Last night we attended a brewers night celebration at the Beveridge Place Pub and had a chance to talk to Mike Runion, one of the owners of 7 Seas Brewing, which will celebrate its one year anniversary with a big bash at the brewery next Saturday. We talked about a lot of things, like how busy they are brewing, canning and distributing their beer, but Mike was particularly excited about the opening of their beer garden at the upcoming party (Saturday, July 31st).
Mike and his partner Travis Guterson are a couple of guys who like to get outside and enjoy the environment, so their vision of a beer garden is a bit different than most. It’s more like a campground or a wilderness picnic spot, really. In Seattle, Fremont Brewing Company has an urban beer garden (read about our visit) which has its own kind of charm for sure, but what they have planned at 7 Seas is quite the opposite.
If you’ve visited the 7 Seas brewery, you might recall that it borders a wooded area. Their next door neighbors are robins, squirrels, raccoons and the trees those woodland critters call home. Into this forest, 7 Seas has inserted a beer garden. While many beer gardens offer you an asphalt floor, you’ll have a blanket of pine needles beneath your feet in this one.
“This is going to be a real northwest beer garden,” Mike told us. “It’ll be like having a beer at your campsite in the woods.”
That might be true, but this beer garden is going to be a lot larger than most campsites. “About 1,200 square feet. Maybe closer to 1,500,” Mike says. “It’s big. It dwarfs our taproom.”
As far as the party goes, Mike assured us that it’s going to be a big bash. It sounds like they’re not holding anything back for this one. You can get all the details on their website. I’ll mention just a couple of things here:
Mike tells us that he’s expecting over 1,000 people. Yep, it’s going to be a bash. Live music, food, great beer. Sounds like a great time to me.
Parking – Since the brewery’s parking lot will be hosting the party, all parking will be off site. There’s a parking lot nearby that will have plenty of room and shuttle buses will be running constantly. Truth is, the parking lot is within walking distance anyway. DO NOT make the mistake of parking in the lot next door at the Inn at Gig Harbor. Big, big mistake.
Pirates – Argh! When ye sails the 7 Seas, ye should expect to see pirates. This is, after all, Gig Harbor—a town with an unmistakable maritime heritage. Without going into too much detail, Mike tells us that there will be pirates. “Serious pirates,” were his exact words. If you show up dressed as a pirate, they’ll buy you a beer.