On Tap: Trickster’s, Twelve String celebrate birthdays with barrel-aged beers

Both Trickster’s and Twelve String celebrate anniversaries this weekend with soured, dark barrel-aged beers:

Trickster’s has two barrel offerings for its fourth anniversary party Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Coeur d’Alene taproom.

One is the Vol. 2 version of Professor M’s Funkhouse. While last year’s Vol. 1 was a sour mixture of spiced winter ale and porter, the new take is straight Soul Warmer porter aged for nine months in cabernet sauvignon barrels with lactobacillus and Brettanomyces. “There’s just kind of a tinge of sour to it,” said Trickster’s owner Matt Morrow.

There’s also a bigger Daedric Druid imperial stout that was aged in bourbon barrels, conditioned with whiskey-soaked coffee beans and blended with fresh porter to cut its intense bourbon flavor. “I enjoyed drinking it (unblended), but I’m not sure anybody else would,” Morrow said.

A hoppy new Wilbrr winter India lager (5.8 percent alcohol by volume, 60 International Bitterness Units) also will be tapped for the festivities. Food will be available from the Iverson’s Smokin Pig BBQ truck from 1 to 6.

For Trickster’s, 2016 was the year of the Juice Box, its fruity flagship IPA. It began bottling both that and the imperial Hops on Parade IPA in 22-ounce bombers in April, but now is focusing on the faster-selling Juice Box, which accounts for 70 percent of the brewery’s production.

While sales have been booming in Central Washington, the goal for 2017 is increasing Trickster’s presence in Spokane, Morrow said. A series of Juice Box promotional nights at watering holes here is underway.

Juice Box also gained some national attention, reaching the Sweet 16 round of the Brewing News’ National IPA Championships in March before falling to Barley Brown’s Pallet Jack, the 2013 winner.

For its first three anniversary beers, Twelve String issued imperial IPAs – regular, black and red – before branching out with a barrel-aged barleywine last year.

It’s pushing the boundaries again for this year’s celebration, Sunday from noon to 5 at the Spokane Valley taproom, with an imperial porter that was kettle soured and aged for three months in Woodinville Whiskey bourbon barrels.

Before barreling, owner Terry Hackler said, “It was so light and drinkable that you never would guess it was an 8.3 percent beer, or even a porter, but it was good.” Subsequent tastings have shown that it mellowed from the wood without picking up big bourbon notes, he said.

One of the four barrels will pour for Sunday’s party, with the others kept in reserve for future events. Like the last couple of years, there will be free sliders and sides from O’Doherty’s Irish Pub & BBQ, and the Seahawks game will be on the tube.

Twelve String’s seasonal High Note black IPA is scheduled to return around the first of the year and likely will be followed by a single-hop offering featuring the new Idaho 7 varietal later in January.

The brewery’s biggest news over the past year was the August release of five beers in 22-ounce bottles: Mango Mambo hefeweizen, Red Guitar Red, Batch 201 IPA, Electric Slide imperial IPA and Drop D Stout.

Distribution continues to grow, Hackler said, with Total Wine just coming on board. The Arpeggio Pale, G String Blonde and Jam Session IPA could be added to the lineup by summer.

But his main focus for next year is relocating the taproom and eventually the brewery to a larger location about 2 miles away, on Pines Road north of Sprague, a former Waste Management office building that Hackler bought two summers ago.

He’s finished gutting the space and this week started putting on a new roof, which will be finished over the winter as weather allows. Hackler hopes to have the taproom open sometime next summer, with a kitchen to follow.

Marmot meeting

Dark beer fans also will want to mark their calendars for River City’s second annual Midnight Marmot Beer Festival on Dec. 17 from 3 to 8 p.m.

It will feature nine versions of the downtown Spokane brewery’s seasonal Midnight Marmot imperial stout (while they last): this year’s regular release and a 2014 reserve, plus Oako-Cocoa Nitro, Vanilla Coffee, Orange and Star Anise, Spicy, Pomegranate, a River Marmot mixture with Riverkeeper IPA and a complex Grand Cru blend.

For $25 in advance ($30 at the door) you get 2-ounce samples of each plus a pint of your favorite, one growler fill for an additional $10 and a souvenir snifter.

Freshly tapped

Rich, malty winter warmers back for another season include the Steam Plant’s Stack Frost (7 percent alcohol by volume, 25 International Bitterness Units), Waddell’s Mt. Spokane Lost Woods (8, 45) and Hopped Up’s Destroy My Sweater (8.9, 49), finished with homegrown spruce tips.

Post Falls Brewing has gone both big and small with a fruity, Galaxy-hopped Intergalactic IPA (8.8, 138) and a lighter, refreshing Slusher Kolsch (6.1, 10).

Young Buck’s Black IPA (6.7, 75) is brewed with orange zest and chocolate.

Save the date

Daft Badger’s German-style Holiday Market on Saturday and Sunday includes Christmas gift vendors plus a visit from Santa on Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 and live music that evening.

Manito Tap House will put on a special keg each day from Monday through Dec. 23 for its 12 Beers of Christmas.

The 12 Odells of Christmas on Thursday at The Filling Station on 5th features a dozen offerings from the Colorado brewery.

Steady Flow Growler House will tap more than 10 barrel-aged and exclusive kegs Dec. 17 for a Barrel & Ceviche Cornucopia in conjunction with Zona Blanca restaurant.

Honor roll

No-Li’s Rise & Grind coffee milk stout won a silver medal earlier this month at Belgium’s Brussels Beer Challenge, while a mint chocolate chip version took the people’s choice award in two of three sessions at last weekend’s Winter Beer Fest in Seattle.

Send beer news, comments and questions to senior correspondent Rick Bonino at boninobeer@comcast.net.