Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: 'New Beer Column' (88) Currently Viewing: 21 - 30 of 88

April 2, 2014 at 11:06am

Beer Here: The Copper Door, Odd success, Neo Noir rocks, tasty beer and weekend events

Will The Copper Door swing open tomorrow? I don't know.

The Copper Door, a new Tacoma taproom and beer bottle shop, is set to open Thursday, April 3, in the Stadium District next to Gibson's Frozen Yogurt. I think. Owner Craig Moore planned on opening yesterday, but a pesky sink wouldn't fit in the front bar delaying final inspection. He told me his beautiful copper door won't swing open until tomorrow, when it exposes 1,700 square feet of taproom space and another 866 square feet of store space for 750 bottle refrigerated brews. That is, if Moore passes inspection. I've been hounding him for answers since the weekend, but the busy man who crafted beers in Portland before landing on Tacoma Avenue North has been silent the past few days.

BEER NEWS

Yesterday, the Emergency Food Network was presented with a $2,550 check generated from sales of Neo Noir, the Black Belgian IPA brewed earlier this year during a group hug by Jeff Carlson of Harmon Brewing Co., Steve Navarro of Pacific Brewing & Malting Co., Beth Carlson and Cressencio Rodriguez of Ram Brewery, Morgan Alexander of Tacoma Brewing Co. and Ken Thorurn of Wingman Brewers.

Neo Noir made its debut during Tacoma Beer Week. A portion of proceeds from Neo Noir sales went to EFN. "This donation will provide for approximately 15,000 meals," said Jeff Klein, development director for EFN, in a news release. On an annual basis, EFN supplies more than 15.6 million pounds of food during 1.4 million visits.

Odd Otter Brewing Company, a new craft microbrewery in Tacoma, has reached 100 percent of its Kickstarter funding goal a week before the campaign concludes. The campaign, which ends Saturday, April 5, sought $15,000 to open a brewery at Seventh and Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. You can still have your name on their founder wall, nab a T-shirt or join the found mug club if you donate before Saturday.

You might be seeing a bit more of the award-winning Silver City Brewing out of Silverdale and Bremerton. Its Ridgetop Red Ale and Saint Florian IPA are now available in 6-packs of 12-ounce bottles.

BEER TASTED

I arrived late to Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Draft release party at Pint Defiance March 23. Owner Barry Watson said its Metropolis Lager was the best lager he has ever tasted. It blew in 40 minutes. I arrived in time to taste the San Francisco brewery's Massacre Belgian Stout, an absolutely delicious black wheat wine made with cherries and aged in bourbon barrels.

I dropped by the Crown Bar March 24 for Tournament of Burgers research and to get in on the Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. Beer Night. Dig its Chain Breaker IPA. It's a lemon zinger, with sweet honey and bready wheat malts.  Hello sunshine.

BEER HERE

Friday, April 4

Narrows Brewing head brewer Joe Walts hosts Skip Madsen with American Brewing for a brewer's night beginning at 5 p.m. Dark Horse Band kicks it at 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 5

The Harmon Restaurant and Brewery is one of the venues participating in the Gray Sky Blues Music Festival. From noon to 5 p.m., expect to hear Fistful of Dollars, The Mark Riley Trio, Maia Santell and House Blend, Jack Gaffney out of Boulder, Colo., and Nolan Garret. Admission is free.

Too much free time ...

March 28, 2014 at 11:24am

Remembering Parkway Tavern's John O'Gara: "He brought out the best in others"

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.

"John was the kind of guy that inspired loyalty. In his employees, business associates and customers," says Mick Wilcox, and brand manager with Click Wholesale Distributing. "What he did to raise the profile of craft beer in the South Sound was immeasurable. In a time not so long ago when bars were balking about putting anything but a 120.00 keg on tap John would try anything. He wasn't afraid. He turned his love of barleywine into a two-day festival complete with an exclusive brunch.  This is a big deal.

"He put 32 handles of just IPA on tap because he liked it and he knew you would too, says Wilcox. "And why not roast a whole pig to go with it? These weren't your typical brewers nights. It took him months of planning with his team to make sure everything was perfect and it was. And he did it for us."

Wilcox explained in a time when Russian River was by far the most sought after beer on the market, O'Gara took a keg of Pliny the Younger - easily the most highly sought after beers - that he could have sold for $15 a pint and gave it away in four ounce samples. Why? Because O'Gara believed everyone deserved to try the best beer in the world.

"What John did best though was bringing out the best in others. He took me from a guy that got a job selling a portfolio of insane beer I didn't know anything about and pushed me, sometimes a bit too hard, to give him my best and I am thankful for it. He gave everyone at the Parkway Tavern a purpose and that is why he was so great. He made you feel like you had a reason to be there. He treated us better than we deserved and we know it and the thing I will miss the most is coming into the Parkway and seeing him standing at the corner of the bar intensely pondering something on his yellow tablet and seeing him turn and look at you and smile." 

O'Gara is survived by his wife of 22 years, Marit Berg-O'Gara; 7-year-old daughter Maeve; siblings Angela, Nicola and Stephen Geary; and mother Lois Geary.

A memorial for John O'Gara will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 30 at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 901 N. J St., in Tacoma.

March 25, 2014 at 1:25pm

Beer Here: Tacoma Brew's recipe to change, RIP John O'Gara, plus this week's tastings

Tacoma 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.

Along comes Dusty Trail, the man. In 1995, he converts the landmark Engine House No. 9 into Tacoma's first brewpub. With the help of Douglas McDonnell, the grandnephew of the German immigrants who founded Columbia Brewing, E-9 produces Tacoma Brew, a salute to the original Puget Sound Brewing beer. Trail and McDonnell research, tinker and trademark the beer, producing apparently a more pale ale version of the original recipe. Dick Dickens buys E-9 in 2002 and resident head brewer Doug Tiede uses two hops in the Tacoma Brew formula: Czech Saaz hops, the variety used in the original pilsner, and Hallertau, found in Bavarian-style lagers. In 2011, X group (Asado, Masa) purchases E-9, with Shane Johns running the kettles. For several years Johns asks ownership to steer away from the current ale yeast and convert Tacoma Brew to the pilsner recipe of Tacoma's past. In three weeks, it will be so.

With the new tanks in place, and successful productions of its Oktoberfest pilsner, Johns receives the nod from owners John Xitco and Jeff Paradise to take a run at the 28-day pilsner fermentation. The exact release date of the seasonal isn't in stone. With E-9's new distribution grabbing a lot of the company's beers, a tasting is also up in the air.

So, in roughly three weeks, another date will be added to Puget Sound Brewing and Malting Co.'s timeline, marking Tacoma Brew's coversation to a pilsner recipe from Tacoma's past and a latest chapter in Tacoma's brewing history ... until the resurrection of Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. happens later this year.

BEER HERE

Wednesday, March 26

Joe Walts, head brewer at Narrows Brewing Co., says he's bringing his Oatmeal Stout, Imperial Red, Neo Noir (city-wide collaborative Black Belgian ale) and IPA (pouring through a Randall) to The Swiss from 6-9 p.m. There will be a raffle for NBC swag, although it's not the focus. "We're trying to get away from that sort of brewers night and make them more about me being available to talk about the beers and our brewing processes to people who are interested," says Walts.

Pint Defiance hosts the Speakeasy Brewing ales and lagers from 5-7 p.m. The San Francisco brewery specializes in big IPAs, Rey Reds and barrel-aged blends.

Double Mountain Brewers will park it at the ParkWay Tavern from 5-9 p.m. The Hood River, Ore. brewery is hot off its seventh anniversary party.

Thursday, March 27

Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer (4.8 percent 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. For guests who'd like a bite with their Crabbie's, the kitchen will prepare a special dish for the evening - Crabbie's Ginger Wings for $4, to complement the ginger beer. 

Friday, March 28

Saisons are traditionally delicate but flavorful, complex but not overt. Narrows Brewing Co. will release its Hibiscus Saison "Siren's Call" at 5 p.m. Friday, pairing it and several other beers with M Street popcorn popped at the brewery. "The base beer for the Hibiscus Saison is a rustic farmhouse ale in the same ballpark as Saison Dupont," says Narrows Brewing head brewer Joe Walt. "From there, I added hibiscus flowers to give the beer a dark pink color and a little extra fruit flavor." The Siren's Call screams a 6.2 percent ABV and will hang around for two to three months.

Salty's at Redondo Beach hosts a Mac & Jack's brewmaster's dinner at 6 p.m. The Two Tun IPA, Serengeti Wheat, African Amber and Blackcat Porter will be paired with Chef Gabriel Cabrera's steelhead, Hibachi chicken, braised short ribs and cobbler. The cost is $65.

Sad News

According to the Parkway's Facebook, manager John O'Gara has passed. Sad news, indeed. RIP John.

Good morning PW family and friends. We are sad to post that our friend and manager John O'Gara passed away this morning. You were as much a part of his life as he is yours. We will be open today to share hugs and tears, cheers and beers, and to give you terrible service that only John would approve of. John, you will be celebrated. Cheeeeerrrrrsssss!

SEE ALSO

Odd Otter Brewing Company to open in downtown Tacoma this summer

March 24, 2014 at 10:12am

Beer Q&A: John Hotchkiss of 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. Here's our Q&A:

WALIE TALKIE: Congratulations on your new venture.

JOHN HOTCHKISS: Thanks. We are very excited to get our products, our mission and our energy into the public eye.

WT: Five owners and a military presence?

HOTCHKISS: Yes, five owners and three have ties to the military. Owen McGrane is currently an Army physician at Madigan Army Medical Center, Pablo Monroy was previously in the Navy and is currently in the Army National Guard and I was an Army physician at Madigan for six years. The other two owners - Derrick Monroy and Teresa Smith - have extensive managerial experience and both have previously managed at Starbucks and Target. Teresa is currently managing a Hertz location at SeaTac, and Derrick is currently managing a legal office in the area. Derrick will serve as CEO, Pablo will serve as chief of daily brewery operations, Owen will be our head brewer and has designed all of our signature brews, Teresa Smith will be our CAO, and I'm our COO.

WT: What inspired the group to start a brewery?

HOTCHKISS: Odd Otter was born out of a confluence of relationships that began years ago. I was Pablo and Derrick's neighbor in Tacoma, and I recognized Pablo's excellent homebrewing instincts after Pablo replicated nearly perfectly a beer that cannot be purchased in the United States. I brought it back from Canada. The concept developed over a period of months, and incorporated ideas that emanated from Pablo and Derrick's group of friends including Teresa Smith. Once the project was conceived, I began discussing it on his Facebook page and reconnected with a friend from his medical internship at Madigan, Owen. Owen has been homebrewing for nearly a decade and has created several award winning beers. Owen then joined the group and brought with him his extensive brewing knowledge and background.

WT: Why the name Odd Otter?

HOTCHKISS: We love our communities, both our geographical community in the Tacoma area, and our various social and subcultural communities. And we like to have fun. As stated before, we have a strong military background in our ownership group. Pablo and Derrick are married, and are actively engaged in the LGBT community. Owen and I are physicians with strong ties to the military medical community at JBLM. We have all lived in the Tacoma area for many years, and we want to support the local economy - to bring something new and fresh to the craft beer community. We appreciate how our various and diverse communities that we represent have come together over beer as we have as brewers. The name Odd Otter refers to the uniqueness of our concepts, the fun we will have brewing delicious and innovative beers, and it also refers to the Pacific Northwest area that we live in. We will have two families of beers and they will be joined together under the umbrella of Odd Otter Brewing Company.

WT: What will we be drinking from Team Odd Otter?

HOTCHKISS: We aim to brew beer that will appeal to everyone, even those that do not consider themselves beer drinkers. We will produce beers that will follow suit with some of the well-recognized craft beer categories - IPA, ESB, Porters, blondes, amber and hefeweizens - but we will also brew outside the box as well, such as our Mama Otter's Pancake Porter made with Vermont maple syrup, a cherry chipotle cider, and a barrel-aged 24 percent behemoth called Blind Otter, and many others.  We have very exciting things planned for the Washington craft beer palate.

WT: When will the Odd Otter dam open for business?

HOTCHKISS: Our brewing equipment should be delivered in June, and we'll be anticipating a summertime opening pending permitting from the city and the completion of our relatively simple build-out.

WT: Can the community drink on site?

HOTCHKISS: Oh, yes there will be a tasting room. We anticipate having four of our own beers when we open and expanding up to six within the first month. We will continue expand that selection as our first year continues. We will eventually have between 12 and 16 tap handles with a variety of locally brewed delights that we will rotate through our taps. Our next-door neighbor is Cafe Vincero, and there is a door in the back of both of our spaces that allows us to move between them. We have a very good working relationship with Kevin Cornwall, the owner of Cafe Vincero, and have agreed to serve a selection of his menu including pizzas from his wood-fired oven in our space as delivery to our space. Additionally, outside food will be welcome.

There you go South Sound. Expect to be drinking pancakes around July. Hotchkiss and friends are building their dream through a Kickstarter page. Read more beer descriptions and get in on the goods before the Kickstarter ends in 11 days.

Update: Tacoma attorney Erik Bjornson informs me Odd Otter Brewery Company has filed for the "Queer Beer" trademark. According to the application, "The mark consists of Unicorn head with open mouth inside a circle resembling the capital letter "Q" with the words "Queer Beer" below the symbol." It's genius considering Tacoma was voted "Gayest City in America" by The Advocate magazine in 2013.

ODD OTTER BREWING COMPANY, 716 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, facebook.com/OddOtterBrewing

March 21, 2014 at 10:05am

BEER WEEKEND: Hops of March, Cask Beer Festival, Sunday Sampler ...

Harmon Brewery unleashes its Hops of March IPA to pair with your NCAA hoops viewing.

SATURDAY, MARCH 22

Hop head. Sounds like a euphemism for a speed addict, no? Or a professional pogo stick stunt artist. Maybe a bunny-loving furry. Well, it's none of those things. Hops go in beer, and hop heads like 'em bitter. Meet some Saturday, March 22 when the Harmon Brewery releases its Hops of March. Ridding the wave of enthusiasm for our Tournament of Burgers, or more likely the March Madness college hoops tourney, Harmon brewmasters Jeff Carlson and Jesse Holder will, once again, release its Hops of March IPA. Every March, Harmon releases this hoppy IPA, but rotates the hops. This year, the hops varieties of Magnum, Amarillo, Rainier, Columbus and Horizon - M.A.R.C.H. - were brewed with five malted barleys to give this medium- to full-bodied IPA (8.2 percent ABV, 101 IBUs) a brown color similar to a basketball. Nothing but the bottom of the pint, baby! Drink it up at one of its four houses of beer.

7 Seas Brewing will unleash its new fancy glass growler made in Germany at 11 a.m. Saturday. Fresh Northwest Design in Gig Harbor decorated them, which are priced at $60 and come with a coupon for $2 off your next growler fill.

As opposed to most kegged beer, cask-conditioned ale is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and naturally carbonated by secondary fermentation inside the cask. It's a very traditional British method employed not widely used by American brewers. Those who make cask-conditioned beers in this state will gather Saturday at the Seattle Center for the Washington Cask Beer Festival, a fundraiser for the Washington Brewers Guild, a non-profit organization that helped squash the state's proposal to drastically raise beer excise tax last year. It's a huge affair, broken into two sessions: noon to 4 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. The $40 admission fee includes a commemorative tasting glass and up to 25 beer samples. Designated driver admission is $5 and available at the doors only.

SUNDAY, MARCH 23

Judging Saturday's beer calendar, you might want to bring it down a notch Sunday. Pint Defiance continues its popular Sunday Sampler series, this week offering tastings of low-ABV brews with flavor. 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.

March 18, 2014 at 12:30pm

Doyle's Public House to serve Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer

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.

"Doyle's has been an incredible supporter of Crabbie's since it became available and the first spot in Washington to carry the new flavor, Spiced Orange," says Phil Clarke, general manager of St. Killian, the exclusive U.S. importer of Crabbie's, in a news release. "We look forward to our Crabbie's party and we hope to meet new friends and fans and enjoy these delicious drinks together."

The ginger in Crabbie's is cold steeped for up to six weeks and then combined with four secret ingredients. Crabbie's Spiced Orange offers the same refreshing taste as the original but with a lighter ginger profile and an orange flavor.

For guests who'd like a bite with their Crabbie's, the kitchen will prepare a special dish for the evening - Crabbie's Ginger Wings for $4, to complement the ginger beer.  

March 17, 2014 at 10:38am

Beer Here: Today on tap, Great Divide Wednesday, fancy new growlers ...

7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor releases its new growler Saturday, March 22.

For all of you health-conscious people out there who want to join in on all the St. Patrick's Day festivities without consuming so many calories - this is for you. Ranker.com, a platform loaded with crowdsourced answers to opinion-based questions, has collected the aggregated opinion of nearly 1,500 voters on "The Best Tasting Light Beers." Here is the top 10:

1. Sam Adams Light

2. Heineken Premium Light

3. Coors Light

4. Bud Light

5. Amstel Light

6. Miller Lite

7. Yuengling Light

8. Michelob Ultra

9. Kirin Light

10. Corona Light

If this list interests you, click here for the other beers on the list.

Read more...

March 14, 2014 at 10:21am

Beer Weekend: Big beers, small beers, Irish beers ...

A scene from the Battle of the IPAs held Wednesday, March 12 at The Swiss in downtown Tacoma.

For Americans, bigger is better. Whether it's buildings, boobs, buffets or beer, we want it big enough to block out the sun or at least put us down for the count. When it comes to beer, we celebrate the brewers who go big and bold with their beer-making experiments using creative and crazy combinations of spices, barrels, exotic fruits and big alcohol.

Beer brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries of their craft, often times brewing beers that defy mainstream beer styles and/or looking at other alcoholic beverages for inspiration. Strong, or big, beers are just one of the many byproducts of this artisanal approach to brewing. The processes involved to create such beers aren't simple. Brewers spend a lot of research time, money and trial and error to cultivate their super yeast strains that can survive the high-alcohol brewing environment and produce well-attenuated beers that have a minimum of six percent alcohol by volume.

Last winter, the South Sound packed Tacoma's Foss Waterway Seaport for the inaugural Big Beer Festival, an event born in Tacoma Brewing Company's founder Morgan Alexander's head, but produced by Tacoma Craft Beer Festival co-founders Roxy Wolfe and Bennett Thurmon. A sold-out crowd enjoyed 20 regional vendors and around 60 beers.

Alexander has grabbed the reins of the second annual version, and will be serving triple and quadruple IPAs, imperial porters, big stouts, a triple bock and barleywines with an alcohol by volume (ABV) rating of 9 percent or higher, Saturday, March 15 at his much smaller Tacoma Brewing Co. on Saint Helens Avenue. Returning from last year's big beer shindig will be Alexander's Cascade Quad - a cross between a Triple IPA and a barleywine. No growlers will be filled during the festival.

Here's the Big beer Festival tap list: Matt's Barleywine, Citra Kick Barleywine/Triple IPA, Simcoe Kick Triple IPA, Noble Barleywine/Triple IPA, Cascade Quad (quadruple IPA), Licorice Stout, "Wacked" Stout (orange/chocolate), Nitro Vanilla Stout and Ashen Stout (aged on ash wood).

There is no admission to the event, which runs from 2-10 p.m. The Tacoma Brewing Co. taproom is located in the Triangle District in the heart of downtown Tacoma at 625 St. Helens Ave.

BEER HERE

FRIDAY, MARCH 14

Chambers Bay (6320 Grandview Dr., University Place) hosts an Irish beer and food tasting Friday, March 14. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Chef Corcoran presents a seven-course meal paired with Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's. As you nibble on Irish pretzel sausage and classic corned beef cabbage, Guinness experts will take you through an Irish beer journey. Tickets are $55; call 253.552.4867.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15

Sound Brewery out of Poulsbo will drop in on Gig Harbor's Morso wine bar Saturday, March 15 for tastings. Brewmaster Mark Hood will be pouring from 2-4 p.m., with a $5 cover. If you can't wait, here's Morso's current line-up: The GoodLife Mountain Rescue Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Bellevue425 Pale Ale, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Elysian Dragonstooth Oatmeal Stout, pFriem Saison, Ommegang Abbey, Morso Pilsner by Alpine Brewery and Everybody's Brewing Country Boy IPA.

The Parkway Tavern asks you to drop your pants Saturday. The Tacoma tavern hosts a pants drive for those in need. Donate a pair of pants and you'll be entered in a raffle for prizes. The pants party is at 313 N. I St.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Pint Defiance has announced its "Sunday Sampler." From 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., you may sample 4-ounce pours of Goodlife Mountain Rescue, 10 Barrel Project Failed red, Crux Outcast IPA and Worthy Lights Out Vanilla Cream Stout for $4.25. Go small at 2049 Mildred St. W. on the edge of Fircrest.

MONDAY, MARCH 17

Everyone and their mother will be pushing the Irish beers on St. Patrick's Day. Of note, Harmon Brewery will be offering its Jameson Oak Soaked Black Tartan. This beer has become a yearly tradition for the Tacoma brewery. Head Brewer Jeff Carlson incorporates medium toast oak spirals and soaks them in Jameson. Next, he ages his Black Tartan Black IPA on the spirals producing a wonderful combination of oak, boozy Jameson goodness and, of course, the roasted hoppy flavors of his Black Tartan IPA. Harmon will also be this year's Rajah's Royal IPA and a new Imperial Stout over the weekend. Drink them up at The Harmon Brewery and Eatery, The Hub in Tacoma and Gig Harbor and, of course, the Harmon Tap Room. Harmon Central is here.

For a listing of South Sound St. Patrick's Day parties, click here.

March 10, 2014 at 12:01pm

Beer Here: South Sound brew events March 10-15

Here's a photo of the Harmon Pinnacle Peak Ale we drank at the Harmon Tap Room during Tacoma Beer Week. It was delicious.

Did you enjoy Tacoma Beer Week? What were your favorite beers? How do your teeth feel?

Have you heard? There's another natural cure for a common ailment. Take note, though, beer drinkers: It's the part of the leaves discarded in the brewing process.

Beer drinkers know that hops are what gives the drink its bitterness and aroma. Recently, scientists reported that the part of hops that isn't used for making beer contains healthful antioxidants and could be used to battle cavities and gum disease. In a new study in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, they say that they've identified some of the substances that could be responsible for these healthful effects.

Read the full story here.

Where to fight cavities drink beer this week ...

Monday, March 10

Pint Defiance is knocking off a dollar on all pints today, which includes M.T. Head's Zeus's Revenge IPA, Lost Abbey Carnevale Saison, Alameda P-Town Pilsner and Alaskan Oatmeal Stout.

Wednesday, March 12

Who's got the best IPA? It's Washington vs. Oregon for all the marbles. Ninkasi Brewing, 7 Seas Brewing Co., Silver City Brewery & Taproom, Deschutes Brewery, Laurelwood Public House & Brewery and NoLi Brewhouse are bringing their best IPAs to The Swiss for a Battle of the Brands: The IPA Face Off, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Grab a passport to sample all the IPAs before casting your vote. Expect giveaways and swag. Grand prize drawing is a VIP tour of the winning brewery and the "Swiss Golden Ticket," entitling the winner to one year of free cover at The Swiss.

Friday, March 14

Chambers Bay (6320 Grandview Dr., University Place) hosts an Irish beer and food tasting Friday, March 14. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Chef Corcoran presents a seven-course meal paired with Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's. As you nibble on Irish pretzel sausage and classic corned beef cabbage, Guinness experts will take you through an Irish beer journey. Tickets are $55; call 253.552.4867 or emailashipman@kempersports.com.

Saturday, March 15

Sound Brewery out of Poulsbo will drop in on Gig Harbor's Morso wine bar for tastings. Brewmaster Mark Hood will be pouring from 2-4 p.m., with a $5 cover. If you can't wait, here's Morso's current line-up: The GoodLife Mountain Rescue Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Bellevue425 Pale Ale, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Elysian Dragonstooth Oatmeal Stout, pFriem Saison, Ommegang Abbey, Morso Pilsner by Alpine Brewery and Everybody's Brewing Country Boy IPA.

Last winter, the South Sound packed Tacoma's Foss Waterway Seaport for the Big Beer Festival, an event born in Tacoma Brewing Company's founder Morgan Alexander's head, but produced by Tacoma Craft Beer Festival co-founders Roxy Wolfe and Bennett Thurmon. A sold-out crowd enjoyed 20 regional vendors and around 60 beers. Alexander has grabbed the reins of the second annual version, and will be serving beers and barleywines with an alcohol by volume rating of 9 percent or higher, Saturday at his much smaller Tacoma Brewing Co. on Saint Helens Avenue. The big beers will flow 2-10 p.m.

Last, the Parkway Tavern asks you to drop your pants Saturday. The Tacoma tavern hosts a pants drive for those in need. Donate a pair of pants and you'll be entered in a raffle for prizes.

March 7, 2014 at 2:02pm

Beer News: Earth Day 2014 will be more awesome in Tacoma

Someone call Kim Archer. Let's party at Harmon Tap Room's beer garden right now.

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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News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.

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