TACOMA PREFUNK SUNDAY, JULY 16 2017: Ommegang Game of Thrones Golden Ale and Proctor District Criterium
PREFUNK: Yet again, HBO has decided that bottle shops don’t need to preview the new Game of Thrones, which Season 7 premieres tonight, and that’s cool with Peaks and Pints. What’s known about the penultimate season of the ultimate blood ’n’ boobs fantasy series is … well, nothing. Sure, there’s speculation on everything from the inevitability of Daenerys finally crossing paths with Jon Snow (duh) to the idea that Ned Stark is still alive (oh, shut up, nerds), but what is for certain is that you’ll need to prefunk with Brewery Ommegang’s Bend the Knee Golden Ale. To commemorate tonight’s mêlée in the Emmy Award-winning show’s epic seventh season, Brewery Ommegang and HBO Global Licensing released new beer in their collaborative series: Bend the Knee Golden Ale. Paying homage to the struggle for control of the Seven Kingdoms, Bend the Knee is brewed with pils malt and flaked oats and hopped with Saaz, Bravo, and Styrian Golding hops. It pours a golden hue with a large, frothy head. Both the aroma and flavor mix maltiness and citrus from the hops, while Ommegang’s signature house yeast produces prominent fruitiness. Wildflower honey added during fermentation provides light sweetness to the beer, which finishes dry and with firm hop bitterness. Peaks and Pints has Bend the Knee on draft today. Peaks and Pints, Tacoma
10 A.M. TO 7 P.M. PROCTOR STATION CRITERIUM: Real-deal bike racing is pretty exciting all by itself. Bike racing in Tacoma’s Proctor District, is just plain crazy awesome. Formerly known as Tacoma Twilight Criterium in June, the Proctor Station Criterium is still held in Tacoma Proctor District, although now much early in the day, moved to July and the course circumnavigates Mason Middle School instead of whizzing by hair salons and Peaks and Pints. It’s still super cool. Expect lots of spandex (for aerodynamics), and lots of good times. Proctor District, Tacoma
5 P.M. LITTLE BILL & THE BLUENOTES: Little Bill Engelhart is soul on wheels, thanks to his musicianship and polio. He grew up on Hilltop Tacoma and learned rock and roll by playing rhythm and blues with the black musicians downtown, which was unusual for a young white kid at the time. He formed a band with some of his teenage friends and had a national hit when he was just 19 titled “I’m in Love with an Angel.” Life after that seemed a bit anti-climactic. Once you’ve toured with the most famous musicians of your time, it’s hard to come home and be an every day guy. He engaged in the usual rock-and-roll pitfalls and lived to candidly tell the tale in an autobiographical memoir titled, Next Stop Bakersfield. The Washington Blues Society has awarded him numerous awards, including best band; best bass player, best blues writer and lifetime achievement award. He is a legendary Northwest blues musician and perhaps the Godfather of rock and roll in Tacoma. He and his band, the Bluenotes, will perform at as part of Immanuel Presbyterian Church’s Blues Vespers ceremony tonight. Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Tacoma
