Mark your calendar this week for upcoming beer events benefitting both international and local causes. Plus, peruse the offerings of Bellingham’s new beer delivery service, and sip a freshly brewed beer (or two) to celebrate the reopening of Kulshan Trackside.
Brews news
Elizabeth Station will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with an event on Saturday, April 16. The beer market and taphouse will host Kings & Daughters Brewery of Hood River, Oregon for a “Drinkers for Ukraine” beer release and fundraising event.
Kings & Daughters produces soft, modern IPAs and pale ales. They’ve brewed a New England Style IPA called “Resist” and will be donating all profits from beer sales to the Together Rising Ukraine Response.
You can try Resist — along with special beers from friends of Kings & Daughters including Trap Door Brewing, Wander Brewing and Otherlands Beer — at Elizabeth Station, 1400 W. Holly St. The event runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., so swing by to try these special brews and wish the E. Station crew a very happy anniversary.
Aslan Brewing is hosting Max Higbee Week from April 18 through 24. Held at the brewery’s Aslan Depot location on State Street in downtown Bellingham, the event will feature live music, donated local beer, food specials and raffles each day. Proceeds will benefit Max Higbee Center, with a goal of raising $25,000 for the local organization.
Pre-pandemic, Max Higbee Center (a nonprofit that provides recreation programs for teens and adults with developmental disabilities) brought in about 40% of its annual budget through the April Brews Day festival. Bellingham’s biggest beer fest would routinely bring more than 4,000 people and dozens of Pacific Northwest breweries together at Depot Market Square — all in the name of drinking beer for a good cause.
Max Higbee Center announced that April Brews Day won’t be held in 2022 “due to ongoing challenges that our small organization is experiencing with staffing and planning large-scale events.” This is where Aslan comes in. The brewery is stepping up to plan and host a week of benefit events — so you can once again drink beer in support of Max Higbee Center this April.
As someone who stopped attending beer festivals years ago (I’m not a big fan of crowds or long lines), I believe Max Higbee Week will be an excellent alternative to April Brews Day this year. With events spread across seven days, you can drop in at your leisure. No worries about the weather at this indoor event. And there are few venues more classy, yet casual in town than the historic Union Depot building.
Beer delivery in Bellingham and beyond
Beer Fridge, an online store for beer, cider and seltzer subscription boxes, has launched from Bellingham. The concept is similar to food delivery boxes like Hello Fresh, but with a focus on sourcing from local, independent breweries and craft beverage producers. Beer lovers across Washington and Oregon can now order curated craft beer boxes sourced, packed and shipped from Bellingham.
Beer Fridge was started by Bellingham locals Travis Kane and Jake Bassett in 2021 and began shipping this March. According to their website, “Beer Fridge was born on the back of a napkin at a local brewery in Bellingham when founders Travis and Jake realized how challenging it was for local breweries to share their unique story and products to out-of-area fans.”
Out-of-towners can order the Bellingham Born & Brewed Beer Box featuring all-local brews from Whatcom County. Beer selection rotates monthly, so you can try something new in every box. If you’re based in Bellingham and already have access to Whatcom County brews, Beer Fridge also offers boxes by style — so you can order a box of IPAs, sours, light or dark brews sourced from around the country.
“We spend a lot of time hunting down cool, local breweries we want to feature and get access to their freshest releases, top-rated and award-winning cans,” Bassett said. “Each box is a fun surprise which people seem to really enjoy.”
In addition to subscription boxes, Beer Fridge offers branded merchandise designed by Bradley Lockhart of Lariat Creative. Learn more at getbeerfridge.com.
Recent release
Kulshan Brewing is celebrating the reopening of its Trackside Beer Garden this April with a new beer release. Trackside Haze hazy IPA is now available on draft at all three Kulshan locations, and in cans at Kulshan’s James Street and K2 taprooms. Obviously, this beer is going to taste best on tap at Trackside — where you can sip outside and watch bikers roll by on the pump track. What’s more Bellingham than that?
Brandon Fralic’s Drink Cascadia column runs weekly on Wednesdays. Reach him at drinkcascadia@gmail.com.
