(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Well, this is it. The #SpoBREW Classic goes down tomorrow, and thus we are issuing our final call for the event. I mean, what else is there to do this weekend? You could stand in line for a new iPhone I suppose, but come on... Free beer? (Not free) Pizza? A spectacle of homebrewing? That's what you want to be apart of.

After all, who knows if there'll ever be a #SpoBREW again. What if this is your last chance? 

RSVP at (we're so, so sorry) Facebook, or just show up tomorrow. The Porch, 1804 W Broadway. 4:30 pm. It'll be awesome. We guarantee(-ish) it.

Hey, it's almost Saturday, and the #SpoBREW Classic really is upon us. 4:30pm. I mean, really.

So what time would be better to sum up what's going to happen, and what you'll miss (beer aside) if you don't show up? We have...

Pizza! Some things can't be reiterated enough, and if you miss out on eating Veraci, you're pretty much an awful human being. Yes, I went there. That is not hyperbole, it's the truth. Awful human being. Come for the beer, stay for the pizza. Or vice versa.

Beer art! OK, it might not be a huge exhibit, but what will be there will be awesome. Check out what some truly creative people have done with a beer theme. It will make you cultured.

Free beer! Sample the beers and judge for yourself. We'll contribute your own personal scoring sheets, you'll provide your own (possibly superior) taste. Compare your votes with the brewers and judges. Speaking of...

Pro judges! It always confounds us how we get professionals to join these things, but we'll take it. New Belgium's Ely Johnson and Joe Perilli and Kyle Sillars from Big Sky will judge. See real pros in action.

Odd prizes! We have prizes lined up this year. Are they good prizes? Of course they're not, but they're interesting prizes, and they'll be handed out in random categories.

Possible brewer fistfights! It's up in the air, but homebrewers can get a bit... edgy...

Really, it's all very simple isn't it? Anything beer related topped with pizza? Why wouldn't you want to enjoy that? Saturday, 4:30pm. Mark it on your calendar.

It's in the air, the competition, the backstabbing, the accidental tipping-over-of-competitor's glasses. Oh, you pretend like you want the technical, professional information about the teams, but you're not that kind of person, are you? You want the dirt! And here it is, on a selection of the #SpoBREW Classic teams and no-teams.

Will Stone & Ryan

Will had the great honor of being the first person to sign up for the #SpoBREW Classic one year before the signup opened. We had naturally forgotten about that, and the signup was closed before he could fill in his information. Whoops. Luckily one reserve-spot was open, and Will Stone and his partner Ryan are indeed in the contest.

Brad & Joel

The most soap-opera-y of teams, Brad lost his partner, Joel, to the glorious Team SpoCOOL last year. The result? Brad jumped from being the winner of #SpoBREW to placing last in #SpoBREW2. (In all fairness, Joel didn't fare much better.) This year the team has kissed and made up, and we'll see if their winning formula will work yet again this year.

Helge Nylund

The #SpoBREW2 winner is back (through a proxy) to defend his position. Will he do it again? Probably, because Helge is Norwegian. A real Norwegian, not a wannabe. And as Norway tends to win anything (soccer not withstanding) we can probably just shut the contest down and send him the award.

Stephanie & Amy

We certainly have had female brewers in the contest before -- take that misogynist pigs -- but this is the first team to feature two female contestants. #SpoBREW is clearly a place of harmony and progressiveness, which will be proven through dirty play by all genders.

Erick Doxey & Scott Mueller

The biggest talkers of the past #SpoBREWs? They're out. Make sure to give them looks of exasperation -- particularly to Doxey, as he tends to be the one to blame for these things -- dare they show their faces at the #SpoBREW Classic.

Shaun

The brewer's choice of #SpoBREW is back for one last mission, ready to reclaim his crown. This marks the first time all the #SpoBREW winners are competing, as we also have Solomon and Dana -- judge's choice last year -- making a comeback. Will any of them win the ultimate award as this year's top #SpoBREWer? Show up for the event, and you can see for yourself.

Team SpoCOOL

Us? We're out. We suck. Better to leave the spot open for someone who knows what she or he is doing.

So here we are again. It's September, the thermometer is hovering around ninety, and... Wait, we really have been here before, haven't we? The whole release of a winter warmer at a time when getting a sunburn is still a real possibility.

Is this really an issue, though? Sure, sunburns are, but a good beer is still a good beer, right?

That's somewhat true, but I don't know... A spicy winter seasonal like the Jubelale just feels out of place right now, and this year's edition is somewhat inferior to what we've seen over the past few years.

So what do we have? The face of it is a cloudy, vaguely dirty brown color -- pretty typical of a winter warmer. The one finger of head looks nice and crisp.

Sniff, and it smells like Christmas. I mean, really. Cloves and spices, hops and caramel. It's like Santa's cologne which is all well and good, if not a little creepy.

Sip, and the flavors follow pretty well, but they seem a bit weaker than what we've seen before. Sure, the spiciness is there, hiding behind a mild hopiness, and the expected sweetness is kind of there. It's just not as powerful as I had expected. The mouthfeel is equally light, making this a fairly dull beer.

Will this improve when winter actually comes around? Maybe. Thing is the beer is here now, and it's really not one intended for storage. The Jubelale is a six-pack beer.

With all said and done, it's not a horrible beer. I'll have it again. I just had expected something more, and I feel somewhat let down. In the end this is just the kick-off of the winter warmer season. It'll be a tough undertaking, finding the next big thing, but it's one I'm gladly willing to face.