Bellingham breweries claim several Washington Beer Awards, including Small Brewery of the Year
Organizers of the Washington Beer Awards have announced this year’s winners for specific brews and breweries of the year, and Bellingham breweries took home many awards.
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.”
Awards are presented for more than 60 categories including lagers, barrel-aged beers, pastry, chocolate and coffee beers, German-style beer, chili pepper beers, juicy or hazy India pale ales and British stouts. Each category awards a gold, silver or bronze award.
The Washington Beer Awards also recognizes Very Small Brewery of the Year, Small Brewery of the Year, Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year and Large Brewery of the Year.
Whatcom County’s own Larrabee Lager Co., Bellingham’s newest brewery, won Small Brewery of the Year, along with four beer awards.
“Larrabee Lager Company was a dream we had in our minds and worked for for 10 years until it came to fruition,” said Kate Milne, who co-owns the brewery with her husband, Sam, in an email to The Herald. “Sam was the head brewer and Kulshan Brewing Company for a few years before we moved to Spokane where he was the head brewer at Brick West Brewing Company. Our hearts led us back to Bellingham where we knew the community needed lagers after Chuckanut moved all operations down to Burlington.”
The husband-and-wife duo were unable to attend the awards ceremony. They learned they had won awards through a friend’s text message.
“While we were eating dinner we were a little bummed but then Sam’s phone started to ding multiple times and we just looked at each other. Little did we know, the awards hadn’t started yet, but as soon as they started, we took gold in the first category that was announced. We went on to win two more medals and the phone quieted down so we figured that was all that we won,” Milne said.
“About 20 minutes went by and then his phone started to flood with more text messages saying we won Small Brewery of the Year. We froze in place and then started jumping up and down. Our two daughters got in on the fun and we were all just smiling, dancing and celebrating. It was truly a core memory I will never forget.”
“The three medals and this major award was a culmination of 10 years of learning, growing and honing in on what we are really good at — making exceptional lagers and beer,” Milne said. “While we are the newest brewery in town, we aren’t new to brewing. It’s a passion and craft that Sam has perfected and these medals show it. We’ve been open for over a year now and we still get people in town who don’t know who we are or who have never heard of us.”
“With these awards, I hope that people come up to Cordata and check out what we have going on up here,” she continued. “We are serious about our beer and we can’t wait for new people to come in and see for themselves what makes us ‘us’ and why these awards and medals were earned.”
Larrabee Lager Co. is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at 4151 Guide Meridian Rd #100.
These Whatcom County breweries won awards:
Light German-Style Lagers:
- Gold: Larrabee Lager Company’s Larrabee Original Lager
- Bronze: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Helles
Bohemian-Style Pilsners:
- Silver: Wander Brewing’s Czech Pils
- Bronze: Stemma Brewing’s Stemma Pils
Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lagers:
- Silver: Boundary Bay Brewery’s Van Zandt
- Bronze: Wander Brewing’s See You Tomorrow
Kellerbiers or Zwickelbiers:
- Bronze: Larrabee Lager Company’s Keller Pils
German-Style Wheat Beers:
- Silver: Larrabee Lager Company’s White Duck
- Bronze: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Hefeweizen
English Ales:
- Gold: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Transporter
Irish-Style Red Ales:
- Gold: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Red Cap
British Stouts:
- Gold: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Echoes In Time
American-Style Amber/Red Ales:
- Silver: Stemma Brewing’s First Amber
American-Style India Pale Ales:
- Bronze: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Bastard Kat
German Style Sour Beers:
- Gold: Kulshan Brewing Co.’s Gose
American-Style Sour Ales:
- Bronze: Beach Cat Brewing’s Raspberry Purree
Spiced, Field & Herb Beers:
- Silver: Beach Cat Brewing’s Christmas In July
Pro-Am:
- Silver: Beach Cat Brewing and Homebrewers Joe Murphy and Carolyn Macaulay Waldo’s Joe’rchata Mexican Cream Ale
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 1:09 PM.
