What's Hoppin' this Week? 10/31

Happy Halloween everybody. We've got a few events as we begin our march towards the holiday season, so let's get right to it.

Thursday, November 1st

- Pints Alehouse is hosting their 5th annual Barrel-Aged Beer event featuring beers from Colorado's Avery Brewing starting today and running through Sunday. They will be offering 10+ barrel-aged beers. Facebook.

Friday, November 2nd

- River City is holding their monthly, first Friday Garage Party. As usual, they will be serving up some special beers, live music and bringing a food truck. 4 to 10 pm and all ages are welcome. Facebook. 

- The Rocket Market on Spokane's South Hill is having another beer class this time focusing on "Beer to keep you warm." Atendees will be learning about and sampling several winter beers, including a some rare barrel-aged beers. The event is from 7 to 9 pm and tickets are $25. This event is limited to 30 people so reservations are suggested. Facebook.

Saturday, November 3rd

- Hayden's Mad Bomber Brewing is celebrating their 5th anniversary with an all day party starting at 11 am and a special anniversary beer release. There will be giveaways, games, food and all sorts of other fun. Happy anniversary! 🎉 Facebook. 

- Big Barn Brewing in Mead is celebrating the end of their harvest season with a party and fundraiser for local non-profit Spokane Edible Tree Project. $1 from each pour all day will be donated to this great cause and there will be food and games. Facebook.

- The Hidden Mother Brewing Company in Liberty Lake is hosting a tap takeover at The Rocket Market from 5 to 8 pm. You will have a chance to sample several of their beers all in one place, which is good because they don't yet have a taproom. Facebook.

Sunday, November 4th

- Westwood Brewing in Rathdrum, ID has been open as a restaurant for a while now, but they are finally ready to release their first two house-brewed beers and they are throwing a party to celebrate. Starting at 11 am they are releasing a scotch ale and a hazy IPA and pints will be just $2 until the first keg of each is gone, so get there early. Facebook.

Tuesday, November 6th

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Wednesday, November 7th

- River City is hosting several local breweries for the first "Experience Pale Invitational" from 5 to 8 pm in their brewery. River City, Whistle Punk, Iron Goat, and Perry Street will all be bringing specially brewed pale ales and they will all be available in flights. Tickets are $15 and should be purchased in advance because it is limited to 50 people. I've already got my tickets, so I apologize in advance if next week's edition of WHTW is a bit delayed. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 10/24

Welcome to What's Hoppin' everybody. Time to dig out your favorite costume and get all dressed up to celebrate Halloween at your favorite beer spots this weekend, so let's not waste any time.

Thursday, October 25th

- Community Pint is beginning a 3 night celebration of the some darker, barrel-aged beers that can warm you up as the temperatures start to drop. They'll be tapping 5 barrel-aged beers and a 6th, hazy IPA. They'll be offering a taster flight special from Thursday to Saturday. Facebook.

Friday, October 26th

- Whistle Punk Brewing is hosting their second annual Punktoberfest from 3 to 11 pm at their downtown Spokane taproom. The event will feature nine special release, German-style beers, a special German themed menu from the fine folks at Heritage Bar and Kitchen, music, stein holding contests and other fun stuff. Facebook.

- Downdraft Brewing in Post Falls is holding a "Fright Night Fundraiser" from 6 to 9 pm. A dollar from every pint sold will be donated to Coeur d'Alene-based non profit, Help Every Little Paw, which provides assistance for vet bills for those in need. The event will feature a costume contest, seasonal beer releases, a food truck, karaoke and more. Facebook. 

- Iron Goat Brewing is also celebrating Halloween with a costume party and live music from 7 to 11 pm. Facebook. 

- Bottles, in Millwood, is celebrating the official grand opening of their newly expanded shop/bar with a Fremont Brewing tap takeover starting at 5 pm. Facebook.

Saturday, October 27th

- Whistle Punk continues their Punktoberfest festivities from 3 to 11 pm. 

- Nectar in Kendall Yards is throwing a "I love the 90's" party from 6 to 9 pm. They will be featuring 15 taps of beer from breweries that were around in the 90's, as well as a 90's themed costume contest, a DJ playing all your favorite 90's hits and more. Facebook.

- V-Twin Brewing in the Spokane Valley is celebrating their 2nd anniversary all week and it culminates with a birthday/Halloween bash from 1 to 6 pm. Show up in a costume or V-Twin merchandise and get $1 off pints. It will also be a good opportunity to sample some of the small batch releases they've been putting out to celebrate turning 2. Congrats! Facebook. 

- Black Label Brewing is hosting a Halloween party and costume contest from 7 to 10 pm. There will be live music, raffles, and the best costume wins a free 2019 mug club membership. Facebook.

- Hayden's Mad Bomber Brewing is also getting into the spirit with a Halloween celebration from 8 to midnight. They will be having costume and pumpkin carving contests, giveaways, beer specials and live music. Facebook.

Sunday, October 28th

- Iron Goat and Inland Brewers Unite, Spokane's largest home brew club, are holding their first annual swap meet at Iron Goat's brewhouse from 11 am to 3 pm. Any home brewers are welcome to come down with any equipment they are looking to trade or sell. Iron Goat will also be releasing a special beer they co-brewed with the winner of this years IBU Challenge. Facebook. 

Wednesday, October 31st

- Badass Backyard Brewing is celebrating Halloween on the day with beer specials and a costume contest with several categories. Party starts at 5 pm and costume judging begins around 6. Facebook.

- 12 String Brewing is hosting Halloween-themed trivia and a costume contest from 7 to 9 pm. Best costume will win a $50 gift certificate. Facebook. 

What's Hoppin' this Week? 10/17

Hello and thanks for visiting as always. I've got no extra wisdom to impart today, so let's get right to the events so we can all enjoy this unseasonably warm weather. Cheers!

Thursday, October 17th

- If you're looking for a way to drink beer and do some needed volunteer work, Second Harvest Food Bank is holding their October "Volunbeer" event with Fremont Brewing. The event/fundraiser starts goes from 5:30 to 8 pm. The first hour will be spent helping to sort food in the volunteer center and during the second half of the event, a member of the Fremont Brewing team will be on site pouring samples of several of their beers and after sampling, you get a full pour of your favorite. There will also be light appetizers. The event is $25 and space is limited so you can register on the Second Harvest website.

- Nectar's flight of the week features beers from Seattle's Holy Mountain brewery. Considered by many to be one of the best breweries in the state, their beer is not yet easy to find east of the Cascades, so it's a great opportunity to check them out. 6 to 8 pm. Facebook.

- Bellwether is hosting a pint night benefit for the local non-profit Spokane Edible Tree Project. $1 from every pint sold from 5 to 8 will be donated. Facebook.

Friday, October 18th

- Post Falls Brewing is hosting another Pie and Pints night. As usual they'll be paring their beers with hand-pies from Bean and Pie. You can shoot them a Facebook message to reserve mini pies or whole pies that you can pick up at the event. 5 to 7 pm. Facebook.

Saturday, October 20th

- Northern Idaho's newest brewery, Matchwood Brewing Company is holding their grand opening celebration from 2 to 10 pm at their new Sandpoint brewhouse. In addition to all the new beer, there will be food, music and a community fundraiser. Cheers to everyone involved. I can't wait to get out that way. Facebook.

- Also in Sandpoint on Saturday, Utara Brewing is holding their first annual Harvest Fest. They have invited several local breweries to pour their various Fall beers at the event and there will be a food truck on site to get everyone fed. Facebook.

- Legendary downtown Spokane watering hole, The Viking, is holding their "OktoBeerFest" starting at 5 pm. They will be featuring specialty Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers, as well as German food, tavern games and live music. $5 cover or bring a new or lightly used coat to donate to Coats4Kids and get in free. Facebook. 

Tuesday, October 23rd

- Fresh hop season is coming to a close 😢 and Community Pint is holding a "kill the keg" event starting at 5 pm featuring their remaining fresh hop beers. For every fresh hop pint sold, they will be donating $2 to local Spokane non-profit, The Lands Council. Facebook.

Wednesday, October 24th

- Reps from Portland's Gigantic Brewing will be at Nectar from 6 to 9 pm for a tap takeover. They will be pouring pints and chatting about their beer. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 10/10

Welcome to WHTW. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you likely saw that I spent last weekend in Boise, ID for the Hoptober Freshtival hosted by Boise Brewing. Being my first trip to Boise, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The festival had 20-30 breweries mostly from Southern Idaho and Oregon, so it was a great chance to try a lot of breweries I'd never even heard of before. After the event, we explored the area and sampled all the breweries (and tap-houses) downtown Boise had to offer. All told, we hit eight or nine breweries and a couple other beer bars and had a blast. It's just an hour flight from Spokane, so if you're looking for a weekend trip to a good beer town, it's a solid option.

On to the events. Cheers everyone!

Thursday, October 11th

- Bellwether's Sainted beer release this week is their "Gru-it Ourselves" which features fresh hops and fresh botanicals supplied by friends and patrons of Bellwether. They'll be pouring from 3 to 9. Facebook.

Friday, October 12th

- The Lantern Tap House is kicking off day one of their Fresh Hop Festival by featuring fresh hop beers from Oregon. Starting at 4 pm, they'll have a tent set up and will be pouring 14 different fresh hop beers. The $15 ticket package gets you a tasting glass and your first pint. Extra tickets are available for $1 each. For a full beer list, check out their Facebook.

Saturday, October 13th

- Community Pint is having reps from Seattle's Fremont Brewing in for a fresh hop workshop from 1 to 3. The event will be part tasting and part lesson. The reps will be bringing several of Fremont's fresh hop beers and talking about everything that goes in to making them. The event is limited to only 25 people and last I heard there were just a small number of tickets still available, so don't wait, because they may already be gone. Facebook.

- Day two of the Lantern Fresh Hop Festival starts at 2 pm and features beers from all over Washington. Facebook.

- Daft Badger Brewing in CD'A is hosting their Fresh Hop Harvest Fest party from 2 to 8 pm. They'll be release two new Fresh Hop Beers and a special Oktoberfest Märzen. Live music and special food from their excellent kitchen will be available. Facebook.

- Post Falls Parks and Rec is holding a "Shoes and Brews 5k Fun Run" at Kiwanis Park in Post Falls from 2 to 5 pm. The run is non-competitive and self-timed and they will be giving out prizes for the best costume. Your 21+ registration includes two, post race drink tickets from the on-site beer garden, but the run is all ages. Registration info can be found on Facebook.

- The Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho are holding their 6th annual Craft Beer and Cookie Fest fundraiser from 4 to 7 pm at 1404 N. Ash St. in Spokane. They will be paring local beers with all your favorite Girl Scout cookies and you get to vote on your favorite combo. They will also have live music, food trucks and and games. Tickets are $25. 21+ only. Facebook.

- Badass Backyard Brewing is again working with Mojo Cyclery to host another Valley Brewery Bike Crawl. Participants should meet at Badass no later than 5:30 pm and the route will be determined based on numbers and the weather. Facebook.

- Steady Flow Growler House Downtown is celebrating the end of the road construction in front of their shop by throwing a party from 6 to 8 pm. The event will feature bar games, live music and Kill the Keg pricing on some of their beers. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 10/3

Another week, another addition of WHTW. There is quite a bit going on in town this weekend, but I'm heading down to Boise for the "Hoptober Freshtival." It'll be my first time in Boise, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the city (and mostly the local breweries) have to offer. If you know of any must-visits while I'm there, please get at me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Cheers everybody!

Thursday, October 4th

- Steel Barrel and Zona Blanca are hosting a "Send off to Summer Party" from 5 to 8 pm. They will be pairing the last of the summer beers from Golden Road Brewing with some special ceviche from chef Chad White. Limited to the first 24 people through the door. Facebook.

- Nectar in Kendall Yards is serving up their bi-monthly featured flight starting at 6 pm. The flight will include beers specifically from craft breweries that have been around since the 90's. This will kick off an entire month of 90's themed celebrations, so keep an eye out for more. 

- The Filling Station on 5th in CD'A is having a party to celebrate being the first spot in Idaho to have beer from Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewing on tap. They've got several special kegs lined up and will be giving out swag all night. 5 to 9 pm. Facebook. 

Friday, October 5th

- River City Brewing is hosting their monthly First Friday Garage Party From 4 to 10:30. Beer, food, live music and art. Halloween costumes are, of course, encouraged. Facebook.

- The Growler Guys in CD'A will be pouring the last three annual releases of Deschutes Black Butte Reserve. It's an 80's-themed event to honor Deschutes 1988 founding, so feel free to dress the part. Facebook.

- The Steel Barrel is hosting Fremont Brewing for their traveling fresh hop fest from 5 to 11 pm. They'll be featuring all three of "Field to Ferment" Fresh Hop Pale Ales and some other special beers. Facebook.

Saturday, October 6th

- The Manito Tap House is holding a 7th anniversary party and fresh hop event featuring 22+ fresh hop beers as well as food specials, live music and giveaways. Facebook.

- Also with reason to celebrate, Steady Flow Growler House in the Spokane Valley is turning 3 this weekend and is will be hosting a parking lot party from 1 to 6 pm. There will be several special beers on tap, games and giveaways all day. Facebook.

- Arbor Crest Cellars and their in-house brewery, Square Wheel, are having an Oktoberfest party from noon to 5 pm. Beer, games and live music are all in store. Facebook.

- Veterans Community Response, a local non-profit that supports combat veterans as they return home, is holding an Oktoberfest fundraiser from 6 pm to midnight. The event will feature several local beers, food, music, a silent auction and more. More details can be found on their Facebook page.

Sunday, October 7th

- Oktoberfest celebrations continue at Arbor Crest from noon to 5 pm. Facebook.