What's Hoppin' this Week? 12/19

Hey and welcome to a Christmas week edition of WHTW. There are plenty of events this weekend to enjoy a few cups of good cheer, so to speak. Just a quick programming note, this will likely be the last What's Hoppin' post of the year since I will be out of town next week, but if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I will do my best to re-post events as I see them, especially anything that may be happening on New Years Eve. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays, thanks for reading. Cheers!

Resilience IPA Releases

As many of you probably have heard, after the devastating wildfires in Northern California, Sierra Nevada Brewing, located in Chico, CA developed and brewed a special IPA with 100% of the sales of this beer being donated to fire relief efforts in Butte County. They also put out the call to craft breweries world wide to take their recipe, brew the same beer, and donate their sales as well. Well over 1,400 breweries decided to help them out, not to mention suppliers, wholesalers and retailers who have also all agreed to either donate goods or any money received as part of making this beer. It's a pretty amazing thing. Several local breweries have produced Resilience IPA and are beginning to put it out in their taprooms. Here is the list of dates each brewery is planning on releasing their version. Please stop by any of these breweries and grab a pint for a great cause:

12/18

- 12 String Brewing (Spokane Valley)

12/20

- Big Barn Brewing (Mead)

- Paradise Creek Brewing (Pullman)

- Riverport Brewing (Clarkston)

- Humble Abode Brewing (North Spokane)

12/22

- Iron Goat Brewing (Downtown Spokane)

- Hunga Dunga Brewing (Moscow) hast not set an official release date that I have seen but expected it to be ready right around this week.

- No-Li Brewing (University District) is planning on putting out their version in early January.

Thursday, December 20th

- Whistle Punk Brewing is hosting a Christmas Party from 4 to 9 pm featuring six special holiday beers and a special infused beer. Facebook.

- The Steel Barrel is also hosting a "Naughty" Christmas Party starting at 6 pm with drink specials, music and ornament decorating. Facebook.

- All weekend, Mountain Lakes Brewing is offering discounts on their favorite seasonal table blends. You can try their suggestions or invent your own. Facebook.

Friday, December 21st

- River City Brewing is celebrating the winter solstice with their annual Midnight Marmot Fest from 5 to 10 pm. They will be sampling 6+ variations of their classic Midnight Marmot Imperial Stout. Tickets are $21 and includes samples and a commemorative tulip glass if purchased online in advance. Facebook.

Saturday, December 22nd

- Community Pint will be tapping two specials kegs at noon. One is an Imperial Breakfast Stout from Portland's Great Notion Brewing Company and the other is a Sour IPA from Spokane's own Whistle Punk Brewing. Facebook.

Sunday, December 23rd

- Iron Goat is holding their 4th annual Festivus Extravaganza, featuring live music, beer and the airing of grievances. 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.

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.

What's Hoppin' this Week? 7/18

Hey folks - Lots to get to this week, so let's jump right in. As always, hit me up with any omissions or other interesting stuff. Cheers!

Thursday, July 19th

- Steel Barrel, the incubator that hosts Little Spokane Brewing, Young Buck Brewing and TT's Old Iron Brewery, is celebrating their two-year anniversary. The party kicks off at 5 pm and will include special beer releases from the three in-house breweries, Ceviche available from the attached Zona Blanca restaurant, and their first "beer mile" challenge. The party is free to attend, but the beer mile challenge has a fee to cover the cost of beer. Congrats to Steel Barrel! Go check it out if you haven't been there. Facebook.

- Steady Flow Growler House in the Spokane Valley is hosting a tap takeover by Eugene, Oregon's Ninkasi Brewing starting at 5 pm. The event is also a fundraiser for CASA for Children, and 50% of pint sales for the day will be donated. You can also purchase custom "Glass Half Full" pint glasses and 100% of those sales will go to this worthy cause. Facebook.

- In other drinking beer for good causes news, Community Pint is having showcase of Paradise Creek beers to benefit the local non-profit Baskets for Babies, which provides basic baby supplies and clothing for new and expecting mothers in need in the Inland Empire. All of the proceeds from sales of Paradise Creek beer will be donated, so bring a DD and drink lots. Facebook.

- The Post Street Ale House is holding their Ale Trail Kickoff event from 5 to 8 pm. Representatives from eight local breweries will be on site promoting their beer and generally celebrating the local beer scene. Details are pretty scarce, but at worst there will be good food and good beer. Facebook.

- Slate Creek Brewing is hosting a Cornhole tournament at their tap house starting at 6 pm. Reservations through Facebook are requested. Facebook.

- Nectar is featuring a special flight of beers bought directly from some of the most popular Westside Breweries, including Holy Mountain, Three Magnets, Evil Twin and Matchless. Flights will be available from 6 to 8 pm and are $10 or $5 for club members. Instagram.

Friday, July 20th

- Sandpoint's Utara Brewing is giving some of their taps over to Iron Goat at 3 pm. There will be five Iron Goat brews on tap, so if you live in the area and haven't gotten a chance to try Iron Goat, now is the time. Facebook.

Saturday, July 21st

- Top Frog Brewing in Newport is turning five this weekend and is celebrating from 1 to 8 pm with beer specials, live music and a food truck. Cheers to five years! Facebook.

- Speaking of anniversaries, The Filling Station on 5th, in CD'A is celebrating their third. They will be featuring specials beers from Seattle's Fremont Brewing. Full tap list should be posted prior to the event. Here's to many more years! Facebook.

- Bellwether is hosting their second annual BraggotFest in association with Hierophant Meadery. For those who don't know, Braggot is an ancient hybrid of ale and mead that was traditionally drank by the Norse and Celts. Bellwether has worked with Hierophant Meadery (located, delightfully, in Mead, WA) to create some co-fermented braggots that will all be available for sampling at the event. Special brews will also be featured from Young Buck, Four-Eyed Guys, Mountain Lakes Brewing and The Grain Shed. The event goes from 3 to 8 pm and tickets are $10 which gets you a mug and three drink tokens. Bardic will also be on site selling their pizzas, which having tried them last week, I can definitely vouch for. Facebook.