VICTOR — Beer lovers consider 1988 a special year. Thirty years ago, such notable breweries as Goose Island, Deschutes and Rogue opened their doors. The class of ’88 also includes Idaho’s Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor.

GTBC began in Wilson, Wyoming, as Otto Brothers’ Brewing in 1988, founded by Charlie and Ernie Otto. Considered the first microbrewery in Wyoming and now the oldest brewery in Idaho, Otto Brothers’ moved over Teton Pass in 1998 to build a bigger production facility on the corner of Old Jackson Highway and Baseline.

The decision would prove canny; it’s easier to get trucks to Teton Valley than to Jackson, and in Victor the brewery is that much closer to the fertile barley fields and malting facilities of Eastern Idaho. Add in excellent mountain water and hops farms that are going into overdrive in southwestern Idaho, and the location seems ideal. In 2000, the Ottos changed the brewery’s name to Grand Teton Brewing Company, for more regional appeal.

The Furbacher family, originally of Houston, Texas, began visiting the Tetons in 2001. When Steve Furbacher retired from the energy industry in 2008, he started looking for a new project and saw an ad for the brewery in the Jackson Hole News & Guide. He thought there was potential at GTBC for a successful venture and recruited three of his former employees to have a small stake in the company and contribute their legal, fiduciary and marketing expertise.

In the first couple of years, the brewery saw an overhaul; the Furbachers replaced old equipment, renovated the bottling line, increased the staff and more than doubled production.

While business is Steve’s forte, his wife Ellen is especially invested in the brewery’s philanthropy. In 2010, she formed the donations committee with three employees to help nonprofits request donations in an organized way. Ellen sends out a letter every January outlining the guidelines and application for nonprofits to request beer donations and said she encourages organizations to sell the beer at events to make the most of the contribution.

The brewery also holds eight pint nights every summer during the Tin Cup giving period, which gives nonprofits a venue at which to share their message, as well as a 30 percent share of daily sales from the taproom.

“It’s a really satisfying part of our business, to give back and help the community,” Ellen said.

In 2013, Ale 208 was born, a celebration of Idaho’s bounty as well as a product designed to make craft beer more accessible to the masses. 208, made almost entirely with Idaho ingredients, quickly became GTBC’s top seller.

Steve and Ellen’s son, Chris Furbacher, has worked as a Midwest sales rep for the brewery for year. He and his partner Laura moved to Teton Valley full time in 2017 and were married this summer.

Chris is the operating manager while Laura oversees logistics and works with freight companies to get reasonable shipping rates. But they’re also prepared to dive in whenever their help is needed on the production line, in the warehouse or at events.

“We’re a small business and people here wear a lot of hats,” Chris said.

He added that his parents still do the unglamorous stuff behind the scenes to keep the business running, and he anticipates that it will be a few more years before they step aside.

With the recent explosion of craft brewing (there are now a staggering 7,000 breweries in the country) and an emphasis on local products, GTBC scaled back its distribution and focused on regional sales.

“By 2015, the writing was on the wall,” Chris said. “That’s when we started leaving states. We shrunk our territory to be able to focus on this region. Now we know where beer is going so we can keep it fresher and not be spread thin.”

The brewery now produces around 8,500 barrels per year. Chris noted that GTBC achieves that number without, as he said, “being in backpacks, boats or camp sites.” GTBC has resisted the canning craze for a decade because of the additional equipment required, but this summer the brewery partnered with a mobile canning line out of Boise to put out its first batch of 208 in cans.

“That was really cool, seeing 208 in a can. All the employees took six packs or cases home and it was fun to see just a little taste of Grand Teton Brewing out in the wilderness,” Chris said.