Bennidito’s opens brewpub

(Josh Davis photo)

It’s official: Bennidito’s is in the brewery business.

Bennidito’s Brewpub, an offshoot of the popular South Hill pizza place, quietly opened Wednesday at 1909 E. Sprague with a 10-barrel brewhouse that will serve both restaurants.

The space (originally a grocery store, later a real estate office) has the proper brewpub feel with its high, open-beam ceilings, wood floor and large windows looking out onto Sprague. A smaller cinder block structure across a secluded courtyard houses the brewery operation.

The décor is a combination of recycled materials from the site, other repurposed items – the tables were made from railroad pallets – and leftovers from the former North Side Bennidito’s. Old signs from the real estate operation and other neighborhood businesses adorn the walls.

Owner Chris Bennett also is collecting historic Spokane brewery photos to display, from the olden days of Schade and Bohemian to the more recent likes of Fort Spokane and Birkebeiner.

Brewer Zach Shaw – who as co-owner of the short-lived Pacific Hop Exchange was part of the ‘90s Bay Area brewing scene that spawned the likes of Lagunitas and Russian River – is taking a bit of an old-school approach himself with the beers.

“A few of us first-generation guys are talking about getting back to basics, lowering the alcohol, bringing the IBUs down a little bit, having a completely balanced product,” he said.

“You still get a mouthful of hops, but you don’t get a mouthful of alcohol. How many 8 percent beers can you drink?”

Initial offerings include a clean, pleasantly hoppy Checkerboard Pale (5.2 percent alcohol by volume, 40 International Bitterness Units), which also will be on tap at the nearby watering hole of that name, and a fairly malty, flavorful Deviant IPA (5.8, 65) hopped with Columbus, Cascade and Chinook.

There’s also a small-batch single-hop pale featuring fruity, piney Zythos. Future styles will include a traditional Irish stout reflecting Shaw’s heritage, and a brown ale that’s the basis for the whiskey he wants to someday distill.

Bennett would like to eventually have half the pub’s 12 beer taps (one nitro) filled with house-brewed offerings. There are another four taps for wine, two white and two red.

Down the road, he hopes to brew some collaboration beers with other breweries he’s gotten to know, while Shaw talks of a cycling club (he’s an avid rider) and events with area home brewers.

Along with pizza (slices available all day), the food menu features both hot and cold sandwiches made with meats smoked in-house as well as wings, salads and breads.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. For more information call (509) 290-5018.