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South Sound Craft Crawl

A fun way to enjoy local handcrafted brews

Jesse Dunagan serves up Compass Rose Honey Lager at Dunagan Brewing Company. Photo credit: Marguerite Cleveland

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South Sound craft breweries are becoming a destination and gaining recognition throughout the world.  In Olympia, The Fish Brewing Company is home to Beyond the Pale Ale, named the 2015 World's Best Beer by the World's Best Beer Awards. If you want to learn more about these great local brews, check out the South Sound Craft Crawl.

The crawl is a Travel Tacoma + Pierce County and Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau partnership that rewards those who love beer.  Pick up a passport at one of the visitor's centers and start collecting stamps at each location you visit. Get 15, and you will be rewarded with a South Sound Craft Crawl growler.  Pick up your prize at one of the visitor's centers or at any course location marked with a trophy icon on the passport. With 21 locations on the crawl, there is something for everyone. A few highlights:

Dunagan Brewing Company: Jesse Dunagan comes from a long line of Dunagans who have perfected the art of making an adult beverage. Dunagan's is an independent, family-owned business.  Jesse's brother, Lt. Cody Dunagan, U.S. Coast Guard, is a minority owner. Jesse handcrafts small batch organic beer and he takes great pride in his work.  Don't miss the Compass Rose Honey Lager. All active military as well as first responders (police and fire) earn the appreciation of Dunagan Brewing Company as well as a 10 percent discount with ID.

Narrows Brewing Company: Unique among the stops on the crawl, you can arrive by boat and enjoy free guest docking. Located at Tacoma's Narrows Marina in the historic mill building, the taproom has Puget Sound views and an awe-inspiring look at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The taproom offers a rotating selection of 14 craft beers.

Top Rung Brewing Company:  This craft brewery was founded by two firefighters who took up making home brew as a respite from their job and found that over time, they got good at it. With a lot of hard work and a great business plan, Top Rung Brewing Company opened its doors. In addition to Top Rung's flagship beers, the company makes limited-release beers usually only available in its taproom. The Red Wine Barrel Aged Pyrolysis Imperial Stout is aged in red wine barrels and utilizes pyrolysis, a fancy science term that brings you a rich, balanced and smooth drinking stout.

If you want to avoid driving, hop aboard Tacoma's Link Light Rail. It allows you to go rail to ale with stops close to seven breweries in the heart of downtown Tacoma. There are no worries about parking when you can just hop on and off - and it's free.

The South Sound Craft Crawl is a great way to learn about and enjoy handcrafted beers inspired by this beautiful area we call home. So pick up a passport and get to work earning your own South Sound growler.

For more information about the Craft Crawl, visit either experienceolympia.com or traveltacoma.com.

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