For the past couple years, when a mention of Bellingham breweries awards comes up, there’s always a discussion that starts with “Kulshan, again?”, but even though the rest of Bellingham’s growing craft beer scene is pretty damn awesome, the stamp that Kulshan Brewing Co. has put on Bellingham can’t be denied. Forget about the beers — we all know there’s a loving spot in our hearts for Bastard Kat IPA, Kitten Mittens Winter Ale and Sunnyland IPA — but it’s the outdoor seating, dog hugging, collaborations, charitable contributions and community interaction that really sets the team at Kulshan apart from the rest. And, they are fun people. Really fun. Peaks and Pints hosts Kulshan Brewing Co. during our Lodge Meeting at 6 p.m. tonight. In conjunction, we’re offering a flight of Kulshan beers we call Craft Beer Crosscut 4.12.18: A Flight of Kulshan Brewing.

Kulshan Gose

3.9% ABV, 9 IBU

In craft brewing, brewmasters must choose between riding the wave of the next big trend, be it hoppy IPAs or sour beers, or brew fun styles they love to drink. Gose beers seem to sit squarely in the middle. The briny, long-forgotten style with an unusual history is on its resurrection tour. Gose derives its name from the river in Germany, located in a mineral-rich region centered around the town of Leipzig. In the Middle Ages, it’s where gose beer got its start, according to the German Beer Institute. It’s one of the few beer styles in the world that calls for high-salinity water, which historians attribute to the high salt content in the city’s water. Kulshan’s version is a little salty, a little tart, a true product of simple resources available to the brewers of early 16th century Germany. This refreshing ale has subtle salinity and spicy coriander to balance it’s tartness with playfully layered fruity aromas of lemon and pear.

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.

Kulshan Transporter

5.1% ABV, 18 IBU

Kulshan Transporter English brown porter just missed the cut in our Tournament of Beer: Northwest Porters. It’s certainly worthy. A malt bill of 2-Row, White Wheat, Chocolate, Brown and Flaked Barley offer aromas of roasted malt, dark chocolate and coffee. The flavor follows the nose with roasted malt, bitter chocolate, subtle coffee and earthiness with a smooth lingering bitter chocolate finish. According to Kulshan hype, “After a long day of toil or a leisurely stroll through a misty Northwest day, there’s no better vehicle to satisfaction than a Transporter.”

Kulshan Coffee Milk Stout

6% ABV

“Milk is for babies! When you grow up you have to drink beer.” So declares Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1977 film, Pumping Iron. But the decision of whether to drink milk or beer now seems as outdated as Lou Ferrigno. The craft beer boom has injected new life into the milk stout, an English classic that withered with the advent of World War II and the milk rationing that followed. Kulshan’s version is a delicious, thick, coffee-infused beer that packs an almost chocolate milk-type flavor, but not alcohol; it’s only 6 ABV, meaning you can drink several and still walk out on your own two feet. The Kulshan brewers drink as much coffee as they do beer. Collaborating with their buddies Fidalgo Coffee was a no-brainer.

Kulshan Sunnyland IPA

5.5% ABV, 55 IBU

“Kulshan” is a Lummi word indicating that the summit of the peak has been damaged, or blown off by an explosion. This word is used of other things damaged or supposed to be damaged in a similar manner. That’s scary, until you realize Kulshan has an IPA named “Sunnyland,” which isn’t scary. This golden straw-colored beauty — brewed with Apollo, Chinook, Citra and Hallertau Perle hops — is crisp, refreshing and hoppy, with citrus and light herbal notes. Not scary … but certainly delicious.