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Fezziwig Barleywine Ball
December 19, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 10:30 pm
Fezziwig Barleywine Ball
“Why, it’s old Fezziwig! Bless his heart, it’s Fezziwig alive again!” exclaimed Ebenezer Scrooge, in a brief moment of joy.
We all have touchstones that bring the simple spirit of Christmas to our harried, mall-besotted souls. For some, it’s the telling of “A Christmas Carol”. For others, it could be a long-treasured card or the smell of baking cookies. For Peaks and Pints, it’s a barleywine tap takeover paired with live bluegrass by the Barleywine Revue. Once again, Peaks and Pints offers 10 barleywines and foot-stompin’ bluegrass at our annual Fezziwig Barleywine Ball at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19. It’s going to be a hoot.
Fezziwig is a character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol created by Charles Dickens to provide contrast with Ebenezer Scrooge’s attitudes toward business ethics. He was Scrooge’s boss and hosted an annual, lively holiday party. He was always happy and focused on appreciation of his employees, a trait that Scrooge later abandoned.
Barleywine is a huge beer, both in flavor and alcohol content. It’s the color of deep maple wood; it has a tiny head and not all that much carbonation. As a result, it sort of glides past the taste buds. Unlike most of those Frankenstein beers that have fruit added to them, nothing’s forced or contrived about barleywine. It is what it is: a big, brawny beer, one that will fill you up, then lay you down on the floor and give you sweet, sweet kisses on the cheek.
Barleywine Revue credits itself simply as a bluegrass band, but to hear it, the band somehow transforms that format into something more. Depending on whose lead vocals you get (in a very egalitarian move, the members trade off lead vocal duty), you’ll either find yourself in a jumping jam like “Sunshine in Tacoma,” a Fleet Foxes-esque reverie like “Burb on the Rocks” or “Peaks and Pints,” a love story between a man, beer and a mountain. Regardless, you’re guaranteed to find flawless harmonies and impeccable musicianship Thursday night.
PEAKS AND PINTS FEZZIWIG BARLEYWINE BALL, 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, Peaks and Pints, 3816 N. 26th St., Basecamp Proctor, Tacoma, no cover
