This Mother’s Day, skip the box of chocolates or a handmade card. Honor the top lady in your life like the queen she is and thank her not only for bringing you into being but spending all that time and energy trying to raise you right and feed you well. Peaks & Pints suggests you buy her four amazing craft beers. Craft beer is social but sitting down to a taster flight with mom is high-intensity training for your taste buds. The key here is to talk about the beers and your upbringing as you drink them — what you
Instagram Outsider: World Beer Cup, Star Wars, Cinco de Mayo From World Beer Cup winners to May the 4th Be With You, from Cinco de Mayo to a bag of beer, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of Instagram posts from the past week. Be sure to keep tagging us @peaksandpints and @ciderofdestiny for your chance to be featured on Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider. Until we meet back here again next week, enjoy Instagram Outsider: World Beer Cup, Star Wars, Cinco de Mayo. View this post on Instagram A post shared by
The India Pale Ale emphasizes hoppiness, which can take the form of herbal, citrus and/or piney character in both aroma and flavor. Adding the prefix “imperial” means the beer is made with a lot of everything, resulting in more aroma, flavor, and strength. The triple IPA is a palate-smashing beast of an ale designed for those times when a hazy IPA simply won’t cut it. Yet, the style still isn’t recognized — and debate rages among the pimpliest of beer nerds over whether it’s a style at all. Peaks & Pints believes the triple IPA is a massively hoppy beer
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 5.6.22 Some tasty beers have arrived for Mother’s Day Weekend! Come have a pint or two, and stock up on Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 5.6.22! We’re open till midnight! Cheers y’all!! Black Raven Brewing Origins: Official 13th Annual Seattle Beer Week Beer West Coast style IPA hop bomb, 6% Fair Isle Brewing Lora: A piquette-inspired table beer taking cues from the wine industry, Lora is a table beer with a field blend of berries for berry notes, a hint of almond, and followed by a lacing of rosemary, 3.9% ForeLand
6-Pack of Things To Do: May 6-8 2022 You’ve re-watched all the Star Wars films, ate all the tacos, and are now ready for a weekend in greater Tacoma, whether it be a cornhole tournament, free comic books or hanging out with Champ Kind. Welcome to 6-Pack of Things To Do: May 6-8 2022! CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT: When a cornhole tournament hits the Peaks & Pints television screens it attracts more viewership and cheers than Major League Baseball or the Tour de France. While some may view it as a simple backyard activity — where competitors throw bags filled with corn
Portland, Oregon, is home to an abundance of old church buildings. Their spires front the hilly backdrop and skyline, adding to each neighborhood’s unique fabric. Changes in the city dynamics, though, have left many of these architectural stunners empty, abandoned, and crumbling. Across the city, though, several of these old buildings have experienced a revitalization where they’ve been repurposed for other uses — born again, including a 1909 church on the corner of Northwest Broadway and 24th, a tall, craftsman-era chapel made of Pacific Northwestern fir and cedar that now is a church of fermentation. In 2019, Brody Day and
Cinco de Mayo is today, which means it’s party time Senor Garth. The best Cinco de Mayo parties feature live mariachi bands, Mexican-inspired craft beer, dancing Chihuahuas and beer bongs made from Saguaro cactuses. Peaks and Pints will offer one of those treasures for our Cinco de Drinko — Mexican-inspired craft beer on draft and in the cooler, a Mexican-inspired to-go beer flight we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Mexican Lager On The Fly, and a special Mexican sandwich special. Mexican lagers are popular. Two of them — pFriem’s Mexican Style Lager and Pelican Pelicano Extra Mexican lager —
6-Pack of Things To Do: May 4-5 2022 The next two days in Tacoma are packed, no doubt, with fun, with May the 4th parties followed by Cinco de Mayo events. And there are plenty of other things to do along the way, including a senior improv show at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma Bike Month, and a kickass Viking flick. Cheers! MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU: Drink craft beer, you must. Today is May 4 — which may not mean a lot to a lot of people, but it’s a special date for serious Star Wars fans.
Today is May 4 — which may not mean a lot to a lot of people, but it’s a special date for serious Star Wars fans. May the 4th (as in “May the Force be with you”) is the day on which we celebrate all things Star Wars-related. And what better way to celebrate the date than by drinking space-themed craft beer while watching Star Wars from your couch. Where in the universe can you find such beer, padawan? Peaks and Pints: The Cooler Awakens. Embrace your inner Jabba (or related Hutt) and stop by our little craft beer lodge
For the last 180-plus years, Pilsner Urquell is open fermented, conditioned in oak barrels, and served without filtering. Inspired by this Old-World original, a growing number American brewers are skipping stainless steel, tight environmental controls, and automated brewing systems and brewing their lagers like the Old-World original: aging their bottom-fermenting creations in wood vessels. What starts as a refreshing, classic lager transforms when aged in oak barrels. Barrel aging adds woody notes of oak and vanilla to the beer’s crisp, golden base. Today, Peaks & Pints craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District presents a to-go
Blueberries. Who doesn’t love them? When we can keep the birds from eating the fruit, blueberries are one of the most rewarding edibles in the garden. They don’t take up a huge amount of space, and they are easy to grow in our area, given sun, acid soil, and plenty of water. And the plants are beautiful. To top it off, raw blueberries are among the most nutrient-rich plant foods available — low in calories and loaded with plant nutrients such as soluble fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Most importantly, crisp, sweet blueberries balanced with tangy cider apples makes for
Instagram Outsider: Leota Mae Day, Garbage Pail Kids, Tournament of Beer From Leota Mae Day to Garbage Pail Kids, from the Tournament of Beer to all the dogs, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of Instagram posts from the past week. Be sure to keep tagging us @peaksandpints and @ciderofdestiny for your chance to be featured on Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider. Until we meet back here again next week, enjoy Instagram Outsider: Leota Mae Day, Garbage Pail Kids, Tournament of Beer. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wayfinder Beer
E9 Brewing Detour Ahead hoppy lager won the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Champion crowned If you walked into Peaks & Pints last night you most likely weren’t surprised to see five IPAs tapped on our Western red cedar tap log. The hop bombs keep the lights on. But left of the IPAs on our log were two crisp, cold, and refreshing lagers. Our bartenders pulled lager tap handles all night for folks 21 to 84 years of age, male and female, all ethnicities, and
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.30.22 Stop by tonight for the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Championship Game party, then take home Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.30.22. … Chainline Brewing Lupulin Bloom: Collaboration with Breakside Brewery, this hazy IPA is brewed with New Zealand Riwaka, Strata, and experimental HBC 472 for lemon-lime notes with as bitter finish, 7% Firestone Walker Brewing Gold Rider: Aged in French Cognac and orange bitters barrels for two years, this ale is inspired by the Sidecar cocktail and finished with a touch of fresh-squeezed lemon juice for
Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich and co-owner Pappi Swarner call today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Championship Game. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Championship and Party PAPPI SWARNER: The titanic lager throwdown finale in on! Voting for the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Championship Game is live. After three weeks of voting, you have picked the most popular lagers brewed in Washington and Oregon. What began as 64 hop-slinging lagers has been narrowed down to two that were publicly nominated number 9 in Southern Washington and number 13 seed
6-Pack of Things To Do: April 29-31 2022 During this last week of April, you can shop at a giant flea market, learn about living fossils, partake in a film discussion and help determine the best lager brewed in the Northwest, among other events in the greater Tacoma area. TOURNAMENT OF BEER: For three weeks, Peaks and Pints challenged 64 of the Pacific Northwest’s best lagers to go crispy boi-to-crispy boi in a showdown of craft combat. Some fell easily by the wayside, either due to a rogue mash tun cleaner or simply because they faced a superior opponent. Hop
The Baltic porter is a traditional English style, developed by the British in the 1800s for export to their buddies in the Russian Court. The Baltic porter is an interesting breed, because while it’s a porter in name and flavor, it’s not an ale. All Baltic porters are lagers, meaning they’re brewed with a strain of yeast that ferments for longer times at colder temperatures and contributes a cleaner, crisper flavor to the brew. The Baltic porter is a dark black beer, sometimes with garnet and ruby highlights. It is known for an assertive chocolate malt that imparts sweetness and
Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich and cook Caleb Pletcher call today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Final Four action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Final Four April 29 CLAIRE BRINICH: And then there were four. … CALEB PLETCHER: Welcome to the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Final Four everyone! I’m Peaks cook Caleb Pletcher and believe it or not there have been days during this lager tournament when, by noon or so, it was already obvious which lager would be moving on and which would be going home. There
Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich and co-owner Pappi Swarner call today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Ethanol Eight action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Ethanol Eight April 28 PAPPI SWARNER: Hello Peaks & Pints Pals! I’m Peaks co-owner Pappi Swarner. For one day shy of three weeks, Peaks & Pints presented you with a compelling question: What is the best lager brewed in the Pacific Northwest? Well, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to finding out — at least based on the voice of you, the drinkers and voters. Today is a
Beer purists typically scoff at a brew that incorporates anything into its recipe besides water, malt, hops, and yeast. So, offer them a beer with fruit in it and you’re bound to hear a speech on the German Beer Purity Law of 1516. But if one can get past traditionalist approaches to drinking beer, they might find that fruit can be a fantastic brewing ingredient — such as blueberries. Blueberries can give an earthy richness and complexity to beers, especially with darker styles. But blueberries are a rare beer addition—the flavor is subtle, and often brewers end up making cloyingly
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.27.22 Here’s Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.27.22! 54-40 Brewing Fluffy Kittens: Hazy IPA brewed with Simcoe and Calypso hops for tropical notes, 7.1% Bale Breaker Brewing Sesiones Del Migrante Mango IPA: Brewed with 28 pounds per barrel of mango puree toward the end of fermentation to preserve the fresh mango character, then dry hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Loral hops to bring out the bright, fresh character of the mango, 5.9% Claim 52 Brewing Baked And Stuff Raspberry Apple Cheese Danish: Dessert sour conditioned on raspberry puree, apple puree, cream
The public nominated 64 Northwest lagers for the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers in early March. Beginning April 8, through online voting on this website, Washington and Oregon brewed pale and light lager drinkers are picking daily winners until the best lager in the Northwest is crowned April 30. It’s just like March Madness, only with way more fermentable sugars. The crispy boi-to-crispy boi battle of the lagers grand champion will be announced at the Tournament of Beers Party April 30 at Peaks and Pints in Tacoma’s Proctor District. The final two lagers will battle live pouring from Peaks and
Peaks & Pints bartenders Brandon Crespin and Phaedra Miller are calling today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Sweet Wort Sixteen action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Sweet Wort Sixteen April 27 PHAEDRA MILLER: Everyone drinks them. Everyone has a favorite. Loyalty? It can inspire the rabid fandom of a true pale and light lager devotee. Maybe your obsession is with hoppy lager from Washington state — or perhaps you drive across the Columbia River for an American lager that’s probably written up in the Scientific Journal. Maybe you’re an adherent of a particular
Peaks & Pints bartenders Brandon Crespin and Amber Hamilton recap yesterday’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers games, and preview today’s Sweet Wort Sixteen competition. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Sweet Wort Sixteen April 26 AMBER HAMILTON: Hello folks! I’m Peaks bartender Amber Hamilton. For the last two weeks Peaks & Pints presented you with a compelling question: What are the best lagers brewed in Washington and Oregon? And you have responded in droves. Sick days have been used. Friendships have fallen apart. Beer Cooler Stockers and Beer Line Cleaners seeking comfort in new
National Pretzel Day is here again. Before you go thinking that Peaks & Pints made up this holiday, so we’d have an excuse to serve our pretzels, let us assure you it’s a real thing. Since 1986 National Pretzel Day has been celebrated annually on April 26. Former Pennsylvania Representative Robert S. Walker declared this day as National Pretzel Day in honor of his favorite snack. This doughy, twisted treat has been enjoyed since the Middle Ages. According to legend, Italian monks first invented the pretzel as a reward for pious village children. It didn’t arrive in America until the
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.25.22 Let’s kick this week off right with Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.25.22! Block 15 Brewing Selection Series — Mosaic: This IPA was brewed exclusively with Mosaic hops from Coleman Agriculture farm in Gervais, Oregon, with an unobtrusive grist profile and soft water base as the canvas, this beer is meant for Mosaic’s vibrant notes of pineapple, melon, and blueberry to shine, 7% Evil Twin Brewing I’d Like a Triple Grandiose, Extra Sweet, Cookies N’ Cream, Caramel Macchiatto, Cappuccino Please: Imperial coffee stout brewed with cacao nibs, coffee, cookies, caramel,
Peaks & Pints bartenders Michelle Cove and Nicole Allen preview today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 25 NICOLE ALLEN: Good day Peaks & Pints Pals! I’m Peaks bartender Nicole Allen. Welcome to Day 12 of the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers. The last eight lagers in the Second Round are rested from the weekend off and are ready to battle for four spots in the Sweet Wort Sixteen, which begins tomorrow. MICHELLE COVE: This is awesome, baby! Awesome, baby, with a capital ‘A.’
It will be 61 degrees and raining in New Zealand, today. Sounds quite lovely. Let’s pretend we’re Down Under today in the only way possible — drinking beers made with New Zealand hop varieties. American craft breweries began seriously researching these hops in 2016 as many hops varieties grown in the United States are becoming more expensive and more difficult to get as the craft-brewing industry expands and more consumers embrace craft beer. The Southern Hemisphere brings wild, tropical, and overwhelming bright, fruity characteristics from such hops as Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, Ella, Vic Secret, Enigma, Motueka, Moutere, Wai-iti, Nectaron, Rakau,
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.23.22 Halfway through the weekend beer reload with Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.23.22 Anderson Valley Brewing Salted Caramel Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter: Aged for 6 months in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels, this imperial poter is woody and slightly sweet with notes of vanilla, caramel and peanut brittle flavors, 9.5% Dogfish Head 120 Minute : Continuously hopped for 120 minutes with a copious amount of high-alpha American hops throughout the boil and whirlpool, and then dry-hopped with another pallet of hops, 15% Grains of Wrath Brewery Come On Down: Collaboration with
Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich and co-owner Pappi Swaner recap yesterday’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers games. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 23 PAPPI SWARNER: Heeeelloooooo lager fans! I’m Pappi Swarner. The subject of lagers is, like the subject of barbecue, vexed and fraught with controversy. What constitutes a great lager? Who makes the best? Everyone seems to have her or his own favorite, and everyone’s an expert. In early March, we pulled the public asking what are the top 64 lagers brewed in Washington and Oregon? You chimed in. Friday,
Today, the German Beer Purity Law — Reinheitsgebot — celebrates 506 years of absolutely nothing but barley (or wheat), hops, water, and yeast. Not so much as a spruce tip or cacao nib may defile anything called “beer.” Across Germany, breweries, brewing museums, beer gardens, and micro-breweries will mark the purity law anniversary by opening their doors to allow a glimpse behind the scenes for visitors to experience the art of brewing as well as its long history. German brewing traditions are influenced by the highly controlled pragmatic Bavarian approach of the Reinheitsgebot coupled with the flamboyant, daring, and just
Peaks & Pints bartenders Claire Brinich and Erika Brown provide commentary on today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Second Round. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 22 CLAIRE BRINICH: Hello everyone! I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich. Beginning April 26, we’ll cut the field of 64 Washington and Oregon brewed pale and light lagers down to the Sweet Wort Sixteen. April 28, it’ll drop to the Ethanol Eight. On April 30, we’ll announce the winner of the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers – picked by you, of course –
“Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible trustee of Earth, seeking choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will provide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and foster peaceful progress in the human adventure.” So states John McConnell’s original Earth Day proclamation. Peaks and Pints enjoys McConnell’s Earth Day speech better than Agent Smith’s line in the first Matrix movie where he stares menacingly at Morpheus and speaks about how every mammal on Earth instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, “but you humans do not.
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.21.22 What are you drinking this weekend? 
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.21.22 HAPPY THURSDAY! 7 Seas Brewing Tripel Delight: Trappist-inspired tripel conditioned on dried citrus peel and a touch of fresh ginger, and aged for 2 years in port wine barrels for a dried fruit characteristic with subtle caramel flavors leading to a dry, mildly tannic finish, 10.4% Bombastic Brewing Big Dumb Beer: Imperial stout brewed with roasted wheat and flaked oats for a full body and chocolate rye to give bold chocolate notes with minimal bitterness, 15% E9
Peaks & Pints bartenders Claire Brinich and Mitchell Lovett call the Tournament of Beer: Northwest lagers action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 21 MITCHELL LOVETT: The turnout was high yesterday. In voting numbers for sure, and delivery sandwich pick-ups indeed, but I’m sure around burning bowls and makeshift watermelon bongs too. Welcome to day 10 of the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers. Hi folks. I’m Peaks bartender Mitchell Lovett and I’m here to help you get through the fogginess and dry mouth with a recap of yesterday’s Second Round
Consider Incognito. John I. Haas did. North America’s leading hops supplier offers this viscous liquid to brewers who want maximum aroma with virtually no loss of volume in the whirlpool as there is no vegetal matter, or “green character.” It’s a wonderful tool for brewing hazy IPAs. Incognito — a CO2 extract of hops made with all hops — reduces process loss by up to 25 percent by enabling brewers to replace wort-absorbing hop pellets with a 100 percent-hops-based liquid that is easy to pour at ambient temperatures. Easy to ship, store and pour, Incognito also greatly reduces the number
Peaks & Pints bartender Claire Brinich and cook Brittney Crowder call today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers Second Round action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 20 BRITTNEY CROWDER: Now it’s getting exciting! The Saccharomyces pastorianus yeast are starting to really feast, and the Pilsner malt bags are piling up so high you could build St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral. OK, so that’s a silly analogy. Point is: This is serious! Hello folks, I’m Brittney Crowder and with me is Claire Brinich. CLAIRE BRINICH: Howdy! Howdy! Today the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers officially kicks
There’s no shortage of things you can do to celebrate 4/20, like, say, visiting numerous dispensaries and buying copious amounts of deeply discounted cannabis and cannabis products, and then, you know, consuming them, perhaps in a Mrs. Butterworth’s bong or Cheech & Chong joint. Then, you’ll get the munchies because cannabis consumption activates certain receptors in our brains, directing hunger-fighting neurons to switch sides and stimulate our appetites. The most generic strains of weed can lube up an appetite, especially for anyone who doesn’t toke very often, but there is a rare class of cannabis out there digging endless pits
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 4.19.22 Avery Brewing Vanilla Bean: Double dose of vanilla derived from both fresh bourbon barrels and the trio of Tongan, Ugandan, and Mexican whole vanilla beans is complemented by the essences of chocolate, caramel, and molasses to round out this luxurious silky stout, 10.5% Holy Mountain Brewing Bitter Peace: A traditional ESB brewed with 100 percent English malts, and hopped exclusively with East Kent Golding for roast and slight fruit, 6% Holy Mountain Consider The Ortolan: Hazy double IPA brewed with a combination of Pilsner, 2-row, flaked barley, and malted oats, then hopped
Peaks & Pints bartenders Amy Kirk and Trish Ortega recap yesterday’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers games and preview today’s battles. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 19 AMY KIRK: Hello Peaks & Pints Pals! I’m Peaks bartender Amy Kirk. Low and behold, today marks the closing of the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lager First Round action. After today’s battles the bracket will officially be down to 32 Washington and Oregon brewed pale and light lagers, and brewers will start hiring cheerleaders. Honestly, if it gets any more exciting, we’ll
Once viewed as evil, associated with Big Yellow Beer, craft brewers are now singing, “rice, rice, baby.” Rice’s delicate flavor has recently captured the attention of the next generation of experimental craft brewers lending subtle tropical notes and a bright finish to their lagers, as well as ales. It also lightens the body and cuts some of the malty-ness in a lager. Today, Peaks and Pints highlights the neo-rice brewers in a to-go flight of beers brewed with rice — a flight we’re calling Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Rice On The Fly. Pro tip: our Tournament of Beer: Northwest
Peaks & Pints staff members Nicole Allen and Caleb Pletcher preview today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Lagers April 18 NICOLE ALLEN: The Tournament of Beer Council has always believed lager beer first appeared in Bavaria in the 1400s, perfected by monks who would store their suds in icy alpine caves over the summer. They would brew with a Saccharomyces pastorianus, a type of yeast that sits at the bottom of the beer and ferments best at temperatures between 40- and 50-degree Fahrenheit, like said icy alpine caves’
When the Aztecs conquered the Totonacs in 1427, they discovered the essence of the black vanilla pod brought in flavoring and medicinal value to their culture. They were the first to use both vanilla and cocoa together to help with the flavor of their foods and drinks, often mixing them together. The mixture was much like our “hot chocolate,” but they called it “xocolatl.” At the time of the Spanish Conquest in 1521, the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan was among the largest cities in the world, with perhaps as many as 200,000 inhabitants. It was a city of great
Instagram Outsider: Easter, Snow, Dogs, Life From Easter beer to April snow, from all the dogs to new beer releases, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of Instagram posts from the past week. Be sure to keep tagging us @peaksandpints and @ciderofdestiny for your chance to be featured on Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider. Until we meet back here again next week, enjoy Instagram Outsider: Easter, Snow, Dogs, Life View this post on Instagram A post shared by Silver Moon Brewing (@silvermoonbrewing) View this post on Instagram A post shared by
