(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Beer lovers in North Idaho got two serious slaps to the face this week, one of which ricochet over to Eastern Washington. First, Selkirk Abbey brought word that the Inland Northwest distributor of Duchesse de Bourgogne -- a great Flanders -- is closing down. Will some other distributor pick it up? We'd assume so, but the Duchesse could be gone for a good while.

And just to kick us when we're down, Dogfish Head has, according to an Enoteca newsletter, ceased distribution to North Idaho. That one seems somewhat strange, what with the agressive expansion they undertook not too long ago. No word if this also will affect Eastern Washington.

Speaking of beer... As mentioned earlier this week, Black Butte XXV has hit the shelves, and its bottlecaps are, as with all of Deschutes's reserves, covered with wax. I cannot tell you how much time I've spent peeling away that wax, but I'm sure it amounts to days. Or something. (Probably not days.)

Anyway, we don't often get good tips from the Erick Doxey, but here's one that'll save us and (potentially) you some time: You don't actually have to remove the wax before cracking the bottle open.

No. Really. True story. Digest that for a while.

Simply open it like you would any other bottle, and it does just that. It opens. No need to remove the wax.

Hey, it was news to us.

Finally, the Bartlett has announced its soft- and grand opening. The former is set for October 6th, the latter for November 7th-9th.

Let's do something just a little bit different here today. Just jotting down some tasting notes on Deschutes's Black Butte XXV is all well and good, but really, what's the point? It's a good beer, a great beer even, and you already know that.

So, instead I have taken a bullet for you, and done some comparison tasting. XXV vs XXIV on tap; bottles of XXV, XXIV, and XXIII; all vetted, just for you.

How did the XXV measure up against the aged beers? Very well, actually, and I'm really interested in seeing what it'll be like when it hits the "best after" date. Two years is a long wait, but it'll be worth it.

What XXV has going for it is an excellent flavor profile, one that in my mind is better than the previous years's editions. The currant shines through here -- Deschutes's hype wasn't unwarranted -- and the hints of bourbon and chocolate do a great job flanking it. It's unmistakably a Black Butte, yet different. Just like we were promised.

Granted, beating the two year old XXIII hands down(check our '11 write-up for tasting notes) is hard. The thick mouthfeel with its dominating chocolate and vanilla is all velvety smooth. Good as the XXV is, it needs to age for the mouthfeel to reach maturity. On tap it is definitely smoother than in a bottle, but as it stands right now, XXIII is the Black Butte to beat as far as the overall experience goes.

Sampling the XXIV (we have a write-up on that one too), and it is pretty much what one would expect a year in. rom a Deschutes special reserve. For whatever reason these taste better fresh or two years in. After a year? They're somewhat thin and the flavors seem more mellow.

The XXIV is better on tap than it is in a bottle, but as far as I'm concerned the XXV still has the upper hand. It's all in the flavors, and XXV has more going on there. More depth, and even just a bit more velvety than the XXIV. This may likely be turned upside down a year from now, but as for now I prefer the XXV.

Philosophical comparisons aside: The XXV is one of those beers you just have to try. Have to! It's pretty much a requirement to get a few bottles for cellaring and a few for enjoyment right now. Try it on tap too, you owe yourself as much.

And do your own comparison. You'll feel like a scientist doing so.

I'm somewhat skeptical when a mall restaurant -- and I use the word liberally here -- claims to be "fresh". Particularly when "fresh" is right there in the name. Miso Fresh Asian? Location and name taken into consideration, it is not something that fills you with much confidence. 

Somewhat surprisingly, though, Miso is fairly fresh. Fairly. You're not going to run around yelling to the high heavens that this is what you've been waiting for your whole life, but you could do worse should you find yourself in River Park Square. At any rate it's easily as fresh as anything you'll find at Twigs.

Giving the báhn mì a shot, we walked away fairly pleased. The vegetable were all chopped up in front of us, which certainly is a step above Panda Express's vats of mysterious goop. Really, we had no complaints about the carrots or cucumber. They all had the expected (or possibly unexpected) crunch to them.

The chicken was... well, chicken... and the spicy sauce gave the sandwich a bit of a punch.

All in all, the fillings were good enough. Not too exciting, but I'd say they were on level with a baseline báhn mì.

And the bread? Well, I suppose it was fresh when it left Sysco, so we'll let that be what it was.

The báhn mì really wasn't bad. It wasn't necessarily great, and not something that'll turn you into a mall rat or anything. Should you happen to find yourself at River Park Square (or, apparently Northtown), though, you can (and will) find worse places to eat.

Sprudge.com -- described as "a crossroads for the coffee-minded, and a rumpus room for coffee professionals and enthusiasts this world over" or, for the rest of us, "a coffee snob site" -- has published an article on Spokane's coffee scene. I usually find these types of fluff pieces a bit... fluffy... but Sprudge really did a good job featuring the area's premier coffee spots and roasters.

Indaba, Coeur, and Revel 77, as well as Manners and DOMA are, as expected, all included. Run over to Sprudge and read what they have to say about them.

For something completely different: Liquor License Stalker reveals the recently fire damaged Geno's has new owners. The team behind the Elk will, presumably, add another pub to their ever growing family, and why not? The Gonzaga district seems like a natural location for them.

Finally, this is awesome: