Peaks & Pints bartenders Shayne and Nicole discuss the high noise level during the Gigantic Ginormous vs. Little Beast Dear Giant game. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 9 NICOLE: Welcome to Day Six of Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs. I’m Peaks bartender Nicole, and four years ago we challenged 64 Washington state IPAs to enter tournament-style brewing combat, hop versus hop, with Rainy Daze Goat Boater crown best IPA. The next year, porters took center-stage in our quest for brewing badassery, with Wingman Brewers’ P-51 Porter reigning
Remember being hit with the heady aroma of summer at its peak — rows of crimson nectarines and deep-purple plums bursting through the South Sound farmers’ markets with vibrant urgency? Spilling onto our foodscape, golden peaches and tender apricots reigned over the region’s summer menus, adding texture to whisper-thin flatbreads and savory chutneys. That’s the power and grace of stone fruits — nectarines, cherries, mangoes, apricots, peaches and plums. These fruits contain large hard seeds, or stones. Craft beer made with stone fruits is particularly popular with brewers both traditional and innovative, and sipping on a stone fruit brew is
6-Pack of Things To Do: April 7 2021 First, everyone needs to check off a couple items. Number one: Check out yesterday’s Tournament of Beer winners here. Number two: Vote on the eight Northwest double IPAs battling it out today — also here. Number three: Check out today’s 6-Pack of Things To Do. Cheers! TOUR: Take a virtual guided tour along Downtown Tacoma’s historic waterfront and learn about locations and individuals that have had a significant impact in our city. Led by Patty Peterson, director of the Tacoma Waterfront Association, the 1.6-mile walk, will be available on the free GeoTourist
We’ve been having a dry April so far here in the South Sound, and by the power of optimism, it can only go up from here! But before you break out the beachwear, it looks like afternoon rain today. Spring showers brings spring beer, or something. That’s probably not the popular adage, but in works at Peaks & Pints. After all, climate change has made wacky weather even more pronounced, so breweries find it difficult to create the right beer for the season, since the “season” in April can mean refreshing lagers on the patio one day (yesterday) and thick,
6-Pack of Things To Do: Tuesday April 6 2021 Side effects of today’s 6-Pack of Things To Do: Random bouts of deep sighing/relief coupled to spurts of awkward elation feeding into an urge to hug teachers and botanists and animators and karaoke hosts. Also, brewers. TOURNAMENT OF BEER: What constitutes a great double IPA? Who brews the best in the Pacific Northwest? Everyone seems to have his or her own favorite, and everyone’s an expert. Throughout the month of February Peaks & Pints polled the public asking what are the top 64 double IPAs brewed in Washington and Oregon. You
Today, April 6, is the day we all celebrate New Beers Eve. This is a real thing. New Beer’s Eve was the night before the first alcoholic beer became legally available after 13 years of prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, no alcoholic beverages were legal in the United States. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had barely been president for a month when he and a new anti-prohibition majority in Congress known as “The Wets” brought back beer. The Cullen-Harrison Act increased allowable alcohol in beer from 0.5% to 3.2%. Prohibition would be completely reversed later that year with ratification of the 21st
Peaks & Pints bartenders amber Hamilton, left, and Bethany Carlsen discuss today’s Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 6 AMBER HAMILTON: What constitutes a great double IPA? Who brews the best in the Pacific Northwest? Everyone seems to have his or her own favorite, and everyone’s an expert. Throughout the month of February Peaks & Pints polled the public asking what are the top 64 double IPAs brewed in Washington and Oregon? You chimed in. Friday, April 2, we launched the Tournament of Beer: NW
Peaks & Pints bartenders Amy Kirk, left, and Bethany Carlsen are calling today’s Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs action. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 5 AMY KIRK: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the 2021 Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs from the historic Proctor District in beautiful Tacoma, Washington. I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Amy Kirk and whaddaya know? It’s April 5 and dagnabit if all that “Madness” isn’t still in the air! What’s one to do with all that pent up madness? It can make
Monday Cider Flight And A Movie: 2021 Oscar Shorts The Best Documentary Short Film Oscar nominees are often among the standouts of the Academy Awards selections. Taken as a collection, this year’s nominees explore the intersection of identity and memory, with its subjects wrestling with the now through the lens of the then in search of a better tomorrow. The stories they platform are important, and several shorts are sure to be conversation-starters within the communities they impact. The Grand Cinema streams the 2021 Oscar Shorts – Documentary nominee package in their Virtual Screening Room. Stop by Peaks and Pints
Peaks and Pints: Hair of the Dog Green Dot and Oyster Dome Hair of the Dog Brewing Green Dot was nominated as a seventh seed in the Northern Oregon Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which runs now through April 24, 2021. Green Dot faces off with StormBreaker’s Triple Double April 12. In the meantime, Peaks & Pints grabbed the Green Dot and climbed Oyster Dome on National Oysters On The Half Shell Day. Hops: Hair of the Dog Green Dot People have been making pilgrimages to Portland, Oregon for Alan Sprints’ beer since
Instagram Outsider: Ballpark Beer, Easter Beer, Beer Promotions From beer at the ballparks to beer in Easter baskets, from Pink Boots to promotions, 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 for your chance to be featured on Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider. And, please, wash your damn hands; wear your damn mask. Until we meet back here again next week, enjoy Instagram Outsider: Ballpark Beer, Easter Beer, Beer Promotions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Craft Beer•Cocktails•Wine
We’re grown up now, so Easter is no longer about hunting for eggs — unless they’re perfectly scrambled, done over easy, or sitting elegantly atop the two halves of an English muffin. Yes, Easter has usurped the giant chocolate bunnies, Easter baskets, and that impossible-to-vacuum-up plastic grass. Cadbury Eggs? We know some people love these things, but people love fried pork rinds, too. Let’s face it — no one really likes Peeps. Their sole purpose for existing is to entertain us by having duels in the microwave, complete with toothpick swords. Easter, at least to Peaks and Pints, is about
Peaks and Pints New Beers in Stock 4.3.21 Peaks and Pints New Beers in Stock 4.3.21 offers more options for Final Four and Easter companions. … Laurelwood Megafauna Imperial IPA: Nominated into the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, this scarce, 140 IBU, old school double IPA offers layers of pine, citrus and tropical fruit, 9.5% Monkless Belgian Ales Capitulation: Monkless dry hopped their Belgian tripel The Trinity to add a blast of flowery, citrusy hop aroma, 8.1 Monkless The Trinity: Belgian-style tripel with husky grainy malt, clove, lemon, mild light stone fruit with a medium body,
Peaks and Pints bartenders Justin Johnson, left, and Shayne Aragon discuss the Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs opening day results. Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 3 JUSTIN JOHNSON: Yo, yo, yo! Welcome to Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 3 from the historic Proctor District in beautiful Tacoma, Washington. I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Justin Johnson. With me is Peaks’ bartender Shayne Aragon. SHAYNE ARAGON: Whad up everybody! JOHNSON: Sixty-four Washington and Oregon double IPAs were picked by the public for the Tournament of Beer, which
Logsdon Farmhouse Ales was started by Full Sail founding brewer and yeast master Dave Logsdon who has a special affinity for traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ales. When he launched the Hood River, Oregon brewery, he planted an orchard on the property with Belgium-imported Schaerbeekse trees. These trees grow the sour cherries necessary to craft authentic kriek beers. Dave Logsdon has since retired from full-time day-to-day operations, with John Plutshack and his wife Jodie Ayura managing brewery operations with Head Brewer Shilpi Halemane and Assistant Brewer Mark Pearson running the beer side. Logsdon has more big changes on the horizon, including collaboration
Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 4.2.21 Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 4.2.21 has new cans for your weekend! Matchless Brewing Australia Vs Hazy IPA: Brewed with Australian grown hops Galaxy, Vic Secret, and Topaz on a base of Pilsner, pale wheat, and Carafoam malts with flaked wheat for a medium bodied IPA with notes of pineapple, honeydew, and cantaloupe melons with a hint of strawberry, 6.8% Matchless New Zealand Vs Hazy IPA: Brewed with the exact same malt bill and recipe as Australia Vs but featuring New Zealand grown hops Nelson Sauvin, Waimea, and Rakau for notes of fresh lime citrus zest,
6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday April 2 2021 The 6-Pack of Things To Do is back after getting lost in the woods for a few days. We’re refreshed and ready for three weeks of Tournament of Beer action! Let’s get ready to see double! TOURNAMENT OF BEER: Over the next three weeks, Peaks and Pints pits 64 of Pacific Northwest’s best in a head-to-head battle of double IPAs. This is a tournament, folks, not a playoff. Each match is do or die — one misstep and you’re out of the dance. Added too much Caramel malt, missed your clean
Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs April 2 ERIN MILLER: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2021 Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs from the historic Proctor District in beautiful Tacoma, Washington. I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Erin Miller and I’m thrilled we’re hosting another Tournament of Beer. Now in its fifth year, this year’s Peaks & Pints bracketed beer competition pits 64 Washington and Oregon double IPAs against one another in frothy head-to-head matchups voted on by craft beer enthusiasts. Joining me is another OG Peaks bartender, Nicole Allen. NICOLE
In the early ’90s, Dusty Trail converted the historic Engine House No. 9 bar into a brewpub at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street, officially becoming the first microbrewery in Tacoma. Dick Dickens grabbed the Engine House reins in 2002, bringing in head brewer Doug Tiede. Heads turned and medals were hung. In 2011, The X Group added the Engine House to their local restaurant empire, with Shane Johns and Donovan Stewart running the kettles and hanging even more medals, mostly for their sours and saisons. Two years ago, they separated the brewery from the restaurant and opened
Peaks and Pints New Beers in Stock 4.1.21 Peaks and Pints New Beers in Stock 4.1.21 has treasures for your Opening Day Baseball, March Madness, and Easter weekend. Cheers! Black Raven Brewing Tropical Trickster: Brewed with slightly less bitterness to let the tropical flavors of pineapple and mango juice stay bright and sunny, 6.9% Breakside Brewery Macchiato Stout: Coffee milk stout collaboration with Beachwood Brewing with notes of caramel macchiato, bittersweet chocolate, and molasses, 7.9% Chuckanut Brewery Doppelbock: Rich malty lager aged more than 9 weeks and usually up to 3 months for notes of chocolate, toffee, and dried stone
Since Greg Koch and Steve Wagner founded it in 1996, Stone Brewing Co. has been producing an ever-expanding line up of well-crafted and often in-your-face beers and interesting collaborations. Stone’s gargoyle mascot watches over each of these beers, attempting to draw in their ideal consumer and to scare off the Keystone-swilling undergrad that stumbled into the display. Don’t let them intimidate you. Known for their bold, flavorful and largely hop-centric beers, Stone has earned a reputation for brewing outstanding, unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to sustainability, business ethics, philanthropy and the art of brewing. The Brewers Association just
Peaks and Pints: GoodLife Comatose and Artists Point Trail GoodLife Brewing Comatose Imperial IPA was nominated as a fourth seed in the Southern Oregon Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: GoodLife Comatose and Artists Point Trail pairing … while wearing showshoes. Hops: GoodLife Comatose Imperial IPA Incorporated in 2009 as Noble Brewing Co., Brewmaster Curt Plants, Ty Barnett and Pratt Rather signed a lease in 2010 for the space it now
Before Coca-Cola found its way down the gullets and onto the palates of Americans in 1886, hard apple cider, another effervescent drink, had been one of the most popular drinks on the East Coast. In fact, hard cider had been the preferred alcoholic beverage, even touted by our founding fathers. In 1895, on the west Coast, between Salem and Portland, Bauman Farms was first homesteaded by Elizabeth Bauman and her teenage sons, Stephen and Leo. Stephen eventually married at the cider apples on their Gervais, Oregon, farm, with the barrels in their barn fermenting the goods into hard cider. When
Instagram Outsider: National Puppy Day, Boulder Strong, Foaming Porters From all the puppies to mountain shots, from snowboarding ironing to foamy porters, 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 for your chance to be featured on Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider. And, please, wash your damn hands; wear your damn mask. Until we meet back here again next week, enjoy Instagram Outsider: National Puppy Day, Boulder Strong, Foaming Porters. (Photo of Kimberly Johnson of Final Draft Taphouse courtesy of Mateo Ellis)
Peaks and Pints: Sig Terraformation and Point Defiance Park Sig Brewing Terraformation IPA series was nominated as a 14th seed in the Southern Washington Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. The tournament bracket will be released soon. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: Sig Terraformation and Point Defiance Park pairing. Hops: Sig Terraformation Sig Brewing just released their fourth Terraformation 1.5x hazy IPA, V4 Ur, featuring a triple dry hop of Altus cryo, Comet cryo, and Strata
By time Peaks and Pints opens today at 11 a.m., your NCAA Men’s Basketball bracket will likely be in the garbage. These are the facts of March Madness. Therefore, you should focus on something eminently achievable: drinking beer. The good news is Gonzaga will face off against Creighton in the Sweet 16 this morning. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will play in their sixth-straight Sweet 16. This is Creighton’s first Sweet 16 appearance since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. William Hill Sportsbook lists the Bulldogs 13.5-point favorites, but stranger things have happened. It’s not called March Madness for
6-Pack of Things To Do: Saturday March 27 2021 The Proctor Farmers Market is full on beginning today. Plus cabbage pudding! Here’s your Saturday 6-Pack of Things To Do! MARKET DAY: Spring is here, and warmer weather is on the way, which means it’s time for the Proctor Farmers Market to sweep the street every Saturday morning. The market will reopen every Saturday through Dec. 18 at its 27th Street and Proctor location next to Connect the Brick LEGO store. The Proctor Farmers Market provides locally grown produce, pasture raised meats, wild caught seafood, cheeses, eggs, fruit, flowers, plants, and
There was a time when beer was just called beer? You would order a light beer or a dark beer? Maybe ask for a sweet beer or a bitter beer. Although, during Oktoberfest, you’d order a clear, golden lager. And, before a Seahawks game, you tried something red and acidic at FX McRory’s across from the Kingdome. What the hell was that? Nice work Charles Finkel! Then, in 1977, a man named Michael Jackson (two gloves, not just one) wrote a book called The World Guide to Beer. Combining the work of earlier authors with his own experiences, Jackson pretty
6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday March 26 2021 Join Peaks & Pints as we vault headlong like a boss into the 6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday March 26 2021. Cheers! ART: Tacoma Arts Live alerts us to Imagine Van Gogh the Original Immersive Exhibition in Image Totake© featuring more than 200 of the Dutch artist’s paintings, which is making its debut in the Pacific Northwest this winter at the historic Tacoma Armory. Annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron, renowned for their work at Cathédrale d’Images in Les Baux-de-Provence, France, are the artistic directors behind the creation of this unique exhibit that brings
If you created a Venn diagram representing today’s Peaks & Pints to-go beer flight, you’d have “Beer” in the first circle, “Milkshake” in the second circle, “Lassi” in the third circle, “Smoothie” in the fourth circle, and Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Soda Fountain On The Fly in the center circle. Over the last 40 years, brewers have experimented with an array of flavors, processes and ingredients. They’ve turned classic styles into comfort foods such as pastry stouts or beer slushies. A growing trend in craft beer is the beer milkshake/smoothie/lassi. These beers are often with so much fruit puree
Peaks and Pints: Level Mostly Karate Chops and Bells Mountain Level Beer Mostly Karate Chops was nominated as a 15th seed in the Northern Oregon Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. The tournament bracket will be released soon. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: Level Mostly Karate Chops and Bells Mountain Trail pairing. Hops: Level Mostly Karate Chops In search of a spacious property to commission some brews of his own, Geoff Phillips, owner of the recently
Imagine Nation Brewing beer now in Tacoma. Imagine Nation at Peaks and Pints For two decades, Robert Rivers and his wife Fernanda Menna Barreto Krum worked in conflict zones around the world to promote peace and healing within communities affected by violence. They learned social change is generated more effectively when a constructive entity or group exists — in this case a brewery — where individuals feel a sense of belonging while they receive support for building and implementing skills that can better the communities in which they live. They opened Imagine Nation Brewing Co. in
6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday, March 24 2021 As we move into spring, it’s a time of new beginnings (especially as pandemic restrictions loosen). But it’s also a time to look back and celebrate past accomplishments while considering future changes. Today you can ponder everything from local women entrepreneurs battling the pandemic to UPA students pivoting with their violins, from arts expressing themselves during COVID to PLU’s men’s soccer team winning an unofficial title, while also being entertained by comedians and a quintet of comfort beers. Welcome to 6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday, March 24 2021. CONVERSATION: The
Peaks & Pints ponders changing the name of our upcoming Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs to Tournament of Beer: NW Double Trouble. As you may remember, we held last year’s Tournament of Beer: West Coast Flagships during a very COVID April 2020. The shutdown was announced on the last day of Pappi Swarner’s pre-Tournament research tour along the West Coast with his last photo snapped at an empty Iron Horse Brewery, the day before the shutdown. This year, we skipped the pre-Tournament brewery visits for obvious reasons. Instead, we’re pairing the 64 nominated Northwest double IPAs with trails located
Peaks and Pints: Trap Door Juiced Up and Moulton Falls Trail Trap Door Brewing Juiced Up was nominated as a fourth seed in the Southern Washington Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. The tournament bracket will be released soon. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: Trap Door Juiced Up and Moulton Falls Trail pairing. Hops: Trap Door Juiced Up Trap Door’s Juiced Up hazy double IPA is double dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Strata, the
Peaks and Pints: Silver City Ripe ’N Juicy and Rock Candy Mountain Silver City Brewery Ripe N Juicy was nominated as a seventh seed in the Southern Washington Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. The tournament bracket will be released soon. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: Silver City Ripe ’N Juicy and Rock Candy Mountain Trail pairing. Hops: Silver City Ripe ’N Juicy The Double IPA is an American invention that takes hoppiness to a much
Joel Gregory, homebrewer and electrical engineer, opened Ex Novo Brewing in July 2014 with the mission to contribute all — yes, all — of its profits (that don’t get redirected to infrastructure improvements, which is not code for lining any pockets) to its four primary nonprofit partners: Friends of the Children, IJM, Impact NW and MercyCorps. These are organizations that work mainly to build stronger communities for the poor by reducing violence, providing support, and, in the case of Friends of the Children, by working with kids to break the cycles that keep communities in poverty and violence. Gregory initially
Remember when you knew how to relax? It was probably before you had an iPhone, before you had kids, before you had a job that demanded 70 hours a week — plus weekends. Relaxation, we’re afraid, is a dying art. That’s why we offer a flight of four tropical chill ciders today. So, pawn the kids off on Grandma, put your phone down, and get ready to swallow one seriously giant chill pill. Step one: Deep breath, South Sound. Step two: Grab today’s Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: Tropical Chill Pill of tropical-themed ciders intended to give you a
Peaks and Pints: Mirage Babylon Pit and Pratt Lake Trail Mirage Beer Babylon Pit was nominated as a 15th seed in the Southern Washington Region of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: NW Double IPAs, which will begin April 2, 2021. The tournament bracket will be released soon. Since we’re not touring breweries to preview the tournament this year, we enjoyed the Peaks and Pints: Mirage Babylon Pit and Pratt Lake Trail pairing. Hops: Mirage Babylon Pit Mirage’s Babylon Pit is so cloudy, it’s damn near meteorological. The delicious double IPA is brewed with Michigan-grown Chinook in the boil