TUESDAY, MAY 2 2017: Tacoma events + craft beer …
The Grand Cinema + Peaks and Pints = Stasi secret police and Kewl Hand Cuke
Jazzbones + The Copper Door = Johnny Cash and the chewy beers
TUESDAY FILM SERIES
Has the daily onslaught of revelations about Vladimir Putin’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. election got you thinking about what life might be like under a totalitarian government? You might want to check out the documentary, Karl Marx City, which screens at 1:30 and 6:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema. Filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker and their daughter Matilda Tucker, who narrates the film, are really close to their film. Epperlein, who grew up in East Germany in the years before the Berlin Wall fell, began to suspect that her father had spied for the Stasi secret police when she found out that he had committed suicide after destroying all his papers. Movie camera in hand, she went back to her hometown of Chemnitz (a/k/a Karl Marx Stadt) to try to find out the truth.
PREFUNK: The phrase “cool as a cucumber” isn’t just some meaningless cliche—the green gourds’ thick skin actually keeps its innards about 20 degrees colder than the air outside it. More than that, though, cuke flavor has a soothing, chill-out quality that makes it a favorite addition to ice water at your neighborhood spa. That same sensation can be employed to great effect in the right beer, so head to Peaks and Pints, put a few slices over your eyes and pour a glass of Wingman Brewers Kewl Hand Cuke. A mixed culture of Brettanomyces bruxellensis and rustic saison yeast, this craft beer from the Tacoma brewery has a hushed aroma that blends bubblegummy sweetness, honeydew melon and dry cucumber skin. The grain bill is very traditional of Old World saison with barley, wheat and corn. And, yes, there are also cucumbers — used like dry hops in the beer after fermentation for clean, moderate tartness that lingers long but doesn’t overpower the tongue or get abusive.
TIGHTWAD TUESDAY
Ah, Tightwad Tuesday. Seven or so years ago we would all gather at Hell’s Kitchen on Sixth Avenue and enjoy $2 beer, $2 well and $2 tacos every Tuesday. Looks as if the name and same deal is back but this time at Jazzbones. Bonus: Danny Cash and the Gallows will get all Johnny Cash at 9 p.m.
PREFUNK: Beer and happiness are two things intrinsically linked to the weather. A change in seasons signals a rotation on the tap lines, and new beers come onto the scene like dandelions on a spring lawn. (Needle across a record player) The Copper Door has busted out some chewy beers for this fine May 2 day. It’s Tasting Tuesday beer sample flight features New Holland’s Dragons Milk Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout, The Lost Abbey’s serpent’s Stout, AleSmith Brewing’s Speedway Imperial Stout with coffee and Joseph James Brewing’s I’m Out Stout. Cling to the dark beers with The Copper Door beginning at 6 p.m.
