We have love for The Goat too!

Leila is always raving about The Flying Goat. Countless times I have drooled over her posts on their amazingly delicious looking pizza. The way she describes this place, it is hard to believe it is in Spokane, especially a quiet neighborhood on the west side of town. We finally had to make the trek across town to try it out…and WAS NOT DISAPOINTED! We both loved it! Immediately when we walked in we felt like this was a place we wanted to be at every Friday night (Leila I now understand why you are there all of the time!).

After reviewing the drink menu (way too many beers to choose from) and asking about the pizza special, we decided on their special for the week. It was packed with lots of yummies, including locally made sausage, onions and roasted red peppers. Oh wow was it good! Probably one of the best pizza’s I have had in a long while.

The bread sticks are pretty darn tasty too!!! And OH so cheesy!

But hey, this is a beer blog…so where is all the beer info you might be thinking. They have a MUG CLUB! Stan was uber excited about this. Signing up entitled him to his beers served in this niffy mug, a growler of beer and some pretty awesome discounts (sure is a shame we don’t live closer).



We were feeling extra daring this particular evening (maybe it was the 4 glasses of beer) but we decided to try their Beer Float . Yes, a float made with beer. Strange right? But wait, it was actually VERY yummy! We had it with a porter, so it had a very rich and creamy mocha like taste. Maybe not something you would have that often, but for sure a dessert I would love to have again.



Over all, we have nothing but amazing things to say about this place and we have only been there once (I imagine we might be spending many summer evenings here). The beer selection was great and the food was superb. Spokane has many Pizza joints, but honestly The Goat has them all beat.

Northern Lights Brewery - Brewery Tour

You know you've arrived with neon!

My neighbor’s wife came by a few months ago and asked me to take her husband out for a little bit while she got his “surprise” birthday party ready. There was snow on the ground, and neither of us were currently working, so it was the perfect opportunity to follow through with a visit to the Northern Lights Brewery. I’ve heard people talk about this place for a while now. Nate was brewing his version of their Chocolate Dunkle, and my old high school classmate Adam raved about the Dunkle as well.

After a treacherous journey through the snow, Jason and I finally arrived. Interesting side-note, there is a distillery right next to the entrance. The neon lights inside the building drew us in like flies to a bug zapper. We bellied up to the bar, and there were only a few other people in the booths around us. Let me just say this, I absolutely love samplers! You get to try all the beers a brewery has for a really great price.

Northern Lights brewery has a plethora of beers to try, 11 on this particular trip. Since there are so many, I will keep my comments about them short and Jason will be my guest grader….

He's already tipped over, and we haven't even started drinking

Imperial – ABV: Unk

Very good beer. Floral and Hoppy, but balanced with a little bit of bitterness.

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Crème Ale – ABV:  Unk

Very light, with a little wheat. A great beer for those who like their sleighs pulled by Clydesdales.

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11 beers?  Yes please... Long Live the Sampler!

Pale Ale – ABV:  5%

Super fine hoppiness and a hint of bitter in the finish

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Amber Ale – ABV:  4.75%

Medium body with good flavor.

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Crystal Bitter – ABV:  5.5%

Clean, with medium bitterness, a little bit of copper, good body and very drinkable. My favorite of the day…

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So we’ve reached the halfway point of this incredible journey into beer debauchery. Knowing we would have to drive home at some point, we decided that some food might be a good idea. We ordered the World Sausage Sampler with Pale Ale Mustard, and that was just what we needed. The sausage was amazing but the real star was the Pale Ale Mustard. No French’s or Heinz… no sir. This was old world, peppercorn, give me a side of sauerkraut type mustard. Seriously, try it and if it isn’t absolutely everything I just described…. You know what, you’ll thank me anyway. Now back to the beer!



World Sausage Sampler.... so delicious!

Gemelli Coffee Stout – ABV:  Unk

Stout born of the marriage of fantastic beer and locally roasted coffee, it was like a coffee with alcohol, strong and sweet, dark and roasty. Jason said he wouldn’t be able to finish a whole pint.

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Blueberry Cream Ale – ABV:  4.5%

Very strong berry flavor in the beginning with a medium body and a sour finish.

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A festive view at the fermentor tanks at NLB

IPA – ABV:  7%

Hoppy kick to the face! Sweet body and a heavy bitter finish.

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Stellar Stout – ABV:  5%

Opaque in color, super sweet and syrupy mouth feel. Some chocolaty flavor, and Jason noticed some fruitiness in the finish

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Chocolate Dunkle – ABV: 6.5%

A little chocolate but now overpowering and more balanced than the stellar stout. Not too sweet either, just a hint, just right.

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This was a great day for being the NW Bearded Brewer. To finally experience a local brewery that isn’t even 10 miles away from my house. The beers here are fantastic, and the food is really good too. We were probably there for three and a half hours. It got so late that Jason’s wife called me and asked me how much longer we were going to be, because the party needed to get underway. Oops… time flies, right?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the excellent stache on one of our servers…. Awesome!

Stache Envy... you have to love the handlebars.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery's World Wide Stout - Beer Review

Found:  Bottles

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Beer Style:  Stout

ABV:  15%

Price:   $8.99 for 12 oz

Let's start this with what Dogfish has to say about this beer.

"YES! This is the beer you've heard so much about. Dark, rich, roasty and complex, World Wide Stout has more in common with a fine port than a can of cheap, mass-marketed beer. Brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley. Have one with (or as!) dessert tonight!"

Pour gave 1/2 finger of dark tan head that had some real staying power.  This brew poured like black oil into the glass, and was black as night and blocked all light from passing through the glass.  Imagine looking at a solar eclipse with those mirrored viewers... it was like that... Awe Inspiring!  The aroma was deep an rich, with  some coffee and chocolate.  You can definitely smell the alcohol, but that's a good thing in this case. Very flavorful, like sweet, syruppy, coffee mollasses.  Syruppy mouth-feel with a huge body, and  little fizz on the tongue yelling "I'm here, love me!"  If the price bother's you, don't let it... one bottle replaces an entire six pack, and I'm a big guy.  CW couldn't take more than a few sips, and was light-headed (buzzed) from the first one. 

NWBB's Grade:  'Nuff Said...

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Wells & Youngs Brewing Company Banana Bread Beer - Beer Review

Found: Albertsons
Brewery: Wells & Young's Brewing Company (UK)
Beer Name: Banana Bread Beer
Beer Style: Unk
ABV: 5.2%

No lacing to speak of after 2 fingers of foam fades quickly to a mist sitting on top of the beer.  Color gives off a dark amber, but is crystal clear all the way through the glass.  Aroma is chock full of bananas, which I found very nice.  Also a strong smell of bread, like Ma just pulled it from the oven.  Heavy banana flavor, again I'm a fan, like Chunky Monkey from Vermont, but in beer form.  Some nuttiness poke its head out, and a little wheat too.  Definitely sweet but not syrupy.  Good body, and the sweetness doesn't stick to your tongue, and finishes clean.  I thought it was delicious, but not an everyday drinker.  I could definitely go for some Banana Bread now.

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Ninkasi Brewing Company Total Domination IPA – Beer Review

Found: Albertsons
Brewery: Ninkasi Brewing Company
Beer Name: Total Domination IPA
Beer Style: IPA
ABV%:   6.7%
Price:  $3.75 for 22 oz

Brew pours a golden and hazy color with three fingers of stark white foam.  The foam fades slowly and sits with one finger of foam consisting of medium and large bubbles leaving a wonderful lacing down the side.  The hops grow in the mouth like biting into a spicy pepper… it grows and grows until you think you can’t handle it, so you take another sip of beer to cool it off.  AWESOME!  A nice little bitter finish rounds everything off.  A very light start with a body that grows and the hops and bitterness sits in the back of your mouth kicking your tonsils for a few minutes.

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