When I first moved to Spokane about five years ago, I brought my love for craft beer with me. At the time Northern Lights Brewery, now known as NoLi Brewhouse, was the only brewery in town. I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t a fan. The heavy handed IPA craze was an even more extreme upswing -I’m a more of a malty beer guy- and owner, Mark Irvin, was well enamored with the potential of hoppy beers. People wanted beers with more kick than if Sebastion Janikowski was bred with a Clydesdale. But, it was the only brewery in town, and I gave it a few tries, never really finding anything that quite grabbed me. Eventually other breweries started popping up, as the craft beer scene began to spike like a diabetics blood sugar after a trip to Cinnabon—I had my beer fix.
After a few years of ignoring a brewery with so much history in Spokane, I recently got to visit with the owner at their taproom. A few beers later and I was sold on NoLi.
They’ve got a great selection of beers, but what really stood out as the leader in the clubhouse was their Rise and Grind. Now, don’t be fooled by this beer being called an Ale, this thing drinks like a porter and hits all the right marks along the way. Brewed with coffee in the mix, this beer starts with a bold coffee taste, yet with a smooth drinkability, and a chocolaty finish. A lot of breweries utilize the coffee and chocolate flavor combinations, but few manage to put them together in such a well balance and sophisticated way. At 6.1% and 22 IBU’s, this beer is a porter (packaged as an Ale) that hits the spot, but doesn’t fill you up as some darker beers can. You won’t need to fork and knife this beer, it’s not a meal, so sit back and enjoy a few.
Available on draft, and in 4 packs at your local craft beer retailer.
