Cities everywhere are once again dusting off their “please-don’t-give-all-your-money-to-the-mega-corps” banners and rallying behind American Express’ Small Business Saturday — that annual, gently subversive reminder that your neighborhood shopkeeper is far more deserving of your weekend wallet than whatever algorithm is hollering from the void. Civic Economics says that for every $100 you spend with a small business, a glorious $67 boomerangs right back into the community, like some benevolent economic salmon run. The Small Business Saturday folks proclaim that half of America’s private-sector workers earn their livelihood in these scrappy little storefronts, and the SBA chimes in with its own hymn: for most of the last decade, small businesses have created 60–80 percent of all new jobs.
Peaks & Pints — a humble craft beer bar, bottle shop, and restaurant run by three lifelong Tacomans with a deep affection for malt, hops, and community — counts itself proudly among these small-but-mighty enterprises. So today, in honor of every local maker keeping the lights on with grit and caffeine, we’re pouring our Craft Beer Crosscut 11.30.19: Flight For Small Business Saturday, a celebratory sextet of local brews priced as if you were only drinking five. A tiny act of economic rebellion, one lovingly curated taster glass at a time. Cheers to the small, the local, the stubbornly human.
Craft Beer Crosscut 11.30.19: Flight For Small Business Saturday
E9 Brewing The Last In Line
10% ABV
In the early ’90s, Dusty Trail converted the historic Engine House No. 9 bar into a brewpub, and brought back the Tacoma Brew, the famous Tacoma lager of 1888. Dick Dickens grabbed the reins in 2002, bringing in head brewer Doug Tiede. Heads turned and medals were hung. In 2011, X group purchased E-9, with Shane Johns running the kettles. Saisons and sours and gold medals followed. Today, the brewery, E9 Brewing, has moved out of the Engine House and into a much larger production facility and taproom in Tacoma’s Historic Brewing District. The Last In Line is a non-barrel-aged version of E9’s Holy Diver Belgian strong dark ale. This new beer has complex fruity notes of raisin, date and brown sugar with the classic taste of sweet malt and caramel.
Narrows Dark Mode Stout
5.5% ABV, 20 IBU
Part of the historic mill building at Tacoma’s Narrows Marina, Narrows Brewing Company’s Taproom and Brewhouse looks out at the waters of the Puget Sound. Dark Mode is the Tacoma brewery’s brand new, almost year-round oatmeal stout. Brewed with rolled oats and chocolate malt and then boiled for an extended time, this stout is creamy and sweet with refreshing notes of coffee, dark chocolate and oatmeal cereal.
Wingman Mayan Chocolate P-51
8% ABV, 31 IBU
The P-51 Porter was Wingman Brewers‘ first real beer recipe. “It goes back to 2008 when Derrick (Moyer) and I were home brewing,” explains Thoburn. “At the time, Lazy Boy Porter from Everett was my favorite beer around, so we tried to emulate that. The beer was initially made for a friend’s birthday and called Nalty’s Tall Order Porter since he’s a tall dude and asked us to make a Porter for his birthday party. The beer went over so well with our friends that it remains the only recipe we’ve never changed since Wingman started … with Washington-grown barley and Moxie valley hops.” Wingman Brewers introduced a peanut butter and coconut porter to the Port Townsend Strange Brewfest several years ago. They were a huge hit. Many variations followed, including Mayan Chocolate with cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, cayenne peppers and, or course, a whole lot of chocolate.
Wet Coast Handshake Agreement Collaboration (v.1)
5.4% ABV, 40 IBU
What happens when Thurston County firefighters hang out with West Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters? Wet Coast Handshake Agreement pale ale. West Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters and Wet Coast Brewing Co. founders Bryan Copeland and Aaron Johnson invited Thurston County firefighters and Top Rung Brewing Co. founders Jason Stoltz and Casey Sobol to their Gig Harbor, Washington brewery to trade stories and brew a beer. The two local breweries added Strata and El Dorado hops to a malt bill of Marris Otter and Golden Promise. Strata has notes of strawberry, passion fruit and grapefruit, with El Dorado adding tropical fruit notes.
Tacoma Cigar Box IPA
8% ABV, 50 IBU
Morgan Alexander brewed beer in high school. He used Baker’s yeast and apple juice, which Alexander says was horrible. He kept the lab coat on, home brewing with unusual ingredients for years before converting his beloved Tacoma Triangle District Amocat Cafe into Tacoma Brewing Company, a tiny taproom that he eventually abandoned for a ginormous space up the street. His reoccurring Cigar Box IPA is aged on Spanish cedar opening an aroma of cedar, vanilla, tobacco and sandalwood. The rich, mellow, spicy hint of wood receives a puff of grapefruit, thanks to Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade, and Centennial hops.
7 Seas Boobytraps
7% ABV, 65 IBU
While 7 Seas Brewing has been in existence since 2008, a fire in January 2009 at the original downtown Gig Harbor address meant Mike Runion and Travis Guterson had to relocate. Popularity and growth forced them to move to their current and much larger location back in downtown Gig Harbor. In 2016, 7 Seas added another location, opening an 80,000-square-foot expansive taproom, marketplace and production facility with 10,000 sq. ft. basement for barrel program in downtown Tacoma at a site that once held the Heidelberg Brewery. Boobytraps is a flavorful and bold black IPA, yet maintains a crisp quality of light bodied drinkability that is perfect for the cool months of the year.” Light and smooth, Boobytraps is loaded with piney hops and a hint of roasted malts for a lingering, flavorful finish.
Photo by Lyn Topinka
