The Tacoma Craft Beer Festival

First off, let me say that we loved The City of Tacoma and the people that we met.  Designated a City, Tacoma still has that small town feel; everyone seems to know one another.  A feeling I knew growing up, but unknowingly it slipped away when I moved to Portland.  I do love where I live now, but there are several things absent in a larger metropolitan area.

Tacoma rocks!

Okay, let us talk festival and beer now. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and the location picked for this year's Tacoma Craft Beer Festival could not have fit the weather better.  For the past two years the festival had been held inside at The Foss Waterway Seaport Building on Dock Street; a nautical themed building with elderly charm. This year, organizers took the festival literally down the road and outdoors to the 21^st Street Park.  Situated beneath the structurally attractive 21^st Street Bridge, the park proved that it could make the event alfresco and imagine keep that way for years to come.

The grounds and with the structurally pleasing
bridge overlooking.

The festivities kicked-off at noon and slowly gained momentum.  At first, it was a breeze to fill your 5 oz souvenir taster without a wait in-line, but as the afternoon progressed, you may have found yourself 6-8 people deep; an easy feat by any means.  I pleased my palate with a number of fine beers throughout the day.  However, being the bad beer drinker that I am, I did not jot down a single note.  I typically add some chicken scratch to the event program which contains each beer and its brewer, but unfortunately at this year’s Tacoma Craft Beer Festival one was not furnished.  Granted, this was a minor glitch for this remarkable event. 

Let the tasting begin!

So, who was the winner at the festival?  Well, we thought we were!   We had a great time manning the Eyeluvbeer roaming HQ, chit chatting with folk, including our new friend  BrewDad and Tacoma staple The Pissed Libeerian (it was great to finally meet MGD), and of course, tasting the variety of amazing beers from Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Colorado, and even Canada. As much fun as we had, the real winner of this 4,000 person attended, sold out event was The Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound.  The sponsors, breweries, volunteers and the TCBF team all worked their booties off to bring us together for a great cause and some excellent beer.  A special thank you goes out from us to festival organizers, Roxanne and Bennett! You guys rock!

Super Powers: BrewDad and Eyeluvbeer.

Tim and Renee Rockey from M-T Head.
Love their beer!

Awesomeness!

Best display award goes to 7 Seas!

A big high five to TCBF and The Boys and
Girls Club of South Puget Sound.

Beer and Corn Hole go together like a horse and carriage.

Things picked up about mid-afternoon.

A few musicians were on hand to entertain.

Nice shirt.

My favorite shirt seen at the festival.

The Pissed Libeerian and MGD at the post TCBF get together
at the Parkway Tavern.  A place we fell in love with at first sight.

The 2011 TCBF Participating Breweries:

7 Seas Brewing, Airways Brewing Co., Alaskan Brewing, Alpine, American Brewing Co., Anderson Valley, Avery Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Diamond Knot Brewing Co., Engine House 9 Brewing, Firestone Walker, GeorgeTown Brewing, Great Divide, Harmon Brewing Co., Hopworks, Kona Brewing, Lagunitas, Lazy Boy Brewing Co., Leavenworth Brewing, M. T. Head Brewing Co., Mac & Jacks Brewing Co., Mad River Brewing, Naked City, New Belgium Brewing Co., North Coast, North Coast Brewing, Odin Brewing Co., Pike Brewing Co., Port Brewing/Lost AbbyFish Brewing, Red Hook, Reel Ales, Schooner Exact, Scuttebutt, Silver City Brewing, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Co., Sound Brewing, Spire Cider, Stone Brewing Co., Trade Route Brewing, Unibroue, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Wingman Brewing.