Peaks & Pints Beer Day Parade 4.7.25

Live from the Proctor District in Tacoma, Washington, it’s Peaks & Pints Beer Day Parade. It’s not a national holiday, at least not yet. But that doesn’t stop Peaks & Pints from celebrating. National Beer Day is today. The day is historically relevant because it commemorates the date in 1933 when the Cullen-Harrison Act, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt, went into effect. That allowed beer to once again be legally manufactured and sold in this country. The law allowed for the legal sale of low-alcohol beer in the United States several months before Prohibition was repealed. Enough states then approved the 21st Amendment later that year to formally end Prohibition, which had started in 1919. So, while National Beer Day isn’t a national holiday, it doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate. The Peaks & Pints bartenders are parading their favorite beers in the building before hundreds of happy folks, and five of these beers will be included in our Monday beer flight, Peaks & Pints Beer Day Parade Flight 4.7.25.

Today, our grand marshal is our own Pappi Swarner. We’re surprised he had time to lead the parade with our 2025 Tournament of Beer: Northwest IPAs currently consuming his life. Tune in to Grit & Grain Beer Podcast Episode 138 to hear how this year’s Tournament came to fruition.

Right behind Pappi is our longtime bartender, Nicole, who has recently been on assignment with the State. Sounds secretive. No doubt she’s killing it as she’s good at going with the flow. Speaking of … that’s Silver City Brewery’s 2025 Tacoma Beer Week offering Gose With The Flow in her hand. She’s parading a refreshing, tart, and subtly herbal sour crafted with regionally renowned lemon balm and San Juan Island sea salt, echoing the crisp essence of Puget Sound. Thanks for joining the fun, Nicole!

Slow down, Natalia! I guess she’s taking her Beer Day pick seriously: Fort George Brewery Double Dry Hopped Vortex. As you may recall, in 2006, Chris Nemlowill and Jack Harris flew to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to salvage an 8.5-barrel Saaz brewing system and drive it across the country to install it in their soon-to-open Fort George Brewery in Astoria. While traveling with the equipment strapped to a flatbed, they met up with a tornado that nearly spread the brewery across a Nebraska cornfield. This became the inspiration behind the name Vortex IPA. Natalia is whipped up into a frenzy, too!

Here comes Mitchel with Samuel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo! Good call, Mitchell! Named after an 18th century slang word for strong or old ale, Smauel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo is a bottle-conditioned ale that is fermented in Yorkshire stone squares and then aged in oak casks for over a year in Sam Smith’s underground cellars. Yeast and sugar are added to the bottled ale to induce a second fermentation. No doubt, the parade crowd will follow Mitchell for some post-parade fun.

Monica is up, and she’s carrying a Best Day Brewing Kölsch. That’s a wise choice, Monica. She’s balancing Micthell’s craziness with a non-alcoholic craft beer known for its light, crisp, and easy-drinking profile with a toasty malt character. Is it the best day for Best Day on Beer Day? It’s always the best day for Best Day!

Holy beard of Gandalf! Matthew has a Holy Mountain Brewing Follow The Smoke Rauchbier in one hand and a drinking horn in the other! “There are far, far better things ahead than any we left behind,” speaks Matthew. That’s good parade sense. And that’s good beer with a nice balance of smokiness, breadiness, and malty sweetness.

Zumo! Trish follows the smoke with Lucky Envelope Brewing’s Zumo West Coast IPA. Trish has been pushing the Envelope’s West Coast IPAs lately. She loved their Krush and finds equally great flavor with Zumo’s lime zest and citrus flavors.

Phaedra brings up the rear! And she has Cookies! She’s sauntering with Block 15 Brewing’s Animal Cookies, packed with sticky, pungent hops. Phaedra digs the pineapple, tangerine, mango, pine, and dank herb hop character.

These beers are in our cooler to parade around your house. Happy Beer Day!

LINK: Peaks and Pints Beer Parade archives

LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory