After the last few months, we are all in need of an escape.

Idyllwild Brewpub, a new brewery located in the San Jacinto mountains town of Idyllwild, has quickly become a local watering hole for town locals, as well as a popular getaway destination for tourists from the Coachella Valley and beyond looking for a peaceful escape from normalcy.

“The word is definitely out about us,” co-owner Lori Ferro said. “We open for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and we’ll see people at noon on Friday when we open and waiting and the place fills up instantly.”

Idyllwild’s beer dream team

For co-owner Frank Ferro, his wife Lori and head brewer Don Put, Idyllwild Brewpub’s March 17 grand opening was the culmination of a project that took years to realize.

Between securing the proper permits and licenses for the new business and local pushback from some on the project’s magnitude, there were delays that, they say, were worth every headache the minute the place opened and quickly became a success for the community.

The Ferros have been well-known business owners in Idyllwild for years. You can find valley visitors constantly raving about their Italian restaurant Ferro on social media. Put has been an Idyllwild resident since the 1990s, always brewing beers recreationally with a dream to open his own.

Once they teamed up on the project they knew that what they had was special.

“I still marvel when I walk onto the deck and I see a room full of people drinking my beer,” Put said. “I saw this place when it was just dirt, even on the inside. So it’s almost like The Twilight Zone.... To know that we made it, there was bloodshed along the way but now it’s good.”

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Modern speakeasy meets the outdoors

The brewery, currently rated four and a half stars on Yelp, offers a speakeasy-like vibe. As patrons go down the stairs of the main entrance, they arrive at the deck offering ample outdoor seating for patrons to overlook the Strawberry Creek and enjoy peaceful mountain views.

The indoor bar area transports visitors into a contemporary pub with changing LED lights, an elongated wooden bar and live music on the weekends.

“The vibe, the architecture and the nature around the restaurant feels like a six million dollar L.A. endeavour,” Lori said. “It’s like if someone just picked it up and moved it into the side of the mountain. It’s not rustic.”

Even though the bar is relatively new, the combination of the decor and the small town clientele that frequents it makes Idyllwild Brewpub already seem like a vital part of the town’s identity.

“It feels like we’ve been here forever,” Put said.

A beer menu that comes straight from the ground

Put said the brewery prides itself in being, as Put says, its own water company.

A nearby well is the main water source for the brewery, providing fresh water with no chemicals directly from the well into patrons’ glasses and for beer production. The brewery also offers alkaline water.

“This was my only request when I first signed on to this -- that we have our own water supply,” Put said.

The brewery’s offerings are constantly changing as Put and his team make new beers and experiment with different flavors.

He said, however, that his goal is to teach patrons that there’s more to beer than just the popular IPAs.

“[I want] to get people off the IPA,” Put said. “You could take a really crappy beer and throw hops at it and it’s an IPA and people love it. You can disguise a lot of sins in beer by throwing hops at it.”

When it comes to bar favorites, Put admits the Idyllwild IPA ($8) is the fan favorite, with the Cedar St. Tart Cherry Wheat ($8) in close second.

But he encourages all beer lovers to try the Box Canyon Bohemian Pilsner ($8).

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“If you want to see how good a brewery is, try their pilsner,” Put said. There’s nothing to hide behind. It’s simple malt, simple hops, yeast and it’s gotta be clean."

The brewery doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to its food offerings. A combination of typical bar foods like burgers, fish and chips and mussels and fries are complemented by the bread Frank bakes himself every morning.

The menu also offers unique, seasonal dishes that are rarely found in Southern California like the Beef-on-Whack, a popular sandwich dish from upstate New York similar to a french dip that out-of-towners love.

Putting Idyllwild on the map

People from around the world are finding out about Idyllwild.

Like the Coachella Valley, Idyllwild is becoming a year round tourist destination because of its weather, hiking trails, festivals and small town feel.

An unincorporated town with a symbolic dog mayor and a peaceful vibe attracts many who are looking to escape their busy city lives.

Frank Ferro said he’s proud that the brewery can contribute to helping more people know about the town.

“We’ve been allowed to create a central pub to bring people together to hang,” Frank said. “Beer is the drink of the common man and it’s so popular. The beer brings people to Idyllwild and once you find a place like this, which is so close to the desert... you can discover legendary jazz players and everything else Idyllwild has to offer.

Jose Alejandro Bastidas is the food and drinks reporter and producer for The Desert Sun. You can reach him at Jose.Bastidas@DesertSun.com or on Twitter @jabastidas

IF YOU GO

Idyllwild Brewpub

4423 Village Center Dr, Idyllwild, CA 92549

Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Closed on Tuesdays.

For more information go to IdyllwildBrewpub.com

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