Three years, three beers

Another year, another big, hoppy anniversary beer from Twelve String Brewing .

In 2012, it was Volume 1, a double IPA (9 percent alcohol by volume, 100 International Bitterness Units). Last year’s equally formidable Volume 2 tweaked the formula a bit as a Cascadian dark ale, aka “black IPA.”

Volume 3, which will be released in a celebration Sunday at the Spokane Valley brewery, still skirts strong IPA territory as an imperial red (8.5, 90).

The reddish color comes from a special German malt, Red X, while the complex hoppiness is courtesy of a combination of piney Chinook, citrusy Ahtanum and all-over-the-map Mosaic.  It’s double dry-hopped, once with Mosaic and again with Chinook.

Owner/brewer Terry Hackler plans to brew a second batch for barrel-aging, like he did with Volume 1 (there wasn’t enough Volume 2 for that).

Barrels were a big part of the 12 String story in 2014. Hackler keeps adding them – whiskey, wine, tequila, cognac, rum, mescal on the way – and increased his taps from 12 to 18 in order to pour more barrel-aged beers. A dozen were featured in the brewery’s first Barrelfest last month.

The year also saw the launch of a Crescendo series of specialty brews, a brand-new growler club (a $75 annual fee gets you a custom growler and discounts on fills and merchandise) and the hiring of an assistant brewer and sales representative to boost production and distribution.

If all goes according to plan, there will be bottled beers to sell early in the new year. Hackler is putting the finishing touches on a bottling line that will fill 22-ounce bombers with G String Blonde, Jam Session IPA, Electric Slide Imperial IPA, Drop D Stout and maybe Mango Mambo. Some seasonals and barrel beers also will be part of the mix.

But first, there’s a party to throw. Sunday’s event, from noon to 5 p.m., will feature sliders and other snacks catered by O’Doherty’s Barbecue , and don’t fret – the 49ers and Seahawks will be on the tube.