The Bonsai Brewing Project, Whitefish’s pint-size microbrewery currently located inside the Whitefish Mountain Mall, is set to move into new digs north of the viaduct.
The Whitefish City Council on Monday unanimously approved a conditional use permit that will allow the brewery to move into the old Rising Sun Bistro building on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Denver Street. Councilors also decided to allow on-street parking for the brewery along Denver Avenue.
Graham Hart, the brewery’s owner, established the brewery in January, but found the need to change locations when the Whitefish Mountain Mall announced that a new Shopko department store would displace his business and seven others. Construction of the Shopko will not begin until February, and Hart has not yet settled on a move-in date. It continues to operate out of its mall location.
The brewery and taproom will operate under State Liquor Board requirements, which limits hours of operation to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and requires them to only serve each customer a maximum of 48 ounces of beer per day.
Hart explained that while he may sell a few kegs to local businesses, he has no current plans for bottling or greater distribution. The focus will be on selling craft beer in the taproom. While the brewery is technically a microbrewery, capable of producing about 500 barrels per year, city code does not differentiate between nano-brewery and microbrewery so the same requirements apply.
Bonsai Brewing moved into its unlikely location at the Whitefish Mountain Mall in January after raising $17,800 through crowd-sourced funding.
With its doors open, Bonsai offers five beers on tap – a blond, a pale ale, an IPA, a brown ale, and a stout – and has proven a popular staple in the growing craft beer community.
The brewery is open Wednesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hart previously worked as an assistant brewer for Tamarack, and in 2011 applied for the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp, a contest where participants compete to be one of 10 people across the country to go to Chico, California, for a week to brew with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. He applied via a video submission and won.
At the camp, he brewed an Imperial Red Ale called Raiders of the Last Hops, two kegs of which made it to the Craggy Range Bar.
Bonsai Brewing Project is located in the Mountain Mall in Whitefish near the food court. For more information, visit the brewery’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bonsaibrew.