I was waddling into The Swiss the other day to look for my first summer brew of the season.



I hadn’t hit the Swiss in a while and totally missed its 15th birthday party last week since I was double booked. So it seemed only fitting that I would venture into this home away from home for many of Tacoma’s drinking crowd to see what was on tap.



I was a bit disheartened to find that not everyone was celebrating the coming summer on the same day I was. Everyone was still wearing their winter coats and yelling at me to close the door since I was letting the heat out. They were even drinking pints of Pyramid Snow Cap for crying out loud. The most summery beer I could find on the taps was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and New Belgium Abbey.



I accosted owner Jack McQuade as he ran to get his children home, since they were playing in the doorway of the pub — no, not even the bar owner’s children are allowed to venture into the place for take your child to work day. He looked at me strangely when I asked him about summer beers. And he reminded me that it was only 60 degrees outside.



“We usually get summer beers in when it is a bit warmer,” he joked, noting that the end of May is the time for summer beer deliveries around these parts.



I’m German. This is warm compared to many of the places in Germany my ancestors found themselves ... well, until they lost the war. But that is still a bitter subject that should be best shared another time.



In the next week or so the Swiss will have a special Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale that promises to be a popular summer thirst quencher. Some research give us a hint of what’s to come. This American pale ale has been reviewed around the world and is being seen as a solid beer for the season for its drinkability because of its root beer float sized head and long lacing trails.



What makes this beer interesting as well is that it has a strong smell of hops. The beer has a blast of smooth malt at its first chug and then a hoppy aftertaste as the glass empties into a pool of creamy beer bubbles. The Sierra Nevada might not last until the Swiss Pub’s annual Christmas in July event that celebrates all things beer as the warmer weather finally hits the region. I’ll let you know when an exact date has been set.



While chatting with bartenders Melissa Bellar and Joy Wyrick-Bergam (who is celebrating her fifth year at the Swiss) about the lack of summer beers, two gents at the bar began hassling me about my beer choice.



Terry Gonnow and Craig Youngchild meet up at the Swiss a few times a year since it is  the mid point between their jobs at Boeing and their homes. Youngchild lives in Gig Harbor while Gennow lives in Federal Way.



While they aren’t beer virgins who never stray away from Miller or Coors, they haven’t found themselves wandering the wares of the beer world. They drink their IPAs and their ambers, and they are happy with that selection.



“When I find what I like I stick with it,” Youngchild said.



Oh, to educate the masses. I must endeavor to cure them all.



[Swiss Pub, 1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821]

In other beer news 

Steph DeRosa has announced she is stepping back from the main taps at Tacoma Beer Society after more than a year of planning and operations. She is leaving TBS in the hands of cofounder Melissa Shaylor.



"I am now moving on to focus my attention on another new Tacoma community idea," she wrote in a blog entry on the club's MySpace.com page.



The club is looking for volunteers to fill the void to do everything from schedule beer outings and publicity to hanging flyers. More information is available at tacomabeersociety.org.



99 Bottles has declared May bock appreciation month and encourages folks to swing by to try bocks, doppelbocks, heller bocks, maibocks, weizenbocks, and eisbocks.



Bocks have their origin in the north-German town of Einbeck back when witches were burned at the stake like marshmallows at a campfire. Bock samplers are available for $5 a tray of 6 bock-style beers. With  more than 800 beers to chose from, if bocks don't get you going, there are others to chug.  Visit the Federal Way store at 35002 Pacific Hwy. S., or learn more at 99bottles.net.