Pacific Northwest – Brew Pubs (6)

While brew pubs may not be a “wonder” of the Northwest, they certainly are fun and plentiful, especially, it seems, in Tacoma where we are staying. Tacoma is a city of neighborhoods, and, each neighborhood has its own brew pubs. According to a recent article in the Tacoma daily paper, approximately 3,700 breweries and brew pubs have opened in Tacoma over the last several years. According to the article, there well could be “a freshly brewed hazy IPA or newfangled sour beer within walking distance of every man, woman and child in Tacoma” (the population of Tacoma is 208,000).

To contribute to our education of the area, Steve has made it his mission to introduce us to many of these brew pubs by instigating “pub crawl nights.” The pubs can be brew pubs, regular pubs or just plain bars, but, they have to have “atmosphere.” He started this program last summer, and, it was such a success that he was encouraged to continue. Not only are we getting tasting opportunities, but, we are also venturing into all parts of the city.

Our most recent outing was to the Top of Tacoma Bar. Perhaps it is not in Tacoma’s finest neighborhood, but, it certainly is popular with the neighborhood. It does not hurt that large pitchers of Rainier beer (very popular here) sell for $7.00 until 6:00 p.m. each evening. That would account for the early revelers but not for the stream of business that continued. The bartenders and servers knew their clientele, and, they also had a busy food take-out business. We were rather amused when Steve asked if they served wine, and, our server responded with a hesitant, “we don’t sell any fine wine here.”

Earlier in the week we hit two pubs, both on the water, but across town from one another. The first pub was called Rock the Dock Pub & Grill, and, it is located on the Thea Floss Waterway, which includes the working dock area of Tacoma. The Port of Tacoma is a major seaport and top 10 U.S. container port. Below is a photo taken from the deck of the Rock the Dock. Although very much a working area, the view is great.

But the patrons of a waterfront pub can be what make for an interesting experience. We decided that the following guy typified a Rock the Dock Pub patron with his attire, tattoos, braided beard and earring, at least from an initial impression.

Then my sister decided to chat with him, and, she snapped the following photo. What a difference a smile makes.

Then it was on to a very different view at the Boathouse 19, which is located at The Tacoma Narrows. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge (pictured below) connects Tacoma to Gig Harbor, a small, picturesque town. The original suspension bridge opened on July 1, 1940, after two years of construction. It was nicknamed “Galloping Gertie” by construction workers who observed its vertical movement of the deck during windy conditions. Its main span collapsed 4 months later in November 1940, and, it became famous as “the most famous failure in bridge engineering history.” Miraculously, the only victim of this disaster was Tubby, a dog.

Boathouse 19 has tables outside, which make for great viewing of the scenic Puget Sound waters and The Tacoma Narrows Bridge and all the marina activities. And, sometimes it is just too hard not to notice unusual boating attire. . .hopefully, this is limited to the Pacific Northwest.

So, what started as exploring brew pubs provided an educational experience. What a great way to learn about a city!