Cold snaps in the weather make for fine opportunities to sip bold winter beers, bursting with spices, roasted malts and complex flavors. There’s a great scene in the 2007 documentary American Brew where late British author Michael Jackson (a.k.a. the Beer Hunter) describes a perfect scenario for sipping a dark ale. He’s in a pub, holding a full pint of heavy ale. “This would be even better on a cold night,” he says, “just as the rain is hammering against your window panes, and you’re in a nice, comfortable leather chair, and your wife’s gone to bed, and you’ve a
Peaks and Pints presents a flight of IPAs today — Craft Beer Crosscut 12.27.17: A Flight of IPAs. Why IPAs in late December? First, the majority of the world’s hops are harvested in late summer, starting at the tail end of August and stretching into September. After harvesting, most hops are kilned and pelletized, a process that can last until the cold-weather months. Brewing a beer when the hops are at their freshest, for the brightest possible hop character, happens to land at the beginning of winter. Second, you can sink into and explore big, diverse hop flavor like you
TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, DEC. 26 2017: Kristen Marlo Birthday Beer and the Harlem Globetrotters PREFUNK: Maybe Kristen Marlo moved you with her sweet lyrics and skillful crescendos. Maybe she called your 86-year-old grandmother “bro.” Maybe she served you the craft beer of your dreams while bonding over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Maybe she belted out “rude” after you questioned the message on her T-shirt. Whatever your experience with our Peaks and Pints bartender may be you know you love her and can’t miss her birthday party at 6 p.m. tonight in Peaks and Pints’ East Wing room. Rainy Daze
Today is Dec. 26 — what Brits call Boxing Day. Sure, after Christmas you might want to strap on gloves and settle those unresolved familial scores, but Boxing Day isn’t about pugilism. And it has nothing to do with boxing up decorations or gifts you wish you didn’t get. Instead, the national holiday harks back to a bygone era like powdered wigs and pagers. Back in the days of the Empire, British citizens were split into hierarchies divided by arbitrary lines such as accent and lineage. Think Downton Abbey, in which the bottom floor of a huge house split two
TACOMA PREFUNK CHRISTMAS EVE 2017: 7 Seas Russian Imperial Stout and The Grinch 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 for Christmas Eve, but do you have any plans? Peaks and Pints has a few ideas. PREFUNK: When Jack Frost’s nipping at your nose, you have a couple of options: A) nose-warmer or B) craft beer. The nose-warmer is a bad look for most, so enjoy a pint or two at Peaks and Pints today. Yes, Virginia, Peaks
TACOMA PREFUNK SATURDAY, DEC. 23 2017: Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA and the Darkest Hour PREFUNK: Sierra Nevada brewers have unleashed the beer they drink straight from the tanks. Hazy Little Thing IPA (6.7%) is an unfiltered, unprocessed IPA, straight from the tanks, into the can and on the shelf in Peaks and Pints’ cooler. The flavor is somewhat juicy, but doesn’t quite reach dank. The hops are soft and luxurious, like a cask ale. There’s some slightly roasty caramel; the hops seem mostly earthy and citrus. 2, 3:45, 6:30 and 9:15 P.M. DARKEST HOUR: Winston Churchill wasn’t Britain’s
MORNING FOAM FOR SATURDAY, DEC. 23 2017: A seven-taster flight of craft beer news, from the fluffy head all the way to the money shot. … The Washington Beer Commission has announced a new hashtag instagram campaign for #Happynewbeer joining last year’s promo tag #drinkWAbeer. There will be a contest for the top three photos posted with these hashtags that share their adventures with Washington beer on Instagram and stating: “Why I celebrate the holidays with Washington Beer… ”. On Jan. 7, the WBC will pick three finalists; the organization’s Instagram followers will pick the winner. The winner receives a
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
Tonight, Peaks and Pints presents A Barleywine Carol, inspired by the classic Charles Dickens holiday tale A Christmas Carol, the festivities held at Mr. Fezziwig’s and Bob Cratchet’s, and a glass of Christmas cheer for the holidays. In addition to live bluegrass by the Barleywine Revue, Peaks and Pints will tap five barleywines. 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 upwards of 15 percent in American interpretations. Despite its name, barleywines aren’t made with tons of specialty grains, as one might assume.
Ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and mint. Five glorious-smelling spices that instantly conjure up Christmas, and are used in everything from scented candles to mulled wine. Many of these spices first made their way to Britain in medieval England, when soldiers returning from the Crusades loaded up their bags with exotic and fragrant foodstuffs. Venetian merchants, who had an ideal location midway between the Levant and Western Europe, became the orchestrators of the spice trade, sending boatloads of the edible treasure to the West. At Christmas time a complex bouquet of warm, caressing scents lingers in the air. Whether mulled wine
TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, DEC. 19 2017: Ecliptic Fourth Orbit Anniversary Imperial Mango IPA and The Nutcracker PREFUNK: John Harris’ background is one steeped in Oregon’s rich craft brewing history. After beginning as a brewer at McMenamins’ breweries, he moved to Deschutes where he created the recipes for Mirror Pond, Black Butte Porter, Jubelale and Obsidian Stout. He spent the next 20 years of his career as a brewmaster at Full Sail in charge of creating the Brewmaster Reserve line of beers. In 2013, Harris founded Ecliptic Brewing purchasing the brewhouse from friend and Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione. Harris’ love
There are more than 5,300 breweries operating in the US. It’s bad enough trying to come up with a catchy beer name to make your product stand out but with that many breweries in America, you also have to think long and hard about what to name your ale factory. You could go with the tried and true method and just name your brewery after local geography (Russian River, Puyallup River, Fox Island). Or you could name the brewery after yourself (Hale’s, McMenamins). But those names don’t always “pop.” Many brewers don’t pick beer names. They sculpt them. They don’t
In 1993, Adam Avery launches his Avery Brewing Company in a garage off an alley in Boulder, making him one of the pioneers of Colorado’s craft beer scene. At first, consumers were apprehensive when it came to the new tastes Avery introduced to the market place. In 1996, Avery was among the first breweries in Colorado to offer an IPA. Many of the deliveries were returned because the beer tasted too bitter. Pushing the limits in the brewhouse, they began experimenting with barrel aging in 2003 and barrel-aged fanatics throughout the nation seek the results out. Many of the big
If it were socially acceptable to drink beer in the morning, one with Amarillo hops would be the perfect way to start the day — combined with a balanced breakfast (of course). Amarillo provides a super-citrusy aroma verging on oranges, lively grapefruit flavor (with some pine) and a medium-high bitterness, that is sure to wake the taste buds. The hop may seem as though they might be grown in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrennes but in fact come from Washington’s Virgil Gamache Farms. And while most strains can be propagated independently through the purchase of rhizomes, Amarillo is not
TACOMA PREFUNK SATURDAY, DEC. 16 2017: Gritty City Sirens Caroling Pub Crawl and Merry Dankmass PREFUNK: When we think about Christmas, we think burlesque. There’s something about sultry, fishnets and pasties that send joy to our hearts. Apparently, we are not alone. Tacoma’s burlesque troupe Gritty City Sirens celebrate their 7-year anniversary with a Christmas Caroling Pub Crawl in Tacoma tonight. The buxom crew of ladies will be decked head to toe in sparkles, feathers, lace and mistletoe as they make their way to the Eleven Eleven at 6:15 p.m., Peaks and Pints at 7:30 p.m. Doyle’s Public House
After being relentlessly hounded by a spamming chocolate marketer — which conjured up horrific mental imagery of Augustus Gloop — we are capitulating. We will inform you that today, Saturday, is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. We are not complaining; it is the one-day where no one can question our obsession. Want to drizzle chocolate over your salad? Go right ahead, it is Chocolate Covered Anything Day! Add chocolate to your morning oatmeal? That is a brilliant idea. Eat chocolate covered sandwiches for lunch? You are in the spirit of the holiday. Want a flight of five chocolate craft beers?
TACOMA PREFUNK FRIDAY, DEC. 15 2017: pFriem Belgian Christmas Ale and China Davis PREFUNK: Peaks and Pints recommends sipping pFriem Family Brewers’ Belgian Christmas Ale before catching China Davis’ 20th anniversary show at The Swiss tonight. Like the band’s career, Belgian Christmas Ale changes from moment to moment. This big dubbel-based holiday ale (8%) is brewed with German Perle hops, candi sugar, coriander and Belgian ale yeast that changes flavor with every sip. Just as you think it’s a toffee delight it morphs into chocolate-covered orange. Then raisin. And cinnamon pastry. Oh, and dried cherry. And … Peaks and Pints
The Peaks and Pints pairologists are counting down the days to Christmas with our definitive list of “25 Days of Christmas Carols And Craft Beer Pairing.” Our revered group of bartenders spent this year listening to more than 253 Christmas carols and drinking 3,816 craft beers, which obviously has nothing to due with our area code or address. Today marks our 15th Christmas carol/craft beer pairing: B-52s’ Fred Schneider’s side project The Superions’ “Fruitcake” paired with Brouwerij St Bernardus’ Christmas Ale. Why not pair this pairing with four previous pairings in a beer flight? So, we did: Craft Beer Crosscut
Seattle native Josh Pfriem began homebrewing while at Western Washington University in his early 20s then moved to Utah as a ski bum. He worked at Utah Brewers Cooperative for a few years before moving back to his old college town of Bellingham to brew at Chuckanut Brewery, where he helped win the Great American Beer Festival Small Brewpub of the Year in 2009. He moved to Hood River, Oregon to work at Full Sail but left in December 2011 to open pFriem Family Brewers — across the highway from Full Sail along the banks of the Columbia River —
TACOMA PREFUNK WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 2017: 2 Towns Ciderhouse Nice & Naughty Bourbon Barrel Aged and Sing-Along White Christmas PREFUNK: First, 2 Towns Ciderhouse Nice & Naughty – Bourbon Barrel Aged is crammed full of whole cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and a touch of honey. Next, it’s aged in bourbon barrels. The result is a very complex, subtle and wonderfully executed cider that you might not initially understand, because you’re expecting it to be so much more brash. But there’s a big difference in how this cider interacts with a wood addition, offering subtle caramel from the bourbon that blends well
It wouldn’t be December without a “Peanuts” special or a gift-wrapped tin of cashews in a Christmas stocking. The holiday season is when nut lovers come out of their shells. Sorry about that. But, seriously. ’Tis the season for “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” even though most people have never actually seen such a thing. Then, there are nutcrackers. Usually dressed like Russian soldiers with white beards, these useless wooden collectibles were like the Pet Rock of the 19th century. Yet the fad endured and migrated to America on the velvet coattails of Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker.” We’ve got
SOUTH SOUND PREFUNK TUESDAY, DEC. 12 2017: Gigantic Catch 23 Experimental Pale Ale and Dr. Gonzo PREFUNK: Gigantic Brewing’s Catch 23 Experimental Pale Ale is made with an experimental hop, #527. It was a good one, but there isn’t anymore being grown — something about it pulling the side arms off the hop-picker. So that’s a problem. But, the Portland brewery got some and put it into this balanced pale ale with notes of strawberries and cane berries. Drop by Peaks and Pints and enjoy a pint from our Western red cedar tap log. 1:20 AND 6:45 THE KING’S CHOICE: It’s April
So what hops go together to make a more interesting and complex beer? Well, that’s where the fun of blending comes into play. Part of the art of brewing a great beer is finding a blend of hops to work with a selection of malts and yeast. Consider Citra and Simcoe. Citra is absolutely delicious when deployed skillfully; it is full of (shockingly!) citrus, as well as peach, lychee and tropical fruit character. Simcoe is one of the most intense American hops and is often used in conjunction with its brethren Citra, sometimes to soften Simcoe expresses qualities reminiscent of
TACOMA PREFUNK MONDAY, DEC. 11, 2017: New Belgium La Folie Grand Reserve Geisha and My Little Pony PREFUNK: We have the ultimate gift for craft beer enthusiasts. New Belgium Brewing and Fort Collins based Bean Cycle Roasters collaborated on La Folie Grand Reserve Geisha, blending coveted Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama with the award-winning La Folie. The result is a smooth, dark sour ale that can never be recreated. Bottled on nitrogen to create a soft, velvet-like mouthfeel, it’s recommended that you don’t cellar this beer but instead grab your very best friend and drink it fresh.
In 1988, Jeff Lebesch was riding his bike through the villages of Belgium, most likely a little wobbly as he visited brewery after brewery in search of inspiration. When he returned to the States, with the help of his marketing-savvy wife, Kim Jordan, Lebesch launched New Belgium Brewing Company in 1991 with a beer whose name you probably already know: the Fat Tire. Five years after opening in Fort Collins, Colorado, former Rodenbach brewer Peter Bouckaert was brought on to launch New Belgium’s sour program. Since then, New Belgium has continued to expand its sour beer production, including the new cork and
Apparently, today is National Lager Day. Let’s celebrate National Lager Day. Why the hell not. Of course, if you’re old enough, you remember when everyday was National Lager Day in the U.S. Because that was the only choice you had. Times have changed. Ales are everywhere. The difference between ales and lagers? In a nutshell, an ale is brewed with top-fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and lager with bottom-fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum). Ales tend to be darker, have a cloudier appearance, higher alcohol content and a stronger, fruitier, more robust flavor with stronger bitter tones from the hops due to the higher
TACOMA PREFUNK SATURDAY, DEC. 9 2017: Loowit Roll For Experience +10 and Blade of the Immortal PREFUNK: Vancouver, Washington-based Loowit Brewing Co. entered December with its creative juices flowing. Loowit released its 10th experimental IPA in its Roll For Experience series. This series showcases the brewing team’s commitment to innovation and the exploration of hops. Roll For Experience +10 (6.5%, 50 IBU) features Cascade, Mosaic and Strata hops for grapefruit and pine flavors. Roll on into Peaks and Pints and experience a pint of this tasty IPA. 4 P.M. COFFEE & CONTEMPLATION: The Copper Door, Bluebeard Coffee and Wingman
TACOMA PREFUNK FRIDAY, DEC. 8 2017: Stones Throw Flat Penny Pale Ale and The Pearls PREFUNK: In the spring of 2016, Jack Pflueger and Tony Luciano, the latter of whom is also the brewer, opened Stones Throw Brewing in the greater Bellingham area, a stones throw from the Interurban Trail, Boulevard Park, downtown Bellingham and Chuckanut Drive. The duo repurposed shipping containers in their sustainable building design. Their bar, featuring refrigerated cup holders, is made from two huge pieces of scrap steel once part of a bridge near Mt. Vernon. Peaks and Pints has tapped Stones Throw’s Flat Penny Pale
National Brownie Day is absolutely a thing, and we’re not talking about the Scottish goblins who clean your house in exchange for honey and gruel. Yes, it’s another day to indulge in chocolate, this time instead of warm, square, baked things; we’re drinking them. We live to serve. Drop by our Proctor District bottle shop and enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 12.8.17: A Flight of National Brownie Day. Scuttlebutt Porter 5.8% ABV, 20 IBU Phil Bannan Sr. founded Scuttlebutt Brewing in 1996. The family business, which today employs about 75 people, started with a homebrewing kit Bannan’s wife, Cynthia, bought him
The Chinook hop is a cross between the Petham Golding and USDA-selected male (#63012, if you want to be specific), and was first released from the breeding program in 1985. Primarily grown in the Yakima region of Washington state, this hop is primarily used for its high alpha acid content as a bittering hop. These are the most pine-like hops and can overwhelm other, less assertive, hops. They’re more common as bittering hops in big beers like barleywines. They have a spicy, piney aroma with aggressive spicy pine, spruce and citrus flavors. These days, however, late additions and even dry-hopping
SOUTH SOUND PREFUNK WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6 2017: Tilted Tree Rudolph’s Redemption and MonkFlower PREFUNK: Life can be pretty complicated, but that doesn’t mean your drink has to be. Sometimes, it just takes the simple things to unwind, especially during this season of cold weather grieving. Take cinnamon cider that’s delicious as apple pie, harkening back to the familiar flavors of childhood creature comforts. Tacoma’s Tilted Tree Hard Cider’s holiday release, Rudolph’s Redemption, is just that, cinnamon cider. It’s not cinnamon toast by any mans, but rather a dry, tart cider with a hint of cinnamon. This delicious cider flows from
Taste is one of the greatest benefits that good craft beers offer the 48 percent of adults who prefer beer for their alcohol consumption. While Budweiser and their competitors are focused on profit margins and Super Bowl commercials, American craft beer producers give a heck how their beer tastes. Not to mention, the more than 5,300 breweries that bring us American craft beers make thousands upon thousands of different flavor combinations. So there is a flavor to fit any taste preference; you aren’t forced into that one-size-fits-all flavor that mainstream beer companies give you. Today, Peaks and Pints presents the
TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, DEC. 5 2017: Lost Abbey Barrel-Aged Serpent’s Stout and Zoolights PREFUNK: Spending the last 18 months developing its rich flavors in bourbon barrels, The Lost Abbey’s Barrel-Aged Serpent’s Stout pours from Peaks and Pints’ Western red cedar tap log. Beginning with a base The Lost Abbey’s Serpent’s Stout, this rich ale only increases in decadence after its tasty hibernation. Beginning with a robust nose of coffee and cocoa, Serpent’s opens up with deep chocolate and oak with hints of vanilla tobacco, ending with slightly sweet figs and a bourbon kick on the finish. 2 AND 7:05 P.M.
Flash back to the Roaring Twenties, when America was in the midst of the Prohibition: Booze was banned, stealthy speakeasies adorned Tacoma, and the Paramount Theatre sat in Tacoma’s Proctor District, which last year became Peaks and Pints bottle shop, taproom and eatery. Prohibition, the law that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol in the United States, was ratified as the 18th amendment on Jan. 16, 1919, and went into effect on Jan. 16, 1920. In other words, 97 years ago was a very sad day. Dec. 5, 1933, passage of the 21st Amendment, brought an end to
TACOMA PREFUNK MONDAY, DEC. 4 2017: Bale Breaker High Camp and Kingsman 2 PREFUNK: Named for the ski lodge atop of White Pass Ski Resort, High Camp IPA takes Bale Breaker’s signature hop-forward style to a darker side with the addition of chocolate malts. Dry-hopped with HBC 522 and Mosaic, this IPA bursts with pine and grapefruit aroma. Perfect to celebrate the season, grab a pint of this 7.3 percent ABV sipper and enjoy it next to Peaks and Pints’ stone fireplace. 5 P.M. PARKWAY RANDALL: Speaking of enjoying beer fireside, 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat is a subtle twist on the traditional
In 1703, an English chap did coke, and by did “coke” we mean roast malt with fuel derived from coal, “coke,” resulting in lighter roasted malts that produced paler ales. Someone called it a “Pale Ale,” since the ale in the glass was visibly lighter when placed next to the other beers at the bar. In addition to the lighter color, because the resulting malt had a milder flavor, the hops were able to shine through more prominently, thus Pale Ales came to be associated not only with their pale color, but their mild hop flavor as well. In 1829,
Aptly named after the Greek god of lightning and thunder, proprietary American hybrid variety Zeus is a high yielding hop with a pleasant aroma noted for its pungent hoppy “kick” and spicy, herbal flavor and aroma. Zeus hops, although genetically different from other varietals, gets shuffled into the CTZ group of hops: Columbus, Tomahawk and Zeus. There is a brief history time line involving different hop growers with the same or similar hops varieties, but w won’t get into that here. They each got their own name, as can be seen, however they emerged back into simply CTZ in their
The first India Pale Ale was extra hopped in order to make the journey to India and still taste like an English Pale Ale when it arrived. Today, the utilization of boldly hopped brews has developed into a means of bittering, aroma or both. This is not to say that a traditional bittering hop is never used for aroma and an aroma hop is never used for bittering. Dual-purpose hops, by definition, have both qualities. A bittering hop will generally have a higher alpha acid content, which will make the hop efficient in providing bitterness. There are also different components
25 Days of Christmas Carols And Craft Beer Pairing The Peaks and Pints pairologists have released our definitive list of “25 Days of Christmas Carols And Craft Beer Pairing.” The revered group of bartenders spent this year listening to more than 253 Christmas carols and drinking 3,816 craft beers, which obviously has nothing to due with our area code or address. “We listened to every Christmas carol at least 11 times,” said Peaks and Pints bartender Joe Rosati. “Once for the lyrics, once for the tune, nine times to pair the perfect beer.” We aware that everyone might not agree
Named the Best Small Brewing Company in the world at the World Beer Cup when it opened in 2006, The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company dual-personality operation has continued to excel, especially the avant-garde, Belgian-inspired The Lost Abbey component. Acclaimed master of barrel-aging Tomme Arthur crafts sour, Brettanomyces-spiked, and liquor-laced beers of mind-boggling diversity. On the Port side, brilliantly hopped West Coast-style single and double IPAs rule the day. In 2015, acclaimed San Diego brewer Tomme Arthur launched The Hop Concept featuring The Hop Freshener Series, a hop-forward line of quarterly releases predicated on simplifying the way consumers understand the most
Remember that time you climbed Mount St. Helens and discovered a monolith at the top? You ate your Cliff Bar next to it certain that our species was ready to advance to the next step in our evolution. That seems like a pretty good story to tell during Boldly Went Adventures’ live podcast at Peaks and Pints at 6:45 p.m. tonight. “Tacoma! Boldly Went: Your Adventure Stories” podcast is the place to get inspired for new adventures and listen to outdoor adventure stories Come, share yours, or listen while enjoying craft beer and cider. After all, every thru-hiker, trail runner,
Peaks and Pints’ Christmas tree arrived this morning, and we’re celebrating with a beer flight of trees we call Craft Beer Crosscut 11.29.17: A Flight of Christmas Trees. A Christmas tree is synonymous with the holiday season as much as gift-giving overload; fun but mildly dysfunctional family get-togethers; and otherwise cringe-worthy but enjoyable “seasonal” music. The use of evergreens as a “symbol and celebration of life during Winter Solstice celebrations” started in ancient Roman and Egyptian times. It evolved over the centuries to be incorporated into Christmas celebrations in the Germanic areas of Europe, according to the National Christmas Tree
TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, NOV. 28 2017: Avery The Czar and Banff Mountain Film Festival PREFUNK: Sadly, Avery Brewing Co. has stopped brewing and bottling The Beast, Samael’s Ale, Mephistopheles, The Kaiser, The Czar, Salvation and Dugana. The decision means that Avery’s three acclaimed trinity series — the Demons of Ale, the Dictators and the Holy Trinity — have come to an end as well. Peaks and Pints feels fortunate to have tapped the 2015 version of The Czar. This powerful beer hits the nose with honey, toffee and a wallop of alcohol. It greets the tongue with malt candy sweetness,
They’re mutated turtles and teenagers and ninjas, and celebrated every Tuesday at Peaks and Pints. I have no clue why, other than bartender/singer songwriter Kristen Marlo made it so. There are certain films that perfectly define childhood for those who were at the right age at the right time. The Wizard of Oz. Star Wars. Back to the Future. And, yes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, at least for Marlo who grew up with Ninjas Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael — oh, and Splinter, the Turtles’ sensei and adoptive father — in the early 1980s after comics artists Kevin Eastman and
