Rick Bonino

From fishing to hunting, hiking to snowboarding, Jason and Ryan Wing are all about adventure. Now the Coeur d’Alene brothers are embarking on a new one: launching their own brewery. Slate Creek Brewing Co., the latest addition to the area’s rapidly growing brewery ranks, opened for business last week. The name comes from one of the Wings’ favorite outdoor destinations, a tributary of the St. Joe River known for its trout fishing and whitewater kayaking.

It’s been more than a year now since Geno’s ran away and joined the circus. The old Geno’s, beloved as it may have been to its regulars, was a one-trick pony: a traditional Italian restaurant with heaping plates of pasta, checkered tablecloths, wood-paneled walls, well-seasoned waitresses and Frank and Dean on the jukebox.

River City Brewing may be the Spokane beer scene’s new kid on the block, but it’s been around the block a few times. Behind the venture are the Spokane-based owners of the former Coeur d’Alene Brewing Co., which lost its lease in the Lake City in fall 2010 after 23 years of operation as a brewery and pub.

Everything about the baby boom generation has been big: their numbers, their ambitions, their impact on society. But there’s one thing about the boomers that’s starting to get smaller: their homes.

Maybe it’s time to turn over a new leaf when it comes to your cooking – a tea leaf, that is. Tea has traditionally served as an accompaniment to foods from stir-fries to scones. But more and more, it’s finding its way into recipes.

For Matt Morrow, it’s like Christmas in … well, December. Morrow had hoped to have his Trickster’s Brewing Co. in Coeur d’Alene up and running by July, if not sooner. But license and permit delays kept pushing the date back.

As archaeological finds go, it was fairly significant – a piece of terra cotta pottery whose origins date back a couple thousand years, to Etruscan times. It was right there in a secluded kitchen cupboard, behind the fondue pot and electric pasta maker, other relics of 1970s-era cooking fads.

For a true taste of the South, you don’t have to go any farther than South Perry. Since June, Casper Fry has been serving up the likes of grits, greens, gumbo and more on the lower South Hill.

It’s green, 19 feet long, runs on 20 legs and produces a bit of a buzz. No, we’re not talking mutant insect. This is the Spokane Party Trolley – an environmentally friendly, pedal-powered pub on wheels, complete with keg tap, that relies on its riders for fuel as it travels between stops.

Warm weather must make breweries grow, because they just keep sprouting around the area. Here’s the latest update on the upcoming crop: Red Barn – Agriculture is an apt analogy for this homespun brewery taking shape at Bodacious Berries, Fruits and Brews on Green Bluff.

Sometimes, it’s all about the bike. Sometimes it’s all about the beer. But more often these days, it’s about both. Bicycling culture and craft beer culture are riding rising waves of popularity – and they’re increasingly riding in tandem.

The Garbage Goat sculpture in Riverfront Park is known for gulping down whatever bits of trash visitors put in its mouth. Now local beer lovers are eagerly guzzling the new ales from its namesake brewery, Iron Goat Brewing Co.

Spokane’s newest brewery is also its oldest. Those bottles of No-Li Brewhouse beers that are starting to show up in stores are a blend of homegrown pride and imported expertise.

Not that long ago, India pale ales were the province of only the most adventurous beer drinkers. Their origins were exotic enough: strong, highly hopped brews made to withstand the long journey from England to colonists abroad. Modern microbrew versions pushed the envelope even further.

Now that our climate is starting to catch up with the calendar, it’s time to savor some spring seasonal beers. The offerings from local and regional brewers are as varied in approach as the weather this time of year.

The proverbial fat lady isn’t ready to sing for Spokane Opera quite yet. In anticipation of its 25th season next year, the local arts group is staging a Gala Concert on Saturday at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.