Tacoma Beer Week, six jam-packed days of local craft beer love (Aug. 1-6), is among the few citywide beer celebrations to get its own official brew. The inaugural Tacoma Beer Week in 2014 saw seven-ish Tacoma breweries collaborate on the Tacoma Neo Noir, a Belgian-style black IPA. The official beer returns this year when nine Tacoma breweries gathered at Wingman Brewers July 15. Wet Coast Brewing Co., 7 Seas Brewing Co., Narrows Brewing Co., Harmon Brewing Co., Pacific Brewing & Malting Co., Odd Otter Brewing Co., Wingman Brewers, Gig Harbor Brewing Co. and Tacoma Brewing Co. each brought 3-5 pounds of hops — including Amarillo, Azacca, Comet, Arcanum, Citra, Mosaic, Bravo — to brew about 12.5 barrels of IPA.
“The malt bill is simple, 2-Row, Munich, Acidulated Malt,” says Ken Thoburn, co-founder and head brewer at Wingman Brewers. “We also used Wingman’s house yeast, San Diego Super. Each brewery should be able to take home a sixtel or more of the IPA.”
The IPA doesn’t have an official name yet, but will make appearances at many Tacoma Beer Week events, including a kickoff party at The Red Hot Monday, Aug. 1 and the Beer Fest of Destiny festival — a great way to drink your way through Tacoma in one spot — next to Wingman Brewers Aug. 6.
For an ever-growing list of Tacoma Beer Week events, visit http://tacomabeerweek.com.