who named the company for their profession.
“We’ve been getting such an incredible response from everyone, we can’t wait to open!” said Tom Applegate, one of the owners and head brewer of Mad Bomber Brewing. “The level of support we’ve gotten from the community so far is nothing short of a miracle.”
Applegate has been busy building the brewery this year with his partners, SSG John Taylor and SGT Alan Longacre, and Applegate’s wife, Stephanie. SSG Nicholas Reid was an original partner and supporter of the brewery until an explosive device took his life in December 2012.
Initially, Mad Bomber will be brewing on a system that can produce about 40 gallons of beer per batch, which is impressive considering most of their equipment was built in their garage to keep initial costs down. They’ve been brewing for a little over three years, and have devoted most of that time to developing recipes and designing equipment.
For the Mad Bomber team, brewing is a family endeavor. The brewery’s goal is help people have as much fun visiting and tasting as the team does working there. The beers will follow typical American styles – pale, brown, porter, India pale ale (IPA), and amber. The focus for the Mad Bomber team is on technically sound brewing that produces consistent, quality ales. However, the brewery also will have the occasional rotating tap to keep things interesting and a little wild, but Applegate’s intention is to have an approachable and dependable product.
Most importantly for Applegate is to honor the brave soldiers who sleep next to a phone or radio, waiting to walk toward something that the rest of the world runs away from. Several of the Mad Bomber beers are named for very good friends of the family who were recently killed while disarming explosive devices in Afghanistan.
For the most up-to-date information about Mad Bomber Brewing, visit the company Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Mad-Bomber-Brewing-Company. The company Web site is under construction at https://madbomberbrewing.com/.