Tacoma Beer Week begins Sunday, Aug. 6, kicking off a six-day celebration of craft beer. While the countywide festival is organized by Zoe Brackney, who founded Tacoma Beer Week four years ago, most of the events associated with the celebration are operated independently, produced by local bottle shops, bars, breweries and restaurants. These include beer-pairing dinners, tasting parties, special beer releases and tap takeovers.
Peaks and Pints, the craft beer and cider bottle shop, taproom and restaurant that opened Nov. 1, 2016 in Tacoma’s Proctor District, celebrates its first official Tacoma Beer Week with a packed week of events.
“We trained nine months for Tacoma Beer Week,” says Peaks and Pints co-owner Ron Swarner as he typed this story. “We opened our doors with an event and held what seems like another 253 events since that Nov. 1, 2016 day. . We’ve worn wigs. We’ve flown paper airplanes. We’ve hosted feats of strength. We’ve held a lumberjack disco. Our staff has been one a special diet (craft beer) preparing for this week. We’re ready.”
Peaks and Pints will unofficially launch the 2017 Tacoma Beer Week Saturday, Aug. 5, with an “After Party” featuring an enormous amount of Two Beers Brewing Co. and Seattle Cider Company craft goodness. On the last day of Tacoma Beer Week, Saturday, Aug. 12, Peaks and Pints will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love cultural movement with 1967 music themed beers crafted by several Tacoma breweries.
The following are the 2017 Tacoma Beer Week events hosted by Peaks and Pints. …
Tacoma After Party
Saturday, Aug. 5, 7 p.m.
Two Beers Brewing Co., Seattle Cider Company and Peaks and Pints will throw an “After Party” immediately following the Proctor Arts Festival and Brew Five Three: Tacoma’s Beer & Blues Festival Saturday, Aug. 5 — a day before Tacoma Beer Week launches. Since our Tacoma After Party is the night before the launch of Tacoma Beer Week, Peaks and Pints will be pouring “253” variations of Two Beers and Seattle Cider craft goods — meaning two ciders, five lighter crafts and three heavy treats: Seattle Cider Dry and Seattle Cider Berry; Wonderland Trail, Pilchuck Pilsner, Day Hike Summer Session Ale, EVO IPA with spruce tips (no, really) and Immersion Amber; and Chocolate Lab Stout (we’re not kidding), Overhang Imperial Porter and Jive Espresso Stout. Expect door prizes. BONUS: There’s a solid rumor The Grand Cinema will be in the house promoting their Tacoma Film Festival so you can imagine how fun/weird that could be. Read the full story here.
Tacoma Beer Week: Brewed In The Gorge
Sunday, Aug. 6, 6 p.m.
Peaks and Pints will host six breweries and one cidery along the Columbia River Gorge for a night of imbibing and debauching beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6. Walking Man Brewing, Backwoods Brewing, Everybody’s Brewing, pFriem Family Brewers, Double Mountain Brewery, 54-40 Brewing Co. and Jester & Judge Hard Cider will pour two of their craft to kick off the weeklong craft beer celebration in the greater Tacoma area. Read the full story here.
Tacoma Beer Week: The Hopnificent Seven
Monday, Aug. 7, 6 p.m.
The Hopnificent Seven, a remake of the classic 1960 Western (itself a remake of the 1954 Japanese film The Seven Samurai ) comes with an all-star cast, a wide-ranging arsenal of hops and some funny lines. Directed by Mike Bosold, an award wining shorts storyteller, it’s a tale of primary hop additions and dry hopping during Tacoma Beer Week. When roughians invade the mountain-themed Peaks and Pints bottle shop, taproom and restaurant of Basecamp Proctor, leaving just sours and malt heavy craft beers in their wake, Click Wholesale Distributing brings in hop hunter Pacific Brewing and Malting Co. to take the roughians out and replenish the lodge with hop-heavy hitters. But Pacific Brewing needs help, so they round up a diverse group of hopslingers (pFriem Family Brewers, Double Mountain Brewery, Fort George Brewery, Pike Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing, Breakside Brewery and Reuben’s Brews). While it isn’t always clear why these craft breweries are risking their tanks to help the people of Basecamp Proctor, their journey, and the ultimate hop throwdown, makes for enjoyable drinking.
Tacoma Beer Week: Thurston County Craft Bounty
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 6 p.m.
Peaks and Pints, 3816 N. 26th St., Tacoma
Peaks and Pints will salute the craft breweries and cidery of Thurston County during the 2017 Tacoma Beer Week. Wednesday, Aug. 9 we welcome Fish Brewing, Three Magnets Brewing, Top Rung Brewing, Matchless Brewing, Triceratops Brewing, O-Town Brewing and Whitewood Cider. The brewers and staff from the breweries will be in the house with two kegs each. Read the full story here.
Tacoma Beer Week: National S’mores Day with Firestone Walker
Thursday, Aug. 10, 6 p.m.
Growing up surrounded by vineyards and winemakers, Adam Firestone (of Firestone Vineyard) always had an interest in combining the family business with beer making. He found the perfect business partner in his brother-in-law, David Walker, and the two founded Firestone Walker Brewing Company in 1996. In addition to winning gobs of medals for individual brews, these obnoxiously talented brewers from Paso Robles, California, often take home the major hardware at competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup — titles such as “Brewery of the Year” or “Brewer of the Year.” Peaks and Pints would be hard-pressed to think of a more deservedly decorated outfit to host during Tacoma Beer Week … on National S’mores Day! In addition to our house s’mores dessert jars from Tacoma baker Auntie B’s, we’ll sip decadent Firestone Walker treats such as Nitro Merlin milk stout, 100 percent bourbon barrel aged Velvet Merkin imperial oatmeal stout, Sucaba barleywine, Stickee Monkey strong ale, Bravo barrel aged imperial brown ale, plus Leo v. Ursus: Adversus imperial IPA and other craft beers from the California brewery.
Tacoma Beer Week: Cans For A Cause
Friday, Aug. 11, 6 p.m.
It may be warm and sunny outside, but people are still starving right in our neighborhoods. Peaks and Pints, 7 Seas Brewing, Silver City Brewery, No-Li Brewhouse, Bale Breaker Brewing Co., Fish Tale Ales and Iron Horse Brewery host Tacoma Beer Week 2017 Cans For A Cause, a week-long can food drive in support of the Rescue Mission. Beginning Aug. 6, Peaks and Pints will host Rescue Mission canned food bins awarding a raffle ticket for every five cans. Then, at 5 p.m., Friday, Aug 11, Cans For A Cause throws on a party hat, takes more can donations, ices up craft beer cans from the aforementioned breweries, and awards raffle prizes. Read the full story here.
Tacoma Summer of Love Craft Beer Festival
Saturday, Aug. 12, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Tie dye, LSD, free love, peace protests, music and meditation. Five decades ago, San Francisco became the center of counterculture, and Peaks and Pints will celebrate the Summer of Love with Tacoma breweries Saturday, Aug. 12, one of many special events we have planned during Tacoma Beer Week Aug. 6-12, 2017. Tacoma breweries will brew a special beer inspired by their favorite hippie songs of 1967 and we’ll pour them from our Western red cedar tap log while our jukebox pumps out what was heard squealing out windows from Hashbury lofts and bouncing out of radios in Carnaby Street clothing shops back during that special bohemian summer. Narrows Brewing Company will brew their take on “Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds.” The brewers at Wingman Brewers are happy together so it only makes sense they’ll be brewing “Hoppy Together.” Harmon Brewing Co. has flowers behind their ears and “Shandy Fields Forever” in a keg. Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. trips out with “White Rabbit,” a witbier. Odd Otter Brewing Company will brew a white IPA called Summer Ekuanot heavy on Australian hops, man. Tacoma Brewing Co. is about “Purple Haze” — a New England style IPA with blackberries and blueberries. What will Dystopian State Brewing Co. create? Place a flower behind your ear, drop in at Peaks and Pints and enjoy a summer day of craft beer love.
For a complete list of 2017 Tacoma Beer Week events, visit www.tacomabeerweek.com.
Thanks to Tacoma Beer Week, drinking and civic duty temporarily go hand-in-hand — as if Tacomans needed another reason to drink beer.
