35-cent beers, $1 burgers at Heidelberg party in Tacoma on Wednesday night
Starting tonight at the 7 Seas Brewing taproom on Jefferson Avenue, Tacoma’s favorite lager will flow from kegs for the first time in more than 40 years.
On Wednesday only, 4-10 p.m., fans can snag drafts of the beer with the “velvet tang” for just 35 cents.
If that’s not reason enough to swing by the Tacoma taproom, The Canteen by Camp Colvos, which just opened its comfort-food restaurant here in December, will be grilling $1 single-patty smashburgers. Note the limit of two burgers per person.
The Rusty Cleavers, a Tacoma-based bluegrass band, will play from 6-8 p.m.
A little over a year ago, in late 2021, 7 Seas resurrected the Heidelberg Beer brand in full-circle fashion.
The Gig Harbor-based brewery, founded in 2008 by Mike Runion and Travis Guterson, expanded to Tacoma in 2015. The location: 2101 Jefferson Ave., Columbia Brewing Company’s warehouse from the 1950s through the demise of Heidelberg Beer, following several ownership changes, in 1979. The original grain tower still stands, and 7 Seas has since wrapped their updated version of the Heidelberg logo on it, along with a banner on the 25th Street side of the building.
“Immediately, it became the conversation of: Wouldn’t it be cool to bring the brand back?” recalled Runion in an interview with The News Tribune shortly after the launch in 2021. “The beer was marketed as having ‘that velvet tang,’ and that is just such a wonderful, textural way to describe a beverage.”
At the time, he and Guterson weren’t sure whether they would keg the new Heidelberg. As a lager, it takes almost twice as long to brew as the average IPA, and keeping it exclusively in tall-boy cans allowed them to manage inventory. In addition to being available at both 7 Seas taprooms, the cans have been distributed to select local bars and retailers, leaning toward well-stocked bottle shops, bars known for their beer lists and, befitting of the history, a few dive bars.
The original launch party also featured 35-cent cans — exact change only. Generally speaking, a 16-ounce can goes for $4, and a four-pack to-go $8.
Visit tonight for a taste of Tacoma history on tap, and be sure to have cash with you in the form of single $1 bills, quarters and dimes!
In coming weeks, it will be available at both 7 Seas taprooms and a few as-yet-announced local bars.
HEIDELBERG BEER - DRAFT RELEASE PARTY AT 7 SEAS
▪ 7 Seas Brewing, 2101 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 7seasbrewing.com/heidelberg
▪ Details: 35-cent Heidelberg drafts, $1 Canteen smashburgers (limit two per person) starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1; live music 6-8 p.m.
▪ Standard Taproom Hours: daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
