One down, more to Flow
Steady Flow Growler House is celebrating a successful first year of operation with three days of fun starting Friday.
The Spokane Valley business (at 328 N. Sullivan), which offers pints to drink on-premise as well as growlers to go, has exceeded expectations according to co-owner Cassie Preston.
“We planned to be more about growler fills. We didn’t realize the Valley wanted a nice place where they could sit down for a craft beer,” says Cassie, who launched Steady Flow along with her husband, Ashton.
“There really is a larger craft beer community out here than we expected. That’s been a pleasant surprise.”
A customer request list has proved popular, she adds: “Sometimes they introduce us to beers that we didn’t even know were out there.”
Along with 30 beers, Steady Flow’s 43 taps include five for cider, four for kombucha, a pair of wines and one each for root beer and cold brew coffee.
Four of the five cider taps will be taken over Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. by One Tree, which is bringing its new Peach Tea flavor along with Huckleberry, Caramel Cinnamon and Lemon Basil. Brain Freeze also will be on hand providing ice cream for cider floats.
Each day from Friday through Sunday, the first 100 customers through the door will receive a free glass growler with the purchase of a fill. Some special beers will be coming out of the back cooler throughout the weekend, including vintage kegs of Port Old Viscosity, Deschutes Abyss and Sierra Nevada Narwhal imperial stouts as well as the tart saison collaboration between Perry Street and River City.
Saturday is a parking lot party starting at 2 p.m. behind the building, with a specialty firkin of Paradise Creek’s Hop Hammer IPA along with the Pullman brewery’s summer hit Huckleberry Pucker Shandy and Scottish Stovepipe. Food will be provided by the Tacos El Guero truck.
Games will include giant Jenga, cornhole and bobbing for crowlers – well, apples, with winners receiving one of the 32-ounce can alternatives to glass growlers and a half-price fill.
“We thought about having people actually bob for crowlers, but we figured they might get discouraged pretty fast,” Cassie jokes.
The celebration wraps up Sunday with a six-tap takeover by Elysian and Lagunitas from 4 to 6 featuring the former’s Space Dust and Hubris IPAs and Night Owl pumpkin, and the latter’s Born Yesterday pale, Maximus imperial IPA and Lucky 13 imperial red.
There also will be a Jenga tournament of the indoor variety, with brackets and prizes. Steady Flow regularly provides game boxes at its tables, and Tuesdays have become designated game nights, switching between board games and trivia on alternate weeks.
A monthly series of Fill the Town Up events feature tap takeovers and food trucks, with $1 from each pint sold going to a different local nonprofit.
“For us, it’s really important to give back to the community,” Cassie says. “They’ve received us so well, we want to give back as much as we can.”