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Inspiration can take many forms, not the least common of which are pints of beer and a lazy Friday evening. Of course, the problem with these alcohol-induced epiphanies is that they're usually either, one, really stupid ideas, or two, quickly forgotten in favor of pizza and the sofa. There is the rare exception, however, and that is where our story begins.
It was June of 2014, and two men wearing life jackets stood above left field. While best friends wrestled over foul balls, groins were scratched and a giant fuzzy big-eyed reindeer punk'd grandmothers, these two life jacket-wearing guys, drinking IPAs, had a moment - an authentic human connection producing a deep stare, an "a-ha" moment, followed by juicy, unfiltered spiritual nourishing rush to the head.
They took another sip of 7 Seas Brewing Life Jacket Session IPA.
Then paused.
The two businessmen knew some ideas float while others sink like lead to the bottom.
They stared at each other's life jackets.
Sometimes you just have to allow that something grand and good might actually be born while wearing a life jacket ... while drinking beer ... beer named after a life jacket.
And sometimes that something ends up being a food truck.
That fateful night at Cheney Stadium, during 7 Seas Brewing's Life Jacket Session IPA release party, the brewery's co-owner Mike Runion and Tacoma restaurant and bar Peterson Bros. 1111 co-owner Justin Peterson considered partnering on a food truck.
"A week later Mike called me and asked if I was serious," says Peterson. "I said, ‘hell yes!'"
"We sat down and decided in one day that it was a great idea," explains Runion. "We drove up to Seattle because we knew a guy who was selling a food truck but the previous buyer backed out. We bought it that day. It happened that fast."
Then, the waiting game began. The permits needed to be acquired. Runion and Peterson also had huge projects of their own in the final stages. Runion and 7 Seas forged a partnership with 253 Heart owner Steve Naccarato to produce the 253 Pilsner coupled with a benefitting nonprofit program. The beer cans needed to be designed and distribution nailed down. Peterson, with his business partner and twin brother, Robby, forged a partnership with Tacoma's X Group Restaurants to remodel Red's Valley Pub down the street from the Tacoma Dome. The Valley's menu was still in the works, a beer garden was unfinished and taxidermy still needed to be secured.
"My business partner and head brewer, Travis Guterson, and I have a huge respect for what Justin and Robby created on Hilltop Tacoma," says Runion. "The way they run their business is similar to how we like to do things. They're detail-oriented, but it's super relaxed with amazing service. And the food is absolutely on point, which can surprise people who judge the joint as divey."
The truck, dubbed The Galley, extends 7 Seas' nautical theme. WrapJax wrapped the giant truck to resemble a wooden pirate ship, including portholes.
The truck will be parked in the huge parking lot in front of the 7 Seas brewery, serving lunch and nighttime meals, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 4. The truck will operate 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Chef Roger Weatherhead is in command of the vessel.
>>> Chef Roger Weatherhead in The Galley. Photo courtesy of Facebook
"The menu will be different than Eleven Eleven or The Valley," says Peterson. "I knew instantly who should run the truck's kitchen. I've known Roger Weatherhead since he was helping us in the kitchen at the old Hotel Bar & Grill. He's seasoned in food trucks."
"I actually met Robby Peterson while working at the Spaghetti Factory, before the Hotel Bar & Grill," says Weatherhead, who grew up in Tumwater, and subscribes to the Peterson brother's bearded way of life.
After the Hotel Bar & Grill, which was owned by The Swiss partnership in the early 2000s, Weatherhead worked in several SeaTac hotel kitchens, Point Defiance Zoo's catering program, and eventually followed a friend to the Flair Taco truck in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.
"The taco truck was hard work. The hours were strenuous, but it was fun," says Weatherhead. "Feeding drunk people at the end of the night was crazy fun."
Weatherhead got tired of the drunks, and eventually was hired on with Where Ya At Matt, Matthew Lewis' popular Seattle Cajun food truck.
"Last year when I was working for them, Eater named it the number nine truck in the country," says Weatherhead. "They did numbers I didn't know you could do on a food truck. They had a good system set up. And they had a menu where people didn't just want to order one thing. Some people ordered a sandwich, side and dessert. I learned a lot from them."
Weatherhead also worked for the famous Skillet truck, as well as ran Seattle's The Grilled Cheese Experience truck for a summer while the owner tended to his new baby.
"Then, I walked into Eleven Eleven this summer and next thing I know ... I'm running the kitchen in The Galley," says Weatherhead.
A wooden ship-inspired behemoth first draws you in, but Weatherhead plans to have you as an anchor customer with his gourmet take on classics. During the day, expect sandwiches, soups and salads "with twists," Weatherhead says.
"If all goes as planned, I will serve a housemade lamb chorizowith sofrito de tomato and shaved Manchego. It's simple. A classic play on the meatball sub," he says.
He wants to serve a crispy pork belly BLT with heirloom tomatoes and butter lettuce. He wants to hand customers a Caesar with butter lettuce, housemade dressing, crouton and marinated white anchovies called boquerones. "Romaine has taken iceberg's place," he laughs.
"At Skillet, I would make myself a sandwich with just boquerones," he says. "I probably had the worst breath, but I didn't care. They are so delicious."
"We want a steady lunch menu that people could depend on," says Runion. "The Peterson Brothers and Roger are sandwich experts, so we'll have three to five sandwiches, some soup and a couple salads."
For the first couple of weeks, the lunch menu will also be featured during the night session, with the possibility of an additional menu item or two.
Eventually, the night session could feature an entirely new menu.
"We want to add tacos or Mexican-inspired dishes for a couple nights. Then, another couple nights cook up bratwursts and sausages. We don't want to be pigeon-holed in one type of cuisine," says Runion. "We'll also have a nightly badass charcuterie plate with local cheese, local salamis and other items. Beer, sausage, cheese and bread - I could live on that."
Weatherhead will ease into the nightly specials, adding shareable bar snacks such as pretzels with beer mustard, the charcuterie plate Runion has in mind, mussels with beer and candied bacon. He's also eager to cook with 7 Seas beers.
7 SEAS BREWING, food truck 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday, the brewery 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 3006 Judson St., Gig Harbor, 253.514.8129
SEE ALSO
7 local beer secrets leaned at 7 Seas Brewing Life Jacket Session IPA rollout
Photos from the re-opening of The Valley Pub by the Tacoma Dome
But to start, let's give a big round of applause to the 
John and Alyssa are wearing Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. and Pint Defiance, respectively.
Gary is wearing a straw hat with many brewery pins.
Tim is wearing a bear deer beer T-shirt.
Rick is wearing a T-shirt he found on 
These two guys were laughing so much I don't know who they are or what they are wearing.
Apparently there's a team that makes Rick drink.
Northwest "swampabilly" blues band is performing original music and covers, such as Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On."
Rest easy, Brew Five Three crowd: This man is here to make sure no one runs.
2:55 p.m.: The first pint glass breaks. The crowd erupts in cheers.
EMCEE:
Lady A of the West Coast Women & Blues Band has just popped into the crowd.
The chemistry between Nat Woodsmith and Elise Woodsmith at the Puyallup River Brewing Co. booth is engaging, although the sometimes breakneck pace at which their extended pours have been directed runs roughshod over punch lines and transitional moments. Nat, in particular, rolls equal parts boyish bounciness and comic mania into his pours, especially his tasty Bourbon Barrel-aged 3 IPA, which rings in at 11 percent ABV. It's all good; they're head brewer and wife.
Colin Harvin of 7 Seas Brewing has been performing comedy at beer festivals all summer. He's quick. Clearly, his routines from the 7 Seas' booths showcase that. Although he had moments of focusing on the negative things in his life (which is still always funny), he hits topics such as politics and potholes in Tacoma. He pulls from the world, and he knows what he is talking about. He is amazing and sharp and can work with anything you throw at him, even while pouring the 7 Seas' Depth Finder IRA - a inspired NW style ale that combines the hop profile of an IPA (Columbus, Palisade and Simcoe) with the malt character of a lusciously, smooth Amber ale. Harvin is not joking when he says the IRA has a resinous, bitter finish.
Over at the Amnesia Brewing booth, Brew Five Three Director Aaron Stevens, who believes he broke his foot navigating stairs last night, joined in on a live script reading of the 2006 film Beerfest, about two brothers who travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon a secret, centuries-old competition described as a Fight Club with beer games. The folks gathered around the Amnesia Brewing booth compared the reading to Amy Schumer's comedy, although the crowd was drinking plenty of delicious Amnesia Trail Hazer Ale, a medium body, floral dry hopped version of its popular Dusty Trail Pale Ale.
The Mark Riley Trio is pulling people off the beer trail and up onto the concert arena. A guitar craftsman and veteran of such bands as Snake Oil, Little Bill & The Bluenotes and The Mark Whitman Band, Riley and crew are playing blistering blues.
Odd Otter Brewing Co. in downtown Tacoma, a brewery schedule to open within a month, is pouring its Coconut Chai Ale, one of five Otter beers at the Brew Five Three. It's like drinking a porter on a tropical beach not engulfed in a tropical storm, even though the staff clearly would be fun at a beach bar. Bravo!
7 p.m.: Intermission was shattered with the news the sixth pint glass was dropped on Broadway. Once again, cheers erupted.
Intermission is back on. Here's a shot of the Brew Five Three crowd to hold you over until Stephanie Anne Johnson takes the stage. Can you spot the Top Rung Brewing Company founders? Hint: They're in the middle of the shot.
In the late-1980s, Anthrax was part of an MTV contest wherein they would wreak havoc on the winner's home. A few years later, the legendary metal band reprised their role as house destroyers on Married with Children, when Bud Bundy wins dinner and a concert with the band. At best, it was pointless. Guest appearances can go wrong, unless you're Randi Rodgers of The Swiss Restaurant and Pub. Rodgers had the crowd in her palm today guest pulling the taps at the Seattle Cider Co. booth at Brew Five Three.
Stephanie Anne Johnson and her band are rocking the Brew Five Three. In fact people are (gasp) putting down the pint glasses and dancing.
The dude with the Wingman Brewers T-Shirt dancing in the middle of the dance floor before Stephanie Anne Johnson inspired us to end the night with a full pint of Wingman's IPA.
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