Keep Staying Tuned for Season 2; or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Exclamation Point

Once again, apologies for the ill-defined and (certainly) annoying hiatuses. Hiatuses? Is that the plural for hiatus? Or would it be hiati? No. Too close to Haiti. Too soon?

Whoa. Tangents right out of the gate there. If you like stream-of-consciousness tangents as much as I apparently do, might I recommend the Pod F. Tompkast, the podcast of one of my favorite comedians, Paul F. Tompkins. An expert improvisor, he begins each episode with a monologue that evolves off the cuff, and where it ends up sometimes surprises even Paul.

Back to beer. That's why you're here, isn't it? ISN'T IT?!?!

You know, I just broke one of my cardinal rules of writing, and that's to use all caps and exclamation points. I find that exclamation points are rarely, if ever, necessary. If you need a symbol to express an emotion, maybe you should reevaluate the words you're using to express them and pick better ones.

Was that rude? Or is that all just a part of my narcissistic charm?

Don't answer that.

So season two of the Spokane beer blog should begin soon. Shortly. I mean it. Really.

Well. Hopefully, anyway. He said with a knowing wink.

In the meantime, here's a few highlights of the local beer haps:

Currently at Enoteca in post falls, you can get the 2011 Dogfish Head Old School Barleywine on tap. A bit on the pricey range, but this beauty is rare in these parts, and, if you're a nut for the rare, big beers like I am, it's definitely worth the trip. Weighs in at around 15% ABV, but it's so smooth you wouldn't know it. Which could mean trouble. Could. But we're all responsible, so if you do get out of hand, don't you dare tell them that the Spokane beer blog sent you.

Also on tap at Enoteca, the Laughing Dog 14 Dogs Of The Apocalypse Bourbon Barrel Barleywine. Here's the description from the Enoteca website:

Local Laughing Dog brewery's latest creation, a big bad barleywine to warm you up this winter. Citrus, pine, toffee, caramel. All aged for 2 months on Bourbon barrels.

Delicious. It has a sweetness to it that fights the barrel aging for prominence, but it's a good kind of fight. One you're glad is happening on your tongue. How many fights can you say that about? Huh? How many? What's that you say? None? No? Well, speak up. I'm having trouble hearing you with all that delicious beer in your mouth.

Ew. That last sentence was unintentionally sexual. Gross. I didn't care for that at all. Let's just move right along from that unpleasantness and talk about some other beer happenings around town:

As always, every Thursday night at Iron Goat Brewing is trivia night, hosted by yours truly. Prizes. Giveaways. Great beer. Me. What could be better? Bring yourself and your most competitive friends and have a good time. We usually start on or around 6:30 PM every week, and you can check Iron Goat's facebook page for each week's categories. I try to get them posted by Tuesday. They're slacking this week, so I'm going to give you the categories this week as an SBB exclusive:

Round 1: By the numbers.

Round 2: What's in a name?

Round 3: Invisible girlfriends.

And when you're at Iron Goat, ask for an ImpNik. Just trust me. But if you don't, I'll tell you what it is: Half Impaler, half Goatnik Russian Imperial Stout. An Imperial black and tan, if you will. I think I can take credit for discovering this blend, but after finishing one who can remember anything?

Speaking of, I find myself at a loss for anything more to write. So here's some more shameless self-promotion! You can follow the SBB on twitter, @SpokaneBeerBlog, for more local beer happening updates. You can also follow me on Untappd at untappd.com/user/SpokaneBeerBlog to see what I'm drinking where and what I think about it.

And yes, I'm aware I used an exclamation point in that last paragraph. You've got to know the rules before you can break them effectively.

So shove it.

Or just tap that glass. Whichever.

Damn, it feels good to be back.