Tacoma residents will soon have another local brewery to choose from when buying beer at local bars. Wingman Brewers is planning to open in “the next couple of months”, and they will be located in downtown Tacoma on Fawcett Avenue, just on the edge of the old brewery district. They will start off strictly as a production brewery with keg distribution, and they will brew on a 2bbl brewing system. According to their website, “Inspired by Tacoma’s legacy of honest hard work, Wingman Brewers strives to create a strong selection of spirited, full-flavor Beers for the South Sound region.” Their initial beer lineup looks to include Ace IPA (7.1% ABV, 83 IBU), Pocket Aces Double IPA (10.4% ABV, 96 IBU), Pin-Up Pale Ale (6.1% ABV, 40 IBU), and P-51 Porter (8% ABV, 31 IBU).

I was able to get ahold of Ken Thoburn, one of four principle owners, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions:

1) Who is Wingman Brewers? Introduce yourself/yourselves!
Wingman Brewers is a collective of four principle owners with a love for craft beer. This is the first time any of the four of us will be involved in the production side of the beverage industry. Our main focus is creating a great variety of specialty beers to benefit the local food and drink spots in and around Tacoma.

2) Where in Tacoma will the brewery be located, and will there be any retail presence or is it purely production? Do you plan to bottle or can your beer?
We are located in downtown Tacoma on the edge of the old brewery district. We’re not planning on having any retail beverage sales on location. For right now we are concentrating exclusively on kegs.

3) Where are you at in the opening process, and when do you think you might be open?
Hopefully we’ll be opening up in the next couple months (pending remaining licensing processing time). Our brewery is complete and ready to go as soon as the approval process is finished.

4) What size system will you be brewing on?
We’re starting out with a 2bbl system. Since we’re new to the industry we want to start out with a bantam brewing system where we have lots of flexibilty to change as we grow. We want to be able to sustain a focus on creating great beer and avoid a need to meet sales goals out of the gate. With a small system we hope to learn how to survive, thrive and eventually grow.

5) How would you describe your brewing philosophy and what your goals are for the beers you produce?
We believe that beer is the most versitile beverage in the world. What one person loves about a beer another may not. Our goal is to continously create beers that we love. When you see our beer on tap you can be certain that we think it’s a damn good beer.

6) Is there a story behind how you decided to open your own brewery?
The four of us came together slowly as we decided to build a team with all the skills, education and experience to open a new business. We saw the room for a local Tacoma centric production brewery. After lots of meetings about vision and direction we decided to open up small and test our ideas.

7) What are some other commercial breweries that inspire you?
Russian River- their inovation and creation of consistantly great beers is unparrelled in the industry. Russian River embodies the versitility of beer and inspires the stretching of boundaries.
Sierra Nevada- their commitment to environmentalism and sustainability is really something every industry should take note of and attempt to emulate.
Dogfish Head- Coming from humble roots and having the guts to get out there are try something new no matter the obstacles.

Visit their website to sign up for their newsletter, and you can also follow Wingman Brewers on Facebook.