Polish your clogs, tighten your lederhosen, strap on your mask, and get ready to join the city of Tacoma six feet apart for Peaks and Pints: Behind Fresh Oktoberfest, a 30-day celebration of fresh hop and Oktoberfest beers on tap and in the cooler for fresh hometoberfests. Das right! The pandemic changed our fourth annual mesh-up of fresh hop beers and Oktoberfest biers — from a giant hall party to a crowler-and-can lederhomestead. Through Sept. 30, Peaks & Pints will offer bright, fresh-hop beers AND clean, hearty Oktoberfest-style lagers on tap and in the cooler. We kick off the month
This week’s Tree-dimensional Tacoma tree is the mimosa tree on North 28th Street between Stevens and Mason in the Proctor District. Photo credit: Kate Swarner Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Mimosa Tree “This week’s Tree-dimensional Tacoma is just southwest of Mason Middle School in the Proctor District. If you head down North 28th Street between Stevens and Mason, you might notice some delicate pink flowers in a small but sprawling tree on the right side of the road. And if you see it, you will know it as a mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin,” says Sarah Low, executive director of the Tacoma Tree
Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 8.31.20 Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 8.31.20 features a few of the new beers to the Peaks & Pints cooler over the past week. … Baerlic Beer GOOD VIBES ONLY: Hazy IPA with a double dose of Centennial and Cashmere hops for notes of grapefruit, tropical fruit, melon and peach with whispers of coconut and lemon lime on the finish. 6.7% NOBLE STOUT: Brewed with Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats for texture, this stout offers rich aromas of cocoa and short bread that unfold into a full body of milk chocolate
6-Pack of Things To Do: Monday August 31 2020 On your screen, you are holding 6-Pack of Things To Do — your key to a screamingly successful Monday summer of fun within easy driving distance. NETFLIX AND CHILL MONDAYS: The experience of being in a comedy club eating burgers watching comedy on the big screen is better than “Netflix and chill.” Unless you know what Netflix and chill truly means. Come to think of it, there aren’t many shows that would make us skip Netflix and chill. Anyhoo, every Monday night the Tacoma Comedy Club, temporary(?) know as Tacoma Burger
In 2013, AVID Cider Co. invaded the Bend, Oregon craft beer-crazed town with something different. Back then, they went by ATLAS and quickly gained recognition locally and regionally depicted by their major award display case. AVID became known as a semi-sweet cider company placing their craft between the dry and sweet market. They live and die by their “NW to the Core” slogan sourcing regional fruit pressed in Bend to create “core” ciders and seasonally inspired hits. Today, Peaks and Pints picks AVID’s seasonal offerings for our to-go Monday Cider Flight, Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: AVID. Peaks and
Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider: Fly Fishing 007, Fresh Hops, Keg Hugs From rad fly fishing videos to fresh hops, new beer releases to keg hugs, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of our favorite 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. (Over your mouth and nose. And stay away from people.) Until we meet back here again next week, cheers to you! View this post
Hops have long defined life at B.T. Loftus Ranches in the Yakima Valley. Back in 1932, Kevin Smith and Meghann Quinn’s great-grandparents founded the family hop farm that’s now run by their older brother, Patrick. Meghann and her husband, Kevin Quinn, and younger brother were keen homebrewers. Wouldn’t it be natural to start a brewery on the farm? In 2013, the trio took down three acres of the farm’s Field 41 and built Bale Breaker Brewing Company, which is surrounded by fields of hops. Bale Breaker has grown to become the fourth largest independent craft brewery in Washington. With a
6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday August 26 2020 Back in March, South Sounders were looking forward to a summer of warm weather and a wealth of seasonal events. Then the coronavirus pandemic shook up the entertainment industry, moving everything from art shows to concerts online. Today, the arts continue online as part of our 6-Pack of Things To Do, but venture outside for the last Steilacoom Farmers Market, adventure boxes for the kids, and triple IPAs for you! MUSIC: Job Carr Cabin Museum in Old Town Tacoma will be hosting a live-streaming “Eureka!” fundraiser tonight. This live-concert event benefiting
The undeniably great triple IPAs on the market attain cultish status not by simply supercharging their IBUs and alcohol contents, but by harnessing an artful assortment of hops, and propping them up with a suitable quantity of the proper malts. The triple IPA, as its name implies, is a palate-smashing beast of an ale designed for those times when a double IPA simply won’t cut it. The triple IPA isn’t a judged style, at least not yet, but it’s massively hoppy beer of at least 10 percent ABV with outrageous amounts of dry hops, hop flavor, malt flavor, alcohol and
6-Pack of Things To Do: Tuesday August 25 2020 A 6-pack of things to do to fritter away your summer Tuesday. SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL: Today’s the day! The National Suffrage Centennial inspired Suffrage Special Whistle Stop Tour stops virtually in Tacoma. The Washington State Historical Society created the tour, which launched Aug. 19, marking 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, ensuring the right to vote for most women. Appropriately, the focus of today’s Tour stop is the Washington State Historical Society. In March 2014, the WSHS opened a museum in the historic Provident Building at 919 Pacific Ave.
Mt. Rainier Infinity Loopers climb the mountain like the Hulk scales a skyscraper to pound puny bad guys. Infinity Loopers do not take the time to soak in views of Mt. St. Helens or the Tatoosh Range at the top. They just want to reach Mt. Rainier’s summit as fast as possible, then get back down even faster. You, on the other hand, climb slowly up North 26th Street to grab Rainier beer at Peaks & Pints craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District. Mt. Rainier Infinity Loopers also run extremely fast, are superbly fit, and
6-Pack of Things To Do: Monday August 24 2020 Summer is not really summer unless you’re livin’ it. Peaks & Pints 6-Pack of Things To Do may help. Cheers! ANIMAL FUNDRAISER: The Point Defiance Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers’ main objective is animal conservation. Everything else is irrELEPHANT. Comprised of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium employees, interns, volunteers and supporters, Point Defiance AAZK holds monthly fundraisers through their Drinking For Conservation’s tavern parties, led by AAZK Chapter President Suzanne Akerman. Bowling for Rhinos is AAZK’s premier event. Occurring every year since 1990, it has raised over $8
Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: August Arrivals Summer is almost over, but there are a still several more weeks to sneak in some cider sipping outside before leaves smack you in the face. Before you know it, everyone will be drinking pumpkin spice everything. Finnriver Farm & Cidery has released several new bottled ciders, and we just grabbed one of Whitewood Cider’s star ciders. It’s Monday, which means Peaks and Pints offers a to-go flight of cider. Today, it’s Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: August Arrivals! Whitewood Gravenstein Single Variety 5.5% ABV Gravenstein apples first arrived from Denmark
We have some new IPA arrivals! Backwoods Outer My Space Hazy IPA w/Citra, 6.7% Crux The Velvet Underpants Hazy IPA w/ Mosaic, 6% Fortside Ripple Effect Hazy IPA w/Motueka, 6.5% Old Stove Piston Hondo West Coast Double IPA w/ Columbus, Simcoe, and Citra, 9% Postdoc Noctilucent Clouds Hazy IPA w/ El Dorado, Sultana, and Citra, 6.9% Postdoc Pop Quiz: F. Rijo-Ferreira Hazy IPA w/ Mosaic, Citra, Cascade, and Simcoe, 7.6% Wander Googly Eyes Hazy double IPA w/Citra, Strata, Mosaic, and Chinook, 8.5%
Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider: Pitcher Gush, Fresh Hops, Cotton Candy From Hilltop Business Crawl to Campfire Coffee opening, new beer releases to summer goals, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of our favorite 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. (Over your mouth and nose. And stay away from people.) Until we meet back here again next week, cheers to you! View this post on
August is National Sandwich Month. What does that entail? Peaks & Pints isn’t really sure, but we are thrilled since sandwiches rule at our craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District. Today also happens to be National Cuban Sandwich Day. It will be celebrated in Tampa, where the Cuban sandwich was born, and at Peaks & Pints, because as previous stated, we do sandwiches. Created by immigrant laborers at the turn of the 20th century, the Cuban sandwich is a tasty alternative to Plain Jane ham and cheese. Some versions have salami, some have lettuce and
6-Pack of Things To Do: Saturday August 22 2020 What are you doing today? NOT ANYMORE. Peaks & Pints is giving you a 6-Pack of Things To Do. Because guess what? We love you. NEIGHBORHOOD PARTY: Hilltop Tacoma has taken a few hits. The Link Light Rail construction made parking difficult. COVID-19 made parking not a thing. Let’s mask up and descend on the historic district. In lieu of the annual street fair, three organizations — Hilltop Action Coalition, Tacoma Housing Authority, and The Community Market — invite you to join in on the Hilltop Business Crawl. Today and tomorrow,
As temps dropped and rain settled over Tacoma yesterday, autumn felt like it was peaking its head through the clouds. With the rain, a certain beer flavor peculiar to America also arrived: Pumpkin beers have descended like a Yankee Candle. It seems early, but Peaks & Pints says that every year. American colonists might have made the same statement, too. The colonists would substitute pumpkin for grains in their beer. The popularity of the style began to wane in the 1800s as whole grains became more widely available. Eventually, pumpkin beers were rare — a seasonal sideshow, showing up only
6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday August 21 2020 Reach further into that small collection of summer clothes: It’s officially going to rain in the South Sound. Peaks & Pints 6-Pack of Things To Do Pro Tip: Don’t freak out and look up or an acidic raindrop will send your contact lens off-kilter and make you unable to open your eye beyond a squint. BEER RELEASE: All the leaves are green (all the leaves are green) / And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey) / They brewed a hoppy lager (they brewed a hoppy lager) / On a
Hop Breeding Company of Yakima, Washington released Citra in 2007. It wasn’t until Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. dry-hopped its Torpedo IPA two years later that the hop turned heads. Citra Brand HBC 394, as its officially known, is comprised of Hallertau Mittelfrüh, US Tettnang, Brewer’s Gold and East Kent Golding with a fairly high alpha acid and total oil contents, plus a low percentage of co-humulone for bittering. Bittering is cool and all, but Citra’s organoleptic profile and chemical composition lend themselves overwhelmingly to aromatic and flavor additions of citrus and tropical fruits such as grapefruit, mango, gooseberry, lychee, melon,
6-Pack of Things To Do: Thursday August 20 2020 You can’t find any clean clothes this morning. Out of toothpaste. Out of orange juice. Shoelace broke. And, of course, you are late. How did this happen? How did life end up lacking … so … much … luster? Where is the action/adventure/drama? That’s where 6-Pack of Things To Do comes in. We got this! RANDALL: Top Rung Brewing founder Casey Sobol is all about Lacey, Washington. It’s where his brewery resides — the only craft brewery in the city. He often responds to emergencies in Lacey, as he is also
There was a day when Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood wasn’t as hip. A neighborhood geographically disconnected from the rest of the city, Georgetown was populated mostly with dives and holes in the wall. And it was industrial ― a hub for trucking companies and design wholesalers with fossil fuels and train tracks thrown in. Seattleites already had hip and happening Belltown and Ballard; they weren’t about hang in Georgetown. But then something unexpected happened: big name culinary icons and established brands moved in to set up shop in Georgetown. The breweries followed, led by Georgetown Brewing. Today, among the vintage shops,
This week’s Tree-dimensional Tacoma tree is the fig tree at North 46th and North Baltimore in North Tacoma on the edge of Ruston. Photo credit: Kate Swarner Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Fig Tree “Figs are abounding right now and you can see some great examples around town, including an especially nice one at North 46th and North Baltimore,” says Sarah Low, executive director of the Tacoma Tree Foundation. “Figs are now considered by some to be the first domesticated plant, possibly as early as a 1,000 years before wheat. The “fruit” that we eat is actually a syconium, or
6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday August 19 2020 Get your oversized steins ready. Peaks & Pints offers a to-go flight of Oktoberfest biers for das house as part of today’s 6-Pack of Things To Do. MUSIC: Northwest jazz guitarist Michael Powers is a musician’s musician whose work has continually progressed far beyond the standard jazz genre. Born in New York and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Powers took up the guitar to strengthen his wrist after a skateboard accident. After graduating from Berkeley High at 15, he relocated to the Emerald City where he continued his musical
The party began in October 1810, when a great horse race was organized to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Everyone had so much fun that it was held again, and eventually became an annual event, dubbed “Oktoberfest” in 1872. It has since evolved into a 16-day Munich blowout in late September and early October. Oh, to be in that great mass of humanity, dancing to the throbbing polka beats, scarfing down sausage, kraut, and strudel, and most of all, imbibing from the holy grail … er, stein. … Not this year, obvs. Peaks
6-Pack of Things To Do: Tuesday August 18 2020 Happy Tuesday! As clear as the sun in the summer sky, Peaks & Pints’ 6-Pack of Things To Do is more than a feeling. OPENING DAY: Following a more than 9-month hike through steep construction and COVID-19-related delays for inspections, relying on selling just whole beans, Quincy and Whitni Henry are welcoming guests into their coffee campground today. Campfire Coffee is open for business in downtown Tacoma, pouring the coffee they roast over an open campfire flame. As you can imagine, Campfire Coffee’s 1,400-square-foot shop sports an outdoor theme with forest
Block 15 Brewing wasn’t the first brewery in Corvallis, that honor goes to Oregon Trail Brewery, which homebrewer Jerry Shadomy opened in 1987. Nick and Kristen Arzner were on Oregon Trail’s tail 21 years when they opened Block 15 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
6-Pack of Things To Do: Monday August 17 2020 HAPPY MONDAY! Peaks & Pints’ 6-Pack of Things To Do is putting some sass into an 87-degree day! ANIMALS: The revving of engines, stoplights blinking incoherently at passersby, the soft roar of the port beneath a starlit sky … it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. It’s easy to forget that nature is all around us. The flora and fauna is often lost … a mere speck of life outside the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is open with all the safety precautions. Go visit
In 1982, Pres. Ronald Reagan proclaimed August “Peach Month” and called upon the people of the United States to incorporate this nutritious fruit into their diets, and call upon interested groups to celebrate this month with appropriate programs and activities. Therefore, Peaks & Pints will incorporate peaches into our weekly Monday cider flight; stop by for Peaks and Pints Monday Cider Flight: Peaches. The peach (Prunus persica) is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach; today they are grown in numerous countries. Whatever. The queen of all stone fruits makes
Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider: Batsquatch Winner, Pogo Calagione, Apple II From Rogue ales Instagram contest winner to Sam Calagione on a pogo stick, new beer releases to a beautiful night shot of Tacoma, Peaks and Pints Instagram Outsider returns today with a photo essay of our favorite 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. (Over your mouth and nose. And stay away from people.) Until we meet back here again next
Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 8.15.20 Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 8.15.20 offers a plethora for summer drinking. AleSmith Brewing ALESMITH FOR HOPE: AleSmith’s Fundraiser for COVID-19 affected San Diego community, this IPA is packed with intense aromas of pineapple, citrus and tropical fruits. 7.5% Block 15 Brewing ANIMAL COOKIES: This hop circus ale is packed with sticky, pungent hops for pineapple, tangerine, mango, pine, and dank herbs. 7% PEACH PUNCH: Hazy IPA collaboration with Great Notion with prominent peach and tropical hop notes, alongside bright citrus and a hint of vanilla. 7% RIDGEBACK RED: Normally
6-Pack of Things To Do: Saturday August 15 2020 These are strange and challenging times. But we still have plenty to celebrate. Let’s do so as we work to build a better and more just future together. Enjoy 6-Pack of Things To Do: Saturday August 2020. Cheers! SMALL SIDEWALK SALE: What may appear to be a mild-mannered store offering auctions and antiques seems to be hiding a little secret from you as Sanford & Son opens up to hallways and floors of good stuff. Actually, the Middle Floor Merchants aren’t so secret, with the bubble-gum-bright walls and signs on the
Tomorrow it will be in the mid-90s. And when it gets this hot, there isn’t much to do. You can’t seek out the closest movie theater for the afternoon show and hide in the darkness like a vampire. You can’t book a flight to Antarctica. But, you can float down a river. There are very few summertime diversions as splendid and spectacular as tubing: a voyage that takes you down a sometimes robust and rocky waterway that, at other bends and stretches, slows to a sluggish pace that allows you to examine the leaves in the trees above or the
6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday August 14 2020 Summer may be winding down, but this area’s cultural activities are just winding up. Gig Harbor hosts concerts; Fort Nisqually opened the gate; Central Co-op has added a movie theater. Keep reading for six things to do today — some virtual, some in person, some free, some paid — and all worth your time. Enjoy 6-Pack of Things To Do: Friday August 14 2020. POP-UP DRIVE-IN MOVIE: There are certain cultural touchstones that we’ve all agreed are part of the human experience (whether we like them or not), and familiarity with
By now you’ve read everything you need to know about COVID-19. And yet that seems to change almost hourly, and in a way that’s nearly impossible to keep up with: What services remain available and at what hours; with whom can you socially network and at what distances; is this bug going to make our asses explode like a merciless volcano (why do we need all this toilet paper); and finally, do we own any Zoom shares, any at all? But something that has remained consistent, reliable, and pretty darn tasty is Tacoma’s local beer. Today marks our last salute
6-Pack of Things To Do: Thursday August 13 2020 It’s Thursday, hurrah! Enjoy 6-Pack of Things To Do: Thursday August 13 2020! MEEKER MANSION TOUR: Ezra and Eliza Meeker immigrated by ox-drawn wagon to Oregon Territory from the Mid-West in 1852 over what would later be immortalized as the Oregon Trail. They moved to the Puyallup Valley in 1862 with their young children and began subsistence farming. By the early 1880s Meeker was a wealthy hop merchant with a branch in London selling hops on the world market. Meeker Mansion was built in 1890 for Puyallup’s first mayor … wait
The kings of the beer geeks, in our book, are the brewery sales representatives, or beer reps as they are commonly known. It’s their job to know beer inside and out. They need the knowledge to have intelligent conversations with their boss, the brewery owner, the brewery’s brewmaster, as well as the distributor who, er, distributes their beer, the establishments that sell their beer and the consumers who attended their brewery promotions — the people who matter the most. Today, as part of Peaks & Pints’ Tacoma Beer Week 2020 memoriam — a weeklong celebration of Tacoma beer amidst the
The Whole Bolivian Army at Louie G’s, photo by Rain Attle 6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday August 12 2020 6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday August 12 2020 is your key to a screamingly successful hump day of fun within easy driving distance. MUSIC: Louie G’s Pizza’s brick oven creates delicious calzones and pies. The brick oven doesn’t kill the virus. Owners Katherine McDonough and Peter John Kesling will serve their last slice Aug. 29, but not before having some fun. The Fife pizzeria and music club hosts bands Watch Rome Burn and The Whole
As Peaks & Pints has noted the past three days; Tacoma Beer Week isn’t happening this year. But, you have enjoyed three days worth of local beer and cider as we have refused to let go of the beer week and have offered local to-go flights. Today, we keep the Tacoma drive alive with a to-go flight straight outta Tacoma’s Historic Brewery District: Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Tacoma Historic Brewery District On the Fly. The area between South 17th Street to South Tacoma Way on the east side of downtown Tacoma was once home to some of the most
Peaks & Pints bartender Spencer can’t believe pumpkin beers are in the house. Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock 8.11.20 It’s a hot Aug. 11 in Tacoma, which means two pumpkin beers, a peanut butter chocolate milk stout and a thick hazy freakin’ delicious double IPA are on par. Welcome to the Peaks and Pints New Beers In Stock: 8.11.20 curveball. … Elysian Brewing NIGHT OWL: While most breweries have one or two pumpkin beers in the portfolio, Elysian brews more than a dozen, including Dark O’ the Moon, Night Owl, The Gourdfather and Blight.
6-Pack of Things To Do: Tuesday August 11 2020 Today, you should explore your city. Explore Salmon Beach. Explore McKinley Hill. Explore the Three Bridges District. Explore Northend Tacoma. End the day watching the Mariners game with craft beer. SALMON BEACH TOUR: An elaborate gate marks the entrance to an overly long driveway. Then it’s a choice between one of two parking lots, where you abandon your vehicle and traverse a super-steep hillside. Eighty-two houses, all built on stilts, line the water’s edge at Salmon Beach from just downhill from Ft. Nisqually to the southern entrance of the Nelson Bennett
With the pandemic crisis making a traditional celebration impossible, Tacoma Beer Week organizers have canceled Tacoma Beer week 2020, which would have kicked off last Saturday. With so many unknowns, constant restriction changes, and brewery business model restructurings, TBW organizers didn’t want to gamble on public safety and lean resources. Peaks & Pints completely agrees with the decision. But, we’re not about to let the Tacoma beer centric week be forgotten. Today is day three of a week full of Tacoma Beer Week-ish to-go flights. Today, take home several local IPAs in our Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Tacoma Beer
This week’s Tree-dimensional Tacoma tree is the Southern magnolia just south of North 37th Street on North Gove close to St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal. Photo credit: Kate Swarner Tree-dimensional Tacoma: Southern Magnolia “Walking is a wonderful way to discover trees,” says Sarah Low, executive director of the Tacoma Tree Foundation. “I have been trying to walk more and on a recent walk, I passed this sweet Southern magnolia tree on North Gove Street just south of North 37th. What really caught my eye were the showy white flowers, which typically appear in the spring, and here we are
6-Pack of Things To Do: Monday August 10 2020 While there is certainly something about summer that screams no rules, when it comes to this one there are more than ever, which can make it tough to envision a season of any kind of fun. After all, who wants to stay indoors 24/7 when the sun is out? Peaks and Pints presents 6-Pack of Things To Do: Monday August 10 202 — six things to do today safely, some indoors and some outdoors. MOVIE: The long, storied journey of the great singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot receives the big screen treatment in
