(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Our annual “Best of...” is about to open up for voting very soon, but, as always, we ask you, the knower of everything good, what should be nominated? We always have the usual suspects included, but is there anything obscure out there or anywhere we haven't tried that should make its way onto the ballot? Give us a yell -- @spocool on Twitter -- and we'll see if we can't include it. Remember: Voting, it's your civic duty!

South Perry's Thursday Market is moving indoors to the Buddhio Yoga Studio, 915 S Perry for the winter. Its hours are 3-6pm.

Chairs Public House is opening next week. It's located in the old Bulldog building, 1305 N Hamilton.

The Valley branch of Total Wine & More will have its grand opening on November 21st. Its located just west of the Valley mall.

The Snowlander Expo is happening on Friday and Saturday which is neither here nor there if you couldn't care less about snow and skis. The PowderKeg brew festival that takes place inside it might be more of interest though, so make sure to check it out.

And I think that about covers it!

So here we have a collaboration beer from Stone, 10 Barrel, and Blue Jacket, and an odd one it is. The Suede is an imperial porter, brewed with calendula flowers, jasmine, and honey, which at least should indicate that this is an interesting beer. A good beer? I don't know. Really. I'm not sure if I like, hate, or love Suede.

Some things seem... not off, but unexpected... right out of the bottle. I'd expect an imperial porter to be jet black, but the Suede has more of a dark brown look to it. The head was just slightly off-white. It looks more like... I don't know, something different than what I had expected anyway.

Sniff, and all kinds of things are going on. The sweet hints of jasmine and honey are right there, held up by the more expected malt scents. The calendula might be there in too, but then I have no idea what that actually is, so...

It's when you drink it confusion truly set in, or at least it did for me. It either all goes to heaven or it all goes to hell, I'm still not sure.

The honey is good, and mixes well with the more classic porter flavors right on the tip of the tongue. Further toward the back is where the jasmine hits, and it feels a bit too dry for my liking.

All throughout there's kind of a funky flavor, which I assume could be the calendula? Maybe? It's not downright unpleasant, but I'm not sure it's something I really want in an imperial porter either.

When all is said and done, there is no denying this is a professionally brewed beer. The mouthfeel is smooth, and the 9.6% ABV doesn't kick you in the face. I'm not entirely sure if the flavor profile is “my thing” but maybe it's something you would enjoy? It is an interesting beer, and you should probably give the Suede a test. That much it deserves.

A lot of people were less than thrilled when Bennidito's closed its Indian Trail location, and fair enough. It's not an area that overflows with great pizza. (Does Cafe Italiano even exist up there anymore?)

The Boiler Room is set to change that soon, aiming to provide the 5 Mile area with wood-fired pies. With ten taps of craft beer and what looks like an interior designed by HDG, the place shows some promise. Check their Facebook page for more.

If you like us have been waiting for 12 oz bottles of No-Li's brews, wait no longer. Four-packs of Jet Star and Wrecking Ball should be hitting the shelves very soon. 

And Orlison's lagers have already hit the shelves.

Revel 77 -- still one of our favorite places for coffee -- is celebrating its first year anniversary this Sunday. Door-prizes, live music, and excellent coffee will be provided from 8am to 5pm. And remember, they will soon start selling beer and wine too.

Oh, I know this is an ale not everyone loves. I, however, stand behind it every year, and I will without hesitation name Powder Hound this season's best winter-six-pack beer. You may disagree, and that's fine. It's wrong, but still OK.

And I will repeat myself, like I do every year:

This is a welcoming beer, shining off with kind of a clear amber color and about a finger worth of unbashful head. 

Give it a whiff, and a semi-spicy hop hug comes jumping out at you, closely followed by caramel and malts. It smells like christmas and it tastes like christmas. As it well should.

Because the aforementioned flavors are here and they are here living the good life. Hops living in perfect harmony with brown sugar and nutmeg.

Caramel. Citrus. Christmas.

Powder Hound has it all, and that is a good step above what we've seen from Deschutes and its ilk this season. This is unapologetically a winter seasonal through and through. It might not be like those fancy beers which tries to be everything to everyone. It's just a simple seasonal with all the right flavors. It's here to say everything will be alright.

That's what a winter seasonal is supposed to be, and I will defend my love for Powder Hound until Deschutes releases its Red Chair all over our faces come spring.