Weekly Volcano Blogs: Served blog

Posts made in: May, 2014 (45) Currently Viewing: 11 - 20 of 45

April 4, 2014 at 9:57am

The Copper Door opens in Tacoma

The Copper Door owner Craig Moore announces his starting lineup. Photo courtesy of Facebook

This afternoon when The Copper Door taproom and beer store opens in Tacoma's Stadium District you may toss back pints of 7 Seas Cascadian Dark Ale, Narrows Brewing IPA, Fremont Brewing Company bourbon barrel aged Dark Star, NoLi Empire No. 8 Session IPA and Chuckanut Brewery's Dunkel Lager.

If you're the kind of person who absolutely needs to be the first person to tweet about a new place - or you're a beer geek, or you're just looking for the absolute coolest way to end the work week (unless you have plans to test-drive a Ferrari or play with live monkeys) - The Copper Door will have its soft opening today.

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April 7, 2014 at 10:51am

Maxwell's teams up with Wingman Brewers for bacon beer

Chef Hudson Slater smokes wheat malt and bacon at Maxwell's Restaurant for Wingman Brewers in Tacoma.

Bacon exemplifies everything I love about food. Bacon ties me to my foodie forebears who cured and smoked pork belly to preserve it in the absence of refrigeration. Highly prized artisanal bacons keep alive rural American traditions and ensure smokehouse knowledge will be shared with future generations of proud farmers. Bacon provides my 11-year-old with essential nutrients such as saturated fat, salt and nitrates. Wait ... those things aren't good. Uh ... if we don't stand together, resolute, in support of bacon, cultivating a culture of pork, the entire fabric of our society will come apart at the seams!

This past month I had my fare share of bacon cheeseburgers paired with beer. It's one of the great pairings of life: Fred and Ginger; baseball and hotdogs; sunrises and strolls along Ruston Way; Bella and Edward; beer and bacon.

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

April 14, 2014 at 11:01am

Doyle's Public House turns 8

Doyle's Public House co-owner Russ Heaton seen here toasting his Guinness Club during a past Doyle's anniversary party. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

Since Doyle's Public House opened in the spring of 2006, the Tacoma bar has attracted tourists from all over the world (Esquire magazine gave it a thumbs up), as well as become a local hangout for South Sound Guinness lovers, Jameson drinkers and soccer enthusiasts who are grateful for a spot to meet more of their kind. These folks, and those who enjoy a good time, will pack Doyle's Thursday, April 17 when it celebrates its eighth anniversary.

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

April 16, 2014 at 7:25pm

The transformation of The Swiss in Tacoma

Jack McQuade, April 16, 2014

There's something to be said for being the only one. The outpost, colors snapping in the immaterial breeze, bastion of cool, temple of special. The Swiss Tavern was that, once - 21 years ago, in a galaxy remarkably similar to the one we now inhabit.

For those unfamiliar with the terrain, downtown Tacoma hasn't always been the beautiful specimen it is today. There used to be buildings hanging by a nail, people sleeping on colorful plastic in the Greyhound station, tumbleweeds. There were old folks who'd lived here for 50 years who weren't going anywhere no matter what, damn it. And there sure as hell wasn't any expensive coffee or glass bridge. There were no fancy lofts, no condos, no valet parking, no Tacoma Link (dollar fee or not). There was absolutely zero downtown.

Then, landlords sold out to the agents of The Future. The museums were built. Colleges erected. Devotees flocked from the hinterlands. Rents were raised. The little people got, as usual, their customary part of the stick. Some found themselves in the "No. 1 Wired City"; others bought chain mail and moved their tribes to East Tacoma.

Through it all, the Swiss Tavern - or, to the initiated, The Swiss - stood alone.

Read the full story on The Swiss Restaurant & Pub's 21st anniversary.

Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

April 17, 2014 at 4:07pm

Words and Photos: The Swiss' inaugural beer dinner with Georgetown Brewing

Georgetown Brewing Company took over the taps at The Swiss Restaurant and Pub Wednesday, April 16. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

Toward the beginning of last night's Georgetown Brewing Company beer dinner at The Swiss Restaurant & Pub, Manny Chao, Georgetown's co-owner and brewmaster, explained why it was an honor that his company be the first brewery Swiss owner Jack McQuade invited to dinner. The two go way back.

Chao met McQuade some 20 years ago when he was the first employee at Mac and Jack's. With Chao's help, Mac and Jack's amber ale became the third best selling craft brew in the state. Five years later Chao left Mac and Jack's and by 2002, he and his housemate, Roger Bialous, homebrewed their first beer - Manny's Pale Ale. In 2003, Chao was back in front of McQuade, this time selling his Manny's Pale Ale, from his new Georgetown Brewing Company located in Seattle's Georgetown district.

Read the recap of the Georgetown Brewing Company beer dinner at The Swiss Restaurant & Pub.

Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

April 18, 2014 at 3:17pm

Tournament of Mac and Cheese primer

These two items combined is crazy delicious.

I haven't worked off the 20 pounds of weight gained during the Tournament of Burgers. In fact, the extra weight has become my friend. The fat and I reminisce about each burger joint, becoming all mushy and nostalgic over a last call burger at Shake Shake Shake, pairing Manhattans with Maxwell's Walker Burger, eating smoked burgers next to someone getting canned at Famous Dave's, playing human pinball at Five Guys in Lakewood, a rowdy Friday burger night at Tournament of Burgers Champion Westside Tavern, and so on.

Since announcing mac and cheese will be next year's tournament, my body fat is all ready thumbing through the Big and Tall catalog.

I'm prepared to begin the mac and cheese madness immediately. Why wait? Send that lentil soup back in the kitchen! That tramp will go through me in 30 minutes. My goal is to report on a South Sound mac and cheese dish every week. Those who have followed my past columns know I will most likely fail. And, dropping in on Tacoma's STINK Cheese & Meat for its weekly mac and cheese special doesn't count, although I will not surrender that pleasure.

Let's start with my favorite mac and cheese recipe.

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April 19, 2014 at 12:44pm

Top Rung Brewing Company opens in Lacey

Jason Stoltz, top, and Casey Sobol, bottom, celebrate the grand opening of their Top Rung Brewing Company today. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

After the grain has been shoveled from the mash tun, after yeast has been pitched, after the farmer has hauled away the trailer, there is water everywhere, and a half hour more of work to do before they can go fight fires. Yes, they woke up at 4:30 a.m., it's now 3 in the afternoon, and soon one will turn his waist-high boots for knee-high boots and a red ax.

Thurston County firefighters Casey Sobol and Jason Stoltz's four-year journey to open their brewery official ends today when their Top Rung Brewing Company celebrates its grand opening from 2-9 p.m.

The career firefighters - 20 years for Sobol and seven for Stoltz - have been dialing in their recipes in the garages between shifts at the McLane/Black Lake Fire Department. It became real when the duo's Hosechaser Blonde grabbed the Dick's Brewing "Beer for a Cure" homebrewing contest top prize in 2012 - and they began to shadow Dick's brewer Parker Penley.

"Just as the firefighting community is an open, friendly brotherhood, so is the beer community," says Sobol. "I could be in Boston and any firehouse would take me in as one of their own. The local brewing community is similar."

Wingman Brewers in Tacoma brought back two whiskey barrels from Kentucky for Top Rung Brewing.

"It's a shame Wingman celebrates three years the same day we celebrate our grand opening," says Sobol. "Those guys are great."

Those who didn't drop by Top Rung's soft opening last Saturday can check out the new 10-barrel brewhouse and spacious taproom at 8343 Hogum Bay Lane in Lacey today. The duo pays tribute to their main job, with ladders suspended from the ceiling, firehouse décor and the iconic fireman's shield front and center on the Top Rung logo. Otherwise, the high-ceiling space resembles other taprooms, with concrete floors, modern lighting and long wooded plank tables, which Sobol crafted. Sobol runs the house side.

Stolz runs the brewing. The beers pay tribute to firefighting, with the award-winning Hosechaser, Prying Irons IPA and Scout Stout on tap today. The IPA has recently been altered with added bitter and aroma hops. It's delicious. The Flashover Red is written on the board. A Cascadian Dark Ale is in the works, as well as a seasonal pumpkin ale, Oktoberfest and a secret Thanksgiving release that will be on many beer enthusiasts' Santa list. 

Sobol, Stoltz and their 10 investors have a business plan that calls for slow, steady growth. Food can be brought in from surrounding businesses, which are listed on a hanging board. Strong beers are not part of the plan right now. In fact, a three-maximum pint limit has been instigated in the taproom. That's the firefighter in them.

In addition to the beers today, a local barbecue company will be cooking out front. Beer flights are available.

TOP RUNG BREWING COMPANY, 8343 Hogum Bay Lane NE, Suite B
Lacey, 360.239.3043

April 25, 2014 at 1:09pm

Mac and Cheese Madness: The Crown Bar in Tacoma

Crown Bar's mac and cheese pairs well with Scuttlebutt Gale Force IPA. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

Following on the successful heels of the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Burgers, our editorial staff will present a new NCAA Basketball tournament-like event next spring.  Once again we'll host a number of daily games that pit one restaurant against another, leaving it to the readers to decide the final outcomes all the way down to a final four and then a grand championship. (For newbie readers, Olympia's Westside Tavern edged out Tacoma's Maxwell's Restaurant in the final seconds of this year's Tournament of Burgers.) 

The competition for March 2015 will pit 64 South Sound restaurants that offer the ultimate comfort food - macaroni and cheese.

As I explained last week, my goal is to report on a South Sound mac and cheese dish every week up to the torunament - to spread the cheesy word, ease into tournament research and, obviously, build hype. I will highlight the best, skipping reports of orange cheddar and glistening pile of noodles that hold no nutritional value whatsoever.

Let's begin with one of my favorites, the Crown Bar's mac and cheese.

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May 1, 2014 at 10:35am

In search of Mexican craft beer in Tacoma

Connecticut-based Drinks Americas imports Cerveceria Minerva's Day of the Dead beer to a couple local beer stores.

"Cinco de Mayo," Spanish for "the sink is full of mayonnaise." OK, not really. I made that up, which is only fitting, because the idea that May 5 is a big holiday celebrated throughout Mexico is also made up. This yarn was spun by some PR hack for Corona beer back in the '80s, when the company was looking for a way to get Americans to drink more beer.

Since this is not an especially hard task, they didn't work especially hard on the idea, not even hard enough to note that Mexico's real Day of Independence is Sept. 16. Cinco de Mayo commemorates The Battle of Puebla, where Mexicans defeated the French army, and in Mexico is mostly a regional holiday. Ordinarily, Americans don't cotton to anyone except Oliver Stone replacing facts with fabrications, but in this case, with beer consumption at stake, we were more than willing to overlook a little lie.

So here we are, decades later, stuffing our faces with nachos (another American invention) and toasting each other with mugs of Corona as we celebrate the truly American tradition of making up holidays to boost sales.

Holy mole! Why celebrate the fake holiday by drinking tasteless beer? It's the perfect opportunity to celebrate Mexican culture and drink Mexican craft beer.  Mexico's beer market is the 5th largest in the world by volume: 1.77 billion gallons per year to be exact. Certainly beer-loving Tacoma has a few Mexican craft beer bottles ready for Monday's holiday.

OK, a little research proves grabbing a craft beer created South of the Border might be a challenge. Apparently, of those billions of gallons that are exported - 58 percent of it is Anheuser Busch (Modelo, Corona, Dos Equis) and 41 percent of it is Heineken (Tecate, Sol) - (divide number x by number y, then multiply by 100) that leaves a mere one percent for other Mexican brewers, fighting for space on shelves and taps.

I'm still up for the challenge.

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Filed under: Ethniche, New Beer Column, Tacoma,

May 2, 2014 at 11:14am

Mac and Cheese Madness: Paesan Kitchen in Tacoma

Get baked at Paesan!

It's Friday, which means I tempt you with another South Sound mac and cheese dish I believe is worthy of the Tournament of Mac and Cheese next spring. Of course, you, the reader, will ultimately decided the fate of the dish when nominations open in February 2015.

First, a touch of mac and cheese history. Thomas Jefferson helped make macaroni and cheese popular in the United States after sampling it in Italy. He brought home a pasta maker and introduced the dish in 1802. Mac and cheese is obviously the food of presidents, for it was also Ronald Reagan's favorite. Reagan enjoyed a little dry mustard and Worcestershire in his mac and cheese.

OK, on to this week's mac and cheese suggestion. ...

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About this blog

Served, a blog by the Weekly Volcano, is the region’s feedbag of fresh chow daily, local restaurant news, New Beer Column, bar and restaurant openings and closings, breaking culinary news and breaking culinary ground - all brought to the table with a dollop of Internet frivolity on top.

Recent Comments

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Ted Smith said:

Thank you for the list of restaurants to try out. I will have to try their Mac and Cheese....

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