Biography

Established: 2014, closed October 2019

Owners: Steve Navarro and Brent Hall

Brewer: Bethany Carlsen

Location: 610 Pacific Ave., Tacoma WA 98402

Status:
Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. rose from Tacoma’s past when it was re‑launched in the fall of 2014. It aimed to revive the heralded Pacific Beer brand, once one of the West Coast’s largest breweries (founded in 1897, shuttered in 1916 under Prohibition). But its second life was short. The downtown Tacoma taproom closed in October 2019, and the final brewing operations ceased in early 2020, victims of economic collapse during COVID-era uncertainty.

Specialty:
They brewed clean, classic English and German–inspired styles—lager, pale ale, porter—with subtle Pacific Northwest flourishes. They whispered Tacoma nostalgia in each pint, offering balanced beers with regional accents, like the 1897 Pale Lager, and Dirty Skoog IPA (named for local folklore)

Five Notables:

• Potonac Citra Pale

• 1897 Pale Lager

• Dirty Skoog IIPA

• Prairie Line IPA

• Grit City Porter

Awards:
• Bronze medal for American Lager at the 2015 Washington Beer Awards

Longest Brew-Tale: Rise, Fall, and Rebirth:
The original Pacific Brewery & Malting Co. rose in 1897 when Puget Sound Brewing merged with Milwaukee Brewing—quickly scaling to the second-largest brewery in the Northwest before Prohibition closed shop in 1916. In 2014, Tacoma locals Steve Navarro and Brent Hall resurrected the brand in the Old City Hall Annex building at the north end of Pacific Avenue, complete with original logos and archival photos on the walls. They launched with a modest 7-barrel brewhouse and four fermenters, later expanding to six 15-barrel fermenters and seven bright tanks. The 2015 acquisition of Edmonds-based American Brewing Co. boosted capacity fivefold.

The story ended quietly: after closing the Tacoma taproom, remaining brewing and distribution shifted to American Brewing’s Edmonds location—until that too officially shuttered in late 2020, ending Pacific Brewing’s second chapter.

Fun Facts:
🎨 The rebooted brewery named its beers after Tacoma landmarks and lore (Dirty Skoog, Prairie Line, Grit City). It wasn’t just beer—it was local myth brewed.
📷 Walls lined with historic photographs, tracing Pacific Beer’s pre- and post‑Prohibition chapters.
🧰 The founders revived the brand with devotion: “We’re all Tacoma people… not attached to outside corporate brewing”—a vow held in brew and sweat.
🤝 In 2015, Pacific purchased American Brewing Co. of Edmonds, expanding both footprint and ambition.