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

Pouring another round

Rick Bonino

The Spokane Brewers Festival will return to the Spokane Arena parking lot four months from now.

The second-year event has been set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 4-5, one weekend earlier than last year. That was done to work around the Arena’s concert schedule, tie in with First Friday and avoid conflicts with Ales for the Trail in Coeur d’Alene, says Arena general manager Matt Gibson.

“I think there’s room for an event like this,” he says. “There’s not really anything going on to highlight hyperlocal breweries, and that’s where we wanted to go.”

Gibson hopes to have 40 breweries and cideries for this year’s event, up from the 35 who signed on last year. “We’ve sent a note out to people who participated last year and gotten a really good response back,” he says.  

He also wants to work with the state Liquor and Cannabis Board to arrange for brewers to handle the taps at their tables, instead of standing to the side while designated servers do the pouring like last year. “We learned that brewers like to pour their own beer,” Gibson says.

Tickets are expected to go on sale the first week of May. The pricing structure still is being determined, and may be set at a flat fee instead of pay-as-you-go; last year, you could buy a tasting mug for $7 and drink tokens for $1 each, but more than 90 percent of sales were for a $20 package deal, Gibson says.

“We’re trying to make things easier for everyone concerned, guests and brewers alike,” he says.