For much of the last few years, if you wanted to drink beer from South Sound’s newer and smaller breweries you had to travel to their taprooms or seek it out on draft. Cans of 7 Seas Rude Parrot and Wingman P-51 Porter or bottles of Harmon Point Defiance IPA and Narrows Brewing Galloping Gertie Golden Ale might be ubiquitous at local stores, but for many other breweries, time-sensitive growlers have been the only way for fans to share beer at a party or drink a pint at home.

“Bottling our beer has always been a goal, from our inception,” says Steve Navarro, head brewers at Pacific Brewing and Malting Co. in downtown Tacoma. “We love the beer we are producing and want to share our passion with as many people as possible. You are able to reach a greater number of people with bottles.”

Having local craft beer options available at supermarkets and restaurants — where it sits next to other Washington state craft beers as well as macro competition — also helps expand awareness about the South Sound’s growing craft beer scene.

Good news: Pacific Brewing and Malting Co. will release its beers in bottles beginning Thursday, June 4.

The bottles will be color coded to match the corresponding beers’ tap handles and tap menu on Pacific Brewing’s taproom wall.

The first beers to be bottled will be the Dirty Skoog IPA (olive color), Potomac Citra Ale (cyan) and Red Front Session Ale (burnt orange).

Navarro says the brewery will celebrate the bottles with a shindig the following day or two after the release.

PACIFIC BREWING AND MALTING CO., 4-10 P.M. TUESDAY-THURSDAY, NOON TO MIDNIGHT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, NOON TO 6 P.M. SUNDAY, 610 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.383.BEER