Roasted plums on pizza plus solid IPAs. Sig Brewing opening Tacoma restaurant

The fermentation wave has hit Tacoma, as long as the head brewer and chef at the forthcoming Sig Brewing have their say — and in a liquid way, they’re already talking.

Led by Jeff Stokes, formerly of Three Magnets Brewing in Olympia, Sig has embarked upon the now intensely competitive process of getting its beer on taps at South Sound bars. So far, Sig brews have landed at the likes of Parkway Tavern, Opal Lounge, Peaks and Pints, Caskcades and Engine House No. 9. Stokes also has collaborated with other breweries, notably Wingman and Narrows, to get the Sig name out even before its brewing space was up and running.

As of February, he is now brewing in the same building where Hailey (Gift) Hernandez, a veteran of high-achieving (but now demised) kitchens like Marrow and Wilder, will work magic in a gas-powered pizza oven.

From an open kitchen, Hernandez is planning a pizza program inspired, she said, by the leopard-spotted pies from the wood-fired oven of The Carlson Block in Wilkeson, Washington, off state Route 165.

Not enthused with Tacoma’s pizza scene, she wants Sig to become the go-to place for a proper pie — at least in city limits. Her wild yeast sourdough has already been hanging out at her home, where she and husband Dante Hernandez (the brewery’s sales manager) have spent the past two years experimenting.

“My house stinks,” they joked. “We’re pickling things everywhere.”

WOOD-FIRED PIZZA IN THE BREWERY DISTRICT

The menu, still in testing, will often feature said pickles on “really good dough.” One potential pie: Canadian bacon, green olives and sauerkraut with a red sauce. Hernandez has also found creativity worth exploring in Swedish pizza toppings, which range from standard (bell peppers, mushrooms, pepperoncini) to bizarre (curry, kebab, banana). Don’t let those examples fool you: The point is not that the pizza will be weird for the sake of it, but rather that Hernandez will strive to “change your mind about what pizza can be.”

In opening a restaurant in a brewery, she will take full advantage of having a “fermentation expert” in Stokes.

“It would be a disservice to not pour that same amount of energy into the food. We’re not just a brewery and a kitchen. Fermentation exists in both worlds,” she told The News Tribune in February.

“Everyone has a beer cheese and a beer mustard. We want to do something that’s different than everyone else.”

That means not just one but several cultures of sauerkraut, caraway and kimchi sausage, roasted plums on pizza and perhaps smoked and pickled deviled eggs in rotating flavors.

“It’s staying relevant — not just creating, never settling, always trying to just be better,” she said, adding that ultimately, “I want to make food that’s great but my folks can come here. You can eat well affordably.”

BEERS TO PAIR WITH PIZZA

On the beer side, Sig has thus far sold kegs of a Northwest-style IPA with four hop varietals and a 7% ABV. Dante Hernandez describes it as “a little clear, a little hazy, with everything good in-between.”

The region is “so tuned to bright, big hops,” explained Stokes, that it’s nearly impossible to draw praise without brewing solid IPAs.

“I would love nothing more than for the whole community to drink English mild ales,” he joked, “but people love IPAs.”

Most recently, Sig released a double hazy IPA and a limited edition of a Russian Imperial Stout made with Bluebeard Coffee, toasted cinnamon and whole vanilla beans. Another specialty brew in the works: a key lime pale ale.

The lineup also will include Belgian farmhouse style ales, which pair well with pizza, as well as a Helles and a pilsner. A few taps will highlight other local breweries and cideries.

SIG: A FAMILY AFFAIR

Co-owner Duncan Susag had operated his concrete design firm, Studio Make, from the Tacoma Avenue space for about 10 years. About three years ago, he and his brother Alex Susag partnered with their cousin, John Samuelson, to develop the brewpub concept. All three are originally from North Dakota, but they have lived in the Puget Sound region for more than 15 years; their families migrated here, too. The name Sig honors the Susags’ father and Samuelson’s uncle.

“We wanted to get creative with the idea of what a brewpub or taproom can be,” said Samuleson. When they learned that the building was zoned to serve food, they decided to go all-in. They knew that meant giving the right chef and brewer the tools and the freedom to do their thing.

“We really wanted them to feel like it was theirs,” Alex Susag said.

His brother added, “It makes sense, too: don’t step on yourself. Jeff knows beer; Hailey knows food. We knew we could build this place.”

That pizza oven anchors a custom concrete bar hand-poured by the Studio Make team and designed by Duncan Susag’s business partner Cody Carpenter. (Some of Sig Susag’s ashes were mixed into the blend.) Concrete plays an important role in the design, which the ownership trio wanted to stand out from the wood and palettes prevalent in brewery taprooms. Custom tables line the long wall, too, and up front there’s a long concrete table on casters to accommodate large parties.

Floor-to-ceiling windows look out to Tacoma Avenue, with the Dome peeking out. Inside, the bar focuses on the pizza oven, next to a window into the brewery.

SIG BREWING

▪ 2534 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, no phone yet, sigbrewingco.com

▪ Details: Order to-go growlers and kegs online; brewpub hoping for spring 2020 opening.

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This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:10 AM.