The year in beer

Above: Sunset over September’s Inland NW Craft Brew Festival at Avista Stadium (Michelle Pingree photo).

Now that the holiday dust has settled, let’s take a look back, and ahead, at the year in local beer:

New breweries: For a second straight year, the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area added five breweries in 2014. The arrivals of Ramblin’ Road and English Setter in February, and Zythum and Perry Street in March, brought the Spokane County total to 14. And in November, Downdraft in Post Falls made it five for Kootenai County.

No one is talking about the bubble bursting anytime soon. Black Label in downtown Spokane, 238 on Green Bluff and Daft Badger in Coeur d’Alene all could be open within the month, while Bennidito’s Brew Pub on East Sprague, the brewery incubator at the old Spokane Public Market and New Boundary in Cheney are shooting for spring.

On a regional scale, the Inland Northwest Ale Trail launched its second year with 27 stops on the map, up from the previous 16.

Brewery expansions: Meanwhile, existing breweries continued to grow their capacity. Big Barn fired up a 7-barrel brewhouse in place of its previously tiny 10-gallon setup and started distributing year-round, while Slate Creek added a 15-barrel system to its 2-barrel and also began distribution.  

After relocating its brewery operations in 2013, MickDuff’s in Sandpoint opened a Beer Hall in addition to the original pub and is planning further expansion. Mad Bomber is scheduled to replace its 1-barrel system with a 7-barrel next month, while Iron Goat, No-Li and Twelve String are mulling growth that could involve new locations.