I, for one, am ready to welcome Deschutes as our new overlords, should they decide to take over the world. Yes, I am saying they can do nearly no wrong. And yes, I just paraphrased Kent Brockman. Live with it.
Deschutes kind of just gets the sheer rurban oddities of the Northwest, something that carries over into their “Northwest Pale Ale.” It is a pale, certainly, but still full of surprises. Its color, for example, is deep amber, and the head laces the glass well for a pale.
The smell shouldn’t come as much of a shock for anyone used to the Mirror Pond—sweet, almost perfume like, with a lot of depth. This carries over to the flavor, with sweet caramel-y malts coating the mouth, and just a hint of hops in the back. This is an extremely crisp ale, particularly for a beer just recently released in the midst of what is supposed to be winter.
So I’m ready for the rebellion, at least. And I will drink plenty of Red Chair while the coup d'etat goes down.
Andy’s Bar is a small intimate bar with some lovely re-purposed furniture. This might be why I had expected to be wowed by their restroom too.
Reality is, though, that Andy’s Bar only has a very utilitarian facility. A large-ish room (compared to the rest of the place) with a toilet, a sink, and something that looks like it used to be the base for a shower. That’s it. No crazy recycled mirror frames, fixtures, or—and come on, who wouldn’t want this?!—custom made tin toilets.
So in that sense, I was a bit disappointed.
One the upside, though, the facility is clean. You don’t have to wade through urine or anything, which is always a pretty good thing. It’s all very nice and functional.
But when I think of what could have been… I’m disappointed.
Golden Hills Brewing Company has been kicking around for a bit now, and the Airway Heights brewery’s products are starting to become mainstays here in Spokane.
Clem’s Gold is a lager. Lagers don’t tend to blow my hat off in the excitement department, but with that said, I have to admit that this is a pleasant beer. It’s not quite up there with Full Sail’s Session, but not that far off either.
It pours without much of a head, but has a fairly deep color none the less. The scent is mildly sweet with hints of malt and hops.
This is not a kick in the teeth in terms of flavor, which is fine, and I’d actually say it’s a pleasant drink. The malts dominate the flavor with some hints of hops. The medium body of the lager coats the mouth pleasantly, and there is a nice mildly bitter finish to it. It might not be a Session, but Clem’s Gold strikes me as a good session beer even though I’m unsure about its ABV.
And hey, if this is the start of another good local brewery, then I say that’s a good thing.
Main Market Co-op had, as probably most of you know, its soft opening yesterday. And while there were some understandable small hiccups during our visit, we’re left with an early impression that is very positive.
It might have taken a while to open, but as you walk in, you know that there’s something special about Main Market. The colors are vibrant and inviting, while the aisles are wide. It doesn’t feel like a supermarket, merely a market, and that is a very good thing. If you’ve checked out the Moscow Co-op, you will know what we’re talking about.
Not all the shelves were stocked yet, this being a soft opening and all, but those that were, impressed. A large selection of in season vegetables meets you as you enter, and there are plenty of raw food choices. If you like Ezekiel whole grain products, you’ll find a great selection here. The beer and wine shelves are stocked with local and semi-local organic and non-organic choices, as well as a variety of high quality products produced a bit further away. And surprisingly, theres also a good selection of airplane carry-on approved toiletries. No, seriously.
We were also happy to run into Marc from the old Natural Start at the store. He’s now in charge of the Main Market green house, which seems fitting. He could also tell us that the Moscow Co-op had helped out with certain aspects of Main Market, so that would explain certain similarities.
Some shelves need to be stocked, and other minor niggles need to be ironed out, but honestly, the market is looking really quite impressive as it is. Run down and check it out ASAP, and get a membership if you don’t already have one.
