Oxymorons. What are some that you know well? Cruel kindness, disgustingly delicious, busy doing nothing. There are a few out there, but how about this one, coffee IPA. Two seemingly contradictory terms colliding in one unassuming can. Hotbox Coffee IPA comes to us courtesy of Longmont, Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery. [...]
Let's do something a little different today and grab something a little vintage. It may be sacrilegious to willingly cellar and drink an IPA, but I assure you all that this beer is an IPA in very few ways. It is much more so a funky dry Brett beer, courtesy of the [...]
Happy Monday folks and welcome back for another Tap Trail Review. As it continues to warm, albeit slowly, I keep reaching for lighter and brighter offerings. Todays offering comes from Salt Lake City's Uinta Brewing. Back in Colorado I would find myself consistently reaching for their flagship Hop Nosh IPA, it [...]
Happy Spring folks! We're officially out of Winter, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. The rain and cold may continue, but I wanted to reach for something bright and vibrant in hops of encouraging the weather to do the same. Hopworks in Portland is going through a [...]
Happy Tuesday folks, we've got something a bit different today, a somewhat obscure style. Roggenbier is a traditional German style beer brewed with a very heavy portion of Rye in the malt bill and a strong yeast profile to balance the spicy rye. Pelican is nestled in Pacific City, OR [...]
Happy Monday folks, happy snowy Monday. I didn't quite anticipate the amount of snow we'd get today, but I am thankful that its visit doesn't appear to be a long one. I've taken a reach on todays selection, I know you're not supposed to read a book by its cover, but [...]
It's here, Founders Brewing has officially launched in Washington state! The core beers have been out for about two weeks now, and the specialty beers are just now starting to reach the market, move quickly because they likely won't last too long. Perhaps the most famed Founders beer is what we've [...]
Welcome back for another installment of Tap Trail reviews. We've got an interesting collaboration beer here today. Collaborations are always a nice idea, especially if it affords you the opportunity to try a beer from a brewery you wouldn't normally be able to. There have been quite a few local breweries [...]
Happy New Year and welcome to 2017, I hope you all have enjoyed the holiday splendor with family, friends, and good beer, I know I did. We've just closed out a fantastic 2016, replete with numerous new beers, and plenty of old favorites making their newest vintage debuts. 2017 promises to [...]
Welcome back to Tap Trail Reviews, it has been another stellar year for beer. We are clearly still on an upward trajectory in both quality and quantity. There are so many superb beers out there that it is tough to taste even one percent of them in a year. Fortunately we've [...]
Welcome back to another installment of Tap Trail Reviews. We've taken some time off as we've been inundated with some awesome Fresh Hop beers. Some of my favorites were from Fremont, Fort George, Laurelwood, Skookum, and well, too many to name. This years crop was fantastic and the multitude of [...]
Fresh hop season is upon us and I could not be any happier. Fremont has been giving us delicious but limited fresh hop beers from their kick ass Cowiche Canyon hop program, where they partner with hop growers to grow small plots of organic delicious hops. For the first time this [...]
Welcome back again to another sip on the Tap Trail Reviews. We've just conquered yet another epic Bellingham Beer Week. Replete with numerous stellar beers, familiar faces, new friends, and many memories to add to the logbook. To decompress and celebrate a bit I wanted to go for a beer [...]
Check out Bellingham’s finest breweries as they visit the Crafty Fox in Denver on October 7th from 4:00 PM - close! Drink beer and win prizes! Joining Denver’s own Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project and Jackson Hole, Wyoming's Melvin Brewing will be 10 featured taps from Bellingham’s Aslan Brewing Company, Boundary [...]
Welcome again to another Tap Trail review installment. It would appear imminent that Fresh Hop Season is upon us. The hops are being harvested and dumped into brews left and right. However, the first package on the scene this year comes from Two Beers. They are usually the first to the [...]
Ah the venerable Berlinerweisse, the approachable lightly tart German wheat beer. A delicious low alcohol treat on a hot summers day. I much prefer a clean and tangy Berlinerweisse to a sweet and sticky Radler on warm days like we've been having lately. These sour wheats do have a broad spectrum [...]
Tap Trail! You came out in droves to vote for Bellingham's 2016 Best IPA in our online poll. Every single brewery on the Tap Trail made a good showing, but the Top Three showcased the roots of your taste. Bellingham's diverse IPA offerings are a symptom of a national craze [...]
Welcome back folks, and welcome to another Tap Trail review of epic bottle proportions. I want to extend a warm welcome to Terry who is going to be gifting us with some hyper local reviews of the good stuff being cranked out by our local breweries, while I'll continue to focus on [...]
Bellingham Beer / Credit: Heather Hulbert Bellingham's craft beer scene will always be one of collaboration and teamwork. We're seeing more beer collaborations between our breweries. I often see brewers drinking at other breweries and talking each other up. It's a beautiful thing. Bellingham's brewing community is a wonderful place for community [...]
I was reading craft beer news on my phone this morning when a text came in from Aslan GM Pat Haynes, with a picture of their brand new 60bbl fermenter hanging from the tip of a skid. The text read, We're at it again. Placing the 45bbl bright tank this [...]
I've seen people talking about how it's summer. It isn't and spring needs to be enjoyed without elbowing it out in favor of another season! But the first day of summer is June 20th, so it's right around the corner. So many good beers hit the Tap Trail this time [...]
UPDATE: Quiz has been updated on June 8th, 2017 Just how well do you know the Bellingham Tap Trail? Take our quiz, learn more about the Tap Trail, get your results and let us know how you did! Yep, you could cheat by Googling everything, or grab your Bellingham Tap Trail [...]
Welcome back metal mavens, sour sucklers, funk floggers, beer brothers, and welcome to the most recent installment of Tap Trail Reviews. We've got a fun one today, from a small brewery in Denver called TRVE (pronounced true). TRVE was one of my most memorable stops during my trip back home over [...]
I put little superstition or thought into Friday the 13th, it is just another day. However this most recent one, donned "Freaky Friday" by our beer brothers at Crux Fermentation Project brought us the release of something quite special and unexpected. My ears, and taste-buds always perk up when I see or hear [...]
Welcome back all you Tap Trail trekkers, ale admirers, IPA initiates, and Saison scourers. We've got a fun one for you today from the new guys on the block, State Street, that is. Structures has consistently released a nice array of beers since their inception late last year. They have enjoyed [...]
Welcome back again for another rendition of Tap Trail Reviews. We've got a fun one this week from Wander, who just celebrated their second anniversary on Saturday in epic fashion. Loads of incredible beer, people, and community made for a great party. Prior to their anniversary, Wander re-released bottles of their Wild [...]
Welcome back beer lovers from near and far, pundits of Porter and sippers of Scotches. I was fortunate enough to have spent the last week with dear friends in the UK, exploring many new beers and pubs, some which stuck out to me the most however, were from BrewDog. Our gracious hosts [...]
Welcome back masters of malt, guzzlers of Gueuze, sippers of Stout, to another installment of Tap Trail reviews. As much fun as it's been getting down on some spectacular beers from all over the land, we wanted to take another look back at the wonderful homegrown scene we've got here in [...]
Welcome back all you hop hawkers, bottle browsers, draft drinkers, and new release raiders. Friday saw the worldwide launch party of Melvin Bottles at Elizabeth Station. The house was packed and folks were clamoring to get their hands on the beloved 2X4 IPA for the first time ever in bottles. Up to this point [...]
IPAs are driving much of the craft beer industry and dominates our growth. It's the most popular style on at any taphouse or brewery. So many layers to please the beer snob in all of us, yet so much aggressive flavors to please nearly anyone. Aaron Matson, owner of Copper Hog, Jay Gaunt [...]
Welcome dark beer brewers, lovers, consumers, and aficionados. We've got a special one today, a beer of epic proportions, this is perhaps the epitome of coffee beers. Sump is an Imperial Stout from Perennial, in St. Louis, MO, along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. Established in September 2011, Perennial has [...]
Beer fans, connoisseurs, enthusiasts, and adventurers, welcome back, and welcome to an extra special day of beer. That's right, this year has granted us an extra day, a day that only arrives once every four years. It brings us opportunity and the possibility to explore more of the outdoors, more of the [...]
Welcome back craft beer fans, hop heads, barley wine braggadocios, and lager lovers. We've got a new entry from our friends at Reuben's tonight. Recent winners of Washington's Best Places for Beer > Brewer's Tap Room according to RateBeer. I've long been a fan of their beers, Crikey is a solid NW IPA, their [...]
Welcome again beer lovers. It was an easy pick this week, I needed to get away from some of the fruit accentuated IPA's that have been all the rage this year, and step into a delicious dark beer. There are a plethora of delicious dark beers out there though, OB TenFidy, [...]
Welcome all dark beer lovers to another installment of Tap Trail reviews. I have been waiting quite some time for this little guy to be released. Off Color has been consistently climbing the ranks in my own personal favorites. They have killer, unique artwork, and brew consistently well made inconsistent and [...]
Welcome back for another week of reviews, there have been some remarkable releases lately, most notably Cognac Abyss, as much as I'd love to post a review for that beer, it won't be today. Perhaps we can revisit it at the six month mark or so when it really hits its stride, as [...]
Hoppy New Year all your beer nuts! Last year was a great year in beer, with unprecedented growth in many segments, many new breweries in construction, and even more in planning, this promises to be yet another great year for craft beer. To be forward, I wanted to review this beer last [...]
2016 is three weeks away. Tap Trail, 2015 has been a year for the books. But we think 2016 will be even better. And we want you to start it off right by ensuring you're sporting the best craft beer gear we have to offer. We teamed up with Damian Vines Photography to build [...]
Welcome back craft beer connoisseurs, enthusiasts, gourmands, and epicureans. We are nearly fully entrenched in my favorite season for beer. Winter time always brings with it some bitter cold temperatures, and some equally warming and fulfilling beers to warm the heart, mind, and soul. It is no coincidence that Crux has just released Tough Love, their [...]
This is a series on the Tap Trail where we introduce you to all the fantastic head brewers behind all the delicious beer in our town. Catch up with past articles on Aslan, Kulshan, Boundary Bay, Chuckanut, and Wander. This week, we highlight Eric Jorgensen of North Fork Brewery. While technically located just [...]
2015 has been a heck of a year for Tap Trail. We've pushed hard to elevate our local breweries and taphouses, showcasing their unique characters and cultures. A month ago we were asked to be guests on The Whatcom Report, a radio show on KGMI. The program discusses local business trends and [...]
In this series, we introduce you to all the fantastic head brewers behind all the delicious beer in our town. Catch up with past articles on Kulshan Brewing and Aslan Brewing. Boundary Bay is the founding father of the Bellingham craft beer world. They were the first brewery to open up in Bellingham [...]
The first day of Bellingham Beer Week is CHOCK full of events. The launch of our new map is one of them. New Map. New look. New beer. New prizes Tap Trail Event Stamp Carry your map with you and you'll be rewarded! If you attend one of our [...]
Correction - 3:00pm: The highly scientific process overlooked the fact that you can't bring kids into K2. You can ignore that and bring your kids if you want, but it probably won't work since it's illegal and stuff. ----------------------------------- So you want to grab a pint at one of Bellingham's local craft [...]
Aslan Brewing has been on a roll lately. It has become more and more accepted in the Bellingham community and its recent awards attest to the growing quality of it's beer. The canning of their popular Batch 15 IPA has been met with open arms by it's fans. They have been [...]
Bellingham has some world class breweries. There are more breweries being built here than, arguably, any city in Washington State. Soon we'll have double the breweries per capita of Seattle, WA. The options available to us are quite impressive and this doesn't even include the amazing diverse selection that's about to be available to [...]
Greetings and happy fourth to you all! I trust you are all enjoying some delicious craft beer during this holiday weekend. I always look forward to holidays to break out or conquer at least one special or rare beer. This holiday is no exception and I have been very excited to topple [...]
Bellingham's newest brewery, Kulshan Brewery's second brewery, K2, opened last Saturday. K2 is the first in what will be a series of brewery openings over the next 9 months in Bellingham. Stones Throw, Gruff, Structures and Subdued Brewing will be opening in due time! Bellingham, get out on the #taptrail today [...]
On July 4th the 2nd Annual Yes, We Can! Canned Beer Festival will take place at Elizabeth Station. It's the Northwest's 1st canned beer festival. We are giving away two (2) free tickets to this happy and hoppy event. Here's the event details. POLECAT & WILD RABBIT 40+ breweries - hot food - [...]
The good folks at The Local are hosting their 2nd Annual Home Brewers Competition. I spoke with Ben Buccarrelli of Menace Brewing and The Local. He says this year's competition will be much more legitimate and and will be very competitive. "Instead of having brewers submit their recipes, we will give [...]
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