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Drinks Matter: Harmon 12th Hop IPA, Red Hot breakfast, Hammerhead Ale ...

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Wish the Hammerhead Ale a happy 29th birthday at the McMenamins Spar Cafe in Olympia Sunday. Then drink it.

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HARMON HAPS

First, Harmon Brewing Co. will release their 12th Hop IPA during the Super Bowl at all their venues. The brew is their new Pt. Defiance IPA recipe dry hopped with 12 different hop varieties: Simcoe, Golding, Cascade, Centennial, Magnum, Palisade, Columbus, Citra, Fuggle, Amarillo, Sterling and Sorachi Ace. Second, Harmon steel growlers are back and really cool! For $40 you can fill this slick 64-ounce bad boy with any of your favorite brews. Bonus for the month of January: fill the steel growlers with a flagship fill for half-off off at any of the Harmon venues.

RED HOT BREAKFAST

The Red Hot (2914 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) serves a Beer Breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon every Sunday. Pair a craft beer with PB&J French Toast and Hangover Hash, among others, or maybe a Stumptown Nitro Draft Cold Brew Coffee will do the trick. Get some.

HAMMERHEAD ALE

In 1983, unemployed Mike McMenamin bought the former Fat Little Rooster tavern in Portland and renamed it the Barley Mill. Brian McMenamin soon joined in and today they own threescore pubs, taverns, clubs, hotels, dance halls and a village called Edgefield. The McMenamins have the golden touch - to convert desuetude into quirky, funky, artful joints to gather and drink. One of the early McMenamins beers, the Hammerhead Ale, celebrates its 29th birthday. It's a classic Northwest pale ale and McMenamins top selling beer. The beer's signature Cascade hop nose and intense hopped flavor blend nicely with the caramel tones from the crystal malt. McMenamins Spar Café (114 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia) toasts the Hammerhead's old age by offering $3 pints of the 5.93 percent ABV ale all day Sunday, Jan. 25.

MEET MANNY

Some 20 years ago, Manny Chao was the first employee at Mac and Jack's Brewery. With Chao's help, Mac and Jack's amber ale became the third best selling craft brew in the state. Five years later, Chao left Mac and Jack's and by 2002, he and his housemate, Roger Bialous, homebrewed their first beer - Manny's Pale Ale. In 2003, Chao was the number one employee at his Georgetown Brewing Company located in Seattle's Georgetown district. In 2013, Chao and Bialous produced 52,300 barrels of beer - the second highest in the state behind Red Hook. Meet Chao at the Georgetown Brewing Brewer's Night from at Pint Defiance (2049 Mildred St. W., Tacoma) 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, drink his Manny's Pale, Lovely Rieda Imperial IPA, Lucille IPA and Barrel-aged Chopper's Red Ale, learn the stories behind the beer names and maybe win a raffle prize.

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