TACOMA, WASHINGTON
Open since 1997, downtown Tacoma’s HARMON PUB & BREWERY sits across from the Washington State History Museum at Thea Foss Waterway’s Puget Sound base. Visited December ’09, green patio benches at the entrance welcome customers to Harmon’s ski lodge atmosphere.
Skiing paraphernalia bedecks the walls, exposed pipes lend an Industrial feel, and TV’s at all corners capture the eye from right side wood bar. American cuisine menu featured recommended halibut fishwich. Windowed brew tanks behind the bar served two dark seasonals alongside six regular brews.
On the wintry dark side, magnificent Scott’s Puget Creek Vanilla Porter poured creamy vanilla ice cream sweetness atop chocolate-y pecan-hazelnut-macadamia richness and port-burgundy illusions. Nearly as rewarding, Diamond Pete Dry Stout placed hop-charred barley-roasted dark chocolate above cherry-pureed cocoa-chalked vanilla-cappuccino conflux.
Mild-spiced wheat-honeyed cereal-grained Vienna Lager, with its biscuit-y cornbread midst and chestnut-pecan subsidy, bested lemony hard-candied orange-tart wheat-flaked wet-grassed dry body Mt. Takhoma Blonde Ale and mildly vegetal spice-hopped lemon-bruised herbal-tinged apple-orange-fruited Pinnacle Peak Pale Ale.
Malt-soured floral-scented orange-dried honey-nutty Brown’s Point ESB lacked initiative. Genteel in its soft approach, woody-hopped Point Defiance IPA shines grapefruit-centered apricot-apple-pear fruiting across creamy caramel malts.
Creamy mocha-caramelized Puget Sound Porter soaked hazelnut coffee into roasted chocolate, vanilla bean, black cherry, and sour raisin illusions, becoming an instant fave.