Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Cabin Fever Brewfest
A sold-out crowd enjoyed the fourth Palouse Cabin Fever Brewfest in 2016. This year another 100 tickets were added for a new sellout of 590.
Once again, sold out.
The fifth anniversary of the Palouse Cabin Fever Brewfest is spoken for.
Tickets for the event, set for Feb. 11, went on sale the day after Thanksgiving and were gone faster than any previous year. This year 100 more tickets were offered.
For this year's 590 tickets, organizers have expanded the indoor/outdoor event to an adjacent lot, allowing space for two more breweries for a total of 10.
Also new will be three larger canopies bought by the Community Center for which $18,000 has been raised since the event's inception. The new canopies will double the size of the previous canopies.
Brewers taking part for 2017 include Big Barn Brewing (Mead), Bellweather Brewing, Badass Backyard Brewing, Black Label Brewing, Orlison Brewing (all of Spokane), Rant & Raves (Moscow), Hunga Dunga (Moscow), Paradise Creek (Pullman), Riverport (Clarkston) and Laht Neppur of Waitsburg.
Last year Laht Neppur defended its title for “Best Cure for Cabin Fever,” the award voted on for favorite offering.
Patrons at the Brewfest will receive a commemorative glass – cobalt blue this year for the fifth anniversary – and six four-ounce pours for the $20 ticket.
In addition, free popcorn is on hand, along with brats for sale and Hearth of the Dragon pizza from a trailer outside.
The Cabin Fever Brewfest is put on by an informal Palouse Brew Crew, which chooses the breweries which participate.
“We have tried them out and deemed them worthy,” said volunteer Janet Barstow. “It's a tough job, let me tell you. Somebody has got to go around and brewery-shop. We especially pick breweries that people can drive to and revisit.”
With 30 total beers at the event, organizers first ask brewers to bring their three most popular blends. From there, the list is shaped for balance.
“We want to avoid too many IPAs or too many porters,” Barstow said.
The event has expanded to 590 people with the odd number due to glasses arriving in sets of 24.
Will it be expanded again next year?
“We have to see. We want to keep it fun,” said Barstow. “There comes a point it's too crowded and it's not fun.”
In preparation each year, the Brew Crew leads volunteers who bring in firewood for the firepits, put up snowshoes and sleds as decorations and more.
Inland Northwest Cellular donates 10 cases of bottled water every year.
An added feature for 2017 will be a shuttle begun by Rants & Raves of Moscow, which will run a bus, at $8 per round-trip from its location to Paradise Creek in Pullman to Palouse.
“It's a really nice addition,” said Barstow.
Money raised by the Cabin Fever Brewfest goes to the Community Center's maintenance and operations costs.
Tickets were sold at the Green Frog in Palouse, Paradise Creek in Pullman and Rants & Raves and Hunga Dunga in Moscow.
“Be sure and get them sooner next year,” Barstow said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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