If you drink alcohol, beer is one of the more perfect beverages to accompany a lunch or dinner meal. (Some people also go for beers with breakfast or brunch on the weekends — though that may force you to consign a good chunk of your day to the closest couch.) Lagers are great for washing down spicy food and cooling your flaming taste buds, while stouts can accentuate the flavor of a rich, herby, and hearty stew or salty oysters.
The point is that beer can be a food enhancer — and it's even better if you know it was made by someone who lives near you. So, if you're going to enjoy Inlander Restaurant Week to its fullest, you'll need to know a thing or two about local beer offerings at the restaurants. We've got you covered.
The regional microbrewery scene is still going strong so you'll have an almost overwhelming variety of brews available to you during Restaurant Week. This year, Collective Kitchen in Coeur d'Alene will be offering rotating handles from Radio Brewing in Kellogg and McDuff's Brewing in Sandpoint (hopefully you find the suspense exciting). Another Coeur d'Alene restaurant, Beverly's, will be serving a coffee stout from Liberty Lake's the Hidden Mother Brewery.
Washingtonians need not feel envious of Idaho's brewing chops, because the eastern side of the Evergreen State is pumping out great beer, too. In Spokane's South Hill neighborhood, Twigs Bistro and Martini will be pouring up Big Barn Brewing Company's — they're based in Mead, Washington — Rye IPA, which is described as melding a mellow spiciness into the traditional IPA hop flavor. Post Street Ale House in downtown Spokane has a beer-forward beverage menu this year, featuring No-Li brewhouse' hearty Born and Raised IPA, a Davenport Peanut Brittle Porter from Waddell's Brewing, and a rotator from Iron Goat Brewing. Or saunter over to EPIC Sports Bar in Airway Heights for Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company's Huckleberry Chapel Witbier, a sweet berry-flavored beer with a Belgian wheat finish.
Are you excited yet? You should be. There's foaming and delectable brews abound.
