Gig Harbor Brewing Co. and North 47 Brewing Co. open in Tacoma

Two highly anticipated breweries that have been stymied for months by permitting delays just so happen to be opening on the same day. And that day is today. Gig Harbor Brewing Co. and North 47 Brewing Co. both plan to be open around 1 p.m.

Gig Harbor Brewing Co. had to overcome an electrical permit problem before it could open. For North 47 Brewing Co. in Northeast Tacoma, the problem was with the plumbing. But that’s all behind the breweries now.

GIG HARBOR BREWING CO.

Where: 3120 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma; 253-474-0672; facebook.com/gigharborbrewing.

Opening week hours: 1-8 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays (closed Thanksgiving).

After a false start this summer, Gig Harbor Brewing Co. will officially open its doors at 1 p.m. today at the brewery and taproom in the Nalley Valley.

The Tacoma craft brewery is named with a nod to Gig Harbor, the city in which owner John Fosberg had planned to open his brewery, until he couldn’t find the right location that could meet his building and sewer needs. He hopped the bridge and found a taproom that worked in a mostly industrial neighborhood at 3120 South Tacoma Way.

The 2,500-square-foot building has room for about 25 in the taproom.

Fosberg is known in local beer circles as the creator of the Gig Harbor Beer Festival, held every May in Gig Harbor.

NORTH 47 BREWING CO.

Where: 1000 Town Center NE, Tacoma; facebook.com/NORTH47BrewingCo.

Opening week hours: Opening sometime after 1 p.m. today, opening at noon Wednesday, closed Thursday. Check Facebook page for hours this weekend.

North 47 Brewing Co. is opening today in a neighborhood that could really use one — Northeast Tacoma. It’s a soft opening, though, which means the hours and brew will be limited. Wednesday, the brewery will open at noon.

Carl and Stephanie Leach’s taproom, outfitted with a three-barrel system, is in the Browns Point Town Center, which has been seeing a lot of activity lately with the opening of Lumpia World and Hilltop Indian Restaurant and Pizza Corner.

The couple expect to have only these three brews pouring — Bitchin Betty Blond, Amber Waves Hefeweizen and Summerland American Pale Ale. However, they’ll be brewing soon to replenish any that run out.

This is a first brewery for the couple, who live in Kent. Carl is a South Sound native and reservist in the Air Force. Stephanie has spent her career working in tourism and intends to work in the taproom full time.

ALSO OPEN: DUNAGAN BREWING CO.

If you missed my story a few weeks ago, Dunagan Brewing Co. in downtown Tacoma opened Nov. 13 on Commerce Street. Read more here.

READ MORE ABOUT BEER

Find my guide to South Sound craft breweries here.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 3:42 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor Brewing Co. and North 47 Brewing Co. open in Tacoma."