At Millstone Pizza Company and Brewery, Zachary Flynn is focused. The head brewer of four years has worked hard to refine recipes and make consistent beer; he uses fresh quality ingredients including Briess malts to create an impressive selection of beers.

Lately, they’ve had to work to not sell out. 

“All the recipes have been completely revamped,” Flynn said.

A customer favorite, and their first beer sold that day, Basic Blonde Ale, won the Wyoming Craft Brewer’s Guild’s bronze medal at the Yellowstone Beer Fest in July.

“We just started getting where we've got things dialed in, and then I'm running out of beer,” Flynn said.

The five most popular beers brewed on site at Millstone are the Basic Blonde Ale, Get Witty Wit It, Huckleberry Flynn, Left Coast IPA and Old Trail Town Haze.

Flynn keeps a watchful eye on his brews which are made on a smaller three and a half barrel system. The smaller system doesn’t have the tools some other systems do to help control the beer as it brews, but in his opinion every brewer should have to learn how to make consistent beer on a system like that. It made him a better brewer.

Ingredients matter

“I'm lucky having a small system … I do a jalapeno beer once a year. I can use fresh ingredients, because I'm not on the larger scale,” Flynn said. 

Because his brewing system requires less of each ingredient Flynn can afford to purchase high quality ingredients.

With their Huckleberry wheat beer they are able to use puree that is made to order for the brewery.

“It's $120 a gallon, but it's legit, pure Huckleberry,” Flynn said.

The same applies to other ingredients like base malts. When he switched to Breiss he noticed that his efficiency, which plays into the sugar content of the beer, was much better than the previous malt used.

When he can, Flynn tries to use local ingredients in his beers, but this isn’t always possible due to Powell’s location, he said.

Hops can prove difficult due to contracts and proprietary varieties, he said. Previously Flynn purchased fresh hops from a coworker who has since stopped growing. Hops are also very expensive, Flynn said, adding that most smaller breweries can’t afford to buy pellets from the current crop year.

“I've ordered for $18 a pound for pelletize [hops] and we're on a small scale,” Flynn said. “ So, my blonde ale has 1 pound of hops in it. But our IPA, including dry hop has 15 pounds so it adds up quick.”

But, one thing the Big Horn Basin does have is high quality water. In Flynn’s opinion, Powell has some of the best water around and it requires very little treatment compared to other areas.

“We don't have to do much with the water. I [add] a little bit of lactic acid for a pH stabilizer,” Flynn said. “But I don't filter my water …  we got some of the best water in the country here.”

Moving forward

As Flynn has worked to improve the brewery, alongside his brewer Tanner Snyder, the pizza company as a whole is also going through a change.

Both Millstone’s Powell and Cody locations were recently purchased by Stephen Chambers of Texas, who doesn’t want to change the way Flynn makes his beers. In fact he wants to promote it.

“He’s making some fantastic beers,” Chambers said. “ Zach is not on my radar for things that we're going to enhance. “

When Flynn met Chambers, the new owner had in his mind the same direction Flynn felt they needed to go. They’re currently looking at how to focus some marketing on the brewery and its beers.

TV screens will rotate descriptions and images of the beer and Flynn and Chambers are also looking at some small distribution in the area.

“On a personal level, I'm grateful for where things are going. And knowing that I'm doing the best I can, and it's getting noticed. Not that I want a pat on the back. I just want people to drink good beer,” Flynn said