(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Our tongues might be firmly in cheek a lot of the time here at SpoCOOL, but there are those things we take seriously. One of them is cystic fibrosis (CF for short), and with this we'd like to announce our Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fund-drive, where our goal is to raise $2,500 for the foundation by November 6th.

For those not familiar with CF, it is a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. It causes progressive disability and often early death, and more than ten million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. The median predicted age of survival for a person with CF is mid-30s; when the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation started in 1955, it was elementary school age.

While advances have been made in finding a cure, much more needs to be done, and therefore we are throwing our support behind the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. And how do we plan on raising the money? By throwing some awesome events of course!

First we have the SpoBREWing for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation brew-off. Details are forthcoming, but the event has been set for October 8th. Four brewers have already signed up for this charity-centric brewing event, and we're looking for four more. If you're interested in homebrewing for a good cause, send an e-mail to team@spocool.com.

More information about location and how you can be a spectator and beer taster will be coming up soon. And remember: As cool as the original SpoBREW was, we are planning on taking this one a step further!

For now, please consider making a donation through our Cystic Fibrosis Foundation donation site, or just learn a bit more about the disease.

And stay tuned, not just for more SpoBREW information, but for some other events we will be hosting around town to support this cause.

As I've said many -- many, many, many -- times before, I tend to find IPAs somewhat dull. Too many brewers are only concerned about creating hop bombs, and while many of these tend to be just good, fine and dandy, few have much depth.

Norwegians are of course not just extremely good looking and intelligent and ever so humble, but also great brewers, as proven by Haandbryggeriet and, my personal favorite, Nøgne Ø. Finding their stuff can be difficult around here, so bless Enoteca for providing the Inland Northwest with some of the brewery's Imperial IPA, #500. 

And it's a good one. It pours a dark copper color, ever so cloudy with a frothy head. Aromas are, not surprisingly, hoppy, but also with hints of caramel. The tender sweetness is kind of there to tell you everything is going to be OK.

With 100 IBUs and 10% alcohol (and five hops -- yes, it's all a play on "500") you'd think this would kick you in the teeth, but the flavors are surprisingly rounded. The #500 is hoppy, but not to the point where it'll kill you, quite possibly because the hops are flanked by hints of caramel and citrus. 

This is all meant to be sipped quietly of course, and as you get into it you will likely notice little nuggets of awesomeness. Some hints of malts, for example, and the caramel laces the tongue more pleasantly with every taste.

So. This is a pretty damn classy Imperial IPA. It might not be a homerun if you're a complete hophead, but it could be one to convince you there's more to life than insane hopiness. Definitely a winner.

This is a guest post, written by E.J. Iannelli.

Rocky Ridge Ranch has recently opened membership slots for its 2011-12 Winter CSA program. (For more background on what exactly a CSA is, see here.)

This will mark the second year that Rocky Ridge is running the program. Last year was a trial run of sorts in which the CSA was a combined meat-and-veg offering. This year, it's been split into two separate components to better accommodate vegetarian diets.

Other lessons -- valuable ones -- were learned last year too. Winter gardening is a tricky and potentially costly undertaking; working within its limitations is something of an art.

As one of last year's members, I can honestly say that this art wasn't quite perfected at the time. We had pie-in-the-sky notions of greenhouse tomatoes in December and zucchini in March. While the first few weeks were deliriously bountiful as we reaped all the late-ripening veggies that were planted for the summer CSA, the latter stages were defined by kale, kale, and more kale. It had the air of a gulag menu.

Gary and So, the farming couple behind this enterprise, have said that improvements are already underway this year. Climate- and season-friendly vegetables will be planted, and the more finicky varieties will be in the ground earlier. The heated greenhouses are already in place and functional. But even the refined CSA still comes with the caveat: know what you're getting into. It could be tomatoes in December, or it could be yet another round of kale.

Although veggies inherently leave a lot to the Fates, Rocky Ridge's meat offerings, on the other hand, rarely fall short of excellent. Our Thanksgiving turkey -- included in the cost of the CSA -- would have fed a battalion. Even something as unexciting as ham hocks make for a great pea-and-ham soup that warms to the soul in the dead of winter.

The sign-up page outlines in a general way the contents, assured and anticipated, of each delivery and the overall schedule. The more detailed info, unfortunately, is outdated, but Gary has said that he can be reached via e-mail for specifics.

If our own plans can offer any help as a rough guide, we intend to sign up for the veggie winter CSA and supplement its lulls with Main Market produce boxes if and when they're available. We've still got a chest freezer full of meat from last year's winter CSA (which should be some indication of the quantity), so we plan on buying Rocky Ridge meat on an ad hoc basis during CSA pickups.

Life is too short to drink crap coffee, or even average coffee, and therefore you should probably pick up a can of DOMA's Los Lajas. Hey, if you want a great cup of coffee, you probably have to make it yourself anyway.

This might not be a coffee for those who indeed like their Folgers in their cups, though I'm sure you're better than that. Open the can, and the Las Lajas aromas come jumping out in ways reminiscent of the ark scene in Raiders. There is a nice fruity nose in there and you can almost taste the coffee by its scent. "Potent" comes to mind.

We decided to French Press a batch, and pretty glorious it was. I realize those of us who aren't named Keaton often feel coffee is coffee and that it's either "good" or "bad", but Los Lajas should prove to doubters that there are as many nuances to coffee as there are to beer and wine.

Served black, the coffee comes across with a sweetness of cherries, and a nice round mouthfeel, slightly syrupy, just like advertised. There's a nice complexity to the whole picture, and something new seems to be picked up with each sip. In some ways there's almost a wine-like quality to the coffee. That's probably a good thing.

We also tried a cup with a splash of coconut milk which tasted pretty damn sweet, almost exotic. 

Los Lajas might not be a cheap pleasure -- about $16 at Main Market Co-op -- but it's well worth it. Try brewing up a French Press or espresso, and you won't want to go back.