Almond Roca beer, beer-can derby, stationary bike racing — and more Beer Week events
The next 10 days are your chance to sip Almond Roca beer, compete in a homemade beer-can derby race, test your fermented barley trivia and more — Tacoma Beer Week starts today.
From Friday, Aug. 9 through Sunday, Aug. 18, beer-focused bars and, naturally, breweries will host an array of events to celebrate their preferred beverage.
It’s also the 10th year for the festival, which, aside from an off-season in 2020, has been growing since 2014 — along with the meteoric rise of the craft-beer industry itself.
This year, Certified Cicerone Lyra Penoyer will teach a sold-out Level 1 class. Matt McClaren, also an Advanced Cicerone and a well-known name in the local beer industry, will join his Grit and Grain podcast hosts for a live taping at Peaks and Pints.
That’s right — Tacoma has a beer podcast!
Most events are free to enter, but guests are encouraged to (responsibly) soak up the suds.
The fun begins Friday afternoon at Sig Brewing on Tacoma Avenue South, where you can be among the first to try the Almond Roca-infused cream ale produced especially for TBW. (You can also indulge at The Parkway Tavern on Monday night, when staff will run beer and Brown and Haley candies through the Randall machine.) Peaks and Pints is also hosting a launch party on Friday night.
Brew Five Three, one of the few ticketed events ($55 general admission, $10 designated driver), highlights Saturday. For the second consecutive year, the beer and music festival will take over Chambers Creek Regional Park. Entry grants you a 5-ounce souvenir tasting glass and eight tasting tokens. Find sustenance from local restaurant pop-ups and food trucks, play lawn games, check out the bands on the main stage, or just soak in the stunning view from this jewel of a park — local beer in hand, of course.
Next Friday, Aug. 16, snag a seat at an exclusive pairing dinner with chef Jan Parker, who will serve a multicourse meal paired with beer from Lucky Envelope Brewing ($130 for food, drink, live entertainment). It all happens at Delightful Neighborhood Market in the North End, which has partnered with the Asian-owned Seattle brewery on a special matcha-infused hazy IPA.
Other events include a 90’s-themed night at The Living TapRoom, a Belgian-focused evening at Pint Defiance, and a caffeinated situation with Campfire Coffee and more coffee-laced beers at Peaks and Pints.
7 Seas Brewing will host the first-ever Heidelberg Derby on Monday, in which contestants will fashion derby cars out of — you guessed it — beer cans. Another active entry is the “Goldspoke beer sprints,” or stationary bike race with beer, at The Red Hot on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Last but certainly not least, check out two anniversary parties: Narrows Brewing will cheers to 11 years, and The Red Hot will pitch the parking-lot tent once again, both on Sunday.
TACOMA BEER WEEK
▪ Aug. 9-18, various locations around Tacoma, University Place and Puyallup
▪ Find the full schedule and links to tickets at tacomabeerweek.com
