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On Tap: Lantern pours Oregon, Washington brews for annual Winter Beer Fest

There’s plenty of beer drinking fun this month, with Winter Beer Fest at the Lantern Tap House, and a host of places throwing anniversary parties. So much for Dry January. (Dave Martin / AP)
By Rick Bonino boninobeer@comcast.net

Our snow may be scarce so far, but the Lantern Tap House’s sixth annual Winter Beer Fest is arriving right on schedule.

The three-day event kicks off Thursday at 4 p.m. with offerings including Backwoods Spruce Springsteen, Big Sky Powder Hound, Firestone Walker’s Santa Lucia IPA and 2017 Velvet Merkin bourbon barrel-aged stout, Ninkasi 2015 Critical Hit barleywine, pFriem Winter Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA and Waddell’s 2017 bourbon barrel-aged Alligator Stout.

Action moves to the heated outdoor tent with 10 winter seasonals from Oregon breweries on Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., and another 10 by Washington brewers on Saturday.

Friday’s scheduled lineup features Crux Snow Cave, Deschutes 2014 Abyss imperial stout, Double Mountain Fa La La La La, Ecliptic Filament winter IPA, Fort George Magnaminous IPA and 2017 Matryoshka imperial stout, HUB Abominable, Ordnance Altmond Roca brown, Pelican 2016 Mother of All Storms barleywine and pFriem Juicy Winter Ale.

On Saturday, look for Backwoods 2017 The Stumbler imperial stout, Bale Breaker High Camp winter IPA, Black Raven Festivus, Dru Bru German Sticke alt, Fremont 2015 bourbon barrel-aged Dark Star stout, Georgetown 2017 barrel-aged 18lb Porter, Iron Goat Belsnickel, No-Li whiskey barrel-aged Falls Porter, Silver City Wonderland winter lager and Twelve String 12 Strings of Winter.

The $15 tasting package (good for all three days) includes a commemorative glass and your first pint pour, plus five additional drink tokens (extra tokens $1 each). Get 4-ounce fills of regular beers for one token and full pints for four; aged specialties are 4 ounces for two tokens and 8 ounces for four.

There will be live music inside by Brian Stai on Thursday at 8 and Dodgy Mountain Men on Friday at 9, plus DJ vinyl Saturday at 9. The Lantern Tap House is located at 1004 S. Perry St.

Burning issue

No-Li has followed Sierra Nevada’s lead by releasing a benefit beer in response to regional wildfires.

Three dollars from each pint sale of fruity, easy-drinking Fight Fire Pale Ale will be divided between the Washington State Fire Fighters’ Association and Northern California’s Camp Fire Relief Fund, with each expected to receive $2,500.

Some 1,500 breweries nationwide – including Spokane’s Badass Backyard, Big Barn, Humble Abode, Iron Goat and Twelve String – previously joined Sierra in brewing a Resilience IPA, with all proceeds going to victims of the devastating Camp Fire.

No-Li contributed more than $60,000 to local and regional nonprofits last year. It recently donated $2,000 to SpokAnimal from Christmas ornament sales during December’s Get Frosted celebration.

Birthday bunch

January traditionally is a time for new beginnings, and it’s a big month for area brewery anniversary celebrations:

Daft Badger’s fourth anniversary party Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. will feature a new single-hop Mosaic IPA along with music from DJJillyFM, Blake Braley and Royale plus gyros and chili.

Chewelah’s Quartzite caps its third year Saturday from 2 to 9 with commemorative T-shirt, pint glass and beer specials and food from KISS Gourmet.

Wallace Brewing marks its 10th anniversary Saturday from 5 to 9 with prize drawings, live music and more.

Four specialty beers – barrel-aged Scotch ale, barleywine and sour plus a blended cherry sour – highlight a fifth-anniversary customer appreciation party Monday from 6 to 8 at Waddell’s Brewpub along with prize giveaways.

Millwood Brewing celebrates its first anniversary Jan. 25 from 1 to 9 with live music by Justin James, food from the Skewers truck and raffles.

Black Label is featuring $4 beers for its fourth anniversary Jan. 26 from 6 to 10 p.m. plus prize raffles and music by Andy Rumsey.

Masters is reality

The Masters Brewhouse brewery/restaurant in Deer Park opened Dec. 28 with a lineup of guest taps. Four house beers are on the way: golden and amber ales, an IPA and a stout.

Freshly tapped

Bellwether’s Quirky Wolf IPA (5.8 percent alcohol by volume) is accented with locally produced oak extract. On Thursday, the North Spokane brewery releases homebrew competition winner Honey, Where’s My Saison.

Perry Street’s crisp, dank Gettin’ It Cryo IPA (7.4) is brewed with pungent Citra and Simcoe hop powder and dry-hopped with Sabro.

Iron Goat releases its Buzzsaw McThunder Juicy IPA (6.8) in six-pack cans at the taproom Saturday.

The latest from Humble Abode is a Stout4Breakfast (7.8) made with maple syrup and cold brew coffee.

Twelve String is serving a Tart Cherry/Mango Hefeweizen (4.3).

Save the date

Twelve String is offering a variety of specials through January for Customer Appreciation Month; follow Facebook and Twitter for details.

Community Pint is pouring barrel-aged specialties from Avery, Deschutes, Fremont, Fort George and Modern Times from Thursday through Sunday.

Post Falls Brewing beers will be featured at Northern Quest’s Riverbank Taphouse on Thursday from 5 to 7.

Iron Goat has a benefit pint night for Global Neighborhood’s Job Readiness Program on Friday from 5 to 9, and a five-course brewer’s dinner Sunday starting at 6:15 p.m. (cost $60, tickets at the taproom).

And next Tuesday, the Goat offers an educational program examining six identical base beers fermented with different yeasts. Limited-seating sessions are at 4:30 p.m. (selling fast), 6 and 7:30; cost is $16, through eventbrite.com.