Your weekly roundup

Catching up with more news from the past week in local craft beer:

– An old No-Li brewing tank will be used to give a new look to a downtown freeway exit.

The brewery donated the 30-barrel stainless steel fermenter to the City of Spokane for the project. Plans call for having an artist cut a design into the tank and then illuminating it from inside to “basically act as a lantern,” says Laura Becker, executive director of Spokane Arts.

It will be installed in a median along the Lincoln Street off-ramp to “provide a focal point of interest as you come off the freeway,” she says. “If it’s your first introduction to Spokane, it’s a better suggestion of what’s going on here, the brewing happening here, the artistry, the industry.”

No artist has been selected for the project, which should be finished sometime in the next year, Becker says.

– Chewelah’s Quartzite Brewing has upped its game with the installation of a two-barrel brewing system, doubling its capacity. That will allow the six-month-old brewery to better keep up with demand; its IPA went on tap this week for the first time in more than a month.

– If you’ll be in town for Labor Day weekend, mark your calendar for a three-day first-anniversary celebration at Steady Flow Growler House in the Spokane Valley. The schedule includes a One Tree hard cider tap takeover Friday, a parking lot party Saturday featuring a special firkin from Paradise Creek, and an Elysian/Lagunitas tap takeover Sunday.

– And yes, alas, talk of Labor Day means summer is indeed almost over – as you may have gathered from all the Oktoberfest and other fall seasonals that have been making appearances at area stores. The Steam Plant will tap its own Oktoberfest lager Sept. 2, while Perry Street’s annual Oktoberfest party returns Sept. 22-23 (keep an eye out for further details).