Two new breweries opened in Bellingham in 2014. While I was still in the idle speculation phase of planning another bike tour weekend to visit them, my brother decided to move out of Fairhaven and back to Oregon. So I drove up for one last weekend of hanging out with him, hitting breweries, and doing a little hiking. First up was Aslan Brewing. They’ve gone the start-big route, with lots of large stainless steel brewing equipment visible through windows behind the bar. Full kitchen, too, with options for pretty much any diet. In addition to the beer line up, they also have house-made root beer and soda options. They’re an organic establishment, too, which is always nice. Tried all 16 offerings they had on tap, so yeah, it was great to have my brother there to help me get through it all.

Aslan Brewing — Bellingham, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Batch 15 IPA – 7% – Pretty cool mix of melon and earthy hop flavors. Light underlying caramel malt and nice bitter finish.
• Alpen Glow Summer Ale – 5.7% – Light and smooth, with some honey sweetness. Light herbal hops, and a little breadiness on the finish.
• Cascadian Dark Lager – 6.5% – Big roasty malt aroma and flavor. Citrus hops. Caramel finish, and light bitterness.
• Irie Eyes Red Ale – 6.7% – Pretty smooth and crisp with lots of malts. Light citrus hop edge, and some bitterness on the finish.
• Bellingham Brown – 6% – Big malts, smooth. Roasty, chocolate, brown sugar. Light citrus hops. Easy drinking.
• Stout-ly Man – 7% – Roasty aroma and flavor. Chocolate/coffee maltiness, too. Moderately thick mouthfeel. Good lingering flavors and dark chocolate bitterness.
• Flagship IPA – 6.5% – Floral and citrus aroma and flavors. Piney hop flavor, too. Light malts. Good amount of complementary bitterness.
• Megathrust Imperial IPA – 10.5% – Big citrus and tropical fruit hops. Solid malt backbone. Good bitter edge.
• Disco Lemonade Berliner Weisse – 3.5% – Wheat/bready start, with good sour tang, to lemony finish.
• Root Beer – 0% – Huge aroma: licorice, sassafras, molasses. Nice sweetness, balanced with other herbs. Lingering licorice.
• Ginger Ale – 0% – Ginger and honey flavors. Light, sweet, and refreshing.

The Rest
• Oatmeal Pale Ale – 5.2% – Bready, light, with a bit of floral hops, and lingering bitterness.
• Ginger Rye – 5.4% – Ginger aroma and flavor. Light rye spiciness, with some breadiness on the finish.
• Amber – Usual malt forward beer but with some herbal and earthy hops.
• Flagship Pils – 5% – Light, with some herbal and earthy hops. Touch of honey. Some bitterness, too.
• Wild Buffalale ISA – 4.5% – Light but not watery. Some breadiness. Citrus and piney hops with a lingering bitterness.
• Don’s Non-Alcoholic – 0% – Roasty, molasses, and licorice flavors to a tangy finish.

All in all, a nice addition to the Bellingham beer scene. It’s just too bad that I no longer have a free place to stay there. I know, I know, it’s a rough life I have. Thank you for your sympathy.