We’ve seen a lot of change over the past year. Be it in our own backyard, or around the world. In times of change, people seek a constant. Anything that can remain somewhat semi-normal, “well, at least there’s this to look forward to”- anything of that ilk.

Now that I’ve been here for a full year, I have some local constants to look forward to.

The first event I attended after settling in was Sunnyland Fest. For the uninitiated, you get a stamp card at one of the participating breweries. Get a beer at all the breweries (and stamp off all the stamps on your card), and you get entered into a raffle prize drawing. The festival runs around the same time as Oktoberfest does in Germany, so the bartenders will steer you towards their new German-style releases. The best part? You can pace yourself. It’s a four day event.

Last year, it took me two days to sample a beer from five of Sunnyland’s finest breweries. I wanted to keep the same pace as last year, especially since a sixth business opened up earlier this summer. Now that I know my way around the area, I also decided not to drive my way to each individual location. I wanted to get some fresh air in between each ale or lager. Nature’s palate cleanser, if you will.

We began Day 1 of Sunnyland Fest at Twin Sisters:

It only felt right to start off my Tour de Bier with a proper festbier. This is their Rosa Stiefel Festbier, created in collaboration with the Bellingham Pink Boots Society. In any tasting that you do, be it beer, wine, or cider, they’re always going to suggest you go from light to dark. This was the quintessential crisp, light starter beer I was hoping for. Paired with some of their top-notch pretzel bits and beer cheese? This was, without a doubt, a winner in my book.

Speaking of- can we collectively get more breweries to offer in-house beer cheese? If your product can be used as an ingredient and can also hold up on its own, that’s a feat I admire.

One Mariners loss later, I was off to location #2:

I’m sorry about the photo quality. It really didn’t do this Blackberry Apero from Kulshan any justice.

I walked in, prepared to tackle another Festbier. But as soon as I saw the word “blackberry” on their draft list, I knew it was game over. Just when I thought I had sipped on the lightest beer this side of the Cascades…

Boom! The fragrance smacks you in the face and burrows its way to your taste buds. The blackberry smell catapulted me right back into mid-summer walks around Lake Whatcom, where I snacked on wild blackberries like it was my side hustle.

With the clouds rolling in and a slight breeze at my back, it felt like the perfect drink for that moment in time. I wish the color came through a bit more in the picture, but I didn’t notice the quality of the image until well after the beer was finished.

I knew I wanted to end the afternoon on a high note. So I trekked my way over to one of my favorites:

There’s an aura about Otherlands that comforts me every time I walk in. It’s probably just the Eastern European menu, but I like to think there’s a supernatural force at play here.

Last year, Otherlands was also my third stop on the Sunnyland Fest route. It was the first place where I genuinely felt welcome inside. This year was no different.

I had their Brighten The Corners Helles lager at the same bar where I found myself this time a year ago. The smell of dill from their spicy pickle soup was abundant. The woman who sat next to me ordered the last beer for her stamp card, and we celebrated. I ordered the Lithuanian pancakes before the brunch menu shut down, and we celebrated that as well. It was a good afternoon to be in good company.

Spacing this adventure out over two days was the best thing I could’ve done. Sure, I could’ve mustered the energy and pushed through the back half. But I wanted to enjoy every beer and every moment of the inaugural constant I have here in Bellingham.

A Sunday afternoon at Stemma? Say less, I’m in.

I had intended to start off the day with yet another festbier, but the name of one of Stemma’s sours caught my eye. I ended up with a pint of Ben’s Beets Sour Ale, which is a Beet Berliner Weisse.

Yep. There’s beets in there. And it rocks.

You don’t taste any beet-y or borscht-like flavors. Beet sugar is a common sweetener in Eastern European cuisine, which- I believe- was the case when brewing this beer. It had a light tangy punch, and can we talk about the color?? It’s stunning.

I also realized that I needed more pretzels in my life during the second half of this excursion. Thus: pretzels and Dijon at both Stemma and Stop #5.

In case you’re keeping score at home, I walked from Stemma all the way out the other end of Sunnyland just to get my stamp at Wander. I had already started off the afternoon with a sour, and I was still in the mood for more.

Their Raspberry Millie Sour was described to me as “a crowd pleaser,” and I didn’t need to join a crowd to be satisfied with this vibrant beauty. What are the odds I get treated to two visually stunning sour beers in a row? This also had a mild tartness, and was incredibly light and smooth.

The crowds hadn’t congregated in their outdoor seating area just yet, so I enjoyed the relative stillness of the early afternoon all to myself.

I ventured onto the road one more time, in search of Sunnyland’s newest brewery. Five minutes later…

I found myself seated at The North Fork Brewery’s Barrel House & Beer Shrine on Grant St. Try saying that five times fast.

The bartender collected my stamp card before I could get a picture with the beer that I can’t stop thinking about. Yes, their Cucumber Berliner Weisse was that good. This sour beer slapped my perception of sours into the stratosphere. Most of the time, you think of sour beers with fruity flavors. Or even just a vague “tartness” is enough of a description for some.

I’ll put it as simply as I can: this tasted like pickle juice. In the best possible way. It’s a shame they don’t have a fridge stocked with pickles to snack on the side, but I’ll forgive them.

I wasn’t sure if I’d have a clear winner for this year’s Sunnyland Fest. The folks at North Fork heard this, and said “hold my beer.” Literally.