White Dog Brewing Co. - Boise — Attraction in Boise

Boise, Idaho has several noteworthy places to visit for craft brew. You could opt for one of the many beer bars, but I recommend instead that you pay a visit to one of the local breweries. One that I visited and liked very much is White Dog Brewing.

Other breweries and beer bars use animals as part of the theme, so having a dog theme is nothing new. But one fact I quickly learned is that the dog theme here is rather subdued. Look around and you will see dog pics and wolf pics on the walls, but that is about it. The beers are not named using breeds of dogs or anything like that. The approach is subtler than I expected, and that proved to be good because it means the theme is less distracting. You can focus more on the beer, the food, and the company around you, which is how it should be.

White Dog Brewing had about 10 beers on tap when I visited. I sampled most of them and took a special liking to the Scotch Ale and the Hazy IPA. But I liked everything I tried, really, and recommend at least starting with a flight of beer so that you can decide which one you enjoy best.

White Dog serves food to help wash down the beer. When I visited, I went with the all- American burger and fries meal and I found it a perfect match with the brew. I learned that White Dog Brewing doesn’t prepare the food themselves- they actually have a contract business deal with a food service called Smoke & Thyme. I was happy with the food so it didn’t matter to me who made it. I was quite hungry and just thrilled to get my mouth around some delicious food to go with my beer.

White Dog has a chill type of atmosphere with tables and chairs, booths, a few electronic games, etc. They have an outdoor patio and when the weather is nice, the open the garage- style door, creating a large opening between the indoor and outdoor seating. The inside looks more like a restaurant than a tap room and I really like the skylight in the middle- it lets the natural light shine through during the day and makes the experience that much better.

Service is solid at White Dog Brewing and the wait staff makes sure to check back frequently, making sure your glass never goes dry. White Dog is close to the state capital and much of downtown, so it is easy to get here on foot, if necessary, which is how I arrived. It’s a cool place overall for food and beer and I...

Horrible experience last night! This used to be our favorite place to go but after our evening experience 7/9/22 it’s safe to say we won’t ever be back. There are so many other breweries in downtown that deserve our business now!

Can I just say this is the very first review I’ve ever left… it was that bad!

When we arrived there was only one single customer sitting outside… my husband and I sat outside cause we brought our dog. The inside was about 40% full.

On 3 separate occasions we made eye contact with each of the servers and not one person came to check on us… we wait a total of 35 mins before we left.

Funny thing is about 10 mins into our wait, a large family group arrive and started rearranging tables right next to us and guess what the server came right over them them, she was eager to take their drink order, I’m sure she was thinking “big group big tip” but regardless every customer should get a chance to be served no matter how big or small their party is.

She took their first drink order and about 5 mins later brought it over and then dropped it right on the floor… glass and beer went everywhere! Then all the servers came to help clean it up

(btw we were the table right next to the big group and still no one acknowledge us at anytime during this debacle but a sweet older couple at the other big group whom apologized to us for everything)

So the server got them their second round of drinks and once done delivering those she still didn’t stop next door at our table even though she looked at us several times and knew we had no drinks or anything …. Then she came back to take their food order, like WHAT??!? I was so confused why no one was checking on us, I really don’t want to think it had anything to do with the way I look but I don’t know what else would have been their Problem … why were we...

Guy walks into a bar, goes to the the restroom before a drink, washes his hands... reaches out for paper towels, nothing comes out of dispenser. Guy asks the person behind if there's a certain way to trigger machine as his is working... guy responds "maybe you're a little too brown." Guy tries to apologize realizing no one's laughing... true story... no joke. Hope there's no relationship with the name and this type of customer as the White Dog Brewing staff were kind enough to point me towards the restroom in the first place. Will still be going back to give them a shot. Disappointed in the customer... you know who you are...

Just for your sincere response, I am moving you up a star. Unfortunately, the individual did go back to your business. I still plan on going back to visit. I generally don't pass on blame to a business unless I know personally they don't stand for such behavior.

Update 5/8/18: Finally had an opportunity to go grab a drink. Server greeted me right away, gave me samples and I selected a beer. I even had the pleasure of sitting down with two of the owners; Dan and Troy to chat for about an hour. Great people with good stories on discussed how everything came together and the image they want the restaurant to give to clients. Overall very impressed. Hands down, I would go there again and the beers...