(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Hey, it’s spring! At least it is according to Redhook, which recently released “Mudslinger,” their new spring ale.

And really, this is a pretty dang solid ale from the Woodinville brewery. It takes some of the best features of Latter Day Redhook’s best ales and, sadly, also one of the worse features too.

Let’s start with the positives. Mudslinger pours nicely nut brown, and has a creamy head that laces the glass fairly well. Give it a sniff, and you can smell the nuttiness and sweet malts. The flavor is surprisingly deep. Sweet and caramel-y and very nutty. This is the type of complexity the Winterhook should have had—not mindblowing, but still very pleasant.

The one negative is what has plagued recent Redhook ales, and that’s the mouth feel which is a bit too watery. I wouldn’t go as far as to say Mudslinger feels thin, but it’s definitely on the lighter side of a medium body.

Overall, though, this is a solid entry from Redhook. I’m almost willing to forgive Winterhook. Almost.

Hey, we’ll admit it. We were right among the skeptics when the new owners of Natural Start announced they were taking the coffee shop in a different direction. But honestly, they’re really not that bad. Sure, we miss the former owners’ take on organic foods, mostly because it was delicious.

The current incarnation of Natural Start has opted to get baked goods from a selection of bakeries. There’s really nothing wrong with that in and of itself, and the prices are fine. (Even discounts on day olds.) I wouldn’t recommend Natural Start as a place to go for food anymore, but the most important part is that they’re still rocking the DOMA coffee.

They didn’t at first; the Americanos were luke warm. Hey, it was a transition period. Now they’re doing a fine job, and I have no problems recommending this as a coffee stop. In fact, it’s probably the one I still frequent the most.

Rumors of huge changes to the interior design of the place seems to have been unfounded too. That’s a good thing, as it looks great as it is.

If you follow us on Twitter—and why don’t you?—you might have caught a conversation between the Blue Spark, Bowling for Soup, and us.

Now, I don’t really know much about Bowling for Soup. I’m pretty sure the band formed in 1964, and that a large portion of the group tragically died in a 1977 plane accident. The current lineup reformed in 1987 with the former frontman’s brother at the helm, playing hits like “Free Bird” and “That Smell”. I’m pretty sure that’s them.

Anyway!

The fun started yesterday…

@thebluespark: Will be collecting a $12 tab from @bfsrocks at The Blvd tonight. Oh and your band sucks.

Well then… @bfsrocks is Bowling for Soup’s Twitter name. So we re-tweeted it with a comment saying, “BFS does, apparently, not rock.”

In retrospect, seeing I can’t name one Bowling for Soup song, that might have been bit harsh. Actually… Let me check them out on YouTube before I make my mind up.

OK, no, that wasn’t harsh at all.

So did the big rock band actually run out on the tab? According to themselves, apparently not:

@bfsrocks: WTF?! we didn’t even make it there! RT thebluespark: Will be collecting a $12 tab from @bfsrocks The Blvd tonight. Oh & your band sucks.

@bfsrocks: @SpoCOOL So funny! We didn’t even GO to @thebluespark!!

Hmmmm… Really now?

@bfsrocks: @thebluespark correction, our merch guy is an idiot! sorry for the inconvenience & sorry for sucking. he is headed to pay it now. (@spocool)

@bfsrocks: @SpoCOOL Apparently, our merch guy did stop in and thought he was going back. I feel bad. we will make it good. – @jaret2113

I’m just going to assume the band did good and paid the bill. And swell as that is, a few question remains:

First, did the “merch guy” present himself as a member of the group? With a $12 tab, I’m guessing we’re talking something like three beers or something—were they all for him, or was he being a big rock star in a small bar? I’m picturing a dude leaning over to a group of ladies, going, “Yeah, I’m in a little rock band called Bowling for Soup, you might have heard of us.” Then, when they laugh hysterically at him, he tries the line again until he finds someone sufficiently drunk to be impressed.

(I might be making all of this up, but it’d be awesome if that’s how it happened. Hopefully the big guy in the band doesn’t want to beat me up or anything)

Now running out on the bill… If you leave a bar, you pay, no matter when you’re planning on coming back. I can’t help but wonder if his “I’m in a band!!!” line actually was successful and thus he was in a hurry to leave with some lady?

Anyway! Is this what we have come to in Spokane? Tabloid style blog posts about Bowling for Soup? Yes, and we’re just OK with that.

Plus, it all ended well:

@thebluespark: @SpoCOOL A new Keg of John John should be on this Wed.

We’re so there.

Put One World on your Valentine’s Day list of events. One World is hosting a fancy white tablecloth event for Valentine’s Day, with a vegetarian, seafood or vegan menu.

Not mentioned on the flyer is One World partnering with Lone Canary winery for the special dinner. Thirty dollars per-person for a 7 course meal, what a deal. You know we approve of their food.