TACOMA PREFUNK MONDAY, OCT. 2 2017: Selkirk Abbey Cuvée de la Nuit Profonde and Spider-Man PREFUNK: Selkirk Abbey’s seasonal Cuvée de la Nuit Profonde blend of barrel-aged beers has hit Peaks and Pints’ Western red cedar tap log. The dark, rich Cuvée de la Nuit Profonde (9 percent ABV) goes down smooth for its strength. The beer is a blend of the brewery’s 8˚ dubbel, 10˚ quadruple and Guilt imperial porter aged anywhere from six to 18 months in a variety of barrels including Burgundy, Cabernet Franc and Malbec wines plus wheat and rye whiskeys. 7 P.M. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING: Director
Summer in the South Sound has a tendency to slip by all too quickly. Recapture some of the spirit of summer’s potential with a glass of beer infused with the essence the most summer-y of flavors: stone fruits. 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 food-scape, 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,
What do you get when you combine 50 breweries, fresh hop craft beers and 6,000 people in downtown Yakima? You get the mayhem that is the Fresh Hop Ale Festival. It has come a long way since Elizabeth Herres Miller launched the festival in 2003. What use to be a fundraiser for the now-defunct Allied Arts of Yakima arts nonprofit is one of the hottest tickets in the Pacific Northwest craft beer industry. Its footprint has extended beyond the original half-block next to Millennium Plaza to include the entire block-wide parking lot adjacent to the plaza. Fun, hop-wearing people drank
TACOMA PREFUNK SEPT. 29 2017: Hellbent Training Montage Ultimate IPA and Kuinka PREFUNK: Science! Cryo hops are the product of an innovative and proprietary cryogenic process of separating out the lupulin glands of whole hop cones in a nitrogen-rich environment, concentrating the lupulin glands and eliminating chances of oxidation. The result is hop pellets, which are concentrated resins and super pungent, containing two to three times more aromatic properties than traditional hop pellet. Hellbent Brewing Co. in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood has brewed Training Montage Ultimate IPA (7.1 percent ABV), a new IPA using Cry hops during dry-hopping with Simcoe
Most of us can’t function without our morning cup, whether it’s black, loaded with sugar and cream, or one of those $10 fancy-pants 20-ounce jobs. It’s part of our morning routine. It’s a ritual. It warms our souls and gets us moving. It’s a social custom and a hangover remedy. Not only do we love coffee, but coffee also loves us. Today is National Coffee Day. Of course, at Peaks and Pints International Headquarters, every day is coffee beer day. We salute National Coffee Day in the only way we know how — with a flight of coffee beer we
TACOMA PREFUNK THURSDAY, SEPT. 28 2017: Schooner EXACT Ship Wheel of Fortune and Michael Sullivan PREFUNK: They say that in life, you have to risk it all to get it all. During Ship Wheel of Fortune, you have to spin it to win it all. Now, people are going to get to experience the thrill of the wheel when Schooner EXACT Brewing Company brings its Ship Wheel of Fortune to Peaks and Pints bottle shop, taproom and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District TONIGHT. The Ship Wheel of Fortune will be one of the highlights when Peaks and Pints calls to
MORNING FOAM FOR THURSDAY, SEPT. 28 2017: A seven-taster flight of craft beer news, from the fluffy head all the way to the anti-menopausal craft beer. … Yakima County has come a long way from the 80 bales of hops that the Yakima Valley produced in 1876, and it’s now surrounded by a hop metropolis that encompasses all aspects of the beer industry. Check out a brief history of Yakima hops. Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom will celebrate its 20th anniversary with an anniversary party and a new beer release, Imperial India Red Ale. This Imperial India Red Ale is a
If you’re a big fan of bitter libations such as India Pale Ales, scientists at the University of Innsbruck in Austria have uncovered that you’re also more likely to exhibit malevolent personality traits. Basically, you’re a psycho. Peaks and Pints wonders what personality traits the U of I would uncover for brewers who brew unusual IPAs. We’re not talking about IPA sub-styles such as Fruit IPAs, New England IPAs and Coffee IPAs. No, we’re pondering IPAs with ingredients of many and varied origins, and embody the spirit of experimentation including IPAs transformed into a different style. We dug up five
TACOMA PREFUNK WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 27 2017: Skookum Radagast Brown and Dunkirk PREFUNK: The brown ale has origins in 17th century England, where it was a name given to a dark-colored, mild ale. Skookum Brewery’s Radagast Brown is considered an English brown ale, which means more emphasis to the malt, while American versions have a bit more hoppy aroma and flavor. The Arlington brewery follows the style suit with a plethora of English specialty malts and hopped with Nugget. Peaks and Pints has the Radagast pouring from our Western red cedar tap log today. Expect notes of toffee, caramel, toasted bread
TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, SEPT. 26 2017: Black Raven Second Sight Scotch Ale and the Dalai Lama PREFUNK: Scottish style beers can be a malt lover’s dream beer, with its smooth sweetness and body. The epitome of malty, scotch ales are boiled twice as long as ordinary beer, caramelizing the sugars to build these deep flavors of maple and molasses. Scottish ales commonly fall into four general types: Light, Heavy, Export and the Scotch Ale. Historically these distinctions carried labels of the shilling currency, which reflected the price charged per barrel of beer in the 19th century. For example, 60 shilling
Today is National Key Lime Pie Day. Named for the small citrus fruits said to have been introduced in Florida’s Keys in the 1830s by Henry Perrine, a botanist and diplomat who discovered the plant in Mexico, this tart and creamy dessert can be found on almost every menu in the Sunshine State. One thing that will set a true key lime pie apart from the pretenders is the use of real key lime juice squeezed from fruit harvested from plants now native to parts of the West Indies and Mexico but with origins in Asia. The citrus plant produces
You don’t have to toss a bucket of sand onto our floor, unfold a beach chair, slather your face with SPF 50, erect a striped umbrella, or even think about flip flops in order to bring the beach to Peaks and Pints. Enter tropical craft beer. Brewers have created beers that taste like a Hawaiian vacation. Many of the recently released hops have flavors and aromas ripped from a fruit bowl, including Citra (papaya, mango), El Dorado (watermelon, pears), Galaxy (peach, melons), Hull Melon (honeydew), Mosaic (berries), Sterling (sweet grass) and Sorachi Ace (lemons). Dial up a recipe with these
“Does anybody really know what time it is?” Yes, Chicago band, we do. But, how we use time is the lifelong question. Our lives will swell or diminish to fill a given space in time. We can do 12 things in an hour or one thing in 12. We can go hiking for two solid weeks and wander the trails in silence for 12 hours a day, and time will look at us like we’re utterly insane as our breath and body thank us for all eternity. We can, conversely, microtask until our hearts implode. We did it to ourselves.
Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. celebrates its third anniversary with an all-day bash at its downtown Tacoma brewery. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner TACOMA PREFUNK SATURDAY, SEPT. 23 2017: 7 Seas Autumn Ale and Pacific Brewing party PREFUNK: Peaks and Pints continues its month-long autumn beer party marrying up two popular seasonal beers — fresh hops and Oktoberfest. We’re calling it The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest, tapping fresh hop and Oktoberfest beers daily through Sept. 31. You’ll find bright, hop-hazy fresh-hop beers, just hours from field to kettle and mere days from the fermenter to your glass
Contrary to what uptight craft beer geeks will tell you, partaking in liquid bread isn’t always serious business. Sometimes it can even be fun — and Peaks and Pints doesn’t mean that in an “isn’t-it-marvelous-to-expound-upon-the-beer’s-aromas” sort of way. Just ask the pranksters who created craft beers such as Imperial Purple Raz Bu, Double Barrel Jesus and Beer Geek Brunch Weasel. Despite the goofy names, these are quality craft beers made by talented brewers. The idea behind this irreverence, aside from generating a few laughs, is to create a name that will stick in people’s minds and provide a distinctive edge
Ray Prestegard, Krist Novoselic, Jillian Raye and Erik Friend are Giants in the Trees. The band is playing at The Swiss tonight. Photo credit: Megan Blackburn TACOMA PREFUNK FRIDAY, SEPT. 22 2017: Orval vertical and Giants in the Trees PREFUNK: There may be no beer or brewery more respected by brewers around the world than Orval. The singular focus of these Trappist monks and the depth and character of the beer they produce is (arguably) unmatched. Orval is a pale brewed and bottle-conditioned the enchanting Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval monastery, founded around 1070 AD in the Belgian Gaume
Of the many thousands of beers produced around the world, only 11 can use the name “Trappist.” Six of them are made in Belgium, one in the United States, two in Holland, one in Italy and one in Austria. These beers are all brewed with three criteria in order to earn the name and mark “Trappist”: The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision; The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery, and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way
TACOMA PREFUNK SEPT. 21 2017: Elysian Pumpkin Roadshow and Creative Colloquy PREFUNK: During the Elysian Brewing Pumpkin Roadshow at Peaks and Pints tonight at 6 p.m., the Seattle brewery will serve pumpkin beer out of an actual hollowed-out giant pumpkin flowing through a tap, orange spheres will fly through the air into Solo Red Cups and a giant jar of pumpkin seeds will wait for the best count guess. No, we do not mess around with autumn celebrations here at Peaks and Pints. Indeed, Peaks and Pints will host the annual Tacoma Elysian Pumpkin Roadshow, a prefunk to the Seattle
A gust of wind blows yellow leaves across Proctor Street today, driving home what we already know: It’s fall. Though the air hasn’t turned cold enough for heavy coats, the emerging autumn colors and shorter days mark the beginning of pumpkin spice latte season. Indeed, pumpkin spice is not a flavor; it’s a lifestyle. Its mantra is the crackle of fallen leaves and bonfires. “Sweater weather” is its holy creed. The pumpkin spice life, like its coffee, is sweet, and we are always #thankful for our #blessings. It is never really about that particular blend of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger
Jeff Angell, center, and Barrett Martin, right, rock Jazzbones tonight. Courtesy photo TACOMA PREFUNK WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20 2017: Alaskan Smoked Porter and Barrett Martin and Jeff Angell PREFUNK: Founded in 1986 by Geoff and Marcy Larson Alaskan Brewing Co. was America’s 67th brewing company to open. Alaskan remains the most award-winning brewery in the history of the Great American Beer Festival and Alaskan’s Smoked Porter remains the most award-winning beer in the same. While they’re not everyone’s favorite, Peaks and Pints is a huge fan of smoked beers. Not only do they often have a certain
Aaron Trotter drew Oregon breweries on location in a succession of road trips over the last two years. The result are cool illustrated playing cards. MORNING FOAM FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20 2017: A seven-taster flight of craft beer news, from the fluffy head all the way to the soccer playing dog. In 2010, Tacoma artist Aaron Trotter-Voronoff — a “21st century stylistic schizophrenic kind of guy” as he liked to call himself — created a blog to “stir things up” in Tacoma. Trotter-Voronoff — or Voronoff the Ghost Critic as he also calls himself — critiqued
The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest: Ayinger Mug Edition Peaks and Pints continues The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest, our month-long, fresh hop celebration paired with Oktoberfest beers. We’re pouring bright, hop-hazy fresh-hop beers, just hours from field to kettle and mere days from the fermenter to your glass AND drink to your health, clean, hearty Oktoberfest-style lagers from Germany and nearby. We’ll wager our pretzel bread sticks you’ll drink both. Today, Peaks and Pints will serve Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen in half-liter mugs, which will be yours to keep while supplies last. A strong pour shows a rich copper color with a
Depending on when hops are added in the brewing process, they contribute bitterness, flavor, aroma or something of all three. The bitterness comes from alpha acids contained in hops, while flavor and aroma come mostly from volatile oils. The term volatile refers to the fact that the oils boil out of the wort relatively quickly — most within 15-20 minutes. This is why brewers normally add flavor and aroma hops closer to the end of the boil. For maximum flavor and aroma, and to preserve as much of the volatile oils as possible, some brewers practice dry hopping. Dry hopping
Kim Archer hosts a Tuesday night open Mic at the North End Social Club. Courtesy photo TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, SEPT. 19 2017: Breakside Cuddle Puddle and Kim Archer PREFUNK: Cuddle Puddle is a thing. Dictionaries describe the term as a group of people cuddling in en masse, usually to comfort each other or express mutual friendship. A professional cuddler is someone who gets paid by the hour to cuddle. It could also include things such as having a conversation while holding hands or eye gazing. It’s very much about connection and being there for whatever the
Bred at the Hop Research Center in Hüll, Germany, and released in 2002, the initial goal of Saphir hops creators was to produce a more commercially viable alternative to German Hallertau Mittelfrüh through increased disease resistance and the retention of Hallertau’s noble characteristics. In that capacity, Saphir would most certainly be considered a success. It is resistant to many of the most disastrous disease and mildew including wilt, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. Saphir hops, sometimes called Saphire, Sapphire, or Hallertau Saphir, have a very low alpha acid content at 2.0 to 5.0 percent, making it one of the lowest
Elysian’s The Gourdfather barleywine is on tap at Peaks and Pints. TACOMA PREFUNK MONDAY, SEPT. 18 2017: Elysian The Gourdfather and Herr Sean Jackson PREFUNK: As you know Peaks and Pints will host the Elysian Pumpkin Road Show Thursday night, a precursor to the Seattle brewery’s massive Great Pumpkin Beer Festival where 80+ pumpkin beers (plus a couple surprises) from near and far will be poured, including 20 or so from Elysian’s pumpkin-crazed brewers and their collaborators at the Seattle Center. Thursday, Sept. Sept. 21, Peaks and Pints will pour eight Elysian pumpkin beers, plus an
Known as “Super Cascade,” US-bred Lemondrop hop features aromas of lemon, mint, green tea and a hint of melon balanced by notes of the same ilk. Originally bred by Hopsteiner in 2001 and referred to as Experimental #01210 it was released for limited experimentation in 2012, and started migrating it to the commercial stage for the 2014 crop year. It’s difficult to find beers that feature Lemondrop, so our flight today includes a couple craft beers with strong lemon flavor. So, kick back with our Craft Beer Crosscut 9.18.17: A Flight of Lemondrop and enjoy expressive lemon-citrus and subtle herbal
Red. Amber. Are they the same beer style? Well … the answer is by no means simple. As many authorities put it, amber ale is a term invented by American brewers to account for a stylistic gap between pale ales and brown ales. It originated on the West Coast in the 1970s during the early American craft beer movement and was originally called a red ale. While it origins lay in American pale ales it is closer to an Irish red ale in terms of appearance and mouthfeel however it’s the use of forthright flavors of malt and citrus/floral accented
Hiking: Emerald Ridge Trail Westside Road Trails, Mount Rainier National Park 360-569-2211 $25 single vehicle fee For parking and current conditions, click here. Difficulty: Moderate Distance, round trip: Approximately 9 road miles + 7 trail miles = 16 miles Elevation gain: 2100 feet Hiking time, round trip: 8-9 hours Emerald Ridge Trail is a 14 mile out and back trail located near Longmire, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers. The trail is primarily used for hiking and mountain biking, July until September, with views of andesite at 1.5 into the trail. These hexagonal columns were formed during the cooling process
In Washington state, cider makes up 6 percent of the beer market (it’s at 3 percent for the rest of the country). That’s double what it was two years ago, with no signs of slowing down. This time of year means Washington’s apple harvest is in full swing statewide, with apples ready to occupy your homes and future pint glasses. What better way to close out your summer and start the harvest season with a cider week? The seventh annual Washington Cider Week ends tomorrow after celebrating craft cider for 10 days straight. In celebration, Peaks and Pints has constructed
The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest: Fresh Mug Edition Peaks and Pints continues The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest, our month-long, fresh hop celebration paired with Oktoberfest beers. We’re pouring bright, hop-hazy fresh-hop beers, just hours from field to kettle and mere days from the fermenter to your glass AND drink to your health, clean, hearty Oktoberfest-style lagers from Germany and nearby. We’ll wager our pretzel bread sticks you’ll drink both. Today, Peaks and Pints will serve Hofbräu München Oktoberfestbier in half-liter mugs, which will be yours to keep as supplies last. They’re the same heavy, dimpled mugs that are found at
I like to consider myself a moderately intelligent being. I have no problem admitting I’m not the biggest brain to ever walk around the Peaks and Pints lodge in hiking boots, but I do all right. My wife, however, is seriously smart. She’s also better at fixing stuff than I am, which can make for frustration around the household. Not only is she smarter than me, but also even when it comes to putting together furniture and doing oil changes — manly tasks that should be, according to society’s rules, my domain — she puts her husband to shame. I
TACOMA PREFUNK THURSDAY, SEPT. 14 2017: Jay and the not-so-silent Schilling Cider Party PREFUNK: In 1881, Colin Schilling’s great-great-grandfather, August, founded the Schilling Spice Company in San Francisco, with a goal of bringing pure, natural spices to everyone at a fair price. Today, at Schilling Cider, August’s core values are carried forward and paired with innovative cider-making techniques to produce quality and complex hard ciders that, according to media hype, is the number on selling craft cider with three taprooms — Auburn, Seattle and a 50-tap cider house in Portland — and retail in 20 states. Think about all that
Spalt, also called Spalter Spalt, comes from the Saaz hop family. The traditional Spalt hop is grown in a town called Spalt, in Bavaria. The growth of Spalt hops can be traced back as early as the 8th century; in 1538, Prince Bishop of Eichstatt granted Spalt the first German hop seal. In the 1800s, Spalt was considered the premium German hop and demanded high prices. Much like its German Tettnanger and Saaz brothers, Spalt is also a noble hop with a low co-humolone content. Spalt is used primarily for aroma, but can be used for bittering and finishing additions.
SOUTH SOUND PREFUNK WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13 2017: Iron Horse Hopping Hands and David Gilmore PREFUNK: Independent craft breweries in the United States often contribute to military causes. Some of the breweries have taken their support one step further with beneficial campaigns, such as Iron Horse Brewery in Ellensburg, Washington. Iron Horse Brewery launched the Hopping Hands Project in May; a four-month, single hop IPA release with proceeds benefitting the Veterans Conservation Corps, a department of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. The VCC provides opportunities for veterans to connect with nature in their own way while restoring Washington’s natural
Fresh Hops Oktoberfest Blues Fresh-hopped beer is an ephemeral thing, arriving only during hops harvest season, with its piney, citrusy taste and delicate fizz. Fresh hop festivals abound in the Northwest, but Peaks and Pints’ The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest is the only month-long fresh hop celebration paired with Oktoberfest beers. We’re pouring bright, hop-hazy fresh-hop beers, just hours from field to kettle and mere days from the fermenter to your glass AND drink to your health, clean, hearty Oktoberfest-style lagers from Germany and nearby. We’ll wager our pretzel bread sticks you’ll drink both. Since Sept. 12 marks the death
L.A. touring band Brain Dead will rock Jazzbones tonight. TACOMA PREFUNK TUESDAY, SEPT. 12 2017: Fat Head’s Head Hunter and Tightwad Tuesday PREFUNK: Fat Head’s, which started out as a restaurant in Pittsburgh in 1992, opened a production facility in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, in 2009. In November 2014, Fat Head’s entered Portland’s Pearl District with Mike Hunsaker running the brewery operation. The brewery has received national acclaim for its brews, especially its Head Hunter IPA, which has grabbed nine medals at major craft beer competitions around the world. Head Hunter is golden in color, with a
Today is National Chocolate Milkshake Day. The first time the term “milkshake” was used in print was in 1885. This milkshake was a concoction of cream, eggs and whiskey, which was often served with other alcoholic tonics such as lemonades and soda waters. If the customer enjoyed the milkshake, he shook hands with the bartender. If not, the bartender didn’t get a tip. James and William Horlick invented malted milk powder in 1897, but it was Ivar Coulson, a soda jerk for a Walgreen’s drug store, who first added it to milkshakes in 1922. This created the malted milkshake or just
TACOMA PREFUNK MONDAY, SEPT. 11 2017: Atwood No Whey Bro and Moby-Grapefruit PREFUNK: Atwood Ales’ No Whey, Bro is a blonde ale fermented with Lactobacillus bacteria cultured from yogurt. Dry hops (Citra, Ekuanot and Mosaic) add tropical and citrus fruit to the tangy aroma. No Whey, Bro’s flavors and acidity are all balanced components of what is the lemonade of craft beer — a light, refreshing, easy drinking, sour blonde ale. No Whey, Bro is pouring from Peaks and Pints’ Western red cedar tap log. Way. 5 P.M. RANDALL MONDAY: Everyone is familiar with the classic Herman Melville novel, Moby-Dick,
The house music faded away, and the craft beer drinking begins. It is loud, rattling. Screaming. The people who enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 9.11.17: A Flight of Chaos, truly experiencing it, appear very different than those too fearful to invest in it. Some people laugh nervously, some look away anxiously, some stare at our stump crosscut beer flight board with jaws dropped. But others leaned right into it. Some sway with their eyes closed almost completely unaware of the other humans in Peaks and Pints’ bottle shop, taproom and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District. Today’s beer flight was born from
You float in a sun-warmed, peanut-shaped tile pool, watching the breeze flip the palm fronds against a turquoise Southern California sky, sipping a midday India Pale Ale. Rippling reflections of the afternoon sun on the water cast themselves against the six-foot-tall prickly pear, oak-planked door and the adobe-arched wall above it. Chimes sound; doves coo. Fantastic landscape scenes full of cliffs, ocean vistas, coves, rolling hills and deep canyons comes to life from San Diego, just north of the Mexican border, cross the bay to the resort city Coronado, up the coast to Los Angeles, home to Hollywood studios, fine
Spocktoberfest The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Peaks and Pints. Its one-month mission: to explore fresh hop craft beers, to seek out Oktoberfest-style beers, to boldly go where no mountain lodge motif bottle shop has gone before. Fresh-hopped beer is an ephemeral thing, arriving only during hops harvest season, with its piney, citrusy taste and delicate fizz. Fresh hop festivals abound in the Northwest, but Peaks and Pints’ The Hunt For Fresh Hoptoberfest is the only month-long fresh hop celebration paired with Oktoberfest beers. We’re pouring bright, hop-hazy fresh-hop beers, just
Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, Peaks and Pints presents a craft beer flight of Washington state’s oldest breweries that we call Craft Beer Crosscut 9.8.17: A Flight of Washington State’s Oldest Breweries. Catchy name, huh? The following is how the flight was formed. 4,300 BC — Oldest-known written recipe — a formula for beer — inscribed in clay cuneiform tablet. The Babylonians are producing beer in large quantities with around 20 varieties, including Suck It Sumerian Stout. 500-1000 AD — The first half of the Middle Ages, brewing begins in European monasteries and convents; hops added to process. Hello Bring Out
In late 2010, Corvallis homebrewers Aaron Sarnoff-Wood and Lee Larsen filled a gap in the college town’s drinking scene — cider. The duo opened 2 Towns Ciderhouse crafting unique ciders brewed with the traditional English and French-style’s tannic apples, Oregon grown, of course. Named after the cities of Corvallis and Eugene (Larsen’s a Beaver; Sarnoff-Wood a Duck), 2 Towns believes “… that the long history of cidermaking demands respect and deserves to be done right,” states the cidery’s motto. “Starting with the highest quality whole ingredients from local farms, we take no shortcuts in crafting our ciders. We never add
