Peaks and Pints hosts seven Bellingham breweries at 6 p.m. tonight in what the cool kids call a “tap takeover.” Craft beers from Aslan Brewing, Boundary Bay Brewery, Chuckanut Brewery, Kulshan Brewing, Melvin Brewing, Stones Throw Brewery and Wander Brewing will pour from our Western red cedar tap log. There’s talk of a tabletop hockey tournament and swag o’plenty. Because Peaks and Pints offers a daily flight we present a Bellingham version today. We chose the craft beers that received awards — the best of Bellingham, if you will. Drop by Peaks and Pints tonight and enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 11.16.17: A Flight of Bellingham.
Aslan Disco Lemonade
4% ABV, 4 IBU
It’s the best Disco in town, funky music pound for pound / Join the crowd, come on dance and sing, hey, hey / It’s the best Disco in town, people come from miles around / It’s the place to do your own thing, hey, hey. Of course The Ritchie Family wasn’t waxing discotheque but rather Aslan Brewing’s Disco Lemonade Berliner Weisse, bronze medal winner at the 2016 Washington Beer Awards. The light-bodied sour wheat beer is so delicious it deserves a song. With its bubby effervescence and tartness, the centuries-old Berliner weisse style was called the “Champagne of the North” by Napoleon. Aslan’s version brings out hints of lemon, while the generous amount of wheat rounds out the body lending a remarkable similarity to lemonade.
Kulshan Premium Lager
5% ABV, 12 IBU
Kulshan Brewing grabbed gold at the 2017 Washington Beer Awards for its Premium Lager. Now a year-round offering, the canned craft beer is light and refreshing lager with just enough crispness to balance the malts perfectly. Subtle grain and light hop aroma adds to this thirst quenching beer. Made with Mt. Rainer hops, its aroma is full of straw with grains and bread backing. Flavor is similar with straw, some sweet grain and a bit of bread.
Chuckanut Brewery Dunkel Lager
5.5% ABV, 22 IBU
Chuckanut Brewery’s Dunkel Lager is a winner. Truly. It grabbed gold medals at Great American Beer Festival 2009 and 2017, North American Beer Awards 2009, World Beer Cup 2010, NABA 2011, GABF 2014, World Beer Cup 2014, NABA 2015, Washington Beer Awards 2016 as well as many more silvers and bronzes from other competitions. Chuckanut Dunkel is a classic malty, deep mahogany Munchener lager with balanced smooth toffee and chocolate notes. There is just enough bitterness to balance out the malt.
Wander Correspondent Foreign Extra Stout
6.4% ABV, 40 IBU
Wander Brewing scored a gold at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival for its Correspondent Foreign Extra Stout (applause). Seriously, that’s awesome, and so is this stout. Typical for the foreign extra stout style, Wander hits a higher gravity, but blow imperial numbers, for sweet, darkly-toasted caramel and some milk chocolate from the malts, but mostly toasty grain, followed by a nice sweet pine note and long mildly sweet finish. A creamy, medium body with lively carbonation goes for the gold.
Boundary Bay Cedar Dust IPA
6.5% ABV, 66 IBU
Boundary Bay Brewery’s Cedar Dust IPA has been swept up by a bunch of awards, including Bellingham Tap Trail’s Best Beer in Bellingham in 2015 and 2016. Brewed with four varieties of hops, all bred and grown in Washington, Cedar Dust IPA has a distinctive herbal pine and citrus aroma. The addition of Mosaic hops provides subtle undertones followed by a spicy, earthy mouthfeel. Its malt bill includes a secret dark malt, which provides just enough backbone to balance its big hop character.
