Sounds and suds unite March 2nd for one historic evening in Tacoma

TACOMA- The Washington State History Museum is partnering with Three Magnets Brewing Co. to create a unique, one-time tasting event, Music to my Beers, on March 2 at 7 p.m. in Tacoma.

“We’ve made a mashup of our two biggest exhibits, and the result will be a special evening filled with craft beer tasting and local 90s indie music,” said Erich Ebel, the museum’s marketing and communications director. “Three Magnets has created four specialty brews inspired by artists and events from that time in Washington history just for this occasion and we’re proud to partner with them for Music to my Beers.”

The exhibits, A Revolution You Can Dance To: Indie Music in the Northwest and Steins, Vines & Grinds: Washington’s Story of Beer, Wine, and Coffee, are both on display at the history museum through April 23. The Music to my Beers evening will include exclusive tastings of the new craft brews, music from the artists that inspired them, games and activities, and a commemorative tasting glass. The event is restricted to guests aged 21 and older. Cost is $15 for online pre-registrations or $20 at the door.

“We’re bottling these beers on February 7 and will be holding a small bottle-release party at the brewery on Saturday, February 11,” said Nathan Reilly, proprietor of the Olympia-based Three Magnets Brewing Co. “Music to my Beers is a perfect way to combine two great genres – beer history and indie music in the south sound – and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

The specialty beers brewed by Three Magnets include:

· HAZY HERO IPA – 12/22: $58.72 ($6.99 msrp)
7.64% abv – 65 ibu
This hazy India pale ale was brewed in collaboration with former frontman of several 90s-era Seattle indie bands, John Atkins. It’s a tribute to the debut 764-HERO album Salt Sinks and Sugar Floats, recorded 21 years ago in Olympia.

· ART CHANTRY’S IMPERIAL BITTER – 12/22: $67.12 ($7.99 msrp); 8.2% abv – 40 ibu
This beer was developed in collaboration with prolific graphic artist Art Chantry. Chantry is well known for his show posters throughout the 90s northwest music explosion and personally designed the label art as well as the exhibit poster.

· YoYo a Go Go: Belgian Dubbel – 12/22: $67.12 ($7.99 msrp); 8.1% abv – 40 ibu
Brewed in collaboration with Pat Maley, Olympia musician and founder of the Yo Yo a Go Go festivals in Olympia and YoYo Records, with label artwork by Tae Won Yu, a graphic artist who contributed to album art for various northwest bands.

· Free Things Are Cool Stock Ale – 12/22: $67.12 ($7.99 msrp); 8.3% abv – 35 ibu
Brewed in collaboration with Diana Arens, former producer of the radio show Free Things Are Cool at KAOS Olympia Community Radio and audio engineer at Dub Narcotic and YoYo Records.

Additional information about the beers can be found online at: http://www.washingtonhistory.org/events.aspx?eid=491. Three Magnets is a community hub in the heart of Downtown Olympia. Within the space is housed a 15 barrel brewery, Darby’s Cafe (open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), 3Mag Sammich (serving food from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 3Mag Pubhouse (serving food from 4 p.m. until late) and a Barrel Room which hosts some of the barrel-aged beer projects and is available as a gathering or meeting space by reservation.

Steins, Vines & Grinds documents the long history of beer, wine, and coffee in the Northwest, from early Hudson’s Bay Company imports through modern-day innovative processes. Even predating statehood, beer, wine, and coffee quickly became important commodities. All three beverages could be found inside the walls of Forts Vancouver and Nisqually. Whether roasting their own green coffee beans from Hawaii, sipping on homemade wine, or imbibing a bottled India pale ale from London, early Northwest settlers took the first steps in the creation of a cultural phenomenon.

Yakima was the first city in the nation to open a brew pub post-Prohibition, and Washington continues to be at the forefront of these industries: Puget Sound is home to a number of urban wineries that source their grapes from multiple vineyards across the state to develop unique blends; brewers are experimenting with new hop varieties and working with new grains thanks to small-batch malting systems; Washington coffee roasters are working directly with coffee growers from around the globe to make use of their distinctive microclimates in developing the best beans they can produce. Washington ranks second only to California in the nation’s grape production, producing 14.8 million cases of wine annually. Six out of the top 10 cities in the United States with the highest density of coffee shops are in Washington.

Visitors to Steins, Vines & Grinds will be immersed in the origins of these three beverages in Washington and see a giant-size inflatable Rainier Beer bottle and a bottle of Rainier – unopened – discovered in a sunken ship; a grape press used by Croatian wine makers in Gig Harbor; coffee and beer mugs and wine bottles and glasses ranging back in time; and a melange of beverage memorabilia and marketing materials that includes posters, neon signs, beer trays, and a bobblehead brewmaster.

A Revolution You Can Dance To: Indie Music in the Northwest is sponsored by Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Click! Cable, and is a look at the local beginnings of the indie music scene: in 1983 Calvin Johnson, Bret Lundsford and Heather Lewis started the band Beat Happening. With little experience playing or performing in front of an audience as a band they immediately recorded and released a self-titled LP on Calvin Johnson’s K Records label.

This became the standard blueprint for forming a band. What followed was an artistic explosion Olympia had never seen before. Some bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit it big on the national stage while others remained local. Festivals received worldwide attention, record labels launched world renowned bands and zines started political movements across the country. Olympia had created a revolution you could dance to.

Women were a major part of this new music scene. As artists, they demanded to be taken seriously and formed bands, made zines, and challenged misogyny. Dubbed Riot Grrrls, their songs tackled topics like depression and eating disorders. Lyrics were now transformed to gutwrenching personal narratives. Leading the charge were bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Together these women transformed culture, challenged societal norms and empowered young girls to find their artistic way in the world.

The Washington State History Museum, located at 1911 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission for members is always free. Paid admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, students and military veterans with ID, and free for children under 5. Patrons with a Washington Quest card can attend for $1 per person or $2 per family. Admission is free after 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month when the museum stays open until 8 p.m. http://www.washingtonhistory.org/

– Washington State Historical Society