Post positioned

Alex Sylvain (left) and Dan Stokes open their Post Falls Brewing Company on Friday.

Post Falls Brewing is ready to make a big mark on the local craft beer scene.

Its 15-barrel brewhouse is larger than most established breweries around the area. Its beers tend to the beefy side, with a session IPA clocking in at 6.5 percent alcohol by volume.

And when it opens its doors on Friday, it will have an ambitious list of eight selections on tap, one reason the debut has been delayed a bit.

‘’We couldn’t open up with just four beers,” says co-owner/brewer Alex Sylvain. “It’s your chance to see whether people like what you’re doing.”

That feedback will be important, adds brewing and business partner Dan Stokes: “We want people to tell us what they want to drink, instead of us telling them what to drink.”

You’ll get your chance to weigh in on Friday from 2 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 12:30 to 10 and Sunday from noon to 6. Flying Mammals will provide live music Saturday from 2 to 6, and the Taco Works food truck will be on hand Friday-Saturday.

Stokes and Sylvain, both engineers by day, met as college roommates at Northern Arizona University. Their early experiments were of the brew-in-a-bag variety but turned more serious as they moved on with their careers, Sylvain in Phoenix, Stokes in Denver.

After Sylvain moved to Post Falls six years ago, followed by Stokes, they started talking about taking their efforts commercial. In cooperation with non-brewing partner Steve Cervi-Skinner, a Coeur d’Alene doctor and old friend, they decided to take the plunge.

Their system is a considerable step up from Sylvain’s 30-gallon home rig – still in operation for test brews – with four 30-barrel fermenters (that’s 930 gallons each) to allow for double batches when the time comes.

“We figured we’d just put our five-year plan in action right away,” says Stokes.

While they initially intended to focus on outside distribution, once they secured their scenic location overlooking the Spokane River – just west of Templin’s on Spokane Street at First Avenue (an easy shot off the freeway), across from the historic water tower that inspired their logo – the taproom became more of a priority.

The newly constructed space captures a retro-industrial vibe, with stained concrete floors, shiny metals and reclaimed farmhouse wood throughout. The bar and table tops were fashioned from a single Douglas fir.

Two large glass garage-style doors on the west wall (with another on the south) offer views of the river, mountains and spectacular sunsets. There’s seating for 65 people inside plus more on the patio, with picnic tables that can be pushed together communal-style.

There are 12 taps for starters, with another 12 in the works for a planned “imperial row.” As Sylvain puts it, “There are going to be a lot of hop bombs here.”

He and Stokes have initially dialed down the hopping from their homebrew recipes, not knowing how the larger, more efficient system would respond, but intend to bump that back up.

Their first batch, Catalyst Pale Ale (5.5 percent alcohol by volume, 40 International Bitterness Units), has a lighter malt character with fruity, tropical notes from Simcoe and Glacier hops. There’s also a version infused with coffee from nearby Doma.

The standard Stoney MacGuyver IPA (7.5, 85) strikes more of a malt balance with its hop charge of Chinook, Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic. An SnR (Sssssick-n-Rowdy) imperial IPA (9, 90) is suitably powerful but fairly dry for its strength.

Their Drifter Session IPA (6.5, 50) got a bit out of hand for the style, but the brewers bring their mellow game with the light, crisp, clean Cheap Prick (4.5, 10), designed for those accustomed to more macro brews (or who want to pay a buck less for a pint).

The initial lineup also includes OPC Hefeweizen (5.5, 40), with orange peel, coriander and honey, and a smooth, medium-sweet Totes McOats Milk Stout (5, 20).

Offerings will constantly evolve, part of the overall goal of keeping things interesting.  “We want this to be a fun place, with a lot of energy,” Sylvain says.

“We’re serious about making good beer, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,” adds Stokes.  “Our jobs are very technical. This allows the other side to come out.”