Our Story
From the beginning to now, let’s break down how we got here.
The beginning
Our vision was that if your beer is not madness, it’s not beer.
Born out of necessity—when the local scene was still pouring beer styles from the 1800s— Melvin fired up a 20-gallon system in the back of a Thai restaurant in Jackson Hole, WY. From day one, in 2010, Melvin was brewing beer from the future. With just a 3-barrel system squeezed into a 180-square-foot closet of a brewhouse, we started pushing boundaries— cranking out bold IPAs, wild Belgian ales, and Imperial everything. Our beers didn’t just taste different; they were different. Loaded with hops, attitude, and fun, they turned heads and blew minds.
By 2012, we decided to put our brews to the test. At the Great American Beer Festival, we took home Gold for both our IPA and Double IPA—and the Hop Union Alpha King award for the hoppiest, most drinkable beer in the country. Then, in 2014, we walked away from the World Beer Cup with Gold for 2x4 DIPA and Bronze for Chchchch-Cherry Bomb. At that point, keeping 2x4 to ourselves felt criminal—so we started working on plans to scale up and spread the madness.
WY
The Mothership
In 2015, Melvin was named Best Small Brewery and Brewpub at the Great American Beer Festival. People said it was a big deal—we agreed. But instead of blowing it all in Vegas, we went all in on brewing.
We built the Melvin Mothership, a full-scale production brewery in Alpine, WY—45 minutes from Jackson. Perched on the shore of the Palisades Reservoir with front-row views of Star Valley’s epic mountains, the Mothership is home to our brewery and taproom, where we brew and package the beer.
From our glorious outpost, we brew the beer we want to drink. No styles. No rules. Just Shaolin hops and high-elevation madness. Here, we became known for hazy, hoppy, high-octane brews, wild collabs with some of the dopest breweries in the game, and an unrelenting drive to keep pushing what beer could be.
BREWERY
The Madness Scales Up
We splurged on one of the best brewhouses money can buy—a custom 30-barrel, six-vessel Newlands system built to handle the absurd amounts of barley and hops we throw into our beer. Translation? More beer, more flavor, more madness.
Our 30-barrel production facility runs on a 300-can-per-minute Krones canning line, boosting our operating efficiency by nearly 300%. That upgrade didn’t just make us faster—it improved shelf life, quality, and consistency.
We run two hop guns and two centrifuges—one on the hot and one on the cold sides. After all, we love hops, so we gotta use tools to push hops into our beer and pull hops out of the beer. We put all that flavor in, so why strip it out? That’s why we don’t filter our beer. Instead, we use centrifuges to spin out solids and particles, naturally clarifying the beer while keeping all that hoppy goodness intact. In-line carbonation and a dual CO2 recapture system help us breathe easier (literally), capturing fermentation gas and recycling it for carbonation. It’s better for the planet, the bottom line, and, most importantly, the beer.
We also installed a reverse osmosis water system to fine-tune our brewing water and drastically cut chemical use. Great beer starts with clean water, and we care deeply about protecting the playground outside our brewhouse that fuels our stoke.
From day one, our mission has been beer quality that doesn’t quit. We invested in state-of-the-art equipment and built a crew of absolute lab maniacs who live for data and flavor. Our lab covers it all: water testing and treatment, yeast management, fast microbiological analysis, in-house ABV and caloric testing, shelf-life testing, and a full sensory program. The Melvin lab runs a nonstop lineup of tests while the brewers are constantly tasting, tweaking, and chasing perfection. Every packaging date and time is logged down to the minute—so if anything’s off, we can track and fix it faster.
The Mountains Made Us. The Madness Unites Us.
In late 2022, we joined the Pure Madness Brewery Group.
That year, a new era began when the team behind Roadhouse Brewing Co. launched Pure Madness— rescuing Melvin from the brink and giving it a second life. With deep roots in bold beer and mountain grit, they kept the chaos in the can but brought heart to the hustle. The beats still bang, the beer still rages— but now it's brewed with purpose, pride, and mad respect.
From the start, we didn't follow the craft beer path. We brewed like we lived—unfiltered, off the rails, chasing flavor over fame. We got loud. We got deep into it. We got lost. But here's the thing: we grew the hell up. We ditched the ego and kept the energy. Cut the bullshit, kept the beats. Fired the bullies and hired the believers. Call it a comeback. Call it Pure Madness. We're a B Corp now—brewing world-class beer while doing right by people, the planet, and our community.
Melvin is still the wild one in the room. Still dropping hop and F-bombs. Still blasting Wu-Tang. Still throwing parties in the mountains and pouring cans for the unfiltered. But now, we rage with intention and create with respect. We're brewing our best beer while partying as hard as ever, but we check our buzz and bravado. We've changed, but.. we'll always push the envelope. Our beers don't whisper—they rage. Hop-forward and unfiltered, like us. Each can is a work of art. Each name is a nod to the soundtrack of our lives—hip-hop, heady vibes, and the party that never ends.
We don't brew to style. We brew to shake your senses. To dropkick your palate. To bring you beer from the future with the chaos of the now. Because if your beer isn't madness—it's not Melvin.
