Countdown to Avista: Beer minus two

Back in the day, fruit beers were generally frowned upon by beer geeks, and for good reason; they tended to be unimaginative, overly sweet concoctions. But given the soaring popularity of sours and other Belgian styles, brewers have begun using fruit in much more interesting ways.

As we continue our countdown, here’s the scoop on the fruit and other flavored beers coming to the Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival at Avista Stadium this weekend:

– Cherries from Green Bluff (pictured above at No-Li Brewhouse) show up in a pair of beers: No-Li’s first-ever sour (10 percent alcohol by volume), with some of that also aging in red wine barrels for future release, and a Ramblin’ Road saison (7 percent ABV, 15 International Bitterness Units) aged over sour cherries in a Barrister cabernet franc barrel. Ramblin’ Road also is bringing its seasonal tripel (9, 12) brewed with lavender from the bluff.

– Also from Green Bluff, Big Barn is pouring a blackberry porter (5.7, 37) made with homegrown berries from its Bodacious Berries, Fruits and Brews farm. The brewery also uses local honey in its Mead Honey Lager (4.6, 22), which is flavorful but not particularly sweet, while Northern Ales from Kettle Falls returns with its deceptively easy-drinking, herb-accented Honey Basil Braggot (a wine-like 13 ABV).

– Huckleberries are the fruit of choice for the popular Huckleberry Pucker (5.5, 4) from Pullman’s Paradise Creek, which is a tart, sour mash Berliner Weisse , and River City’s Huckleberry Ale (5) aged in cab franc barrels.

– On a more tropical note, Twelve String is pouring both its regular Mango Mambo hefeweizen (4.3, 17) and a more over-the-top imperial version (8.3, 110) that spends some time in tequila barrels. Also look for the Mango-Weizen (5.3, 15) from Pacific’s Northwest Brewing.

– Laht Neppur from Waitsburg  puts peaches front and center in both its approachable Peach Pie Heffy (5.4, 20), an unfiltered wheat beer brewed with honey and lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and its substantial Saint Dorothy (8.8, 20), an imperial amber made with peaches, apricots, honey and sweet orange peel which has been aging for more than a year.

–­ Hopped Up is bringing the lemon version of its Quality Cream Ale (5.1, 13), which also has showed up in raspberry, huckleberry and cantaloupe renditions.

– Finally, Clarkston’s Riverport will be pouring its spicy (but not overly hot) 5/5 Pepper Beer (6, 30), a pale ale featuring plenty of aroma and flavor from jalapeno and serrano chilies. (And yes, those are technically fruits – look it up!)