Whatcom County breweries take home 15 Washington Beer Awards, from ales to sours
This year’s Washington Beer Awards recognized breweries from across the state, ranking a variety of brews and awarding some local Whatcom County breweries.
The annual competition “provides an opportunity for all of Washington’s craft brewers to compete in a blind judging format,” according to the organization’s website.
“It recognizes brewing excellence in Washington and provides constructive feedback supporting future competition entry decisions. By providing an unbiased and affordable competition for Washington brewers, it allows all brewers to compete and raises awareness of Washington craft beer both within the state and on the national level,” the website states.
Last year, Bellingham’s Larrabee Lager Co. won Small Brewery of the Year and four individual beer awards. Kulshan Brewing Company, Stemma Brewing, Wander Brewing, Boundary Bay Brewery and Beach Cat Brewing also won various awards.
This year, 1,095 total beers and ciders, along with 155 breweries and cideries entered in the state wide competition and were placed in gold, silver and bronze for each category.
These Whatcom County breweries won awards
Munich-Style Helles:
- Silver: Larrabee Lager Company - Original
German-Style Pilsners:
- Silver: Larrabee Lager Company - Northtown
Other Light German Style Lagers:
- Bronze: Kulshan Brewing Co. - K2 - Kulshan Oktoberfest
Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lagers:
- Gold: Kulshan Brewing Co. - Sunnyland - Kulshan Especial
Vienna-Style Lagers:
- Bronze: Beach Cat Brewing - Northpaw - Bim-Bam
American-Style Light Lagers:
- Silver: Beach Cat Brewing - Southpaw - Cats Blue Ribbon (CBR)
German-Style Wheat Beers:
- Silver: Kulshan Brewing Co. - K2 - Kulshan Hefeweizen
- Bronze: Larrabee Lager Company - White Duck
English Ales:
- Silver: North Fork Brewery - Spotted Owl
American-Style Brown & Black Ales:
- Bronze: Aslan Brewing - Bham Brown
Belgian Tripels:
- Silver: Wander Brewing - Tripel
German Style Sour Beers:
- Silver: Aslan Brewing - Disco Lemonade
Spiced, Field & Herb Beers:
- Bronze: Stemma Brewing - Conditus
Other Wood & Barrel Aged Beers:
- Gold: North Fork Brewery - Batch 96
Collaboration Beers:
- Gold: Wander Brewing and Otherlands Beer - Terre Du Soleil
Other nearby breweries outside of Whatcom County also won awards including Garden Path Fermentation in Burlington, Terramar Brewstillery in Bow, Farmstrong Brewing Co. in Mount Vernon and Chuckanut Brewery in Burlington.
