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

Gold medalist

Rick Bonino

Scott White (back right) and brother Kevin got to brew their Kaniksu Gold recipe last month with Waddell's brewers Bryan Utigard (front right) and Adam Wardle.

Priest River homebrewer Scott White has been making his Kaniksu Gold Belgian-style blonde for two years. Tomorrow, he finds out how it really tastes.

Waddell’s Brewpub will tap a commercial batch of the beer in a release party Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., with White in attendance. Getting to brew a seven-barrel batch with Waddell’s was his prize for winning the popular vote at last spring’s Battle of the Homebrews.

Scheduling issues delayed the date, but White and his brother Kevin got in for their brew session late last month.

“I’m kind of chomping at the bit to try it,” White says. “I’m really hoping it will be good.”

According to Waddell’s head brewer Bryan Utigard, there’s nothing to worry about. “It’s very delicious,” he says. “Some really awesome saison flavor comes through, since there’s nothing to cover that up.”

The straightforward recipe (6.5 percent alcohol by volume, 21 International Bitterness Units) – with a little Munich malt in addition to two-row, light hopping with Goldings and fermentation with a French saison yeast – was easy to scale up to commercial quantities, Utigard says.

White first brewed the beer for the original Battle of the Homebrews in 2014, where he finished second. (The event didn’t take place this year.)

Having it brewed commercially brings a bonus: White can buy the beer from Waddell’s to serve at the July 8 anniversary party for Priest River’s Infinity Café, which he and his wife bought a year ago.