Trail of beers

Traveling the Inland Northwest Ale Trail can get a bit treacherous this time of year, but Yelp Spokane is providing a one-stop shopping opportunity.

On Wednesday, 16 area breweries will be on hand for Yelp’s Spirit of Spokane: Beertopia at the Black Diamond in Spokane Valley.

For $5, you get five 2-ounce beer tastes and appetizer samples. Pints and more food will be available for purchase.

And since Black Diamond is all about billiards, you also can shoot some pool to win prizes including growlers, flasks and T-shirts.

To attend, you need to create an account with Yelp, the online review site for local businesses, if you don’t already have one (follow the link above; it’s quick and painless) and RSVP. (It’s a private event, so the Diamond will be closed for regular business.) And bring cash for the cover charge; no plastic accepted.

Participating breweries include Big Barn, Hopped Up, Iron Goat, Laughing Dog, No-Li, Northern Ales, Orlison, Paradise Creek, Ramblin’ Road, River City, Riverport, Selkirk Abbey, Steam Plant, Top Frog, Twelve String and Waddell’s.

The event will also serve as the weekly gathering for the #SpoBU Twitter meetup group, and the holiday party for the local Girls’ Pint Out chapter. (If you’re a member of the latter, bring a wrapped bottle of craft beer costing $10 or less for a “white elephant” gift exchange.)