(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

We round up this week of SpoBREW with some miscellaneous information about the event. Look forward to more sporadic updates in the weeks to come!

Our two judges are Ely from World Class Beverages and Joe from Big Sky Brewing.

World Class Beverages should be be familiar to all alehounds in the Northwest, as they provide us with the goods we like. You're missing out if you haven't used their Beer Spy, particularly during the cutthroat search for quickly moving rarities like The Abyss.

Big Sky, meanwhile, has been a mainstay anywhere in the Northwest east of the Cascades for more than 15 years. Moose Drool seems to be the one regional ale even non-beer drinkers seem to have to try at least once. Plus, Powder Hound might have been our favorite winter ale last year.

In other words, we're all about the celebrity judges here!

Our beer art contest is still open, however, as with the brewing contest which is now full, spots are filling up quickly. A quick reminder on the process here: You design a beer label for a fictitious beer, give it a name, and submit it with a small description of the flavor profile. The coolest art that best represents the description wins. But don't read this, sign up!

And so we look at the last six teams of SpoBREW:

Team Doma

Keaton and Jim spend their days at our favorite coffee roaster, but do they know homebrewing? The team has already promised a coffee beer sticking (rather cowardly we might add) with what they know best. Of course, Keaton has one hell of a beard, and if we know anything, it's that one should never underestimate the power of a good beard.

Team SpoCOOL

Then there's the honorable Team SpoCOOL. Graceful. Magnificent. Like the powers of Chairman Mao and Richard Nixon infused into one team. Why any other teams are competing is beyond us, but hey, I suppose everyone wants to be close to Team SpoCOOL, if only to soak up a bit of our charisma.

The Official Tin Can Committee

Matt and Will head up this team which seems pretty serious, seeing it has a blog. Frankly, I think they sum up the team best themselves: "We've been practicing total domination since before we were born. Matt was trained by Ninjas, and I was raised by wolverines." Ninjas and wolverines? Wow!

The Power of Yeast Genetics

Another one-man team, this one is the alter ego of Ted. We're not sure if Ted is trying to set low expectations to get off our radar or not. But he does call his beer -- like himself -- "average at best." We shall see, as they say. 

Wilktopia

We don't actually know what "Wilktopia" means. We do, however, know that Seth makes great pizza at Veraci, though we doubt that will help them. And who is this Super Dave? Kind of sounds like a superhero working at an office to us. Unless, of course, he's the Super Dave. Hey, props to them for trying to reach the staggering heights of Team SpoCOOL at least.

Wubrew

We don't know who this "Lora" person is. Maybe she doesn't exist? At any rate, she is part of a one-woman team, and good for her for that. If she exists that is. Otherwise it's just creepy.

The SpoBREW competition is officially full after some back and forth. "Full" is kind of a misnomer and "running over" might be a better description as we have seventeen teams competing now.

Five teams were revealed yesterday, and here are six more, all competing for the highest of accolades: the coveted SpoBREW.^*

Luca Brasi

A team consisting of Erick and Scott, and it's hard to say exactly what the name is supposed to convey. Brasi was of course a ruthless killer in the Godfather saga, but he was also taken out himself. Therefore we can only assume that Luca Brasi will jump in like a lion -- plenty of Twitter taunting has already occurred -- and creep out like a lamb when they fall flat and lose the contest.

Quandary Brewing

Headed by the Masked Man, little is known about this team other than the brewer has years of experience. Beware the Masked Man and his quandary... Beware...

Rawr

A late entry, Rawr is headed by Mr Spokane and Blush Response, both noted Twitter celebrities. Why would a team that has never homebrewed before be a hands on favorite to win this thing? Simple: Team SpoCOOL are joining them, taking them by their hands and guiding them through the magical forest we like to call... Homebrewing. 

RCBC

We know preciously little about RCBC. Is the name a take on AC/DC? We don't know, but we do know that team member Jeremiah used to be the chef at Ambrosia Bistro. The other member, Scott, who knows? Again, another mysterious team.

SAC & SAL's Brewing

SAC & SAL is headed by Lars, a competitor for Team SpoCOOL in Spiceavore, famous for his chicken suit. On his team -- the Masked Man! This unholy matrimony forged in flaming steel has the making of a competitor that will instill dread and fear in the other contestants. And really, who better to beat Team SpoCOOL than a former member?

Team Border War

Mr Spokane and Ryan might be new to homebrewing, but they have battled through the Nine Circles of Hell (aka the Midwest) and come back with the ingredient every homebrewer barely dare dream about. The Holy Grail itself. Prairie Fire. Lord help us all if they choose to apply it to their brew.

^* There might not be a SpoBREW accolade.

Twitter is afire with SpoBREW as we now are two months away from the taste-off. Who will win? We will, of course, because we're awesome. What, you want to make your own mind up? Here is the first part of our team run-down:

Berenstain Beers

Little is known about this mythical team consisting of a duo of brewers, Brad and Joel. Naming their team after the Berenstain Bears might seem cute, but what were those bears really doing after the authors stepped away? All I got to say is that Sister Bear looked pretty damn blood-thirsty to me. So don't be fooled by this team's cutesy demeanor; they will rip your head off.

Captain Hook

Another mystical team, one with a more nautical flavor. If we were to venture a guess, we'd say Captain Hook is not a fan of crocodiles and probably has an evil laugh. Disney version aside, Captain Hook was actually pretty mean, and so we guess James' one-man team will be playing dirty through the contest.

Dreyerbräu

Chris Dreyer was part of the losing Down to Earth Spiceavore team and we assume he has not been the same after feeling the fury of Team SpoCOOL. Will his cute little doodles seen on the DOMA bags help him win a brewing contest? Probably not, although he has also signed up for the art contest in hope of competing within something more of his own comfort level.

Hops R Us

Another one-man team, consisting of Rick. The name already suggests a hoppy entry, one inspired by children's toys. Or possibly it'll be brewed with tears from children he stole toys from? That's just mean, and I'm sure the judges won't reward a thief. A thief who steals from children. For shame!

Inland Brewers Unite

Oh, there's always one isn't there? That one guy who actually "knows what he's doing" and who is part of an organization like "Inland Brewers Unite" which cleverly is abbreviated to IBU (that's "International Bitterness Units" in beer lingo). Yes, Chris might have the mad skills, but does he have the heart of folklore heroes like Team SpoCOOL? We shall see. We shall see!