Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine parent company Unfiltered Media Group is 100 percent employee-owned, committed to sustainability and service to the craft beer and brewing community, and was launched by seasoned media veterans John Bolton (CEO and publisher), Jamie Bogner (CCO and editorial director), and Stephen Koenig (cofounder) in 2014. All were excited to translate their passion for craft beer and homebrewing into the new magazine launch, and subsequent Brewing Industry Guide and online presence. Craft Beer & Brewing is a community for people who love to drink and make great beer. Every November and December, Craft Beer & Brewing
The lords have a’lept. The ladies have a’danced. The partridge has ditched the pear tree and has run away with one of the French hens. You spent months planning how to blend family, extended family, and friends into a lovely Christmas Eve experience. Peaks & Pints suggests pouring barrel-aged blends during your holiday blend. Barrel-aged beer, or beer aged in wine and spirits barrels, often develops unique, complex flavor profiles that are not found in beer stored in stainless steel. Though you might not think it, Peaks & Pints consider these barrels as ingredients. Now, take this already-unpredictable barrel aged
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.23.22 Peaks & Pints will stay open until midnight tonight, 9 p.m. Christmas Eve and we are closed Christmas Day. Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.23.22 has the goods for your holiday weekend. Happy Happy! Anchorage Brewing Hysteria: Hazy IPA brewed with Strata hops, fermented with thiol-boosting yeast, DDH with Strata hops and YCH 701 Citra H.O.E. for notes of strawberry, 6.4%, Anchorage Let’s Go: Hazy IPA brewed with El Dorado Incognito hops and Hazy Cali yeast then amped up the juice levels with a double dry hopping of Nelson Sauvin
Christmas is everyone’s favorite holiday, but true beer fans know that the most wonderful time of the year is made even more wonderful with a pint in your hand. Winter warmers and other dark, comforting brews take over around the holidays to help carolers and Christmas tree shoppers thaw out after a chilly night. These beers dance on the tongue, fill the belly and warm the soul. Many of the traditional winter warmers are malty, high-strength ales with a sweet and/or roasty character. Old ales, strong ales and barleywines fit right in. Some new holiday beers boast Christmas-inspired herbs, fruits
Despite its name, the barleywine is indeed a beer but at wine strength — ranging as low as 7-percent alcohol by volume in British versions and upward of 15 percent in American interpretations. The focus is traditionally on big malts, though American brewers tend to hop them up, which provides even more diversity and interesting flavors across the board. Barleywine is a huge beer, both in flavor and alcohol content. It’s the color of deep maple wood; it has a tiny head and not all that much carbonation. As a result, it sort of glides past the taste buds. Unlike
In 2008, Nick and Kristen Arzner opened Block 15 Brewing in the 1926 Gazette-Times newspaper building, just blocks away from Oregon State University and its prestigious Fermentation Science program. The Arzners took full advantage of Willamette Valley’s agricultural abundance, which, of course, includes hops. Block 15 built a reputation for first-rate IPAs and other hop-forward ales, rock-solid renditions of classic recipes from around the world and a dazzling variety of Belgian-style brews, including cask-conditioned specialties featuring wild yeasts and exotic flavors. Today, Peaks and Pints presents a to-go flight of Block 15 craft beer that we call Peaks and Pints
It’s going to be cold at Peaks & Pints today. Like, mythical cold. Polar vortex in your pint glass cold. Faces-numb, toes-frozen, ears-detaching-and-drifting-into-the-ether kind of cold. People will huddle in fleece cocoons and whisper, “I’ve never felt this cold,” even as the thermostat inside Peaks reads a cozy, cardigan-friendly 72 degrees. But this chill is not born of wind—it comes from enlightenment. From Cold Illumination, to be precise. Yes, Matchless Brewing and Kulshan Brewing—two beloved Washington brew-wizards—have embraced the frostbitten glory of the cold IPA, a newer style that straddles the line between lager precision and IPA swagger, like a
’Twas the fifth day before Christmas, and all through the city, everyone yearned for a cider and a Pesto Pastrami. The Monday French Dip Special were devoured, with nary a care, and boredom set in at every household lair. “Hey, it’s Monday,” they realized, “let’s head to Peaks & Pints! This is the glorious day that they serve cider flights!” Peaks & Pints Monday Cider Flight 12.19.22: Holiday Cider is a thing. Five ciders in a to-go flight, all could be called cider bling. As the 10 p.m. closing time neared, folks grabbed their French Dip order, arm full of
Peaks and Pints: A Barleywine Carol On a frozen, joyless December 22, Shaw Moore — a man carved entirely from thrift, vinegar, and aggressively unloved joy — sits hunched in his fire-suppression office like a gargoyle guarding a locked cash drawer. The air is dead. The lights are cruel. His poor clerk slowly dissolves into boredom because Moore, in his infinite miserly wisdom, has outlawed barleywine and Christmas music, two things invented specifically to keep winter from eating our souls. Enter Scruggs, the nephew, glowing with holiday optimism and a dangerous invitation: “A Barleywine Carol” at Peaks & Pints. Moore
For single-minded devotion to quality, purity and tradition, the Trappist monks of Belgium are hard to match, especially when it comes to ale. It doesn’t take much imagination to get carried away picturing them at their work. Seated at their rough-hewn tables, clothed in their coarse robes, they spend hours in the serenity of silent prayer and study. Then the word goes out: “It’s time to brew the beer, it’s time to brew the beer,” and like so many Keebler elves, off they go to perform their sacred chores. Unibroue founders André Dion and Serge Racine took beer brewing techniques
Essentially, Christmas beer isn’t a style; it’s a tradition. Unlike pilsners or bocks, which have specific criteria, Christmas beer has no confines. Unless, of course, you refer to the guidelines from the Beer Judge Certification Program, which states its aroma should be “reminiscent of Christmas cookies,” appearance of amber to dark brown, and must taste “rich and malty.” The guidelines also state “spices are required.” However, BJCP cites some brands as leading examples of Christmas beers that contain no spices. So now, how do we define Christmas beer? Simple — it’s a beer that was brewed as a gift. It
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.16.22 Some fresh delicious new arrivals in time for the weekend restock! Plenty of delicious draft options to enjoy while you’re here grabbing some cans and bottles. We’re here until midnight. Cheers! E9 Brewing Czech-A-Nut: Collaboration with Chuckanut Brewery, this Czech-style dark lager is brewed with Chuckanut co-founder Will Kemper’s favorite Patagonia Negro Perle Dark Malts, plus Weyermann Barke Pils and Bohemian Dark, then traditionally hopped it with Saaz, and triple step mashed it for an extremely quaffable lager with a round, full body and crisp elegant flavors from the specialty malts, 4.9%
Collaborations between breweries aren’t exactly new, but their results have become a much more common sight in Peaks and Pints’ cooler lately. Collaborations can give brewers a chance to exchange ideas with others and mix their individual house styles. The best collaborations often result in something unique that neither brewery would normally make on its own. Typically, whoever owns the collaboration brewing system and sells the beer sets the rules. Also, when professional brewers collaborate with other professional brewers, the conversations lean toward technical details. When professional brewers collaborate with civilians, the brewing room chatter tends to be more about
Nov. 15, 1980: 26-year-old Ken Grossman brewed his first commercial beer, four years after launching his home-brewing hobby. There were just 40 breweries of all makes in the country, with sales dominated by Coors, Miller, and Budweiser. From modest beginnings on a 10-barrel brew system, Grossman now owns and operates the largest independent brewery in America ― Sierra Nevada Brewing. Grossman’s second batch, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, boasted 36 IBUs, at least thrice as high as Bud Light. Peaks and Pints doesn’t know how many times we’ve heard someone say they tried a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on a whim
Ryan Diehl and Richard “Sid” Sidman opened Imprint Beer Company in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, in September of 2018. Located in Montgomery County just north of Philadelphia, Imprint immediately had to increase their brewhouse size due in part to their creative hazy IPA, luscious stouts, and mind melting Schmoojee fruited sour with lactose series. Imprint might be more of an acquired taste for some, but if you like your beer with a lot of fruit in it, man is this the brewery for you. Peaks & Pints thinks all we need to do is describe one of their beers, Schmoojee Orange Coconut
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.13.22 Tuesday is new Brews Day! Breakside Brewery Life Volume 1 – Barleywine Style Ale: A love letter to malt with grains from a different British maltster for each of the six volumes and Volume 1 features Simpsons Malt from Northumberland in Northern England, 9.5% E9 Brewing Armagideon Time: Collaboration with Full Throttle Bottles, this New Zealand West Coast IPA is brewed with Exp. NZ-103, Nectaron, Kohatu, and Simcoe for green dank pine, stone fruit, peach, nectarine, pineapple, and citrus, 6.5% Firestone Walker Brewing Wookey Jack Black Rye: It’s back with rye malt,
First made famous by Stone Brewing Company with the brewery’s release of Sublimely Self-Righteous IPA, the black IPA, or Cascadian dark ale, combines light flavors of roast and chocolate along with the forward hop aromas and flavors one would expect from a traditional IPA. As you might guess, Black IPA is a bit of a misnomer. After all, with the “P” in “IPA’ representing “pale,” how can a beer be black and pale at the same time? But whether you call this style a Black IPA, a Cascadian Dark Ale, or simply a hoppy dark beer, this style scales back
Brouwerij St Bernardus is famous for both their beers and their heritage. The brewery used to brew the famous Westvleteren beers before the monastery returned all production back to within the abbey’s walls. Their Abt 12 quad represents what Westvleteren 12 used to be before the abbey changed their yeast strain. Abt 12, one of the world’s most beloved and highly regarded beers takes the spotlight today, 12/ 12, with the return of St. Bernardus Abt 12 Day! Peaks & Pints will celebrate Abt 12 all day Monday with Abt 12 bottles in the cooler, plus Abt 12 on tap
The Proctor District is, once again, dressed up for the holidays. Through Christmas, the north Tacoma business district’s “Meet Me At Proctor’s Peppermint Place” offers light posts resembling candy canes, a lit Christmas tree, merchant holiday window wonderment, and holiday events. Enjoy hot or cold beverages at the restaurants, browse the shops, and pre- and post-func with peppermint craft beer at Peaks & Pints in … wait for it … the Proctor District. Stop by our craft beer, cider and wine lodge and grab our Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Peppermint Beer Flight. Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Peppermint Beer
Like Willamette Valley winemakers, Eugene brewers and cidermakers benefit from the Valley’s rich agricultural basin. The Pacific Northwest is a major producer of barley for malt, and Oregon’s Willamette Valley is one of the top domestic producers of hops. With growing conditions similar to Germany, the delicate hop flower has flourished there since the 1870s. Another esteemed ingredient praised by Eugene brewers is the clear, soft water of the McKenzie River. Mountain springs and melting snow from the Cascades feed the McKenzie River, recognized as the best in the nation. Peaks & Pints presents a to-go flight of two Eugene
Kyle and Mirandas Carbaugh founded their downtown Greeley, Colorado brewery Wiley Roots Brewing in 2013. Five years later, they expanded into a new production facility adjacent to their taproom, increasing their production space from 800 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet. Shortly after construction was complete, the brewery expanded its self-distribution efforts along the Denver-Metro and Colorado Springs regions by working with the delivery arm of WeldWerks Brewing Company. Since January 2020, Wiley Roots has slowly grown their distribution network, led by a portfolio of popular mixed-culture sour ales, East Coast IPAs, New England IPAs, imperial stouts, and
Peaks and Pints has been making lists — and checking them twice — and at the top of every list is pFriem Family Brewers. Tonight, the Hood River, Oregon, brewery will be at Peaks & Pints for a lodge meeting we’ve titled, “We’re pFrieming of a Craft Beer Christmas.” At 6 p.m., we’ll tap coveted pFriem craft beers such as Belgian Christmas Ale, Maple Barrel Aged Smoked Porter, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, and Winter Ale. Be sure to “holidize” your outfit tonight as Peaks and Pints will be decked out for the holidays, with pFriem gifts o’plenty
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.7.22 Wednesday is known for two things: Wednesday Addams on Netflix investigating a murder spree while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy and restocking the beer fridge. Hey, we don’t make the rules, we just report them. Peaks & Pints has a constant stream of new beer coming in all the time, and these are but of few of Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.7.22. Check it. … Abomination Brewing Ocean Monsters: Collaboration with Mast Landing Brewing, this hazy IPA is brewed with Golden Promise, red wheat,
Sierra Nevada to Torpedo Hunger with Feed253 Even though iconic California brewery Sierra Nevada spearheaded the craft movement with the launch of its still-relevant Pale Ale in 1980, and has grown substantially in style, the Chico-based brewery continues to give back with beer for benefits programs such as their Resilience IPA to support those affected by the most devastating wildfire in California’s history, Camp Fire, and Dankful, a resinous West Coast IPA that supports nonprofits standing up for social equality, economic well-being, and environmental protection. In Tacoma, Sierra Nevada Sales Executive R.J. Adler has received the blessing from Chico to
In 1980, Lou Menefee along with his son, Scott, began selling Christmas trees in the empty lot next to their house. Lou would drive out to Shelton, cut down trees, and load as many trees into his 1972 Datsun Pickup as he could. Then, he would drive back to his home on 72nd and Tacoma Avenue and lean the trees against the fences next door. Lou retired in 2012; Scott, his brother Jeff, and the kids run several lots today making everyone’s holidays bright, including Peaks & Pints. We’ve been a Menefee’s Christmas Trees house for the last four year
Peaks & Pints Prefunk: Ice Lights and Cider 12.5.22 Stop by Peaks & Pints for a three-can flight of marionberry ciders before or after Ice Lights at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway in what we call Peaks & Pints Prefunk: Ice Lights and Cider 12.5.22 Daily through Dec. 31, Sprinker’s ice rink has been transformed into a winter wonderland for the holiday season with ice skating under a snowy-filled sky (indoors) with cascading lights on ice, more than 35,000 lights, ice bumper cars, a 20-foot choreographed holiday tree in the center of the rink, animated displays, holiday photo ops, holiday
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.4.22 Not quite the “Shakespeare on the Ranch,” Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” is a modern-day Western with familial melodrama and power struggles — think “Sons of Anarchy,” but with trucks instead of motorcycles. A new episode airs tonight. You’ll need beer. Stop by Peaks & Pints and grab these new arrivals to our cooler then take a sip every time Rip Wheeler tries to teach someone a lesson; it doesn’t have to be a good lesson, but Rip is usually trying to teach someone something. Eel River Brewing Midnight Rider: Bold and bright West
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.2.22 Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 12.2.22 has delicious new liquid fuel to help you power through the weekend. … Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale: The 48th annual Christmas Ale showcases notes of orange, honeysuckle, toasted malts, and eucalyptus. Well-structured with botanicals and pleasantly herbaceous hops, this rye-forward brew finishes with a touch of spice like the warming bitter-sweet notes of Amaro, an Italian herbal liqueur often enjoyed as an after-dinner digestif, 7.2% Bale Breaker Brewing Clarity Rarity #10: Hazy IPA Featuring hop aromas of mango, pineapple, peach, grapefruit, and bubblegum with
6-Pack of Things To Do: December 2-4 2022 It’s beginning to look a lot like 6-Pack of Things To Do. … HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER: After a two-year hiatus, Mary Bridge Children’s Festival of Trees is back live, this time at the Tacoma Armory under the guise of Tacoma Arts Live. Mary Bridge Children’s Festival of Trees is the South Sound’s happiest holiday celebration supporting Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. You’re invited to walk among the glamorously decorated holiday trees that are created to raise funds for Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Health Network. 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Friday, Dec. 2 and
In 2009, Neil Fisher began home brewing with friends in his garage. Fisher’s driveway held a lot of friends’ cars during those homebrewing days, and they all drank a lot of those homebrewed beers. Then Fisher threw down the gauntlet. He announced to his buds that if he medaled at the homebrew competition attached to the 2014 Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival, which was held at the time in Vail, Colorado, then he would consider opening a brewery. He won two medals. Eleven months later he poured his first beer at his WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley, Colorado. His hefeweizen
First things first… SNOW. Snow prompts Peaks & Pints to think that the All Mighty, while he may not shoot craps with the universe as Albert Einstein said, at least has a sense of humor. She makes existence uncertain by conjuring up sea-level snow every now and then, but at no apparently regular interval, and throws in a few earthquakes, ice storms, floods and the like now and then just to let us know who is boss. Now what? Well, the original downhill pioneers damn near strapped entire tree trunks to their feet, doggedly steering them like great monoliths. Those
You’re headed to the mountains. A strong occluded front passed through last night bringing heavy snow and strong winds to the Cascade Mountains. Currently two ski areas (20%) out of 10 ski resorts reporting are open for skiing and snowboarding — Mount Baker with 66 percent of trails open and Crystal Mountain with 36 percent open and 18 inches of new snow. (Stevens Pass and White resorts are scheduled to open Friday, Dec. 2.) You’re going to be exhausted after a full day of early season swooshing. You’re going to be numb by subfreezing temperatures and high prices. You’re going
6-Pack of Things To Do: Nov. 29-Dec. 1 2022 Stop, take a deep breath, and put down the candy cane you’ve just sharpened into a vampire-slaying stake. You are not alone. There is help. There is 6-Pack of Things To Do. … HOPPY HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE: The Hoppy Holiday Food Drive brings together 14 Pierce County breweries and cideries for a friendly competition to collect non-perishable food and hygiene items for Emergency Food Network, or EFN. Peaks & Pints is, once again, honored to host the Douville Home Group’s Hoppy Holiday Food Drive Celebration Party at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.
Ah, the holidays—when the beer is darker, the cider is spicier, and the collective generosity of the craft brewing world swells like a barrel-aged heart three sizes too big. All year long, breweries and cideries pour love into their communities, but something magical happens when twinkle lights go up and flannel gets thick: they band together. So when the fine folks at Douville Home Group called on 14 righteous breweries and cideries for this year’s Hoppy Holiday Food Drive, every last one said “hell yes” faster than you can say 253 with pride—especially once they heard that the Emergency Food
Peaks and Pints Prefunk: The Monday Mic Cider Flight 11.28.22 Stop by Peaks & Pints for a three-can flight of humorously named ciders before or after The Monday Mic at Tacoma Comedy Club tonight. Standup comedy hasn’t evolved much since the glory days of ventriloquist and puppet. Every so often, there’s a Gallagher smashing watermelons or a musical funnyman like Jack Black, but for the most part, comedy is a person on a stage with a microphone, plodding through a joke-punchline-new-joke routine. Think you can do better? After all, you’re funny. You need to change the course of comedy forever.
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.26.22 Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.26.22 has your back for all those holiday festivities! 450 North Brewing Slushy XXL Yacht Squatch: Pastry sour conditioned on granola, raspberry, sweet cherry, vanilla cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, blackberry cherry, and almonds, ABV NA Abomination Brewing Under the Cover of Night: Collaboration with Barrel Souls, this barleywine style ale is brewed with a monstrous amount of pie crust, pecans, and vanilla beans, 12.5% Brothers Cascadia Brewing Middle Earth: Hazy IPA brewed with New Zealand hops for lush notes of tropical fruit and citrus with
It’s that time again. You know what we’re talking about. Don’t try to play coy. It’s the time when 30 degrees meets the sting of a $90 ticket, and together they form something more tasty than a new Pierce County Airport — that’s right, it’s the 2022 Apple Cup. Washington State University ended a seven-game skid in the Apple Cup last season and looks to upend the season of No. 13 Washington when the fierce rivals meet in Pac-12 play tonight at Pullman. The Huskies (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12) still have an outside chance of reaching the conference title game but
6-Pack of Things To Do: November 25-27 2022 Skip the giant fluorescent-lit hellpits of heavily discounted spatulas and make your way to Peaks & Pints for a special 10 a.m. opening on Black Friday for the Goose Island goods as part of this weekend’s 6-Pack of Things To Do in the greater Tacoma area. BLACK FRIDAY: Maybe you’ll be done buying discount TVs before 6 a.m. or maybe you’ve just got better things to do Friday than join the masses at the mall. Whatever the case, Peaks & Pints will open an hour early for special beer tappings and bottles
Goose Island Brewing Company first brewed their bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout in 1992 to commemorate the 1,000th batch of beer made at the company’s Clybourn brewpub. Ever since, Bourbon County Stout has grown into a highly anticipated annual release, dropping on Black Friday. When Goose Island concocted its first Bourbon County Brand Stout, the practice of barrel aging beer took an intoxicating turn. After three months inside used bourbon distillery barrels, the brew had a complex oak character from the wood and rich flavors from lingering whiskey — characteristics that made the Bourbon County Brand Stout an instant hit. Here
In the Georgian-era, stout simply meant “strong.” Stouts were more potent versions of porter. Made with an extra helping of dark grains for added booze and body, stout quickly caught on, most famously in Ireland and Russia where the style received an extra punch for the journey. Today, those so-called imperial stouts reign stateside. Imperial stouts spell comfort, warming us on a cold, windy day. Before even taking our first sip, we can smell the roasted malt. Depending on the variety, we may get a touch of chocolate, maybe even vanilla or bourbon. The first sip steals our soul. It’s
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.22.22 Just in time for Thanksgiving, Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.22.22 has you. … Breakside Brewery Wanderjack IPA: Collaboration with Barley Brown’s, this West Coast IPA brewed with Strata, Mosaic, and Azacca, along with a touch of Simcoe to anchor the beer in classic dank and catty flavor, 7.1% Great Divide Brewing Horchata Yeti: Imperial stout loaded with traditional horchata spices, 9.5%= Iron Horse Brewery Mexican Cocoa Death: A dark smooth ale with chocolate, 7.5% Old Schoolhouse Brewery Early Winters: Collaboration with Yakima Chief Hops, this winter hazy IPA is
What makes a dark beer dark? Alchemy, obviously. That and the ancient, malted sorcery of fire-kissed grains—the kind that have been roasted into oblivion until they shimmer with hues of burnt sugar, charred toast, espresso, and midnight oil. While every beer owes its soul to malt, dark beers take it further, diving deep into the obsidian abyss where chocolate, caramel, and smoky dreamstuff live. It’s here, in this malty underworld, that black lagers (schwarzbiers), mysterious porters, and hulking stouts emerge like caffeinated deities of the taster glass. And let’s be honest: the line between stout and porter is thinner than
Tacoma’s Proctor District projection of a Darkwave taking control of Peaks & Pints craft beer and cider lodge, bottle shop and restaurant during Thanksgiving week came true. Starting at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21 and running through 11 p.m. Black Friday, Friday, Nov. 25, some of the elusive elixirs that will course their way through Peaks & Pints draft lines include Great Notion Double Stack, Pohjala Cocobanger, Goose Island Bourbon County 2021 and 2022, AleSmith Minister of State, AleSmith Vietnamese Speedway Stout, Firestone Walker Orange Bitter Parabola, and many others. In celebration, Peaks & Pints pulled some barrel-aged dark beers
Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.20.22 Grab Peaks and Pints New Beer in Stock 11.20.22 and be Thankful later … Block 15 Brewing Hoppy Holidays: Imperial IPA brewed with a sleigh-full of resinous and citrus-forward hops for seasonal flavors of pine and orange zest with a generous, warming malt backbone, 9% Block 15 People Doing Things: Collaboration with Burke-Gilman Brewing, this hazy IPA is brewed with HBC-586 for a dank and juicy fruit medley, 7% Great Notion Brewing Magnetic West: Year-round West Coast IPA brewed with Centennial, Simcoe, and Cascade hops for a classic pine and citrus profile,
