SATURDAY, DEC. 31 2016: South Sound events + craft beer
FIRST NIGHT
Having fun is so much easier when the day doesn’t demand it. Ridiculous, stupid holiday expectations. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not one of those people who has been preparing for New Year’s Eve for so long that you passed out a couple days ago. Which makes for a much better chance that you are one of those people who may want to attend First Night Tacoma, the arts-and-community-based, alcohol-free New Year’s Eve festival in downtown Tacoma. You remember First Night — all those people in the streets — not lost tourists looking for their hotels, but real live South Sounders in the streets — celebrating, ahem, Tacoma style. This year, it comes with a rooster squawk. From giant puppets to a car horn symphony, along with outdoor spectacle, indoor music, fire and ice, food trucks and a circus, the festival celebrates the coming Lunar Year of the Rooster. Check out The New Tribune’s story on the shindig.
PREFUNK: For the last few years we have spent New Year’s Eve in a remote mountain cabin where we can slowly enjoy craft beer while reading in a comfy chair as the snow falls outside. Then, we opened Peaks and Pints bottle shop/taproom/eatery in Tacoma’s Proctor District! Tonight we party! Hop Valley Brewing Company out of Eugene, Oregon, is in the house tonight helping us throw a little lumberjack disco — meaning one-off Hop Valley craft beers and disco music. Expect to drink Hop Valley Melon Ball Z crisp lager while listening to “Too Hop To Stop” by The Bar-Kays. Enjoy Hop Valley The Oneness No. 10 Calypso as you sway to “Hop Wash” by Rose Royce. Cheers with Hop Valley Macho Libre Imperial IPA while surrounded by “Hop House” by the Commodores. And drink in Hop Valley’s Festeroo Winter Ale on cask as “Hopbomb” by Tom Jones swirls about our giant lodge. The music and Hop Valley beer flow around 8 p.m., long after we broadcast the Washington Huskies win in the Peach Bowl on our 130-inch screen at noon.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
A legitimate excuse for frivolous hedonism comes but once a year, so we say make the most of it. Don a silly hat (everyone else will look stupid, too) and hit the town: 2016 is finally done. Whether you want to dine, dance, drink or disco the night away, there are plenty of opportunities in the South Sound. The Weekly Volcano has rounded up a plethora of parties so you won’t be left on the couch watching Friends reruns, wondering where yours are.
PREFUNK: For some reason, when it comes to Dec, 31, people will pay any amount of money to wait in line in the freezing cold so they can toast a half a glass of mediocre champagne with a thousand sweaty strangers at a dance club they wouldn’t usually be caught dead in. How about celebrating New Year’s Eve in a brewery? Plenty of South Sound breweries will open their doors tonight, but you should take a hard look at Harmon Brewing Co.’s Brew Year’s Eve party at their Harmon Tap Room. Harmon will tap more than 30 of its ancient brews, one-offs and specialty beers at 5 p.m. We’re talking the last time you’ll taste some of the beers. Check it out: Harmon Belgian Golden Strong Ale 2016, Foeder Belgian Golden Strong Ale 2016, Belgian IPA 2016, Berry Pale, Black Tartan CDA 2016, Black Tartan CDA 2015, Black Tartan CDA Oak Aged 2015, Black Tartan CDA Barrel Aged 2014, Roasted Oak Dark Ale, Vladivostok Russian Imperial Stout 2016, Vladivostok Russian Imperial Stout 2015, Cross Pollination, Shinto Sour Dark Ale, Nauhaus ESB, Rum Soaked Oak Aged Stryker Stout 2014, Tequila Soaked Oak Aged Stryker Stout 2014, St Helens IPA 2016, Mocha Vanilla Stout, Ginarina, Gin Barrel Blend, Super Samurai Barley Wine 2016, Super Samurai Barley Wine 2015, Super Samurai Barley Wine 2014, Caspers Revenge 2013, Peach Apricot French Saison 2014, Old John 2015, Oak Aged Old John 2015, Steffan’s Scorpion Pepper Steep & Deep 2016, Kamehameha’s Crown Barrel Aged IPA, Disgruntled Farmhand Sour and Nectar Berry Saison. Fifteen dollars secures five, 4-ounce pours, a special glass and live music.
