Anxious to start a business venture in the growing micro brewing industry, head brewer Ken Thoburn didn't have to look far for inspiration for his brand.
With a grandfather who painted various nose art designs on a variety of World War II airplanes, Thoburn fell in love with the 1930-40s era vintage military theme. Combine that with an area that has a large saturation of active-duty and retired Air Force and military members and Tacoma's Wingman Brewers was born.
"You can't live in the Tacoma/Lakewood area and not know some folks with a connection to the military," said Thoburn, who was raised in Tacoma and graduated from Tacoma School of the Arts.
The 25-year-old Thoburn, along with three other investors, started Wingman Brewers about a year ago, brewing beer to sell to local bars, restaurants and grocery stores out of a small storefront in Tacoma. The four worked hard to build a brand keeping close with their vintage military theme.
"We really wanted to create a language, and really have people recognize the style that we have," he said.
Jason Sabol, another co-owner, helped develop that style by visiting the front lines. Sabol's uncle, Air Force Maj. Gen. Marshall Keye Sabol, recently retired after a 32-year military career, and Jason attended his retirement ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The base, the largest in the Air Force, is home to Air Force Materiel Command headquarters and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
"I took a ton of pictures and brought back a lot of cool ideas (for the branding)," Jason said.
Wingman Brewers makes three distinct beers, all with vintage military names. Ace IPA Thoburn describes as "Belgian meets American-style IPA." It features distinctly Belgian malts that complement a healthy portioning of Citra, Centennial and Cascade hops.
The P-51 Porter is "a robust and clean-finishing porter" that features rich, malty flavors that highlight hints of chocolate, coffee, nuts and smoke.
And the Stratofortress (named of course after the B-29 airplane) has notes of figs and ripe fruit- and features an 11.4 percent alcohol by volume rating.
"The reason for naming it after a big plane is because it's a big beer," Thoburn said with a laugh.
The three beers quickly built up a strong following and required a change of location. Wingman is now moving into a tap room located at 509 1/2 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma, a quick walk from the Sounder Station. The building is currently under renovation and the opening date is set for April 21.
"We're excited to be able to produce a lot more of our product," Thoburn said.
And while the previous location only allowed for people to visit and fill their growlers a couple days a week, the new location will feature all the beers on tap and plenty of seating. The group is also working on setting up some kind of military discount for Servicemembers.
"We appreciate all the hard work they put in," Thoburn said. "We want to do some kind of discount and honor those guys that way."
For those who can't wait for the new tap room to open, there is a list of bars and restaurants where Wingman Brewers beers are sold at the website wingmanbrewers.com.
