(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Well, if you weren't there you weren't there, and you probably should have been. Manito's Big Sky tasting was quite something, and other than the advertised whiskey barrel Double IPA, two other beers were available.

In fact, we understand there might be some left, so you might just have a chance to try some of the three beers:

Double IPA

The headliner, and for a good reason. The whiskey flavor was about as intense as I've ever experienced in this kind of beer, more reminiscent of what you might expect from a whiskey barrel stout or porter. Very different and very good -- serving it with a shot of Dry Fly whiskey was also cool.

Powder Hound firkin

Probably my favorite of the night, though I'm a big fan of Powder Hound in general. The texture was velvet smooth, and the fresh hopped notes added a crispness to the front of it. Smooth and crisp! It's a magical combination!

Wet hopped Trout Slayer

Pretty much anything would have tasted OK at this point of the night, but I maintain this take on Trout Slayer was tasty in its own right. Very refreshing.

So: Run up to Manito and see if they have any left. It's well worth it, particularly while sampling some of the great food there.

As you may (or may not) know, we quite like Enoteca, the Post Falls beer and wine shop which now is a lot more than that. The grand opening of the larger Enoteca Drinkery & Refuge is tomorrow, Thursday the 25th, and it will run for three days. In case you're not familiar with what's new, the spot is now a true drinkery, with a full bar, and one of the region's more interesting beer selections.

You can check out the grand opening (and beyond) events on Enoteca's website -- one highlight includes #SpoBREW judge Ely doing a free New Belgium tasting on Friday.

Speaking of #SpoBREW judges and spots we like: Manito will be featuring Big Sky's Dry Fly whiskey barrel aged Double IPA tomorrow, Thursday at 6pm. Representatives from Big Sky, including #SpoBREW1 judge Joe, will be on hand for the event, which frankly sounds pretty awesome.

Make Thursday an awesome Thursday!

Our somewhat fragile relationship with Redhook and its Winterhook continues. Last year they managed to produce something a bit better than average, and this year...

I mean, I wish I had made tasting notes, not because there is so much going on here, or because this is so awful. It's just so, so, so average. Of course, average isn't something you should necessarily avoid, but odds are Winterhook will bore you, and I have a hard time seeing it becoming a 2012 go-to winter warmer for many.

So what do we have here? A perfectly pretty beer; deep, dark brown with a generous head. Sniff, and you'll be greeted by toasted malts and cloves, with some touches of sweetness sneaking right past you.

And that's about it. Even as far as the flavors go, seeing they mirror the nose almost perfectly. The aforementioned notes are all there, and that is all they are: Notes. This is just a dull version of last year's edition, with a body that feels even lighter, probably because of the lack of flavors.

Why Redhook decided to mute the beer I do not know, but it was an unnecessary step to take.

Will I drink Winterhook again? Sure. I have five left from my six pack after all, and it's not like I'm going to pour them out. Maybe a bit of aging will improve them or maybe it's better on tap? I somehow doubt either will make much of a difference, and our confused relationship with Redhook will keep going the way it has over the past few years.

Well now, that was fun, wasn't it?

Team SpoCOOL took on the SpoCUP coffee crawl pretty much straight off a twenty hour flight, which, frankly, makes it all feel somewhat odd. Jet lag plus copious amounts of coffee make you see things just a little bit differently than what you usually would.

Anyway!

We don't know much about numbers and all, but a lot of people seemed to be out there enjoying excellent coffee while supporting Big Table. And that's awesome. For your enjoyment, here is our shop by shop walkthrough of the inaugural SpoCUP.

INDABA

The epicenter of the walk, so to speak, seeing the fine people of INDABA were largely responsible for SpoCUP. And as always the coffee was excellent. We enjoyed a macchiato and a pastry from Batch, the former being enough to get us abnormally buzzed early on.

Coeur

Coeur brought out the big guns this weekend: the Gesha ran for $10 a cup, which isn't bad for this extremely rare coffee. We played it a bit more conservative ourselves with a macchiato and a cappuccino, but still got to try the Gesha, thanks to Bryan Cosby, who, the gentleman he is, shared his. We're not sure if Coeur has any left, but try it if you get the chance. I cannot remember drinking a more velvet smooth coffee. Very very good.

Luxe

We haven't been to Luxe in a while, and that's too bad. It's a great space, and our cappuccino was excellent. Of course, at this point we were getting loopy enough that colors were looking a bit different, and the effects of a long flight were becoming more apparent. But hey, that's part of the fun.

Atticus

We didn't go. Frowny face to us, because we like Atticus. We frankly couldn't handle more coffee, and we might have started to feel a bit on edge. 

Boots

Yet we had to go to Boots, to be part of the raffle. (Hey, we like contests!) I tried to drink a beer in an attempt to get back to some sort of neutral state, but I don't think it worked too well. Still, we won a Vans cap which we feel goes well with our skateboarder image.

So yes, we walked through SpoCUP in kind of a daze, but were happy to see a lot of people out there. Spokane is starting to "get" this coffee thing, and that can only be a good thing. Big props to INDABA for putting on this great event.