On Tap: Festival highlights No-Li’s small-batch big flavors

Fri., Aug. 22, 2014

By Rick Bonino boninobeer@comcast.net

This weekend’s big beer news comes in small batches.

No-Li is again pouring a dozen barrel-aged, infused and other specialty offerings Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. in its second small-batch beer festival, following up on April’s inaugural event.

And as in April, when it sold out at the door in 45 minutes, this one is expected to fill up fast. Your best bet is checking now for advance tickets at noli12.eventbrite.com.

The price is a bit higher than before – $20 in advance ($27 at the door, if available), versus $15 – but this time, that includes 4-ounce samples of all 12 beers:

• Born & Raised IPA, aged in Dry Fly triticale whiskey barrels and freshly dry-hopped, plus a cask-conditioned version of the same.

• Jet Star Imperial IPA aged in a Dry Fly wheat whiskey barrel, plus that same beer poured through a Randall over whole Nugget hops.

• Triticale whiskey barrel-aged Jet Star.

• Aksel Belgian strong ale, aged in a Townshend Cellar red wine barrel.

• Double dry-hopped Winter Warmer.

• Rise & Grind oatmeal/milk/coffee stout infused with vanilla beans.

• An alternate version of Rise & Grind brewed without the coffee, and infused with chocolate and cranberry puree.

• Wrecking Ball imperial stout aged in a smaller 5-gallon whiskey barrel, for more intense flavors.

• Wine barrel-aged Wrecking Ball.

• Blackfill, which is Wrecking Ball aged in triticale whiskey barrels.

Blackfill is the first in a series of barrel-aged No-Li beers to get a limited release in 22-ounce bottles, which will be available at the festival. There also will be live music by Buffalo Jones and Cursive Wires, and food for sale; for more information call (509) 242-2739.

Save the date

Among the other beer events on the calendar:

• Nu Home Brew & Bottles, 14109 E. Sprague Ave., celebrates its first anniversary today from 5 to 9 p.m. with brewing demonstrations, samples, raffles and discounts on starter kits.

• Laughing Dog’s ninth anniversary party is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the brewery north of Sandpoint, with barbecue, live music and the release of a Tripel Squared (nine – get it?) aged in chardonnay barrels.

• The second annual Budgefest, Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Budge Brothers, will have DJ music, food from Pizza Rita and a lighter (4 to 5 percent alcohol by volume) pale ale made with oats.

• Zythum Brewing in Fairfield celebrates the release of the new Inland NW Ale Trail map on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. with beer specials and live music.

• Capone’s in Coeur d’Alene hosts the final Ale Trail kickoff party, with plenty of local beers, Aug. 28 from 6 to 9 p.m.

• Schweitzer Mountain Resort’s Fall Fest, Aug. 30-Sept. 1 north of Sandpoint, features more than 60 regional microbrews plus live music, food, arts and crafts vendors and kids’ activities.

• The second annual Hopped Up on Art, Music and Beer, Sept. 6 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Hopped Up Brewing in Spokane Valley, includes an outdoor gallery with works by local artists along with live music, food from Azar’s, a spray-can graffiti artist and fire dancers.

• Iron Goat is seeking fresh hop vines from home growers, and people to pick the cones, for the annual Spo Hop community brew on Sept. 6. Hops are due by 11 a.m. and picking runs until 2 p.m. (pint discounts for participants), followed by live music at 3.

Freshly tapped

• Trickster’s new Hipster Juice (4.5 percent alcohol by volume, 43 International Bitterness Units) is a crisp, easy-drinking pale ale with a pleasantly dank aroma and herbal, spicy notes from Zeus hops.

• Hopped Up is pouring a pair of small-batch beers aged over wood strips: a lightly candyish Maple Cream, and a rich, vanilla-accented Oak Stout. A large-batch seasonal Cloud Sweeper ESB (6.0, 63) will be on by early September for Hopped Up on Art, Music and Beer (see item above).

• It’s football season at the Steam Plant with the release of “C” Hops Victory Ale (6.0, 45), brewed with 12 ingredients – honoring the Seattle Seahawks’ “12th Man” fan slogan – including six hops beginning with the letter C and biscuity Victory malt. The golden amber beer starts slightly sweet and finishes dry, with a complex but not bitter hoppiness. Also look for a traditional Oktoberfest lager (5.6, 10) starting Sept. 5.

• They were tapped too late to taste before deadline, but other new arrivals include a dunkelweizen (dark wheat beer) at Twelve String, a blackberry ale at Waddell’s and a porter brewed with Doma coffee at Perry Street (release party tonight at 5), to be followed by an imperial saison.

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

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