Blast-off of flavor

Trickster’s has launched a little project to take the taste of its beers to new heights.

Using a device called the HopRocket, the Coeur d’Alene brewery is infusing a different beer with various flavorings each day this week.

Monday debuted with the Hipster Juice pale through pineapple, starfruit and jalapeno. Today, it’s the XP extra pale with grapefruit, pineapple and starfruit.

Slated for tomorrow is a Mexican mole version of the Soul Warmer Porter, with Anaheim and ancho chiles, cinnamon sticks and oak.

Like the Randall – used regularly by River City and Ramblin’ Road in Spokane – the HopRocket can be filled with a wide range of ingredients and connected to tap lines to infuse finished beer with flavors on its way to the glass.

Trickster’s owner/brewer Matt Morrow previously used it with his home system before the bottom piece went missing in his garage for a year and a half. Now he plans to offer infused beers at least one day each week after this week’s initial introduction.

“Our head brewer (Evan Ruud) came up with the fruit yesterday, and I thought, that sounds great,” Morrow says.

The flavor intensified as more pints were poured, he says: “Once the fruit gets saturated, it starts leaching out flavor.”

And the leftover fruit was a little treat at the end of the night. “It came out like carbonated pineapple,” says Morrow.

On a more traditional note, Trickster’s plans to tap its new double IPA a week from Thursday (March 5). “It’s going to knock some socks off,” Morrow says. “It has an extremely pungent aroma and flavor.”

That same day also could see the release of the brewery’s first bottled beer, Professor Funkhouse, if labels arrive in time.

That’s a blend of naturally soured Naughty Nick – Trickster’s holiday seasonal “chocolate chip cookie” oatmeal stout – and unfermented porter, aged in a cabernet sauvignon barrel. The 22-ounce limited release will only be sold out of the tasting room.