Manito Tap House Birthday Party Weekend pt 2: Math, Humility, and a Barrel-Aged Engagement

This post should have been written a week ago, but I think I've only now just recovered enough from the party to write about it coherently. So let's get right into it.

But first, a recap. If you read part one of the Manito Tap House Birthday Party Weekend saga, you'll remember the preview list of speciality barrel-aged ales I was looking forward to trying at the big Sunday birthday bash, which happened back on the 9th. I regret to tell you I won't be talking about all of them here, even though I tried just about all of the speciality beers. There was a couple I want to focus on, since I had fuller experiences with them.

To start, the Barrel-aged Ten Fidy Imperial Stout from Oskar Blues Brewing. Caveat: I really enjoy this beer. It's amazing. Dark and rich, a giant of a beer. However: I was expecting more barrel influenced flavor. It was there, but I perhaps wanted more. I concede, that's on me. Clearly I was wrong, as you will come to see in a couple of paragraphs from now.

It's been a long time since I've had the regular Ten Fidy (which, despite it's spelling, is pronounced 'fiddy.' So being the grammer stickler that I am, I began pronouncing it 'fy-dee' throughout the evening, to no-one's delight but my own), so I can't really give you an ample comparison. Except to say that this one is far better. It has to be. There's maybe only a handful of dark beers in this part of the world that can touch this beer.

Which brings us to number two. The Parabola Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout from Firestone Walker Brewing, pictured below next to the remnants of an appetizer on special for the weekend, the Lamb Lollipops, which were damn amazing. Now this beer, this Parabola, was the beer I was most excited for during this birthday bash. It's big, dark, smokey and delicious. It's just about everything I want in a beer. It's a sipping beer. An end of the world kind of beer. And that just gave me the perfect idea for what special occasion I need to justify opening the bottle I have aging in my fridge.

I'll make sure to toast the Mayans.

Back to the Parabola. Caveat: Until this day, this birthday Sunday, I would have gladly and proudly said that this, the Parabola, was the best beer I've ever had. Top of my list. My favorite. Better than anything I've ever had. Ever.

But things change. And in surprising ways.

When our favorite bartender, Luke, showed up for work that afternoon (we had already been there a few hours), he asked what I thought of the aforementioned Ten Fidy. I told him what I told you just a few paragraphs ago. That, although I enjoyed it, I was somewhat disappointed. He scoffed at me. He didn't think I could be serious. He promptly left the table and returned shortly with a small sample of each. He put them on the table in front of me and left, not telling me which was which.

A challenge. One I thought I was up for.

I gave each a smell, and one definitely had a bigger nose to it. The one on the right, actually. Not that left or right matters at this point, since I failed to get a photo. The one on the left had a cleaner nose. Not quite as barrel-y (another made-up adjective I'd like to stand by). Having had a glass of each already that day, I thought I had it. I thought I knew which was which.

I was wrong.

Luke came back by, and I, full of hubris that my nose and palate were so discerning, proudly exclaimed, "Luke, my good man, I am on to you. Sir, the sample on the right is clearly the Parabola, and the sample on the left is clearly the Ten Fidy."

A smile cracks, and Luke, enjoying it ever-so thoroughly, proclaims, "You are wrong, sir! That (pointing the one on my right) is the Ten Fidy and that (pointing to the one on my left) is the Parabola!"

Ah. So that's what humility tastes like. Pairs well with a damn fine barrel-aged imperial stout. Might I recommend the Ten Fidy.

I was genuinely surprised by the results of this little challenge. So much so, that later in the evening we ordered a full glass of each to compare side by side. And I've got to tell you. If I didn't know which was which, I doubt I would have been able to tell you the difference. I've got to give a lot of credit to Luke. He really opened my eyes to my beer bias. Our individual tastes may indeed be subjective, but if you trash talk quality, like I did, Luke will turn it on your ass.

Unfortunately, neither of these beers are still on tap at the tap house. So if you wanted to perform your own experiment, tough shit.

Other highlights of the evening included my discovery of the Blackened Mac & Cheese, pictured here with a nearly empty glass of Wookey Jack (an excellent black IPA you can read all about in my Poker Night post). It's on the secret Chef's Menu, so it would make sense that Branden Moreau, the executive chef, is the one who told me about it. It's like the Green Chili Mac & Cheese they have on the regular menu, except they remove the peppers, blacken the chicken, and toss it all in a mustard sauce. Unbelievably good. It's already replaced the french dip as my go-to entree if they're not running a special, or if we find ourselves randomly at the tap house late on a Thursday night and we've already had a drink or two.

Other notable beers include the Deschutes Black Butte XXIV Imperial Porter, which I've discussed at length in two previous posts. Still good. Still very good. The Bourbon Barrel-aged Dogfather Imperial Stout from Laughing Dog was pretty solid. Also from Laughing Dog, the Wee Heavy Scottish Ale, a beer so new I had to be the one to add it on Untappd. It's not even on their website. It was pretty light and sweet for a Scottish Ale, but pretty damn delicious. The Barrel-aged Old Chub from Oskar Blues, the last beer I had that night, was also pretty solid.

But finally, the most exciting part of the evening:


That's Scott proposing to Shaundra. They're both regulars at the Tap House, and have been since they met last year on the day the Tap House opened. Exactly one year to the day. And the table they're sitting at is the table where their relationship started. It's a remarkable love story, and we here at the Spokane Beer Blog couldn't be more excited for the happy couple. Congrats, you two. This glass tapping is for you.

Everyone, raise your glasses in the name of love and tap them. Tap them good. Damn good.

Oh, and tap them for Manito Tap House's birthday. Here's to many, many more. We'll be there at the Sound Brewing beer pairing dinner this upcoming Sunday, and you can read all about that next week.

Until then, readers, you know what to do. And I guess it should be 'tap them well,' not 'tap them good.' Right? Eh, either way. Just do it.

Shit, that's a Nike tagline, isn't it? I hope they're not litigious.