It's all right there in the name: "Community Pint." As a no-frills, yet cozy, beer-focused watering hole located on East Sprague Avenue featuring over 20 taps of beer and cider (as well as a hefty canned and bottled selection), this staple of Spokane's beer scene aims to bring people together.
"We're not a sports bar by any means," says TJ Wallin, who co-owns Community Pint with his wife, Sarah. "We're just a place where you can come and play some board games and hang out or talk about somebody else over your shared love of craft beer."
When asked who Community Pint serves, he says: "Anybody who loves craft beer. That's kind of the only barrier of entry. We see all kinds of folks."
Wallin and his wife founded Community Pint roughly three years ago. They drew inspiration from Portland's beer culture and wanted to import it to Spokane. Wallin says that he's also been brewing beer at home for over 10 years.
"I was really inspired by the beer scene in Portland, so we kind of brought that to Spokane," he says. "It was about the community that comes with our name, but just how friendly the beer community is. It's one thing you can have in common and then you start talking with somebody and find that you have a lot more in common."
Wallin says that when they first opened, they were basically the first to open up "a beer bar and a bottle shop" in Spokane. Now, the market is a little more crowded: "Now there's a couple places that kind of do the same thing."
But that doesn't mean there aren't still novel selling points to Community Pint.
"We make trips to Portland and we bring back exclusive beer from Portland that nobody else in town would get," Wallin says. "Nobody else is doing that yet."
And they aren't done yet. Wallin says that they're planning to open up a brewery called Project Craft Brewing at a different location in June or July. Stay tuned.
2nd PLACE: The Viking; 3rd PLACE: Manito Tap House; NORTH IDAHO'S BEST; Crafted, Coeur d'Alene
