While Bellingham has a bevy of breweries, just south a brewery, distillery, speakeasy, and even some history all await you in Bow!
Founded in 2019, Terramar Brewstillery is in the town of Bow, Washington (like bow and arrow, not the royal gesture). After a sweltering backpacking trip to Lizard and Lily Lakes, we were ready for food, beer, and a shower. While we have many breweries we love in Bellingham, we decided to try Terramar as it was conveniently on our way home and we’d been wanting to try it. Just a quick 20 minutes from the trailhead and we had arrived, minutes after they opened.
We walked in to a huge board of offerings. Admittedly, I was a little nervous, as sometimes a place that does too many things can be mediocre. We stuck to beer, although it appears they have won awards for their spirits. Ready to be home quick, we each just got a pint instead of samplers (although I had to get a taster of their Rhu Paul cider for obvious reasons). Famished, we also ordered a pizza, and headed outside.
The brewstillery has tons of outdoor seating, and appears they host plenty of live music as well. We happily got to our hazies, a Planet Punch pale and Cosmic Crispr IPA respectively (after scrubbing our hands several times). We both greatly enjoyed our beers (and the cider taster I had), so my fears about them doing too much were unfounded. They source tons of ingredients locally, so it makes sense their beer menu is ever-changing. I also loved how some of the beer names referenced the building’s colorful history, which was also covered on a wall mural. Going from a slaughterhouse to a mafia chop shop to a pharmaceutical company to what it is now is quite the journey!
Our pork belly BBQ pizza soon arrived, which we made quick work of. It appears they have weekend brunch menus and breakfast pizzas as well, but when the hiker hunger hits, you gotta order the thing that sounds best! I will definitely get some baked Taylor Shellfish oysters on my next visit, as well as more beer or maybe a nice cocktail. While I wish we had time to try both more food and beer, I felt pretty happy with our choices. Sometimes you have to drive for hours after a hike until you can find a decent beer, and yet we had made it from trailhead to sipping in the beer garden in around thirty minutes! I feel the people of Bow and Edison are pretty fortunate to have an awesome brewery (and distillery!) with what seems a great community feel, including a Pup of the Month and community fundraisers. Next time you’re hiking Oyster Dome, Lizard and Lily Lake, or other hikes in the Blanchard Mountain/Chuckanut area, be sure to add a stop at Terramar Brewstillery to your itinerary!
In summary (to the best of my knowledge)…
- Full kitchen: Yes
- All-ages: Yes for the brewery portion, the speakeasy is 21+
- Dog friendly: Yes!
- Merch: Apparel, glassware, etc.
- Coasters: I didn’t see any, but I could be wrong
- Outdoor seating: Tons of seats, both covered and open.