Tacoma Beer Week, the six-day showcase of craft breweries and their beers, is a great way to experience Tacoma’s bubbling beer culture. Founded by Zoe Brackney, the third annual edition of Tacoma Beer Week official starts Monday, Aug. 1.

Whether you’re making your first visit to a local brewery tasting room, heading out on a craft beer special event or exploring how beer and food interact, Tacoma Beer Week will be the perfect time to dive into the craft beer scene.

This year’s Beer Week will be bigger than ever. Not only are there more breweries in the region, but many of the local beer distributors and brewery representatives from across the nation met recently for a pep rally with the goal of hosting more Tacoma Beer Week events than last year.

“We’re looking for you to host something different than your average brewer’s night with a couple handles on tap and a bunch of stickers,” explained Andy Kenser, sales and marketing director at Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. and American Brewing Company, to the group of beer experts huddled at The Copper Door in Tacoma’s Stadium District. “Tacoma Beer Week is an opportunity for us give back to the craft beer crowd, let our hair down and have fun. This is the week to pull out your crazy, cool ideas.”

Kenser, along with Brackney, Wingman Brewers co-owner/head brewer Ken Thoburn and myself make up the Tacoma Beer Week committee. Kenser made it clear to the room full of beer slingers that Tacoma Beer Week’s success is in their hands, meaning the more events, the better.

“It’s a week about beer in Tacoma,” emphasized Kenser. “We don’t care if the beer is brewed in Europe, Japan, Portland, Olympia, wherever. Tacoma Beer Week is more than just highlighting the Tacoma breweries, although we DO love our Tacoma breweries, and they’ll certainly have their spotlight. The goal of Tacoma Beer Week is to raise the craft beer bar in this town and gain more awareness.”

There will be beery events every day during the official week. The Copper Door will kick off the week a day early with their exclusive member’s only “Brewmunity” party saluting the Brewmunity Summer Hefe the Tacoma Stadium District brewed with neighbor Harmon Brewing Company. The next day, Aug. 1, The Copper Door will host, in conjunction with Peaks and Pints, a SudsPop: The Beatles Revolver In Beer party pouring the beers Tacoma breweries brewed for each song on the album, which celebrates its 50th anniversary the same week. The Drink Local Beer Fest featuring Tacoma breweries, cideries and live music will be held on the last day, Aug. 6, in the warehouse next to Wingman Brewers on Puyallup Avenue. The Parkway Tavern has a few events on the books, including the second annual Tacoma IPA Challenge, a Session Fest and a tribute to the founding fathers of craft beer.

Keep an eye on www.tacomabeerweek.com for more events as added. The site also sports an event submission button.

Thanks to Tacoma Beer Week, drinking and civic duty temporarily go hand-in-hand — as if Tacomans needed another reason to drink beer.