What's Hoppin' this Week? 8/29

We've made it to the traditional final weekend of Summer. The smoke has mostly lifted, the temperatures are cooling off and football is just around the corner. It's a pretty quiet weekend beer-wise, and I'll be heading over to Seattle to hang out and collect a few more WABL passport stamps, but there are a few local events to check out, so let's get to it.

Thursday, August 30th

- Nectar will be having it's bi-weekly beer sampler event. No news yet on what will be featured, but keep an eye on my Facebook and Instagram for full details when they post it.

Friday, August 31st

- The big event this weekend is Fall Fest at Schweitzer. This 4 day event kicks off at 4 pm and features over 75 beers and ciders, food, live music, sightseeing, hiking and a bunch of other stuff. There are several different ticket options/prices, so I suggest checking out their Facebook for all the details. 

- Bellwether will be releasing a special braggot -  the culmination of their year-long "Scots Bere Barley Project." They will have guests from all the groups involved in this effort and they will be serving up special pretzels made by Culture Breads. 3 - 10 pm. Facebook.

- The Rocket Market, on Spokane's South Hill, is holding a special class focusing on Summer beers. There will be sampling and food. Tickets are $25 and space is extremely limited, so please call for reservations. Facebook.

- This is also the last day to finish your ballots and vote for your favorite beer in The Lester Cup. 

Saturday, September 1st

- Fall Fest day 2 kicks off at noon.

Sunday, September 2nd

- Day 3 of Fall Fest goes from noon to 7 pm.

- From 1 to 3 pm, Bellwether will be collecting home-grown herbs, spices and hops from all people in the community and will be using the ingredients to brew a special community beer. Beer specials and other items will be available for anyone who choses to donate. Full details (including what can and can't be used) can be found on Facebook.

Monday, September 3rd

- The final day of Fall Fest runs from 11 am to 4 pm.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 8/22

Welcome to WHTW. I made it back from Cincinnati and although I got to witness my San Francisco Giants lose two games, I was pleasantly surprised by the city itself. Funky vibe, nice people and a ton of great beer. Check out Instagram and Facebook for pictures of some of my adventures.

Anyway, it looks like the weather is cooling a bit and the smoke is finally clearing, Fall is on the horizon and fresh hop season is just getting going. We've got just a few things going on this weekend. Cheers everyone.

Thursday, August 23rd

- "Bottles" bottle shop in Millwood is moving to a larger location just down the street from their current shop, but before they can do that, they are trying to thin the inventory a bit. They are hosting a 3 day sale, Thursday to Saturday with special prices and discounts throughout the store. Congrats on the move and good luck with the sale. Facebook.

- Humble Abode Brewing is opening the doors of their North Spokane brewery for the first time this weekend. To start, they will be open 5 to 9 pm Thursdays and Fridays and 12 to 9 pm on Saturdays. Once football season starts they also have plans to be open on Sundays. Welcome and congratulations. I'm excited to get out there and check it out. See their Facebook page for more info.

- Bellwether is releasing three separate beers as part of their "Sainted" release this week. The first two are IPAs honoring St. Arnold the patron of Hop Pickers and the third is a low ABV Belgian table beer honoring St. Augustine. Release party runs from 3 to 9. Facebook.

Friday, August 24th

- Post Falls Brewing is co-hosting an event at their brewhouse with Bean and Pie Bakery. From 5 to 7 (or until sold out) they will be pairing their beer with the seasonal mini-pie flavors from Bean and Pie. Facebook.

- No-Li will be the featured flight this week for Riverfront Park's Friday night flights. Event kicks off at 5 pm. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 8/15

Welcome to What's Hoppin' this Week. I myself am headed out of town this weekend to go visit some friends in Cincinnati, OH. I'm sure I'll be sampling lots of beer, so keep an eye on my Instagram to see what cool stuff I find. But as life in our smoky town goes on in my absence, there are plenty of events to check out. Cheers everyone.

Thursday August 16th

- Bellwether is hosting a fundraiser to help buy a new marimba for the Stevens Elementary Marimba Ensemble. From 7 to 9 pm, $1 of every pint sold will be donated. There will also be an auction and direct donation opportunities. Facebook.

Friday, August 17th

- The Growler Guys in CD'A are bringing in one of the area's newest breweries, The Hidden Mother, over for a pint night. They'll have three of their beers on tap and the lead brewer will be hanging out and talking beer. The Hidden Mother doesn't yet have their own taproom, so this is a good opportunity to sample some new stuff. Facebook.

- Every Friday between now and the end of September, Riverfront Park is hosting "Friday Night Flights" from 5 to 8 pm. Each week they will be bringing in a featured local brewery, as well as a food truck and playing family-friendly Bent Trivia. The event takes place in the patio of the Sky Ribbon Cafe in near the Sky Ride. This week they will be featuring beer from River City Brewing. Facebook.

Saturday, August 18th

- I hope you didn't think there would be an August weekend without an area brewfest. This time, the party is up at the Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, ID. This unique even take place on top of the mountain so you get to ride the gondola and enjoy scenic views of the Inland NW. Breweries and cideries from the area and beyond will be pouring, as well as food and live music. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door and include your gondola ride, a commemorative mug and six sample tokens. Just remember to bring a sweatshirt, it's colder on the mountain. Facebook.

Sunday, August 19th

- I covered the Lester Cup here a couple weeks ago, and if you haven't had a chance to try these beers and fill out your ballots, there will be an informal bike crawl on Sunday to help you remedy that. Le Tour de Lester will be starting at Bellwether at 1 pm and hitting up all 5 participating breweries ending around 7:30. Start with them at the beginning or meet them along the route. I've gotten a chance to have all five beers, and I can say that choosing just one was to vote for was tough. Check out the Facebook event page for the full schedule. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 8/8

Welcome to WHTW. I hope everyone is staying cool now that we are officially into the dog days of August. I had a blast at the Spokane Brewers Festival last Saturday and based on what I saw, I wasn't the only one. It was a great call moving it indoors this year. If you missed it, or, like me, you're looking for any opportunity to drink good beer, there are plenty of events coming up this week. As always, hit me up with anything I may have missed. Let's dive in. Cheers everyone!

Thursday, August 9th

- Bellwether has another Sainted Beer release event in honor of St. Lawrence, patron of Maltsters and Roasters starting at 3 pm. Unfortunately, the Spelt beer they had planned on releasing isn't quite ready yet, so instead they will be pouring a new braggot, the first batch made with their brand new 10 barrel brewing system. Facebook.

- The Growler Guys in CD'A are holding a Mario Kart tournament (they get extra credit from older millennials like myself for using the N64 version) starting at 6:30. Reps from 10 Barrel will be in the house pouring beers and giving out prizes to the winners. Facebook.

Friday, August 10th

- Steel Barrel is welcoming Grains of Wrath Brewing from Camas, WA, in for a tap takeover and party. They will have a couple of their beers on tap and the owners will be on site to hang out. Event kicks off at 6 pm. Facebook.

Saturday, August 11th

- CDA's McEuen Park is hosting (another) beer festival. This one, Ales for the Trail, runs from 2 to 8 pm and is a fundraiser for the North Idaho Centennial Trail. They are expecting almost 30 breweries and cideries to be pouring and several food trucks will be on hand to keep you fed. Tickets are $30 and include six, 5-oz samples (extra samples are $2 each) and a commemorative cup (limited to the first 400 tickets sold). Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended. Facebook.

Sunday, August 12th

- Badass Backyard Brewing is celebrating their 3rd anniversary with an entire week of events. Starting Sunday, they will be releasing a new beer every day this week, as well as special events. Each pint sold gets you a raffle ticket and a winner will be selected every day. The general schedule for the week is, the new beer taps at noon, the special event starts at 5 and the daily raffle is drawn around 7. Check out their Facebook page for full details. Happy anniversary!

Tuesday, August 14th

- Utara Brewing in Sandpoint is kicking off a "learning about beer" series hosted by their head brewer at 6:30 pm. This week they will be discussing (and tasting) wheat beers. Availability is extremely limited and you must sign-up at the brewery before the event. If successful, they hope to make this an ongoing series. Facebook.

Let's talk about the Lester Cup...

With so many great breweries in the area, it's inevitable that a little friendly competition would pop up on occasion. That is the basis of the first annual Lester Cup Brew Off. Bellwether, Black Label, Mountain Lakes, Whistle Punk and Young Buck are all within a couple miles of each other and have decided to square off and let the drinking public decide which spot will reign supreme. Each brewery has put out a SMaSH (single malt and single hop) beer of varying styles and are asking their fans to to try each one and vote for your favorite.

Participation is easy. Just stop by any of the participating breweries and order a pint of the competition beer any time between now and August 31st. When you do that, you will get the beer and a ballot. Bring the ballot to each of he participating breweries and order the competition beer to get it stamped. When you've tried all five, vote for you favorite. Be sure to keep the top part of the ballot because that will be your admission to the award ceremony (time and place TBD) that will happen after the ballots are counted. I've already sampled a couple of the beers, and I can tell you that the competition will be stiff. And delicious.

This seems like an awesome way to get people excited about craft beer, and I wish all the breweries the best of luck. Cheers!

What's Hoppin' this Week? 8/1

We've made it to August and I've given up hope that it will ever be below 90 degrees again. Luckily we've got some great events this weekend to keep you cool and thirst quenched.

Wednesday, August 1st

- Community Pint is kicking an entire long weekend of celebration in honor of their "First BEERthday." They'll be playing special anniversary edition trivia 7 and tapping a special edition of Iron Goat's Buzzsaw McThunder Juicy IPA infused with Pineapple and Serrano Peppers. They will also be selling limited-edition 20 oz beer glasses for $15 which includes your first fill and allows you to bring it back any time through August to get it filled for the price of a 16 oz pour. Facebook.

- Post Falls Brewing is busting out the Karaoke machine from 5 to 9. Pi-daho Artisan Pizza will be on site to keep you fed. Facebook.

Thursday, August 2nd

- Community Pint continues the party with a celebration of National IPA day. They've got seven different IPAs to tap from all around the Northwest. Facebook.

Friday, August 3rd

- To celebrate First Friday, River City is holding another Garage Party starting at 4 pm. They'll be serving up $4 pins directly out of their brewery. There will be live music, a pop-up shop from Fringe and Fray, and food from The Scoop Ice Cream and D. Lish's Hamburgers. Facebook.

- Community Pink will be breaking out some special barrel-aged beers on their 3rd day of anniversary celebrations. Facebook.

Saturday, August 4th

- The 3rd annual Spokane Brewers Festival takes place at the Spokane Arena. This is one of the biggest beer events in the area and is moving indoors for the first time this year. The event will feature about 30 breweries and cideries from the inland Northwest and beyond. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and include a commemorative mug and 13- 2 oz taster tokens. They'll be pouring from 11 am to 8 pm. I've gone the past two years, and I'll be there this year. It's always a great event. Website.