Beer Here: 1111 Fest, Point Defiance Tap and Grill opens, Ron Pattinson, Goose Island Beer Co. ...

By Ron Swarner on November 5, 2014

You've picked up the candy wrappers off your lawn, lit a candle for your beloved deceased relatives and have your sights, and stomach, on Thanksgiving. Some people think Thanksgiving and they think Macy's Day Parade and the National Dog Show and Leon Lett. No doubt, those are important parts. But I'm always fixated on the most beautiful part of Thanksgiving, the story of the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer. There's ample time to tell that tale before Turkey Day. My palate has started to shed its hoppy skin for a winter molting. All I can think about are the rich, dark flavors of beers, and maybe a cardigan with elbow patches. Let's get to this week's South Sound beer events.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5

Are you enjoying 1111 Fest? Don't act you don't know the Peterson Bros. 1111 joint on Hilltop Tacoma has hosted a different brewery since Saturday night. Tonight, cool cat Keith Carpenter of Mac & Jack's Brewery will chat with the beards, followed by Lagunitas Thursday, 7 Seas Brewing Friday, Elysian Saturday and others up to the big party on 11/11.

THURSDAY, NOV. 6

Look for the signs: Northwest microbrews and wines, cheese and charcuterie boards, locally-sourced grass-fed beef burgers from Heritage Meats, cheese and charcuterie boards, local farm produce from Calendula Farms and others, cheese and charcuterie boards ... Bill Bonnie is in Ruston. Bonnie, owner of Tacoma Wine Merchants and connected Enoteca Wine Bar in the Stadium District, has been searching and fighting Tacoma for years for a spot to open his Northwest centric upscale pub meets bistro concept. A former antique store next to the former blues club Coles in the town of Ruston is where he and his business partner, Donn Frostad of North Slope Construction, landed. After many months of renovation, the Point Defiance Tap and Grill will open Thursday for lunch and dinner.

Are you young? Are you professional? Yeah, apparently neither am I, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you about the Young Professionals Network Wingman Brewers Tour at 6 p.m. The YPN claim they're the next generation of community leaders valuing leadership, philanthropy, networking and fun. And you can experience all four of their values as you tour Wingman Brewers, taste a flight of seven to eight beers, at network. The cost is $17, $20 for those without a membership card. If you have a drive to succeed in business, a passion for serving the community and a love for tasty brew, this is your Thursday night.

If you're a member of Harmon Brewing's Mug Club, then you know you have been summoned for a Steep and Deep Winter Ale first tasting at 6 p.m. in the Harmon Tap Room. Bonus for members: A chance to purchase one of 180 hand-bottled Super Samurai Barley Wine, signed and numbered by Harmon head brewer Jeff Carlson.

FRIDAY, NOV. 7

Yes, yes, South Sound, our IPAs are delicious hits of orange, grapefruit, grass and pine courtesy of hops such as Cascade, Centennial and Columbus growing in our backyard. In Colorado, specifically Fort Collins, they do IPAs with Calypso and Mosaic hops, relatively new varieties first released to the public around 2011. The two hops color the beer with peaches, grapefruit, mango, lemon and blueberry. Chef Gabriel Cabrera will pair these hop flavors of New Belgium Brewing's Rampant Imperial IPA with cilantro curry chicken and Thai chili sauce, teriyaki beef and sweet soy sauce over sushi rice. So yum. Chef Gabriel has three other courses and four other New Belgium brews scheduled for a 6-9 p.m. dinner at Salty's at Redondo. Grab $68 and call 253.946.0636 right now.

SATURDAY, NOV. 8

Beer historian and beer travel writer Ron Pattinson will drop by Narrows Brewing at 3 p.m. to discuss beer history and his new book, The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer: Rediscovered Recipes for Classic Brews Dating from 1800 to 1965. For years, the England-born-turned-Amsterdam resident has gobbled up obscure books on beer history - including brewery logbooks - and in 2007 began sharing his findings in a conversational pub tone on his blog. Read more about Pattinson here.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12

Seriously Puyallup River Alehouse? You couldn't wait until after Black Friday to host Chicago's Goose Island Beer Co.? The brewery's infamous Bourbon County Stout will be released the day after Thanksgiving, unleashing the imperial stout with a fearsome 14 percent alcohol content, aged in used bourbon barrels from places like Iowa's Templeton Rye, and hunted for by fans on their release dates like a Beautiful Angle poster. Oh well, Goose Island will bring its other beers and schwag to the downtown Puyallup alehouse from 6-9 p.m.