I’ve been home brewing – off and on – for roughly 20 years, but I’m always eager to see how things are done at commercial breweries. I recently had the opportunity to help brew a batch of beer at Menace Brewing in Bellingham, and it was yet another learning experience. While [...]
Sour ales, or beers that feature acidic and tart qualities derived from one or more strains of lactic acid bacteria, can be made in many different ways. Generally speaking, there are traditional, long-aged sour ales and there are quick/wort-soured sour ales. Most of the commercial sour ales on the market are [...]
I can’t think of an industry that is more charitable or gives back more to its local communities than the brewing industry, and Bellingham breweries are as generous as they come. A few events this weekend are perfect examples, even though this is just a slice of what our local breweries [...]
With every decision Aslan Brewing’s owners make, they ask themselves: Does this support our principles? And as you may know, one of their core principles is producing 100% organic beer, which is a challenging and expensive way to make beer. Raw ingredients are limited and difficult to source, additives that [...]
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles on Skagit Valley Malting. We'll be looking at SVM's impact on craft brewing, their importance to our region and the impact they can have on the malting industry. ------- There are now more than 5,300 breweries in America, and [...]
Structures Brewing Crypt Key is a mixed fermentation IPA that simply blew me away. It was served in 10oz stemmed glassware and topped by a creamy white head. Crypt Key clocks in at 7% abv, has an orange-gold hue, and is moderately hazy. It's an attractive beer in all respects. [...]
Gruff Brewing is planning to use some interesting ingredients in upcoming beers. The brewery has made unique beers before, such as its pineapple hefeweizen, spiced imperial Belgian brown, and chocolate coffee stout, but it’s about to take things to another level. No, it’s not going to use odd or gross ingredients. [...]
Decades ago, beer lovers began gravitating toward full-flavored craft beers (“micro” beers back then) while abandoning the likes of Miller, Coors, and Budweiser. The vapid light lagers that dominated the market at the time were essentially industrial products made with adjuncts (see the definitions at the end of this article) with [...]
You might have seen some of Illuminati’s posts on Facebook and wondered when the long-awaited brewery will be opening. Here’s a quick update. Illuminati Brewing (and Masquerade Wine) co-owner and Chief Fermentation Officer Bill Kimmerly told me all his paperwork is in, and that the opening date is ultimately in the [...]
Wander's new Belgo-American IPA is a clean, crisp, and refreshing beer. Don't let the classic copper American IPA color fool you...the Wander production crew made this brew mild enough to crush but nuanced enough to sip and ponder. It's got a creamy head that I wish lasted a bit longer [...]
Want the TL;DR version? It’s fantastic. Get yourself to Chuckanut and drink a glass while you can. Doppelbock Lager is a typically higher alcohol and dark gold to black colored version of traditional German Bock. Though doppel means "double" in German, Bock ABV usually ranges in the 6-7% range while Doppelbock [...]
The fourth annual Washington Hop Mob Triple IPA Roadshow kicks off tomorrow, Feb. 2, at Brouwer’s Café in Seattle, where you will find a whopping 32 Hop Mob beers on tap. Through Feb. 12, other Hop Mob events will follow in 8 western Washington cities, from Bellingham to Vancouver. This year, [...]
In its 30th year of competition (35th year of the festival), the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) awarded 286 medals to some of the best commercial breweries in the U.S., plus three GABF Pro-Am medals to teams of amateur homebrewers paired with professionals. In a ceremony on Oct. 8 at the Colorado [...]
Our email list is the first to hear about new local brewery openings, breaking news, exclusive email list gear deals & general craft greatness. Infrequent, not annoying, always full of beer. Sign up here. Pint Points Chuckanut Brewery won Gold for their Helles and Kulshan Brewing won Silver for their Gose at this [...]
As we approach the end of Fresh Hop beer season, we get to make another trip out Mt. Baker Highway, and make a left hand turn between mile markers 20 & 21, and stop once again at our favorite little Brewery, Pizzeria, Beer Shrine and Wedding Chapel, the North Fork. [...]
As we continue through Fresh Hop season, we are starting to see some of the different results being obtained by our local breweries. Today we visit one of Wander Brewing’s Fresh hop beers, Cascade Coolship. We’ve discussed the classic Cascade hop before, as it’s one of the most common hops [...]
“ It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, for PNW hopheads, that old chestnut doesn’t apply to the Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah matrix in December, it refers to now. The hop harvest season is slowing down, and the fresh hop beers are coming in fast and heavy. I’ll be trying to let [...]
One of the nicest things about being a beer lover in the PNW is the fact that our region grows the majority of American grown hops, upwards of 70% by some reports. The Yakima valley is home to much of the commercial Aslan Leather Coaster - Get one w/ [...]
Bellingham Beer Week may be over for another 50 weeks, but tasty treats from BBW ‘16 remain to be captured in the wild. A certain large Seattle brewery made a BBW beer that has to see the light of day outside their tasting room. Wander and Kulshan teamed up to [...]
Whatcom Women in Beer is a coalition of females from various breweries in Whatcom county. WWiB has a goal of helping women who are interested in the beer industry, in whatever role interests them, gain the education and opportunities needed to pursue their dreams. The beer industry has many facets, but there have been [...]
Once again winemaking equipment pops up in the beer world, this time right in the name of one of Wander Brewing’s latest releases, Foeder WƎN. Pronounced Food-er, a foeder is a large wooden vat that is used to age beer. You are probably familiar with barrel-aged beers, where brewers often [...]
While only about 9 months old, Bellingham’s Structures Brewing is proving to be very prolific, cranking out new beers on what seems like a weekly, if not even more frequent, basis. From coffee Stouts, to Porters, to CDAs, to saisons, and to what seems to be turning into their calling [...]
One of the defining features of the American Craft Beer scene these last 20+ years has been brewers willing to color outside the lines. Sometimes, they barely stay on the page, random mixtures of pigmentation everywhere, seemingly a blur. For example, the current hot trend of American Orange Ales. Called [...]
Not all sour beers are created equally. Literally. The traditional way of the Belgian brewers was to leave the wort in avessel that was wide and shallow, in a room with windows open to the elements. The natural yeasts and bacterias in the air would “infect” the wort. After primary [...]
One of the growing trends in the American craft brewing scene the last few years has been the emergence of “sour” beers. This is a very broad term, and covers a lot of territory. A lot of the use of souring “bugs” such as Brettanomyces (of which there are several [...]
The Belgian Blonde Ale generally tastes like it has its roots reaching far back into history. Surprisingly, it has a development that only dates circa World War Two, and was intended to appeal to Pilsener drinkers, who had grown fond of the lighter beers. The popularity of the style continues to [...]
A combined effort from two of Bellingham’s busiest breweries, Wander and Kulshan, has spawned a light, refreshing beer for the upcoming Bellingham Beer Week that pays tribute to Whatcom County’s important raspberry crop. With over 8,500 acres of red raspberries, spread among about 100 farms, Whatcom County produces over 60% [...]
The article's title has been changed to reflect that Terry, in fact, did not review the beers below. The numbers associated with the beers are, as he says, ABV. Terry's Rating graphic has been moved so it's less confusing. Editorial regrets the confusion. Reviews of Gruff's beers will be coming. [...]
You’re most likely unfamiliar with the Gruit (rhymes with “root”) style. I only have had limited dealings with it myself. So, let’s take a look at what we have in front of us. Gruit is an old style of beer dating back to the 1100’s, and perhaps even farther, that was popular in [...]
Welcome to Bellingham Brewed Reviews, where we review ONLY beers brewed in Bellingham. Opinions held here are not necessarily those of Tap Trail. There’s a new type of beer that you may have encountered lately. Generally, they come with the term “IPA” as a style descriptor, but look nothing like the [...]
Welcome to Bellingham Brewed Reviews, where we review ONLY beers brewed in Bellingham. Opinions held here are not necessarily those of Tap Trail. On a similar theme as our most recent review, today we are visiting another Single Hop brew. The soon-to-be 21 year old Boundary Bay Brewery has been [...]
Welcome to Bellingham Brewed Reviews, where we review ONLY beers brewed in Bellingham. Opinions held here are not necessarily those of Tap Trail. This new brew from Fairhaven’s Stones Throw Brewery features a Single Malt and Single Hop, (thus the name SMaSH) in this case a Skagit Valley grown and [...]
