First Draught: Winter’s ales from Aslan, Boundary Bay, Chuckanut

All this month, as the winter drear settled in, I was in the mood for something in the Goldilocks zone of wintry beer — heavy but not too heavy, and roasty, maybe even smoky, but still drinkable.

Turns out you don’t have to look too hard in this town for a winter beer. I stopped by three of our downtown breweries and was impressed by a few ales that fit the criteria, and nonplussed by others. Here’s my take on four of them.

Aslan Midnight Couloir. This is an aggressive black IPA with a body dark as old motor oil, or the night sky at base camp. You get a muddled aroma of grapefruit and dark chocolate. The mouthfeel is rich, but less daunting — in feel — than the look might suggest. Bright and fruity hops, Centennial, Simcoe, and Summit, are a dark horse highlight that shines through the roasted abyss. The malt’s just slightly off-kilter, and an untamed hefty finish of hop bitterness lingers overlong, alongside a handful of dark roasted malts. But it’s vastly more balanced than the dark tarry hop-bomb ales Aslan put out in their earlier days. Specs are 64 IBUs and 6.5 percent alcohol. Some will find it too abrasive, and I’m on the fence about whether I’m in that camp. C+

Boundary Bay Harvest Rye. Tan head hunkers into a thin, swirly lacing in a few seconds on this brownish orange autumn ale. Aroma of American noble hops meddles with some malt on the nose — like bubblegum (!), the brewery’s cheat sheet says, though I found it more like a lozenge. Rye is present but overshadowed by most everything else. The malt profile feels dull where it should be sharp, heavy-handed where it needs nuance, and overall a blunt mushy amalgam of what felt, to me, like guesswork. On the back end there’s a light alcohol burn, about what you’d expect for 7 percent alcohol by volume. Rye can work miracles in bread or whiskey or beer, but not in this particular beer. Boundary does a lot of things well, but look to Sierra Nevada or, locally, Aslan and Wander for an accessible ale that makes better use of rye. D+

Chuckanut Rauch Lager. The pour is clean, clear and golden, near bronze, with a head that’s loose, off-white and quick to vanish. Smoke on the nose from beechwood, as is tradition, and wood-smoke on the palate. Clearly that flavor — wood, sap, etc. — is the focus, gracefully coming out on top of the flavor profile, but not because it’s shouting over everything. It just fits. This is a well brewed beer, one that doesn’t wear out like a novelty, at least not in one pint. Underneath, the body’s medium-light in malt, and sweeter than I noticed at first, at 22 IBUs and 5.5 percent alcohol. Rauchbier is a rarity around these parts, especially one so fresh and local, with the more delicate flavors intact. It’s worth seeking out. B+

Chuckanut Dry Irish-Style Stout. Here’s one of the thinnest stouts you’ll come across, locally, with a loose tan head and a skeletal body that’s more brown than black, ruby around the edges. Yet it’s heavier in deep-roasted aroma on the nose than most beers in the style. Not all stouts have to be meals, and in fact, the world’s best loved Irish stout — have you heard of this Guinness guy? — isn’t heavy at all. The thinness of the body reflects the 3.8 percent alcohol by volume and seems to sacrifice texture for sessionability. Many of Chuckanut’s lighter beers, like the Kölsch, Pilsner, Helles, and Vienna, are masterpieces, nothing less. This one doesn’t capture that same magic. C-

In other brews …

— Congrats to Structures Brewing on opening this month! On opening night I visited the tiny brewery, at 1420 N. State St., and found all six inaugural beers — two saisons, a Citra pale, a funky table beer, a luminescent Mandarina pale, and a double IPA — were well worth taking the time to check out.

— Congrats to Chuckanut Brewery on breaking ground on a second brewery! The south wing, on the other end of Chuckanut Drive, at 11937 Higgins Airport Way in Skagit County, will have five times the brewing capacity of the Bellingham brewpub.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 3:27 AM with the headline "First Draught: Winter’s ales from Aslan, Boundary Bay, Chuckanut."