Your holiday gift guide
Since those “last-minute shopping” ads are starting to show up, it must be about time for this year’s edition of our holiday gift guide.
While the possibilities truly are endless when it comes to craft beer, here are a few local and regional options for your consideration:
– Actual beer is always welcome, of course, and it’s tough to beat the festive presentation of Wallace Brewing’s just-released Vito. The brewery’s Strong Ale (9 percent alcohol by volume, 50 International Bitterness Units), a bronze medal winner at this year’s North American Beer Awards, was aged on toasted oak soaked in spiced rum, contributing a complex caramel, vanilla and mocha character. For a finishing touch, the limited run of 1,000 numbered bottles was hand-dipped in a silver sparkle wax (honoring the brewery’s Silver Valley heritage); look for them later this week in such specialty stores as Huckleberry’s, Rocket Market and Total Wine.
– Put some suds in your soap with the Brewed Bubbles bars from Hopped Up Brewing in Spokane Valley. Handmade by owners Steve and Sue Ewan’s daughter, Annette, using house beers along with natural olive, palm and coconut oils, they come in three varieties: original, with Quality Cream Ale and Superior Toasted Barley Flakes; IPA, infused with hops; and Orange Vanilla Porter, featuring Hopped Up’s holiday seasonal. Get them at the brewery for $5 each, or three for $14.
– On the sweeter side, there’s LolliHops from Yakima Hop Candy. The hand-poured, lupulin-infused suckers are made with Amarillo, Cascade, Citra, El Dorado and Jarrylo hops and come in 15 flavors including Chili Lime, Lemon Shandy, Blood Orange, Irish Stout and Hopped Cider. Prices start at $7.50 per half-dozen; today is the online order deadline for Christmas delivery, but you can also buy them locally at Bulldog Liquor and Wine (formerly Zag’z) on North Division.
– Breweries offer a wide array of branded merchandise, and for one-stop shopping of several varieties check out Priest River-based craftbrewswag.com. You’ll find an assortment of growlers and glassware, clothing, backpacks and bags from local and regional brewers including Orlison, Wallace, Kootenai River, Northern and Old Schoolhouse, plus others more far-flung.
– Washington now is home to more than 300 breweries, and you can help your favorite drinker celebrate them with a gift membership in the Washington Beer Lovers (WABL). For $30, you get a T-shirt listing all the breweries; a “passport” map to collect stickers during your visits and win prizes; a monthly newsletter; and extra tokens and access to special beers at festivals around the state (including our own Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival). Order online by Friday for Christmas delivery.