Larrabee Lager Company celebrated its first anniversary on Saturday, Aug. 3. Launched in Bellingham’s Cordata neighborhood in 2023, the brewery offers beer and pizza in a family-friendly beer hall.
I recently sat down with brewer and co-owner Sam Milne to discuss Larrabee’s first year of business and the state of lager in Bellingham. While sipping Larraveza — Larrabee’s Mexican Pale Lager served with a slice of lime — Milne reflected on the last 12 months.
“The first year has provided some obvious teaching and learning moments. And moments of, I would say, immense growth for us professionally, as humans and as leaders,” Milne said. “I think what we feel most proud of is how hard we’ve worked to develop our foundation for both beer and pizza — and the food program and service.”
It’s not easy keeping brewery doors open these days. The Brewers Association counted 459 breweries in Washington in 2023 — a considerable amount of competition for up-and-coming brewers. Locally, we’ve seen a few brewery closures in recent years, including Darach Brewing and Atwood Farm Brewery. Making it a year in the current beer climate is an accomplishment, and Milne credits the North Bellingham community for helping make Larrabee Lager a success.
“I’m so happy to be where we are, location-wise,” he said. “I think that’s something that we weren’t prepared for from day one — how people that live in this surrounding area make this a gathering spot.”
Most Bellingham breweries are concentrated in downtown and the Sunnyland neighborhood. Outliers (like Larrabee Lager and Stones Throw in Fairhaven) tend to do well as community hubs or “third spaces,” bringing people together in previously underserved areas.
“Getting feedback from people like, ‘the north side needed this so bad’ — that feels really good to us because I feel proud to be able to serve those people,” Milne said.
Shifting palates
I also suspect that the rising popularity of lager has contributed to Larrabee’s success (it is, after all, the only Bellingham brewery with “lager” in its name). For years, craft beer has been dominated by hops and the ever-popular IPA. Those styles aren’t going anywhere, of course, but lager seems to be making a big comeback. Portland beer writer Jeff Alworth recently suggested “pilsner is the new pale,” finding slightly more pilsners than pales on a sampling of Portland tap lists. I wonder what’s driving that trend, so I ask Milne to share his thoughts.
Milne believes palate fatigue is one possible reason. Continuously drinking hop-forward brews can really do a number on your tongue — and your desire to drink bitter beer. I can relate to this. As someone who has consumed many beers over the years, I find myself gravitating towards lighter, easier-drinking and more nuanced styles these days. Hops are great, but they aren’t the only ingredient in beer. I want to taste malt flavors and yeast strains, too, without an overpowering hop bitterness.
Milne also suggests that beer trends changing is a natural progression — like the cycle of fashion trends returning every 20 years or so. Back in 2010, you might go to a taproom and find a dozen beers on tap with a range of familiar styles.
“One would be an IPA, one would be a pale ale and those would be the hoppy beers,” he said. “But then over time everything just became so centralized — almost like craft beer was [dominated] by hops. I think now we’re kind of breaking that cycle to say: hops and hoppy beer don’t just define craft beer and brewing. There are so many more diverse styles out there.”
For Milne, education and awareness are the keys to popularizing lesser-known lager styles, like Helles and Bock. He credits larger local breweries like Boundary Bay Brewery, Kulshan and Wander for introducing many lager styles to their audiences, paving the way for newer breweries.
“People like to drink what they know. What their dad drank, what their friends drink, what’s familiar,” he said. “When it’s brought to people’s attention and things become trendy, then they learn about it … that ‘break the ice’ moment is key, and the more that breweries can work together to do that — I think it helps everybody.”
To celebrate its first anniversary, Larrabee Lager did something a little different and released a fruited gose. Larrabitaville is a 4.5% ABV German-style sour ale with pineapple, orange, peach and guava. True to style, the beer is tart and slightly salty — a celebratory summer brew available on draft and in six-packs.
Bonus beer news
Speaking of fun seasonal brews, there’s another can’t-miss batch worth seeking out this month. Once a year, Structures Brewing goes wild over raspberries, teaming up with Viva Farms to harvest “thousands of pounds of Skagit Valley organic raspberries.”
Structures added fresh berries to three beers this year: Razz Fuzz, Razz Juice on Juice, and Razz Die in Haze. All three are available on draft and in cans, though they won’t last long. Like summer itself, these beers are fleeting.
Brandon Fralic's Drink Cascadia column appears monthly. Reach him at drinkcascadia@gmail.com.
