Here’s what to sip at Saturday’s beer festival in downtown Tacoma

It’s a block party. It’s a blues festival. It also happens to be one of the largest beer-tasting events in Tacoma.

Brew Five Three, the annual beer and blues festival, starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, and it’ll have seven hours of live music, 39 breweries and cideries offering small tastes, and seven food trucks at a block party that sets up on Broadway between Ninth and 11th Streets.

Admission is $30 to $33. The event is hosted by the Broadway Center for Performing Arts. The event is for people 21 and older only.

What’s the biggest attraction at the event? Tacoma-area beer. Of the 39 breweries and cideries, a third have Pierce County addresses.

It’s tradition for some brewers to debut summer seasonals and fun beer projects.

Here are a baker’s dozen seasonal and special brews you should try (This is just a fraction of what will be served):

Dunagan Brewing Co.: Jesse Dunagan of the downtown Tacoma brewery said he’s bringing something dark, sweet and memorable: Unchartered Waters. His imperial porter is a complex dessert beer made with dark Ghirardelli chocolate and organic cherries from the Tacoma Farmers Market on Broadway.

Dystopian State Brewing Co.: Tacoma’s newest brewery will serve its Samhain Sun Belgian Witbier. Brewer Lana Adzhigirey described the wheat beer as containing orange peel, coriander, a spice blend called Grains of Paradise and the surprise addition of pink guava. “Pink guava adds very faint sweet musky melon-like notes to the beer,” Adzhigirey said.

Engine House No. 9: Brewer Donovan Stewart of the Sixth Avenue brewery and restaurant said he and head brewer Shane Johns are bringing a beer they’ve been working on called Spectral Vision, a dry hopped pale ale made with Citra, Mosaic and a New Zealand hop called Motueka.

Half Lion Brewing Co.: Brewer Adam Shay said the Sumner brewery will bring its Elk Kamp Kolsch, which he described as “very simple with just a touch of Vienna malt and a handful of Tettnanger hops to make this a light and refreshing kolsch. Great for a hot sunny day.” Kolsch is technically an ale, but it’s brewed like a lager. “We still top ferment but let cold condition to clean it up,” Shay said.

Harmon Brewing Co.: Head brewer Jeff Carlson of the Harmon family of breweries and restaurants said he’s bringing a classic Belgian wit. The wheat ale is brewed with a 500-year-old recipe and has hints of coriander, orange peel, light spice and citrus flavors. “This release is very limited,” Carlson noted. Get it while you can.

Narrows Brewing: Taproom manager Mary Asami said the brewery located at the Narrows Marina would bring its Sun Break IPA. “It's light and luscious, great for a hot and sunny afternoon,” she said.

Odd Otter Brewing Co.: The downtown Tacoma brewery will bring its Ottermelon Hefeweizen, which it calls “sunshine in a glass.” The wheat beer comes with crisp melon and lemon flavors with a light body.

Pacific Brewing and Malting: Andy Kenser of the downtown Tacoma brewery said Pacific will bring its White Rabbit Wit, a new summer seasonal made by brewer Bethany Carlsen.

Powerhouse Restaurant and Brewery: Brewer Tristan Canty will be bringing his Boysenmarried Sour, which was made with fresh Oregon boysenberries and marionberries. The beer was aged for 22 months in chardonnay wine barrels.

7 Seas Brewing: The Gig Harbor brewery will pour its summer ale, which the brewery’s Grant Colombini described as having hop aromas of “ripe melon and mango fruit” with a gentle malt flavor.

Tacoma Brewing Co.: Morgan Alexander of the downtown Tacoma brewery said he’s bringing his summer sipper: Hard ginger ale that he turns into a beer cocktail. “The ginger ale cocktail is made with our Dr. Alexander's Authentic Hard Ginger Ale, pineapple juice and Angostura bitters,” Alexander said.

Wet Coast: Aaron Johnson of the Gig Harbor brewery said he’s bringing the Wet Coast Cream Ale, a smooth malt-driven ale finished with Willamette hops.

Wingman Brewers: This Dome neighborhood brewery is going to the hops extreme. Brewer Ken Thoburn said his DIPA Good is a double IPA “made with what can only be described as ‘all the hops.’ There are over five pounds of hops per barrel which equates to about one-third an ounce per pint of beer.” He said the hops include Citra, Simcoe, Meridian, Denali and Strata. Added Thoburn, “Wheat was used in the beer as well to give a smooth mouth feel.”

The bands: Little Bill and the Blue Notes Trio performs at 1:30 p.m., The Rusty Cleavers at 3 p.m., Junkyard Jane with Randy Oxford at 5 p.m. and the Stephanie Anne Johnson Band at 6:30 p.m.

The food trucks: Arnold’s Happy Days will serve burgers and fries. Buddha Bear Bagels will have its bagel sandwiches. Josefina’s Burrito Boy truck will offer a Mexican menu. Lumpia World will have its fusion lumpia and Filipino favorites. Viet Nom Nom will serve its menu of portable Vietnamese eats. Athena’s will serve a menu of gyros and falafel. There’s also Great Northwest Popcorn serving everyone’s favorite snack with beer.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Here’s what to sip at Saturday’s beer festival in downtown Tacoma."