Chalice Brewing opens in downtown Coeur d’Alene

A craft beer industry veteran has achieved a longtime goal of opening his own brewery.

Brian Engdahl opened Chalice Brewing on Friday at 413 E. Sherman Ave. in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Chalice Brewing offers walk-up and growler sales with plans to expand to a full-service brewpub by summer, Engdahl said.

Engdahl will use Chalice Brewing’s three-barrel system to refine traditional and historical beer styles. He plans to incorporate locally sourced ingredients for small-batch brews.

“We are a tiny little brewery, so we have the luxury of doing one-offs that you might not do at a larger scale,” Engdahl said. “We plan to do a little bit of everything.”

Chalice Brewing’s full bar area, when complete, will feature 14 taps of various beer styles, some of which will be from regional breweries, Engdahl said.

Engdahl is planning to produce cider and mead in the future, with a “focus on resurrecting forgotten fermentations.”

“I’m excited to potentially get some of those out because I feel like mead is a forgotten style of beverage,” he said.

Engdahl brings years of craft-brewing experience to Coeur d’Alene as former head brewer of Ancestry Brewing in Tualatin, Oregon. He also worked at Widmer Brothers’ large-scale production brewery in Portland.

Engdahl graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in fermentation science and business innovation management. He acquired an international certification in craft brewing from the London, England-based Institute of Brewing and Distilling.

Engdahl’s interest in brewing was sparked by his brother, who learned how to homebrew beer in college.

“My brother and his buddies would let me watch and learn the (homebrewing) process,” he said. “It was super interesting, and I just kind of fell in love with the science behind it.”

When Engdahl was head brewer at Ancestry Brewing, he assisted the company with operating procedures and building a portfolio.

“I just felt like that was something I could do for myself one day,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to open my own business.”

Engdahl aims to eventually expand Chalice Brewing but now he’s focusing on bringing his brand of innovation and creativity to the North Idaho craft beer scene.

“It’s exciting,” he said, referring to opening Chalice Brewing. “It’s a long time coming.”Amy Edelen can be reached at (509) 459-5581 or at amye@spokesman.com.