There’s something about a November evening that already feels halfway to a hymn — the sky dimming too early, the cold tuning itself like an upright bass, the whole world pausing long enough for you to hear the small truths underneath everything. And just a few blocks from Peaks & Pints, Kilworth Chapel will breathe those truths into being at 5 p.m. when The John Kessler Band steps into the soft chapel light for Blues Vespers: Tacoma’s beloved fusion of prayer, poetry, gospel hush, unpolished humanity, and “a little something to think about,” shepherded once again by Pastor Dave Brown, patron saint of soulful Sundays.
It’s the sort of gathering that begs for its own ritual — a prelude to soften the edges, or a postlude to let the echoes settle. Something warm to brace against the cold, something contemplative to mirror the music, something with just enough darkness and slow-burning glow to harmonize with blues and benediction. So we built a flight to match that mood: deep, resonant, steady, reflective. The liquid equivalent of a quiet pew and a well-worn chord.
Think of it as five small hymns in glasses — an edible overture to the vespers, or a soft landing afterward when the music still vibrates in your ribs.
Here’s your Sunday soundtrack in beer form…
Peaks & Pints Sunday Blues Vespers Flight
Block 15 Highland Hymn
6.5% ABV | Scottish Ale | Corvallis, OR
Highland Hymn arrives with the low, glowing warmth of a melody played in the back pew — a malt-rich meditation from Block 15 Brewing built on imported Scottish barley and a whisper of beechwood-smoked rauch malt. Toffee dusk and caramel hush drift up first, followed by a soft peat murmur that feels like someone cracked a window to the Highlands. Everything dries out in a gentle, contemplative fade, more exhale than finale. It’s the beer that leans toward a blues guitar line and nods knowingly — quietly powerful, reverent without fuss, and perfectly in tune with Pastor Dave’s maestro-level warmth.
Single Hill Duplicator
7.9% ABV | Doppelbock | Yakima, WA
Duplicator settles in with the deep-amber gravity of a blues bass line — slow, resonant, unhurried. Single Hill Brewing layers caramelized malt, toasted nut, and evening-glow sweetness into a beer that feels like the chapel lights were dimmed just for it. Bread crust, toffee warmth, and a mellow richness combine in a way that steadies the pulse and calms the chatter of the day. No drama, no edges, just a warm, grounding presence. In this flight, it’s the moment the band drops into the pocket and the room collectively exhales.
North Coast Brother Thelonious
9.4% ABV | Belgian Strong Dark Ale | Fort Bragg, CA
As this mahogany pour settles, Brother Thelonious seems to tune the air around it — much like its namesake, whose portrait graces the bottle. North Coast Brewing Company built this Belgian strong dark ale with the same elegant unruliness Monk brought to the piano. Dark fruit drifts like late-night improvisation, caramel warmth curls into soft clove-and-raisin shadow, and the whole thing feels half liturgy, half smoky jazz club. The finish lingers long and thoughtful, a final chord hanging in the rafters. It’s the spiritual-jazz heart of the flight — reverent, restless, utterly alive.
Gigantic Most Most Premium Stout (2024)
12% ABV | Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout | Portland, OR
Most Most Premium Stout moves with the weight of a whispered confession — midnight-black, bourbon-saturated, and humming with barrel-born mystery from Gigantic Brewing. Chocolate, brown sugar, toasted vanilla, and rum-soaked fruit rise in slow, smoky waves, all anchored by the soft glow of oak and spirit. Despite its power, it glides rather than stomps, finishing in a long fade of spice and raisin dusk. It’s the baritone anchor of the flight, the deep note that resonates in the chest long after the sip is gone — the stout equivalent of a closing hymn.
Alesong Maestro
13.9% ABV | Bourbon Barrel–Aged Barleywine | Eugene, OR
Maestro opens like a stage curtain easing back — slow, rich, and touched with candlelight. Alesong Brewing & Blending aged this barleywine in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, coaxing out toffee warmth, vanilla oak, dark-fruit glow, and a soft tobacco murmur. Everything melds into a bourbon-soaked resonance that feels less like drinking and more like sinking into a velvet-lined thought. The finish lingers in that quiet, pastoral way that only great barleywine and great leadership share — which is fitting, because Pastor Dave conducts Blues Vespers with the same deep, steady presence. Maestro is the closing benediction: warm, wise, lingering just a moment longer than expected.
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