CASPER, Wyo. — The Oil City is rapidly becoming a Brew City as another local craft brewery opens in its historic downtown corridor.

Mountain Hops Brewhouse launched a soft opening of its new downtown location on the corner of Center and 2nd streets this week after months of preparation. The location at 101 E. 2nd was most recently occupied by a real estate firm, and for decades before was a jewelry business. It puts Mountain Hops’ second Casper location within short walking distances from Black Tooth Brewing, Frontier Brewing Company, Bull Horn Brewing and the recently opened Cygnet Brewing Company.

“It just seems to be the place where everybody is,” said owner and brewer Eric Magnuson, who opened Mountain Hops at 614 N. Beverly in June 2020. Now, after nearly five years of successfully cultivating loyal fans and enthusiasts, he’s ready to open a second space with a different vibe and more indoor seating. “We thought we could better serve the community here and get a little bit more exposure for the amazing craft beer scene we have.”

General manager Michelle Webb said feedback was instantly positive when they first started floating the idea. “Everybody was like, ‘Hell yeah,'” she said.

Eric emphasizes that their beer and original location — known for its unique, tree-covered outdoor space — will stay the same. “We want to keep that patio rocking like it always has,” said Michelle. “That’s the first thing everybody keeps asking us, ‘Is the patio going to stay open over there?'” added Eric. “Absolutely yes.”

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The new downtown Mountain Hops Brewhouse location is in a 1930s-era building that was a jewelry store and more recently a real estate office. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)
The downtown location offers considerably more indoor seating, and nods to a “speakeasy” feel in line with the historic buildings. “Everything feels so modern these days,” he said, “so the building is from the 1930s, and we figured we’d try and keep some of that.”

They expect to attract a somewhat different crowd than at the Beverly location. “People who want to be hanging out downtown might not want to be sitting on a patio that day, and vice versa,” said Michelle. The new location will also offer limited pub food made on site.

Most of their brewing will still take place at the original location, but the new downtown system will allow them room for experimentation. “Once we really get kicking, it’s going to be our test facility since it’s a smaller brewhouse,” he said. “We get to test out our fun stuff before we take it to the big system.”

The remodel and inspections went “as smooth as pudding,” said Michelle, and they’ve been encouraged with the number of positive comments from downtown merchants. “Everybody’s been so welcoming; that’s really cool,” said Eric.

They offered a soft opening exclusively for their most loyal customers on Tuesday, and will have their grand opening this Saturday, April 12. Michelle said their exact hours aren’t locked in yet, but they are aiming to open for lunch at 11 a.m. and close around 9 p.m. They also intend to operate seven days per week, with shorter hours on Sundays.


Mountain Hops Brewhouse posts updates and hours on their Facebook page. They are located at 614 N. Beverly, and downtown at 101 E. 2nd St.

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