A nice place to have a good beer

Russ Hemmert just wanted to drink a good beer. 

"I was tired of drinking Budweiser," Hemmert said. 

His quest for a good beer took him all the way to Montana, where he found a Scottish ale he loved. But after taking multiple trips out of state for a beer, Hemmert decided he would just recreate the drink for himself. 

So Hemmert started brewing his own beer, experimenting until he finally succeeded in getting the flavor he wanted - and improving on it. 

"Once I did, everybody pushed me to try something else," Hemmert explained. "'Oh if you could brew this,' 'oh, if you could brew that.' And now I'm to the point where I can taste a beer and just recreate it. And then everybody was like, 'You need to open a brewery!'"

When the doors officially open at 4 p.m. Feb. 9, Badass Brews will be the first microbrewery in Green River.

A dream becoming reality

The idea of starting a brewery has been kicking around Hemmert's mind for nearly two decades.

Roughly 20 years ago he saw an old church building in Green River and thought it would make a great place to open a brewery. Over the years he kept the idea in mind, especially when he started experimenting more with brewing his own beers.

"It's been going for a while, and this last year we really got serious about it," Hemmert said.

As a sort of feasibility study, the Hemmerts hosted open garage nights at their house and did tastings at events.

"Everybody got excited," Hemmert said. "They were like, 'This is what we need.'"

Friends told Hemmert they shared his feeling of being tired of drinking the same old beers, and that they wanted a brewery that was a little closer to home so they wouldn't have to drive 20 miles and then try to safely get back.

The brewery owners in Rock Springs were also supportive of the idea, and other brewery owners Hemmert knows from as far away as Colorado and Florida were on board to help him with whatever he needed to make it happen.

Hemmert initially still had some uncertainty about the idea of opening a brewery, but when he looked into what it would take to sell his own beer, that was his best option. So he decided to go for it.

The first of its kind

Bringing a microbrewery to Green River was a long process for both Hemmert and the city.

"It's been a big headache," Hemmert admitted. "Nobody knows all the steps to take or the order in which to take them, so it's been a lot of get it done and hurry up and wait. But with a military background I'm used to hurrying up and waiting."

The process of getting the brewery going started with finding a location and signing a lease. Some of the locations he initially looked at had fallen through, but then Hemmert found out the Coal Train Coffee branch in the historic Tomahawk Hotel building was closing.

Hemmert immediately "fell in love with the place" and realized it was a great location with everything he needed to get started. So when Coal Train Coffee moved out on January 10, Hemmert moved in and got to work. He started cleaning, bringing in equipment and brewing supplies, and putting in a wrought iron door from Mexico that was required by law to be able to lock up his equipment.

In addition to finding a location, Hemmert had to go through the process of getting a federal license through the Tobacco and Taxation Bureau, applying for a state license, getting his business license, getting a health inspection, and getting a business inspection from the city and fire marshal.

The last step was for the Green River City Council to approve a microbrewery permit. But first the city had to create the permit. At the January 17 council meeting, the council approved a resolution to allow the city to charge for microbrewery and winery permits in the city. Prior to this resolution, there was no classification for those types of businesses. At the February 7 council meeting, just two days before the brewery's grand opening, the council unanimously approved Badass Brews' license, making it the first microbrewery license in Green River.

While the brewery has both taken years to be a reality and come together in a fairly short time frame, and the process has had several complicated steps, Hemmert hasn't minded.

"No hassle yet, just waiting. Waiting for steps to happen," he said. "Which has given me time to brew lots of beer."

A different atmosphere

While getting ready to open his microbrewery, Hemmert has heard some sarcastic comments: "This is what Green River needs, another bar."

"It's not a bar," Hemmert explained. "It's a place to come in, have a couple beers, relax, chat with your friends. There's no pool tables, there's no gaming machines. We've got a couple of smaller TVs to watch some sports on or something but yeah, it's definitely not a bar atmosphere. No smoking, no vape, just a nice quite place to come down and have a good beer." 

Since having a good beer is what inspired Hemmert to open a microbrewery in the first place, he is committed to having a variety of brews for people to try, including the "Pow Pow," the drink that started it all - the Scottish ale he recreated and improved on.

At the grand opening, Badass Brews will offer over a dozen different craft beers, including a coffee stout, a spicy Mexican beer with jalapeños, a Wicked Tea that "drinks like a peach tea on a hot summer's day," a few IPA varieties, and a raspberry framboise they named Les Beer "for those people whose doctors told them to drink less beer and they could never find that flavor," Hemmert joked.

While some of these flavors will always be available, others will switch out as Hemmert keeps experimenting.

"I've probably got 20 or 30 more that are in my mind," he said. "We've got a lot of great beers that have been tested in the past. I need more taps. As we grow our tap system will grow and we'll get more beers on tap to where we have 20, 30 different beers at a time."

Growth is definitely in Hemmert's plans. He already has a friend lined up to start serving food from the brewery as well, and his ultimate goal is to expand to another location.

"I always want to keep this location as a little tap room, but we are looking at the depot with the city," Hemmert explained. "Huge food, big beer system, and a banquet hall. That's the eventual goal, something like that. If I could do it in my lifetime, that would be great. If not, my grandkids will end up doing it."

For now, though, Hemmert is just excited to get the brewery going, create new beers, and offer events like homebrew classes and perks for members like a "mug of the month."

"I think it's going to be fun," he said.

Supporting the community

Hemmert isn't the only one who thinks having a microbrewery in Green River will be fun. He's already heard lots of people express their support and excitement.

"There is a big buzz about it in town," he said. "A huge buzz about it."

Hemmert hopes the microbrewery will not only add a new local business to Green River's economy, but continue to support other local businesses and bring more attention to the city as a whole.

"I think this will actually put Green River on the map a little bit more, having its own brewery," Hemmert said. "Especially once we get the food part going."

Having a friend do the food will mean there will be two local businesses working together under the same roof, he explained.

Hemmert also has a partnership with Water of Life, a company out of Evanston that has a water purifying system that removes all minerals and chemicals from water, leaving only pure hydrogen and oxygen, which Hemmert said makes "a ton" of difference in brewing.

"Beer is 95% water," he explained. "If you have crap water, you have crap beer. If you have great water, you have great beer."

Another way Hemmert will partner with others in the community is by supporting local artists. He plans to display local art in the brewery, all of which will be for sale. When one piece sells, a new piece will be brought in.

Hemmert has also already started working with other community organizations.

"We are supporting our FFA, the high school FFA," he explained. "They're taking all the used grains and feeding their livestock. So it's kind of a win-win. They get free grains and we get beer."

While Hemmert is excited for the business to get going, he's also just excited to keep doing what he loves and sharing it with others, especially since his favorite part of the whole thing is watching other people enjoy his drinks.

"I have fun brewing it, I love to brew it, it's just something I like doing," he said. "But watching people taste it and go 'oh man that's so good,' that gives me little warm and fuzzies."

And Hemmert hopes he won't be the only one having a good time.

"I think this place is gonna be packed for a while," he said.