Peaks & Pints hosts Grit & Grain & Younger
Peaks & Pints will tap its annual allotment of Russian River Brewing Company Pliny The Younger on Wednesday, Feb. 18, pouring the coveted triple IPA while the Grit & Grain Podcast records live inside the Proctor District bottle shop — a rare convergence of cult beer culture, conversation, and Tacoma community. The Younger tap joins a stacked Russian River lineup that day — Pliny The Elder, Blind Pig, 110 West Coast, Intinction, Consecration, Supplication, Mortification, Porter, Robert, and Velvet Glow — turning the draft board into a living timeline of one of America’s most influential breweries.
Pliny The Younger
When Russian River releases Pliny The Younger each year, it feels less like a beer drop and more like a pilgrimage — a reminder that modern West Coast IPA culture was shaped by obsessive brewing precision, community lines wrapped around buildings, and a relentless pursuit of balance even at extreme hop saturation. Founded by Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, Russian River built its reputation on technical clarity and fearless experimentation, from barrel-aged sour pioneers to razor-sharp hop showcases that helped define how American brewers talk about bitterness, aroma, and drinkability. Pliny The Elder arrived first, a benchmark Double IPA that reset expectations for dryness, clarity, and pine-citrus harmony; Younger followed as its louder, rarer sibling — a triple IPA layered with resin, grapefruit, and tropical flicker, finishing clean enough to feel almost effortless. Around them orbit Blind Pig’s historical nod to early West Coast IPA roots, the cult reverence of Supplication and Consecration, and a brewing philosophy rooted less in trend-chasing than in technical evolution.
Grit & Grain Podcast
The Grit & Grain Podcast records every other Wednesday at Peaks & Pints in Tacoma’s Proctor District, turning a neighborhood craft beer bar into a living studio where breweries, brewers, and industry voices gather for conversations that drift far beyond what’s in the glass. Hosted from the Peaks & Pints Events Room, the show blends deep craft-beer storytelling with Tacoma’s wider creative pulse — part industry roundtable, part community campfire — exploring brewing philosophy, local culture, outdoor connections, and the evolving realities of independent craft.
After the Younger tapping at 3 p.m., Grit & Grain launches into Episode 178, welcoming Nick Ladd and Jessie Quan, the thoughtful spark behind Seattle’s University District–based Ladd & Lass Brewing. Brewing inside the historic former Rainbow Tavern space — a scrappy U-District venue once tied to the region’s punk and early grunge history — they’ve reshaped the room into something that feels equal parts neighborhood pub and modern craft laboratory, honoring the building’s creative lineage while leaning into nuance rather than noise through balanced lagers, expressive hop builds, and beers built for repeat visits. Nick’s technical curiosity meets Jessie’s community-first perspective, creating a brewery that feels intentionally human in an industry that sometimes forgets the room matters as much as the recipe. Expect conversation around scaling thoughtfully, navigating Washington’s shifting distribution realities, and how small breweries hold onto identity while the ground beneath craft beer keeps moving.
At 4:30 p.m., Episode 179 pivots toward the tectonic shifts reshaping beer distribution — consolidation, changing consumer habits, and evolving wholesale models forcing breweries, retailers, and drinkers alike to rethink how beer travels from tank to tap. The discussion explores what recent distribution changes mean for independent breweries trying to maintain visibility, how taprooms and bottle shops adapt when supply chains wobble, and why local relationships may matter more than ever as national portfolios stretch thinner.
Grit & Grain & Younger ultimately becomes less about one rare keg and more about continuity — a podcast series tracing where craft beer has been, where it’s drifting now, and how moments like tapping Pliny The Younger during a live recording pull together history, friendship, and the evolving rhythm of Tacoma’s beer culture into a single, fleeting pour.
LINK: Peas & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
