What's Hoppin' this Week? 6/26

Happy Hoopfest weekend everyone! It's a pretty light week in the world of beer, but don't forget if you're downtown to play or watch basketball, there are many breweries and beer bars that would be great places to cool off in between games. Good luck to everyone involved!

Thursday, June 27th

- Bellwether is continuing it's Summer of Sours weekly beer release, but today they are also using the event to raise funds for the Spokane Edible Tree Project. $1 of every pint purchased between 5 and 8 pm. The CRATE food truck will be on hand serving up dinner as well. Facebook.

- Also for all you sour beer lovers out there, Community Pint is "Gettin' Sour in the Summer" this weekend and bringing in several special sour beers and farmhouse ales from all over the West Coast. They will be offering flight specials all weekend. Noon to 8 pm. Facebook.

- Coeur d'Alene Taphouse Unchained is hosting No-Li for a tap takeover from 5 to 8 pm. Facebook.

Friday, June 28th

- Quartzite Brewing in Chewelah is holding the Eastern Washington release of a collaboration beer they brewed with Seattle's Georgetown Brewing. The aptly named "Quartztown" is a hoppy pilsner. Doors open at 11:30 am. Facebook. 

- Happy Trails to Brews is throwing a party to celebrate the Spokane release of Hellshire IX, an annual bourbon barrel-aged stout brewed by Eugene, OR's Oakshire Brewing. It will be on tap and available in bottles. They will also have several other Oakshire beers on offer. Facebook.

- Iron Goat is heading up to Mead's Hop Mountain Taproom for a tap takeover starting at 6 pm. Facebook.

Saturday, June 29th

-  Slate Creek Brewing and the Rotary Club of Coeur d'Alene Evening are hosting the second annual North Idaho Brewery Olympics at the Slate Creek Taproom from 5 to 7 pm. A $20 competitor ticket gets you entered into all 8 events and a beer of your choice. Full details can be found on Facebook.

Monday, July 1st

- The new Smoke and Mirrors Saloon in downtown Spokane is hosting their first beer dinner featuring pFriem Brewing. They will be serving a 5 course meal with beer pairings. Seats are very limited so purchase tickets ASAP. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 6/19

Hello and welcome to What's Hoppin' this Week. Before we get to the events, the Washington Beer Awards were announced during the Washington Brewer's Festival in Seattle last weekend and some local favorites brought home hardware:

• Iron Goat Brewing won gold in the Brown Porter category for their  "Bob's Your Uncle" Brown Porter. While also capturing bronze in the Wood and Barrel Aged Beers category for the Gin Barrel Aged "Buzzsaw McThunder" IPA
• Perry Street Brewing earned both a silver and bronze in the Session Beers category for their "Session IPL" and their "Session IPmaybeA," respectively. 
• Mead's Big Barn Brewing took home silver in the Other Strong Lagers category with their "Dietz Bock"
• Paradise Creek Brewing in Pullman grabbed gold in the German-Style Schwarzbiers category with their "After Dark" schwarzbier.

Congrats to them and all the winners. A full list can be found here. 

Anyway, on to the events. Cheers! 🍻

Thursday, June 20th

- MickDuff's Brewing in Sandpoint is throwing a party to celebrate the release of their new "Snickerdoodle Imperial Stout" from 4 to 9 pm. Facebook.

- The Filling Station on 5th in CD'A is bringing in Michigan's Founders Brewing for a tap takeover from 6 to 8 pm. Swag will be given out and fun will be had. Facebook.

- Bellwether Brewing is continuing their Sippin' On Sours series by releasing a barrel aged version of their Joybringer sour. In a special twist, they are offering the Joybringer as a shot to be added to any of their other beers to basically create your own sour. Flights will be available to try multiple options and the bartenders would be happy to help guide you to great combos. 3 to 9 pm. Facebook.

Friday, June 21st

- Bent Tree Brewing, a new nanobrewery in Athol, ID is opening its doors to the public for the first time from 4 to 7 pm. Facebook.

- The Growler Guys in CD'A is hosting a launch party for local newcomer Paragon Brewing, which just recently started brewing their own beer on-site. They will have Paragon beers on tap and raffles/giveaways all night. 6 to 8 pm. Facebook.

Saturday, June 22nd

- The Grain Shed is celebrating the one year anniversary of their South Perry bakery/brewery. They will be doing a special food menu and have several specially brewed beers for the event. 5 to 9 pm. Facebook.

- Also celebrating 1 year in business, Utara Brewing in Sanpoint will be releasing a special tangerine pale anniversary beer. The first keg of the anniversary beer is only $1 per pint until it's gone, so get there early. Events starts at noon. Facebook.

- Happy Trails to Brews is hosting a fundraiser for Path of Hope animal rescue that they have (delightfully) dubbed "Happy tails at Happy Trails." A portion of the day's sales will be donated and there will be adoptable doggos on site to meet and hang out with. 4 to 8 pm. Facebook.

Sunday, June 23rd

- Iron Goat Brewing is hosting a charity pint night to benefit local non-profit, All Heart Infusion. From 5 to 10:30, $1 of each pint sold will be donated to this worthy cause. Facebook.

Wednesday, June 26th

- The downtown Spokane location of Steady Flow Growler House will be holding a special tap takeover and trivia night featuring beer from Northern California's Firestone Walker Brewing. 6 to 8 pm. Facebook.

What's Hoppin this Week? 6/12

Welcome to your Flag Day edition of WHtW. Before we get into the events, I just want to take a quick moment to congratulate local beer writer Rick Bonino who announced his well-earned retirement from the Spokesman-Review in his most recent column. His work in promoting the local beer scene was my first jumping off point into the expansive world of INW craft beer. The weekend planner he put together for the dearly departed On Tap Blog was my inspiration for What's Hoppin' because I figured if I was going to have to look up beer events going on anyway, I might as well share them and hope others find it helpful. I've gotten a couple chances to speak with Rick over the past year and he's never been anything but gracious and supportive of what I've been doing and I'll always be grateful for that. I can only hope that he will continue to be a presence in the beer scene even in retirement. Cheers! 🍻🍻🍻

Thursday, June 13th

- Bardic Brewing has been around for a while now, slowly growing their business with the anticipation of opening up a Spokane Valley tap room. You've been able to find their wonderful ciders on tap at various places throughout the area, but they have just released their first beer and will be selling growlers and bottles of it out of their brewing facility in the Spokane Valley from 4 to 6:30. Facebook.

Friday, June 14th

- The Car d'Alene car show in downtown CD'A is Friday evening and Slate Creek is hosting a pre-party from noon to 6 pm. Good beer, cool cars and a BBQ. Worse ways to spend a Friday afternoon. Facebook.

- The CD'A Growler Guys is hosting a special tasting event featuring 8+ great gluten-free and gluten reduced beers from places like Seattle's Ghostfish, Colorado's New Belgium and Lakefront Brewing in Milwaukee, WI. Facebook.

Saturday, June 15th

- The Crown and Thistle in downtown CD'A is celebrating World British Beer Day all day with specials on British beers. Facebook.

- The Viking Bar and Grill is hosting a Pints for Pups event from 6 to 10 pm to benefit Path of Hope Rescue. Reps from the organization, both human and furry,  will be on hand to raise money and talk about the great work they do. Facebook.

Sunday, June 16th

- Brandywine Bar & Bottle Shop is celebrating Father's Day (and the recent addition of their outdoor deck) with BBQ from Frankie's Wood Fired Creations and Catering and live music starting around 3 pm. Facebook.

Wednesday, June 19th

- Local favorites No-Li and Badass Backyard Brewing are releasing a special collaboration IPA featuring Cascade and Citra Cryo hops. The release party will be at No-Li from 5 to 8 pm. Facebook.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 6/5

Welcome to a special edition of What's Hoppin' this Week. Not only is it June, but it's also the one year anniversary of this blog. Time flies when you're having fun. I've learned a lot and met a ton of great people over the past year, and I hope that my small weekly contribution has been useful to all you beer fans out there, because that's really what it's all about. Here's to many more years. Cheers! 🍻🍻🍻

Thursday, June 6th

- Starting today and going through August, Bellwether will be releasing a new Sour every Thursday for their "Sippin' on Sours" series. Starting with their "Finglas Oak Sour." Facebook.

- Nectar in Kendall Yards is kicking off Summer with a special featured flight with warm weather beers from two of the West Side's most popular breweries, Georgetown and Silver City. 6 to 8 pm. Facebook.

- The Kilted Growler Tap House in Hayden is hosting a tap takeover and bingo night from Oregon's Rogue Ales from 5 to 8 pm. Reps will be on hand and swag will be given out. Facebook.

- Post Falls' Up North Distilling is Bringing in Leavenworth's Icicle Brewing for a tasting event from 5:30 to 7:30. Facebook.

Friday, June 7th

- River City Brewing is holding the monthly First Friday garage party from 4 to 10. Live music starts at 6. Facebook.

- Badass Backyard Brewing is celebrating national donut day by giving out a free donut with every pint sold. The taproom opens at 2, so get there before they're gone. Facebook.

- Crafted Tap House in CD'A is hosting Pullman's Paradise Creek Brewing for a tap takeover from 5 to 8 pm. Facebook.

- The Growler Guys in CD'A is bringing in Rogue Brewing for a special "Christmas in June" party. There will be some special beers on tap, swag to hand out and possibly even Christmas cookies. 5 to 7 pm. Facebook.

- The Red White and Brewfest in Lewiston takes place from 5 to 9 pm at the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds. Over 20 beers, ciders and wines will be getting poured from several great local establishments. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Facebook.

Saturday, June 8th

- It's the 7th Anniversary of Iron Goat Brewing this weekend and they are celebrating all day and also raising money for Second Harvest Food Bank. There will be live music, special beer and lots of fun. A $5 donation to Second Harvest gets you in the door and you can bring home a commemorative glass. Doors open at 11 am. Facebook.

- Hayden's Mad Bomber Brewing is kicking off a "Local Heroes Beer Series" where they work with EMS agencies around the North Idaho region to brew a special beer and donation a portion of the sales to worthy causes in the area. The first beer is an IPA brewed with help from the Northern Lakes Professional Firefighters Local 4045 and 10% of sales will be donated to the Northern Lakes Benevolent Fund, which is used to help local family affected by fires. 3 to 7 pm. Facebook.

- English Setter Brewing is hosting their latest "Pints for Paws" event this time benefitting the Northwest Service Dog Alliance. Facebook.