The Bellingham Beer Boom
By Aubrey Laurence
Bellingham, Wash.
Photo at right: The trio of partners behind Aslan Brewing Co. in Bellingham, Wash. From front to back: Pat Haynes (GM), Jack Lamb (CEO) and Frank Trosset (Head Brewer). Photo by Austin Martin
Ever since Boundary Bay Brewery opened in 1995, and then Chuckanut Brewery in 2008, Bellingham has shown its faithful support for craft beer. But, in the last few years, it has surged like never before.
Both Boundary Bay and Chuckanut have increased capacity and moved into bottling. Kulshan Brewing Co., which opened in 2012, had to double the size of its brewhouse within a year, just to keep up with demand.
New beer stores such as Elizabeth Station opened up and began offering massive selections of beer never seen before in this city, plus a constantly changing selection of draft beers to drink on premises or to go in growlers.
Ferndale’s Menace Brewing Co. opened a beer bar in Bellingham called The Local Public House, which serves Menace brews, plus an ever-changing selection of draft beers.
Meanwhile, established beer bars such as The Copper Hog, McKay’s Taphouse and The Green Frog all added new taps, nearly doubling the number of taps between the three.
And, as of this spring, Bellingham has garnered two new breweries, Wander Brewing Co. and Aslan Brewing Co.
There are even rumors of more breweries coming down the pipeline, including Stone’s Throw Brewery, which recently applied for a license to operate in Fairhaven, on Bellingham’s south side.
Bellingham has also seen an increase in beer dinners, beer cruises and beer festivals, including the increasingly popular Bellingham Beer Week, now in its third year, which will take place Sept. 12–21.
