Brew Five Three Questions with Parker Rush of Narrows Brewing
Parker Rush, co-owner of Narrows Brewing in Tacoma, will walk down the street and pour his beer at Tacoma Arts Live’s annual Brew Five Three Beer & Music Festival at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place Saturday, Aug. 10, during Tacoma Beer Week 2024. Parker and his brew crew Zach and AJ will join 30 or so regional breweries and cideries on the giant lawn, as well as the delicious local restaurants and live entertainment — all against the stunning backdrop of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains.
Hey Parker! Could you please answer these Brew Five Three questions. …
PEAKS & PINTS: What are you pouring at this year’s Brew Five Three?
PARKER RUSH: We’re bringing four pours that represent what we’re doing at Narrows Brewing: Pilota Italian Style Pilsner, King Tide Hazy Double IPA, Super Chicken West Coast IPA, and our new cider. Pilota is special to AJ and me. We both got our start in craft beer working at Lowercase Brewing. And John introduced us to this style. I am very proud of our version of it. It is light and damn drinkable, but it has a floral and lavender hop presence that distinguishes it from a standard pilsner. King Tide is a new beer for us and goes outside of our comfort zone. It is 9.9-percent ABV and super fruity. I get a ton of guava and passionfruit on it. This beer will be available soon in 19.2-ounce cans. We have been brewing Super Chicken for our taproom the last three years and it is consistently one of our best-selling beers. We are starting to make more of it to have it available in the market. It has gone through a few minor tweaks over the years, but we have landed on a recipe that we are very happy with. Its 7.5-percent ABV made with Pilsner malt and a little bit of Munich malt. We then dry hop it with Amarillo, Simcoe, and the newly named Alora. It has the classic dank and pine aromas followed by candied orange and peach that really pop. Last, we’re bringing Narrows Cider Guava. We are excited to introduce Cider as part of our taproom line up. This is a totally new project for us, but we are passionate about fermentation and learning about producing different beverages. So, we can’t wait for you all to try it in our taproom and at Brew Five Three.
PEAKS & PINTS: Brew Five Three benefits Tacoma Arts Live’s arts educational programs that serve 40,000+ students, teachers, and parents annually in the South Sound. How does art play into Narrows Brewing’s culture?
RUSH: Art has been a part of Narrows culture since inception. We have always hired independent artist to do our labels and graphic design work. Our brand refresh was done by Hoffman Design an independent and locally owned design firm. We worked closely with them for about two years to perfect the new logos and can designs. Art has been a huge part of my life personally. I studied ceramic sculpture for my undergraduate degree and spent much of my time in college creating and thinking about art. I consider the brewing practice to be another form of art.
PEAKS & PINTS: You’ll be celebrating another brewery anniversary during Tacoma Beer Week. What’s the plan?
RUSH: Our 11th anniversary is on August 11th, and we are very excited to host a huge party. We will be releasing our anniversary beer, Queen Octo, along with 11 commemorative growlers. We will have food trucks, a photo booth, and, of course, endless damn drinkable beer … and cider. The party starts at 1 p.m. and we hope to see you here.
Brew Five Three is one of many events happening during Tacoma Beer Week 2024, which runs August 9-18.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
