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Posts made in: 'Tacoma' (290) Currently Viewing: 281 - 290 of 290

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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March 28, 2014 at 12:24pm

RIP John O'Gara

John O'Gara, pictured at the 2009 Tacoma Craft Beer festival with co-organizer Roxy Lee. Photo courtesy of Donna Herren, who co-wrote craft beer blog "The Brews Tribune" with O’Gara.

That big collective ache you may have heard or felt reverberating throughout Tacoma Tuesday, and obviously for years to come, was for the loss of one of the city's most beloved citizens, everyone's friend John O'Gara. The 52-year-old Parkway Tavern long-time manager passed away from health issues, although those close to him still were in shock. O'Gara had been at the Parkway for around 20 years, although he did take a leave in 2000 and Barry Watson stepped in for a brief time until O'Gara returned after a year or so.

Watson, who after selling the Rosewood Café in Tacoma opened Pint Defiance beer store and taproom with his wife, Renee, mentored under O'Gara at the Parkway. "This is a huge loss, not only to those who loved him, but to the community as well," Watson said Wednesday night, eyes filled with tears. "No one knew more about craft beer. O'Gara knew before everyone else. He was my mentor. He was my friend."

The Parkway has been filled with mourners since the sad news, sharing stories and hoisting beers.

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

March 25, 2014 at 2:25pm

Engine House No. 9 to change Tacoma Brew recipe

acoma Brew can be found at Engine House No. 9 at Sixth and Pine in Tacoma. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

It all starts with Pacific Beer.

Puget Sound Brewing and Malting Co., founded by German immigrant Anton Huth, opens for business at 2501 Jefferson Ave. in Tacoma, in 1888. Pacific Beer is its home brew, which exports as Tacoma Beer to faraway lands. Pacific/Tacoma Beer is a pilsner. By 1906, it's renamed Pacific Brewing and controls neighboring brewery Columbia Brewing Co., which it helped fund a few years earlier (in 1949, Columbia will be renamed Heidelberg Brewing Co.). Before state prohibition stricks in 1916, Pacific Brewing is the second largest brewery in the state, behind Seattle Brewing with its Rainier Beer. Prohibition sucks, Pacific pushes "near" beer, Huth dies, Pacific makes soap and the smokestack falls during an earthquake.

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

March 24, 2014 at 11:12am

Odd Otter Brewing Company in Tacoma

Odd Otter Brewing Company plans to brew beer in downtown Tacoma by this summer.

The South Sound attracts beer lovers the way a keg attracts red Solo cups, and five friends recently announced their Odd Otter Brewing Company, a taproom and brewery in downtown Tacoma, will open this summer.

I checked in with John Hotchkiss, a former Army physician, and chief operations officer for Odd Otter, to find out a little more about Odd Otter Brewing Company, its history and its future. Read our Q&A interview here.


Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

March 18, 2014 at 1:30pm

Doyle's Public House now carries Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Bee

Though it has "beer" in the name, ginger beer is generally non-alcoholic - thankfully, Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer has corrected this grave mistake ... now in orange flavor.

The spicier, more potent cousin to ginger ale, ginger beer originated in England in the 1700s, but now is heavily associated with the Caribbean cuisine. The name "ginger beer" is actually a misnomer, as most commercial ginger beer is a soft drink and contains no alcohol. The beverage's potential for throat-scorching can make drinking it straight unpalatable. Trust me, it ain't Schweppes or Canada Dry. Therefore, most temper it with dark rum, à la Dark and Stormy cocktails, which always brings to mind pirates and Bermuda.

Ginger beer will not get you a buzz, but Crabbie's alcoholic ginger beer will, and fans of a spicier drinking experience will be able to find it in Tacoma starting next week.

Thursday, March 27, Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer (4.8% ABV) will hit the wooden bar at Doyle's Public House in Tacoma's Stadium District. From 6 to 8 p.m. Doyle's will offer Crabbie's Original and the new Spiced Orange, which recently became available throughout Washington, served chilled over ice with a slice of citrus, for $4 and in a special cocktail - The Ginger and Jamey, Crabbie's Ginger Beer and Jameson Irish whiskey - for $7.

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Filed under: Bar Exam, New Beer Column, Tacoma,

March 7, 2014 at 3:02pm

Harmon Tap Room to host Earth Day beer party

Harmon Brewery Pinnacle Peak Ale

You don't hear it, do you? Bend an ear. No pitter-patter on the tin roof. Look outside. For a brief moment, it's not chilly or drizzling. It's not foggy or sleeting. The flagrantly unpleasant winter weather outside, weather that has slammed the South Sound since you kissed that stranger at First Night, is on hold for a brief second.

It's 57 degrees outside Walkie Talkie World Headquarters. Beach day! Let's grab a sixer and head to the beach.

Since weather and beer in on the brain, let me relay that Harmon Brewing Company announced it is one of the first brewers in the U.S. with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) label for its beer, issued through the Institute for Environmental Research and Education's (IERE) Earthsure program. According to a news release, "Earthsure, the first EPD program in North America, worked with five Pacific Northwest breweries last year to develop automated software for this science based eco-labeling for the beer industry. Partial funding for the project was provided by the city of Tacoma - the first Life Cycle City in America. Much like a nutrition label, the beer EPD is a disclosure of product data and analyzed the following impacts: Climate change, Stratospheric ozone depletion, Acidification, Eutrophication, Smog Profile Toxicity, Water Consumption and Land Use."

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March 3, 2014 at 1:47am

Tacoma Beer Week 2014

The Red Hot on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue tapped the Neo Noir Black Belgian IPA yesterday. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner

Tacoma Beer Week begins its run today.

Well, check that. It technically began yesterday when The Red Hot tapped the Neo Noir IPA, the Black Belgian IPA brewed earlier this year during a group hug by brewers from "Narrows Brewing Company, Engine House No. 9, Pacific Brewing and Malting Co., Harmon Brewing Company, Tacoma Brewing Co., the Ram Restaurant and Brewery and Wingman Brewers."

Well, check that. A chap from Engine House No. 9 says the historic brewhouse didn't really have anything to do with it.

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

March 1, 2012 at 7:58am

Understanding Tacoma through its passion to drink

TACOMA AND BOOZE: They just go together. Photo design by Pappi Swarner

Not long ago we were tough and dirty. Tacoma was a hard-living town - a place former mayor Harold Moss likened to war-torn Beirut. True, we still hold onto parts of our past edginess, and our working class mentality. But, in reality, Tacoma has grown into a town with a budding arts community and great local businesses. One need only review Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland's 2012 State of the City address to understand the cultural leaps we have made in just the last year. Additionally, according to the Washington State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, since 1985 Tacoma's violent crime rates have been reduced by half - across the board.

Throughout all of this change and growth a common thread has stayed true for Tacoma's entire history - how Tacoma relates to its drink. ...

Filed under: Booze, New Beer Column, Tacoma,

September 1, 2011 at 6:25am

Tacoma Craft Beer Fest 2011

DELICIOUS BEER: There will be plenty at the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival.

What magic fermented yeast, grain and water can become when proportioned correctly. Pilsners, lagers, Hefeweizens, ales (of all sorts); wheats, barleys, stouts and all the other delicious brews. 

It's enough to make a grown man cry.  The triumph of the ages: BEER.

To celebrate the fabulous concoction the third annual Tacoma Craft Beer Fest will take place Sept. 3.  This year the Craft Beer Fest will go down at the 21st Street Park on Dock Street. Those who purchase a ticket and gain entry receive a 5.5-ounce tester glass and 10 drink tokens to sample the plethora of brews that await.  Additional drink tokens are $1.50.  All profits this year will go to support the Boy and Girls Club of South Puget Sound. 

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Tacoma,

April 19, 2010 at 2:53pm

Drinking and eating challenges in Tacoma

If you drink many pints of Guinness Doyle's will let everyone know.

The common definition of the word "sport" usually goes something like this: an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature.  This vague definition leaves a lot open for interpretation.

A buddy of mine asked me whether or not I thought competitive eating was a sport. I actually do. What's that you say? There's no physical activity in eating? Don't make me laugh! Have you ever seen a person sweat while holding four hot dogs in their mouth at once? Have you ever tried to drink 10 pints in one sitting to be the first to hit an award-winning mark? Have you ever tried to hold in vomit?

That's a whole lot of physical activity, to be sure.

Tacoma has several competitive eating and drinking competitions underway.  Here's a taste:

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Filed under: New Beer Column, Contest, Tacoma,

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.

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