Ask any of the minds behind the first ever Tacoma Craft Beer Festival — a one-day only event, Saturday, Oct. 3, at Foss Waterway Seaport (705 Dock St., Tacoma) — and they’ll give you the same answer.

Ask them why they devoted their time, believed so adamantly in their cause, and most importantly put down their own freakin’ money to bring the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival to life — actions that might lead many to call them completely nuts — and they’ll practically answer in unison.

“Because there wasn’t one.”

Of course, writing about Bennett Thurmon, Chris “Trashcan” Miller, and Roxanne Wolfe feels like writing about family here at the Weekly Volcano. We’ve emptied so many pints and downed so many Sixth Avenue Struts at Miller’s communal Tacoma watering hole, The Red Hot, that it’s — literally — not even funny. Our waistline is grotesque. Seriously, you should see it.

And we’ve written about the festival efforts and triumphs of Thurmon and Wolfe so many times — from the recent Music and Arts in Wright Park to First Night and on down the line — that we practically have the power couple on speed dial. If you’ve ever covered a large festival or event in Tacoma, and we’ve covered a number of them, chances are you’ve come to know and love Thurmon and Wolfe. They (almost) literally have a Ph.D. in festival production, and I’m not talking about any University of Phoenix or ITT Tech shit here. Wolfe and Thurmon get things done.

While it feels a little like writing about family to devote this week’s issue of the Weekly Volcano to the first annual Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, we huddled up and came to a consensus: so the fuck what. Tacoma’s first ever craft beer festival, which amazingly for a first year event will feature 43 brewers from around the country and 88 beers and counting, is an event worth being giddy over.

Consider us giddy.

Besides incredible good looks, the one thing all three forces behind the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival have in common is a passion for beer. Anyone who knows Miller, or even follows The Red Hot’s Twitter account, knows the man is obsessed with beer. We’re willing to bet that if you cut this dude some sort of obscure and ridiculously tasty small batch beer would flow from his veins. But he’s also big, and he’d kick our ass way too easily for us to ever consider trying such a stunt.

Thurmon, in his own right, has been home brewing beer for 18 years, which, unless you’re doing 25 to life and the only alcohol you can get your mitts on is fermented in your cell and made from all sorts of unmentionables, is pretty damn devoted.

Then there’s Wolfe. She put up the bulk of the money to get the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival off the ground, so our gut tells me she’s serious.

“In Tacoma we have a harder time getting specialty beers. Tacoma just isn’t considered a viable marketplace,” says Miller, who believes that — for whatever reason — Tacoma suffers from a sort of “second city” complex and many distributors aren’t yet convinced of the craft beer market in Tacoma. As a bar owner, he doesn’t buy it, and he says he’s seen evidence to the contrary firsthand. He says Tacoma is a beer town and hopes to change negative, Tacomans only drink ice beer with grizzly bears on the can perceptions through things such as the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival.

“As beer geeks, (the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival) is a chance to celebrate,” says Miller.

“I don’t know if they’re not paying attention or if they just think the market in Seattle is so big that they don’t need to worry about Tacoma. I didn’t just get into this for the sake of selling beer.”

Indeed, the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival won’t be making anyone rich. Assuming the money put into the event is recouped, which seems nearly certain based on the palpable excitement leading up to the festival, all of the extra cash will go to Boots ‘n Breeches, a nonprofit charity that provides therapeutic horsemanship to children and adults with special needs.

“I really wanted to do something good for children or something involved with helping people on a local, grassroots level,” says Wolfe of the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival’s partnership with Boots ‘n Breeches.

“We’re all passionate about beer,” says Thurmon of what inspired Miller, Wolfe and him to create a beer festival in Tacoma. “That’s what we’re about. That’s why it’s the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. You’re not going to find any big corporate breweries here. I think that was the point.”

“I think a lot of people get intimidated,” offers Miller of the world of small craft beers. “This is a good chance to find out what you like. You don’t have to drink just what ads tell you to drink. Hopefully, we’ll be dropping knowledge bombs. Beer isn’t just about the alcohol.”

However, the alcohol is a selling point.

“If I wanted to drink something that just tasted good, I’d drink Kool-Aid,” says Miller. “Beer is the best social lubricant.”

“I think a lot of people see brewing as an art,” he continues. “It’s always nice to run into the guys that brew your beer. This is that chance.”

Here’s a look at some of the upcoming highlights of the first ever Tacoma Craft Beer Festival.

Tacoma breweries

There’ll be lots of Grit City representation at the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, which makes sense. Engine House No. 9, The Harmon Brewery and The Ram’s Big Horn Brewing Co. will all be on hand. Rumor has it that the Harmon may be busting out a new lager. We should be so lucky.

Craft in a can

Though they’ll be working from kegs at the festival, San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery and Gig Harbor’s 7 Seas Brewing — two frontrunners in the ever expanding and exciting world of canned craft beer — will be in town to share the alcohol laden fruits of their labor at the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. Miller calls 21st Amendment a leader in can craft and says Gig Harbor’s 7 Seas soon will be unveiling a Tacoma friendly 16-ounce can. According to Travis Guterson, head brewer and owner of 7 Seas, which tapped its first keg in July of this year, craft beer in cans is a no-brainer. He points out that with a new water-based liner for the inside of cans it’s the best way to package beer for freshness, is much better for the environment, and fits the Northwest lifestyle — meaning it’s easier to tote around a sixer of cans in your backpack while hiking than it is glass. While we don’t necessarily support hiking, we do support craft beer in cans.

First tappings

Of the 43 brewers set to attend the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, many will be offering first tappings of specialty beers that don’t usually come to the Tacoma market. Thanks to the obvious interest from Tacoma, Miller says many are planning on bringing extra kegs.

Seasonal brews

Winter is right around the corner, so you can expect plenty of winter seasonals available for early, delightful consumption on Oct. 3.

DIY

Want to know how to make your own beer — either small-scale or devoting your whole garage to the task? There’ll be plenty of information to take home from the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival. The Beer Essentials, a local business devoted to home brewing, will be on hand to show you how it’s done and what you need to do it. Also, there’ll be a whole grain batch brewing outside in case your inner alcoholic needs a little inspiration.

[Foss Waterway Seaport, the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, Saturday, Oct. 3, noon to 9 p.m., $18 advance, $20 day of, 25 percent military discount at door only, 705 Dock St., Tacoma, www.tacomacraftbeerfest.com]