Remember when you were younger and went to the chillest party ever: beer was plentiful, everyone got along, the music was awesome? Fast-forward a few years and envision grown-up snacks instead of stale chips and run-of-the-mill beer replaced with heady IPAs, porters, stouts, extra pale ales, or pretty much any kind of beer your grown-up self might drink. That’s Idaho Pour Authority (a clever play on IPA), Sandpoint’s new retail craft brew outlet.
It stocks approximately 300 types of bottled beer, according to Jon Hagadone, who started the business in May with wife Vicki Reich. Many are seasonal or in limited supply — Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, Lagunitas Lucky 13 Red Ale, Firestone Walker’s Reserve Porter — so new beers are constantly added.
Taste on-site from any of 12 rotating taps, usually featuring at least one Laughing Dog beer, whose home base is just a couple miles up the highway in Ponderay. Tap selections vary seasonally depending on word-of-mouth and interest. Lighter-alcohol porters and stouts predominate lately, says Hagadone, who’s eager about two new Odell Brewing cellar reserves: rich, oak-aged Amuste Imperial Porter and Pond Hopper Double Extra Pale Ale.
The most popular bottle brand? The 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon, according to Hagadone, whose family owned the building where his business is located.
Formerly Sandpoint Furniture — Hagadone remembers sweeping floors as a youngster — he and son Jake restored the original 1930s Douglas fir flooring, matching the 14-foot-long wood bar. Upright refrigeration units keep your packaged goods the perfect temperature while you finish off a cold one at the bar.
Feeling a bit peckish? IPA serves chocolates, and meat-and-cheese plates with fresh baguettes from Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, where Reich is also general manager. Enjoy them while listening to nightly live music from local favorites, ranging from easy-listening Charley Packard to indie songstress Holly McGarry.
The best thing about this party? You’re invited.
Idaho Pour Authority • 203 Cedar St., Sandpoint • Open Tue-Sat, 11 am–7 pm • idahopourauthority.com • (208) 597-7096
