Saturday, January 25, 2014

Slate Creek Brewing: new in Coeur d'Alene

     A mile or so north of downtown Coeur d"Alene, Slate Creek Brewing has been up and running since last March.  Two brothers, Ryan and Jason Wing, turned a former car wash into a two-barrel system with a friendly pub.  Slate Creek is a popular kayaking and fishing stream, tributary to the St. Joe River, and the beer names tend to reflect the brothers' enthusiasm for the outdoor recreation opportunities so abundant in the panhandle.
   The four core beers are a pale (the juniper-scented Norse Nectar, delicious tang), 6 weight IPA (a fly fishing term), Salmon Run Red, and Double Black IPA (a/k/a cascadian dark ale). Between the rotators and the seasonals on the right side of the board, I found two (2) brown ales, called Wingnut Brown and Backcountry Brown.  The Wingnut (4.5% abv, 22 IBU) had that long-lasting mouthfeel the good browns all have.
    Down in the lower left corner of the board is a price for Nalgene growlers.  Nalgene is the plastic so often used in water bottles for cycling and backpacking; this was the first time I had seen it applied to the beer growler market.
    An elaborate bit of graffiti art decorates the entrance from the parking lot.
The Wings have lift-off, it would appear.
(Vistied 01/17/14)

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