Pac Brew Labs' suds have graduated from garage rock.

PHOTO VIA PACIFIC BREWING LABORATORIES

The owners of Pacific Brewery Laboratories are taking the first step from nanobrewery to brewpub by moving beyond their underground SoMa garage brewpub and its free tasting parties to the release of their first (soon to be) commercially available beer: the Squid Ink Black IPA. And they're inviting you to celebrate! A three-destination pub crawl is planned, and here's the itinerary: City Beer Store tonight, Tue/6, Le Trappe on Wed/7, and Shotwell’s on Thu/8.

It all started in 2010, when the owners Patrick Horn and Bryan Hermannsson made their transition into the keg crowd, making 10-gallon batches of tasty beer (check out our feature on the nanobrewery phenomenon from last year, and Pac Brew's food-beer pairings in this year's Beer Issue). Through word-of-mouth, news of their strikingly unusual choice in flavors -- like Hibiscus Saison and Lemongrass IPA -- got out. Their garage parties, which were consistently attended by some of the city's best food trucks, revealed that their wide variety of beer flavors were even more pleasant when paired with chocolate, deli pastrami, or Chinese food. 

And now, a month after the brewery’s bi-weekly brew night finale, a pub crawl to celebrate their new beer is the duo’s next order of business. 

On a cold, chilly night, what will warm you up faster than a weekday evening pub crawl? That’s right, nothing. 

You can thank them later for the juncture. Celebrating the first public tasting of their Squid Ink Black IPA, the owners will be hosting a three-night beer and snack-filled extravaganza. Each night a different location, each night the same deliciousness. 

If you have been following the brewery on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed their “Where’s the squid?” tweets, giving hints to where the parties will be. Did you see Mr. Squid on the cash register of that Mission bar? Or chillin’ on the curb of Mason and Greenwich?

Nosh This and The Butcher’s Daughter will be providing munchies tonight and Thursday. Squid Ink popcorn will be supplied by Ryan Wilson and Because It’s Delicious, the perfect appetizer to compliment the citrus, hoppy flavor and dark malted barley of the black IPA.  

Squid Ink Black IPA release parties:

Tue/6 6 p.m., free

City Beer Store

1168 Folsom, SF

(415) 503-1033

www.citybeerstore.com

Wed/7 6 p.m., free

Le Trappe

800 Greenwich, SF

(415) 440-8727

www.letrappecafe.com

Thu/8 7 p.m., free

Shotwell's 

3349 20th St., SF

(415) 648-4104

www.shotwellsbar.com