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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Steady as she flows

Rick Bonino

The beer starts pouring Friday at Steady Flow Growler House & Tasting Room.

The new Spokane Valley operation (at 328 N. Sullivan Road, behind Shari’s restaurant) is giving away unfilled glass growlers to the first 100 customers through the door tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday as part of its grand opening celebration.

Brewery representatives also will be on hand each day from 4 to 6 p.m., including No-Li on Friday, Twelve String on Saturday and River City on Sunday. Big Barn will be featured on Saturday, Sept. 12.

For starters, owners Cassie and Ashton Preston have filled their 39 taps with 30 craft beers – half of them from Inland Northwest Ale Trail breweries – along with five ciders (including One Tree’s Dry Hopped), a root beer, red and white wines and cold-brewed local coffee from Beautiful Grounds.    

“We thought it would be cool for people to be able to try a bunch of different craft beverages in one place,” Ashton says.

On the beer side, look for the likes of No-Li’s dry-hopped Sleeve Tan Farmhouse saison (a collaboration with Moscow Alehouse) and a special keg of Poser pale infused with mango and cumin; Hop Valley’s grapefruit peel Citrus Mistress IPA; Caldera’s Mosaic IPA; Ecliptic’s unfiltered Spica Pilsner; 10 Barrel’s Apricot Crush Berliner weisse, and Anderson Valley’s The Kimmie, The Yink and the Holy Gose.

The DigitalPour system includes an icon on the electronic display showing how much beer is left in each keg, from green to yellow to red. The board also is set to display Untappd check-ins by patrons as they’re posted.

“It creates an interactive environment for the customer,” Cassie says.

Glass growlers are available in 16- and 32-ounce sizes as well as full 64-ounce (which also come in stainless steel and plastic). You can buy a branded carrier along with glasses and T-shirts.

While the focus is on fills, Steady Flow also offers seating for 22 people at blue pine slab tables and a side bar, with beers available in full and half pints, and taster flights.

The rustic/industrial space, tastefully done up in gray and black with a concrete floor, has plenty of personality. The bar is topped with white fir and lined with barn wood on the front.  Large hanging lights were salvaged from Camp Chevrolet, while the walls are covered with canvas prints of photos the Prestons took at local breweries.

There will be low music, and no TVs. “We want to create a nice, quiet environment where people can sit down and have a pint and actually talk to each other,” Ashton says.

“And we can hear them talking about the beer – not that we’re going to eavesdrop, but we can get some feedback,” Cassie adds.

Their attention to detail includes a variety of glassware for different beer styles (and cider), and a water line that runs from the cold room to the glass rinser that lightly chills glasses as it cleans them for serving.

Hours are daily from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. (8 on Sundays). Admittance is 21 and older, though the Prestons, parents of two young children, are looking at a license change to become family-friendly.

Several discount specials are planned, including Military Monday for active and veteran service personnel and first responders (police/fire), Thirsty Thursday for everyone, happy hours and kill-the-keg nights.

Outside food is allowed, and they’re experimenting with food trucks on Saturdays, starting with Tacos Camargo this week.