Beer Weekend: 7 Seas Bash, Bremerton Brewfest, Art on the Ave ...

By Ron Swarner on July 11, 2014

SATURDAY, JULY 12

7 Seas Brewing isn't just the maker of delicious craft beer. It isn't just at the forefront of the "beer in a can is cool again" movement. It's a local business doing things the right way and an entity that knows how to party - as will be proven when 7 Seas throws its fifth annual anniversary bash in its parking lot Saturday. According to co-owner Mike Runion, you can expect "Grab Ass, Awesome Local Musicians, Tom-Foolery, Delicious grubs, Leisure, Relaxation and Sunshine" from noon to 8 p.m. at its Gig Harbor brewery.

"We are pulling out all of the beers we can for the bash," says Runion. "Probably 18 to 20 different 7 Seas beers on tap - a few are only a single keg left. 

The following beers will be available at the 7 Seas Brewing 5th Annual Anniversary Bash Saturday: British Pale, Cutt's NW Amber, Rude Parrot IPA, CDA, Port Royal Export Stout, Ballz Deep Double IPA, Broken Mast Brown, Reign Man ESB, Life Jacket Session IPA, Depth Finder IRA, Oatmeal Raisin Imperial Stout, Dry-Hopped Pilsner, Red Hot Session IPA, Swiss 21st Anniversary Imperial Red, Slow Rye'd Rye IPA, Bavarian-style Hefeweizen and SMASH Plisner.

Click here to see my 7 Seas Brewing anniversary party commercial.

Four the fourth year, ferries will be unloading folks with funny hats, pretzel necklaces and T-shirts proclaiming they love beer in every way possible into downtown Bremerton. The 2014 Bremerton Summer Brewfest will bump up participating Washington breweries to 30, pouring more than 70 summer style beers, from noon to 6:30 p.m. It's a short walk from the Bremerton Ferry Dock, with live music by Driftin Harbour Rats at 1 p.m. and The Echo Devils at 4, with the South Sound represent, including 7 Seas Brewing, Dick's Brewing, Fish Brewing, Harmon Brewing, Narrows Brewing, Northwest Brewing, RAM Brewery and Top Rung Brewing. Randalls are big at this festival, too. The $20 advance/$25 door fee includes a tasting cup and six tokens each good for a 5-ounce taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1.50 each or four for $5. For more details, go to washingtonbeer.com.

If you don't have kids of your own, playing miniature golf is not much more than a nostalgia trip. Fond memories of a round with Mom and Dad and going out for ice cream afterward provides its appeal, not the challenge of putting the ball in the holes. The Harmon Brewing Company has your nostalgia needs covered and then some with its family-friendly Mini U.S. Open Put Putt Tournament, a nine-house course weaving through its venues The Hub, Harmon Tap Room and its beer garden, the Harmon Garden from 4-6 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., an award ceremony will be held in the Harmon Garden. At stake are team high score, individual high score, individual low score and lowest team score. The grand prize is two free rounds at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, home of the 2015 U.S. Open. Two-dollar pints make everyone a winner.

SUNDAY, JULY 13

Tacoma's popular Art on the Ave community festivals adds a Tasting Lounge this year, located next to the 6th Ave Photography building on Sixth Avenue. As of press time, Harmon Brewing, Tacoma Brewing Co. and soon-to-open Odd Otter Brewing Company will join Cork! Wine Bar, offering five tastings for $10. The Lounge will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

With a festival-loaded weekend, you might want to bring it down a notch Sunday. Pint Defiance continues its popular Sunday Sampler series, this week offering tastings from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp. From 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., flights of four 4-ounce pours will be served for the cost of a normal pint. Expect to drink Firestone Walker, Oskar Blues, Victory Brewing and Bell's/Sierra Nevada.