NEW BEER STORE TO RIVAL TACOMA BOYS AND 99 BOTTLES >>>

Rumors around the South Sound that a new destination retailer of beer are true. The brains behind Jònz Catering are set to open Beertopolis Beertropolis along Tacoma's bar strip of Sixth Avenue later this summer. The location decision is down to two spots.

"We are moving right along. We were a little optimistic with our timing," Jonz Catering owner Linda Dagley says, noting that news on lease negotiations and beer selection will be coming in the next few weeks for the shop that is set to open in August.

Plans call for a retail-only beer spot that offers some 1,000 labels from largely small brewers from around the world with a special nod to beers of the Northwest. The shop will also offer tastings, pairings and club memberships that will bring discounts and invites to special events once the shop opens its doors.

"We want to educate Tacoma about how to drink beer," Dagley said. "No Bud Lite or Coors Lite. I think there is a need for it in Tacoma. We will offer a lot of things that a grocery store can't."

The projected stock of micro beer labels will make Beertropolis the largest destination of beer in the South Sound, topping Tacoma Boys' 500 labels and rivaling the shelves of Federal Way's 99 Bottles.

All of this is good news for beer chuggers, Tacoma Boys beer manager Donna Herren says.

"I welcome the competition," she says. "It will definitely mean everyone will have to step up and play their A game."

While Tacoma Boys and other beer sellers will also offer tastings thanks to a recent change in liquor laws, an addition of another mega-beer retailer will mean more events, tighter competition for hard-to-get labels and better promotions, Herren says, noting that she doesn't fear the new shop will cut into her customer base and might even add to it.

"There is plenty of beer business out there," Herren says. "There are a lot of people in Tacoma drinking a fuckload of beer."

The addition of another venue to learn about beer will mean a wider stock of people who will move from grocery store shelves of mega beer labels to more specialty bottles, she said. A new shop, however, won't likely mean price wars between stores since the state's new beer tax and generally high prices from breweries will keep prices competitive and focus customer fights in stocks of specialty labels.