Biography

Established: 2012

Owner: Morgan Alexander

Brewer: Morgan Alexander

Location: 1116 Court E Tacoma, WA 98402

Specialty:
Handcrafted ales. Flavor first. Rules later. This was beer with teeth, brewed on instinct and fire. From herbal explosions to ginger tantrums, Tacoma Brewing was less a brewery and more a rebellion crammed into a pint glass.

Tacoma Brewing Company officially closed its doors several years ago. What began as a bold, coffee-soaked fever dream of brewer and downtown agitator Morgan Alexander, ultimately fizzled out sometime after 2016, shortly after plans to expand into a larger brick-and-mortar space never fully materialized.

Originally birthed from the humble, espresso-stained womb of Amocat Café, brewer and instigator Morgan Alexander expanded the operation to a larger, industrial space just a few blocks south around 2016, trading lattes for louder tanks and a bolder production vision. There, he continued conjuring some of Tacoma’s strangest and most charismatic beers — from the infamous Broken Window IPA to the fierce and fiery Dr. Alexander’s Hard Ginger Ale, brewed with actual cane sugar and enough ginger to slap your ancestors.

But even with the new space and growing buzz, the brewery eventually shuttered — quietly, without spectacle, sometime in the late 2010s. No farewell tour, no final beer, just a vapor trail of unique flavors and a trailblazing DIY ethic. Tacoma Brewing didn’t just close; it evaporated like a phantom hop dream — but its legend lives on in the palates of those who dared to sip something different.

Five Notable Beers:

• Broken Window IPA – As bitter and brilliant as downtown at dusk; the winner of Parkway Tavern’s Tacoma IPA blind contest during Beer Week 2015, and still whispered about with reverence.

• Aristotle’s Golden Mean IPA – A philosophical kick to the palate, balancing the humors of malt and hop with Socratic swagger.

• Jack the Beer Amber – A smooth criminal with a caramel alibi.

• Coffee IPA – Morning espresso and mid-afternoon rebellion collided in one caffeinated, citrus-tinged cannonball.

• Dr. Alexander’s Hard Ginger Ale – One of the only truly authentic hard ginger ales in the U.S., made with fresh ginger, molasses, and cane sugar — not soda pop cosplay.

Awards:
No room for shelves, but a badge of glory all the same:
🏆 Broken Window IPA crowned champion of Tacoma IPA Blind Tasting, Parkway Tavern, 2015.