Biography

Established: 2011

Owners: Ken Thoburn, Daniel Heath and Derrick Moyer

Brewers: Ken Thoburn, Mike Dempster, Chris Jones

Location: 509 1/2 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma WA 98421

Specialty: Inspired by Tacoma’s legacy of honest hard work, Wingman Brewers strives to create a strong selection of spirited, full-flavor beers, including excellent porters.

Five Notable Beers: Ace IPA, P51 Porter, Coconut P51 Porter, Peanut Butter Cup P51 Porter, Stratofortress Belgian Strong Ale

Awards: 2015 Washington Beer Awards gold for Cucumber Beer; 2014 Washington Beer Awards bronze for Stratofortress and Gratzer

Fun Facts:
>>> The brewery’s name and image is homage to Thoburn’s grandfather, an artist who served in World War II in the Pacific, and painted the sides of fighter planes when he could.
>>> Owners were friends in high school and college in Tacoma.
>>> Wingman brewer Mike Dempster cut his teeth at Greenpoint Beer Works in New York followed by Buoy in Astoria, Oregon, and then helped launch Graff Brygghus in Norway before returning the states and joining the Wingman crew in 2016.

Thoburn, Derrick Moyer, Daniel Heath and Jason Sabol launched Wingman Brewers as a nano-brewery in April 2011. They drove their beer from their small space at 1727 Fawcett in downtown Tacoma top The Red Hot for a beer release celebration. In 2012, they moved their one-barrel system to their current location at 509 ½ Puyallup Ave., adding a taproom. In 2013, they were a 7-barrel operation, doubling their production in two months. In 2014, they added larger fermentators, doubling their production again. Toward the end of 2015 they doubled production once again, as well as bottle a fancy bottling machine and signed with Click Distributing.