There’s a certain kind of magic only Tacoma’s Proctor District can summon — that small-town-inside-a-city charm where the cold softens, the streetlights hum low, and the whole neighborhood seems to inhale at once. And every year, on the final Sunday of November, that shared breath becomes a countdown. Families gather outside Basin Pacific Insurance, bundled in scarves and anticipation, phones raised, kids vibrating like little tuning forks. It’s not a grand civic spectacle; it’s a one-hour neighborhood heartbeat, a moment where darkness folds in and everyone waits for the tree to blink awake.
Then Santa appears — as if he simply stepped out of the night itself — and the volume jumps a full octave.
And so, as Proctor prepares to light its tree — and Santa prepares to delight the block — Peaks & Pints offers a liquid prelude or post-lighting nightcap for those drifting along 26th. Today’s flight is entirely Santa-themed: the cheerful, the mischievous, the shadowed, the full North-Pole multiverse rendered in beer. Five glasses built for a night when the big man himself arrives, the lights flare on, and the neighborhood remembers why small gatherings often carry the brightest glow.
Here’s your Santa-soaked Proctor Tree Lighting Flight…
Peaks & Pints Sunday Proctor Tree Lighting Flight
Grains of Wrath Hail Santa!
6.7% ABV | Winter Ale | Camas, WA
What follows Santa’s jolliest grin is often his slyest wink, and Hail Santa! from Grains of Wrath captures that exact moment — the grown-up version of holiday cheer. Amber glow, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice unwind slowly over warm malt and gentle toffee, while a curl of orange peel brightens the corners like a garland catching candlelight. A whisper of hearth-smoke earthiness steadies the finish, making each sip feel like stepping into a room full of pine, chatter, and soft winter chaos. This is the festive mischief that warms hands while Proctor waits for Santa to take the stage.
Gigantic Santa Clones Winter Warmer
7.5% ABV | Winter Warmer | Portland, OR
What pours as Santa Clones is holiday comfort with a Portland twinkle — all caramel depth, soft raisin hush, and a gentle winter-spice warmth that wraps around the palate like a velvet cape. Gigantic Brewing Company leans into the season with a fireside glow that doesn’t overwhelm, drifting from toffee murmur to dark-fruit charm and settling into a slow, satisfying fade. It’s effortlessly cozy, the exact kind of winter warmer you want in hand while the kids scream for Santa and the tree winks on like it has secrets.
Gigantic Krampus Stout
8% ABV | Chocolate Stout | Portland, OR
What prowls into the flight next is holiday darkness in its most playful form. Krampus Stout from Gigantic Brewing brings dense chocolate, roasted malt, espresso dusk, and just enough mischief to feel like Santa’s shadow decided to stretch its legs. No peppermint sweetness here — just velvety cacao and a warming finish that smolders rather than shouts. It’s the delicious counterbalance to all that cheerful sparkle outside, a reminder that even Santa travels with a little darkness in tow.
Fat Orange Cat Santa Claws
9.1% ABV | Imperial Stout | Connecticut
What sneaks into the glass is the kind of holiday spirit that raids the cookie plate and leaves soot footprints on purpose. Santa Claws from Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. builds its charm on roasted malt, cocoa richness, cinnamon warmth, and a brown-sugar glow that feels like a gingerbread cottage liquified in moonlight. Chocolate, spice, and fireplace shadow drift from the glass, while the sip rolls warm and dense — espresso hush, vanilla murmur, a soft holiday heat that lingers like chimney smoke after the big man’s getaway. Perfect for a night when the real Santa materializes in Proctor and the tree blinks itself into being.
Pelican Bad Santa
7.5% ABV | Cascadian Dark Ale | Pacific City, OR
What strides into the glass is the roguish, coffee-kissed cousin of the red-suit myth. Pelican Brewing’s Bad Santa carries roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate, and a flick of herbal hop spice through a sleek Cascadian dark ale frame, the whole thing glowing like chimney soot blessed by sleigh bells. Espresso bite meets piney swagger, finishing crisp enough to keep it firmly in Northwest territory rather than stout indulgence. It’s the perfect finale for a flight built around Santa’s multifaceted legend — part celebration, part mischief, all holiday charm.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
