Ed with Danny (on the right) in his beer cave!

We are sad to say that we lost our good friend, Danny Williams, this week.  His presence in our lives and in the beer industry touched us deeply, and the world just won’t be the same without him in it.

For over a decade, Danny was the cellar master for the Great American Beer Festival and was famous for his beer cave.  He created the cellar from a once-working gold mine and now used it to store nearly 3,000 bottles of craft beer.  We were lucky enough to visit him there regularly and got to experience his unbelievable beer cellar first hand.

Danny’s absence has already been felt in the craft beer community.  Here is what Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, said yesterday: “…Whether Danny was working on the GABF or doing an educational beer tasting for back-of-house staff at a CBC hotel or helping the formation of a women’s beer appreciation group, he touched the local and national beer communities many times in many ways. I have been tipped off to the beers from many great breweries by Danny, and he was a key piece for educating me on what some of our member companies are up to. I miss him deeply already. And I am sure many of his close friends inside and outside of the brewing community feel similar sentiments.”

Let us all raise a glass today to this wonderful man who left our lives too soon.  He will not soon be forgotten.  Cheers, Danny – from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

Janet and Ed enjoying beers with Danny

Winter is a great time to stay indoors and warm-up with some great beer and friends. This winter you’ll have the opportunity to do just that at our “Winter Beer Tasting” class…you’ll experience a selection of strong ales, barley wines, and other winter warmers along with pairings of delicious food. The class focus will be on seasonal releases fro the U.S. and Europe plus a vertical tasting of barley wine to see how aging beer changes the flavor.

In the class, you’ll get to enjoy two spiced ales, some strong ales and barley wines – including one from Schamlz Brewing that was made with fig, date and grape juices aged in rye whiskey barrels.  There’ll even be a two year vertical tasting of Big Foot Barley Wine!  Along with all this delicious beer, Matt will be cooking up some focused food pairings to perfectly accompany these big winter beers.  Expect lots of seasonal dishes and warm, comforting foods.  Perfect for all this chilly, snowy weather we’ve been having!

There are still six seats left in this Winter Beer Tasting class, so call Bellingham Technical College or register online and reserve YOUR spot for this Saturday!  Cheers.  Oh, and if you’re STILL not convinced, check out this blog about the beer pairing class Anthony and Matt did last April.

Join us, Thursday Jan. 19th at the Elk Public House for an evening of whiskey and barrel aged beers.  Located just west of downtown (1931 West Pacific, Spokane, WA 99201), the Elk is a Spokane classic!  And on the 19th, it’ll become a haven for Boundary Bay Brewery fans and Dry Fly Distillery fans alike.

At this special event, we’ll be pouring our Dry Fly Barrel Aged Scotch Ale and Dry Fly Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout.  But that’s not all!  That night, for $7, you get a shot of Dry Fly’s Washington Wheat Whiskey and a 12 oz glass of one of our Barrel Aged beers. And, interestingly, our barrel aged beers were aged in the Dry Fly barrels that were first used to make this infamous Washington Wheat Whiskey.

We’re looking forward to spending some time on the other side of this glorious state we live in.  Come join us for some serious fun!  Cheers.

Join Boundary Bay Brewery for a Beer vs. Wine Dinner at Semiahmoo Resort on Saturday, January 28th. This Beer vs. Wine dinner will feature five courses prepared by Semiahmoo’s culinary team, each paired with two beverages: a craft-brewed beer from Boundary Bay Brewery and a specially selected wine from Chateau Ste. Michelle.

1^st Course:  Frisee and Rocket Salad with Maple Leaf Farms Duck Confit and Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

Simple Salad with bitter lettuce balanced out with roasted tomato dressing which has a touch of sweetness.  The Duck adds a nice richness to the dish and helps bring it all together.

2^nd Course: Citrus and Ginger Cured Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon poached in Olive Oil with Seaweed Salad and Sushi Rice Risotto

Quick cured Salmon is then poached at a very low temperature in Olive oil so that it holds all of it flavor and moisture in.  Sort of an East meets the northwest style dish.

3^rd Course:  Dry Braised Duroc Pork Belly and Diver Scallops With Maple and Corn Pudding and Brussels Sprouts

A play on “bacon wrapped scallops” Pork belly, aka bacon, will be roasted whole and sliced like a roast, then served with a large scallop.  The maple in the corn pudding will pair nicely with the pork and Brussels sprouts are just wonderful this time of year

Intermezzo:  Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Sorbet

4^th Course:  Porcini Crusted Tenderloin with Romanesco and Roaring 40’s Blue Cheese

Beef Tenderloin will be crusted in Porcini Mushrooms and served with Roaring 40’s Blue cheese, a cheese from southern Australia which is matured in wax keeping it very moist and buttery.  The earthiness of the mushroom pairs nicely with the creamy cheese which has a hint of nuttiness to it.

5^th Course:  Roasted Apple Millefeuille with Spiced Mascarpone and Salted Caramel Crème Anglaise

Millefeuille translates from French to “Thousand Sheets” is traditionally 3 layers of Puff Pastry with a Vanilla crème between them.  We will be taking a more modern approach at it with Sweet Crepes as our layers and instead of just vanilla cream each layer will have Apples with a touch of ginger and cinnamon and sweetened Italian Mascarpone cheese

giddy while filling the Dry Fly barrels with Scotch Ale!

* We partnered up with Dry Fly Distillery (in Spokane, WA) to try barrel aging a couple of our beers.  First up was our Scotch Ale which was consumed with gusto and our Oatmeal Stout is currently aging – to be released soon.  The project was a great success and we’re already looking forward to trying more barrel aging in the new year.

* We brewed up our very first Cascadia Dark Ale and cast our two cents in the debate about what to name this elusive beer style.  We still think Black IPA just doesn’t cut it and retain our vote for Cascadia Dark Ale in honor of the region this iconic style was birthed in.

* We jumped in to our first of (hopefully) many Beer vs. Wine dinners at Semiahmoo Resort.  Craft Beer is gaining ground as a food pairing phenomenon and we’ve had a lot of fun challenging Washington wineries like Chateau Ste. Michelle to see which beverage comes out on top.  We’ve got our next Beer vs. Wine dinner on January 28th, so why not make it one of your New Years resolutions to join us and open your mind to the possibilities of beer and food pairings?!

* We began highlighting our Local Connections through short video blogs, which turned out to be a great way to connect our customers and our suppliers.  It’s been inspiring to connect with those who are passionate about what they do, and we’ve enjoyed visiting the farms who grow our food and the great cafés, bars and restaurants who serve our beer!   We’ll start the new year with a behind-the-scenes peek at Ralf’s Bavarian Pretzels and show you exactly why we love working with this awesome local business.

our shirt on the Discovery Channel!

* We came up with some new merchandise to tempt you: a new 2L growler and a Cabin Fever Hoodie.  Our hoodies continue to be known as Bellingham’s unofficial uniform and our Save the Ales slogan is recognized far outside of our little corner of the Northwest.  We hear about our customers being stopped in Disneyland, in New York and even in New Zealand when someone recognizes our iconic shirt.  A lot of you have probably even seen our Munzinger shirt on the Discovery Channel special “How Beer Saved The World.”

* Our relationships with craft beer lovers across the country (and into Canada!) are continuing to grow and strengthen: our beer was officially poured for the first time in Hawaii when we took part in the Kauai Beer Festival, we’ve expanded our distribution into British Columbia which has been received with MUCH enthusiasm and our little brewpub was even written up in the Vancouver Sun, EnRoute: the AirCanada in-flight magazine and the American Airlines in-flight magazine!

* We were honored to find out that Bellingham Firefighters refer to our brewpub as Station 7 (since there are 6 official fire stations here in town) – so, with their input, we created a Station 7 shirt and are donating the proceeds from shirt sales to Camp Phoenix which is a camp for child burn victims.

* We have continued to take full advantage of our own success and to spread that love by doing everything we can to support local nonprofits.  Every year, we donate to over 100 local charities and  this year, for the first time, we became a sponsor of the Dirty Farm Trek – a physical and mental obstacle race put on by the VZ Foundation.

at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, 2011

* The Bellingham Firefighters Pipes & Drums band has, unofficially, become our house band!  We’re delighted that they feel welcome enough here at the brewpub to just drop by for spontaneous performances and entertain our customers with their tunes.

* Our General Manager, Janet Lightner, has been the driving force behind Bellingham’s St. Patricks Day Parade and we were thrilled to help her put on another successful parade in 2011 despite the unfavorable weather.  Amazingly, it’s almost time to start thinking about next year’s parade too!  This year, the 2011 Paddy’s Day Parade will fall on the 17th – St. Patrick’s Day itself, so mark your calendars and plan on a whole day of Irish-inspired festivities.

* We brewed the very first Ski to Sea ESB  - commemorating 100 years of racing and look forward to continuing that tradition next year.  And, the Boundary Bay Brewery women’s Ski to Sea Team enjoyed another win in the Competitive Women’s Division and continues to be the ONLY team in Ski to Sea history to win their division 11 years in a row!

* We are thrilled to have been named the Best Brewery in Washington, the Best Brewpub in Washington and the Best Scotch Ale in the Northwest by the Northwest Brewing News Reader’s Choice Awards and were named the Best Bar in Bellingham by the Bellingham Herald Readers Choice Awards.

* And, the biggest news of all for 2011, is our impending expansion!  We’ll take over the lease of the new space on January 1st and are excited to start the new year with lots and lots of construction.  ;)

As we look back on 2011 and ahead to whatever may come in 2012, we want to take a moment to say thank you to all of YOU – our beloved friends and customers who have become a part of the Boundary Bay Brewery family!  We are so proud to be a part of this incredible community (both Bellingham and the craft beer community at large) and honored to have your support as we move on to another year of handcrafted beer and great local food.  We truly couldn’t do what we do without you.  Cheers, from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

Filed under: Beer, Local Connections, Special Events, The people behind Boundary Bay Brewery Tagged: barrel aged beers, Beer, beer and food pairings, beer awards, Beer vs. Wine dinners, Bellingham, Bellingham Fire Departments, Bellingham Fire Stations, Bellingham Firefighters, Bellingham non-profits, Bellingham St. Patrick's Day Parade, Bellingham WA, Bellingham Washington, Boundary Bay, Boundary Bay Brewery, Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro, Boundary Bay Brewery hoodies, Boundary Bay Brewing Co., Boundary Bay Brewing Company, Brewery, brewery events, brewery expansion, brewery merchandise, brewing, brewpub, buy local, Cabin Fever, Cascadia Dark Ale, CDA, craft beer, craft brewery, Dirty Farm Trek, Dry Fly Distillery, local connections, Northwest Brewing News, Pacific Northwest beer, Ralf's Bavarian Pretzels, Save the Ales, Save The Ales hoodies, Semiahmoo Resort, Ski to Sea, Ski to Sea ESB, St. Patrick's Day Parade, Station 7, Sustainability, sustainable connections, WA, Washington, Washington Beer, Washington state, Whatcom County, Whatcom County nonprofits ]]> http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/looking-back-2011-at-bbay/feed/ 0 Boundary Bay photo3 discoverychannel Picture 6 http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/dear-santa-i-want-pasta/ http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/dear-santa-i-want-pasta/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:11:45 +0000 Boundary Bay http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/?p=3537 ]]>

Join us this Christmas Eve for the Boundary Bay Brewery Holiday tradition: an all you can eat PASTA FEED!  On Friday, December 24th, from 5-9pm, we’ll be serving up a pasta buffet with all kinds of variety including vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options…all served with caesar salad and garlic bread. Enjoy live holiday music from Bob’s Your Uncle while you indulge in spaghetti and meatballs, fettucini alfredo, shrimp capellini, meat lasagna, veggie lasagna, pasta puttanesca (vegan!), pasta primavera (vegetarian!) and/or chicken pesto penne.

$20 adults, $10 6-10yrs, 5 years and under eat free. All you can eat!  Reservations are recommended, so just give us a call here at the brewery to make yours: 360-647-5593.

We’ll open at 11 am for business as usual and serve up our regular menu until 3pm.  From 3-5pm, you can order off our lighter menu shown below.

We’ll close at 9pm on Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas Day.  Hoppy Holidays from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

A blend of kalamata olives, capers & sun-dried tomatoes served with grilled focaccia, roma tomatoes & dressed with a Thai vinaigrette, fresh basil, sprouts & chevre cheese. 7.99

Ralf’s Bavarian Pretzels
The perfect companion to any of our award winning ales, made locally by Ralf & finished in our ovens. Traditional twist or cheese stick. 1.99

Nachos
Cheddar & monterey jack broiled over tortilla chips. Served with our house-made salsa. 8.99

Tofu Sandwich
Marinated & pan-fried tofu cutlets, cucumbers, sprouts, tomatoes, avocado, eggless mayo & stone ground mustard on Great Harvest Beer Bread & your choice of roasted potatoes, house salad or Tim’s potato chips. 8.99

SALADS

House Salad
Mesclun greens, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers & croutons with your choice of dressing: bleu cheese vinaigrette, alehouse, caesar, or Thai vinaigrette*.
App 2.50 Small 4.50 Large 6.25

Caesar Salad
Romaine, parmesan cheese & croutons tossed with caesar dressing, topped with fresh lemon & cracked black pepper.
App 2.50 Small 4.99 Large 6.99

Harvest Salad
Gorgonzola, seasonal fruit & hazelnuts top this salad of mixed greens drizzled with a bleu cheese vinaigrette. 7.99

SOUPS

Beer Beef Stew
A warm & hearty compilation of vegetables, potatoes & tender chunks of beef simmered together in our Scotch Ale.
Cup 3.99 Bowl 5.50 Stew/Salad Combo 8.99

Smoked Salmon Chowder
Potatoes, smoked salmon, carrots, celery & onion in a rich cream base with fresh baked bread.
Cup 3.99 Bowl 5.50 Chowder/Salad Combo 8.99

Sweet & Spicy Red Pepper Chicken
Our award-winning recipe! A creamy broth with caramelized apples & onions.
Cup 3.99 Bowl 5.50 Soup/Salad Combo 8.99

PIZZAS

The Great Northwest
A basil pesto base is topped with smoked salmon, roasted garlic, roma tomatoes, chevre & parmesan. 10.99

Beer-B-Q
BBQ sauce, shredded pork, onions, tomatoes & cheddar-jack cheese. 10.99

Mediterranean
Spinach, tomato, feta, artichoke hearts, marinara, mozzarella & tapenade. 10.99

Margherita
Made with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil & extra virgin olive oil.10.99

Pepperoni
with basil marinara, mozzarella & aged shredded parmesan. 9.99

artist, Evan Whitehead

Here at Boundary Bay Brewery, we like to devote our wall space to featuring artwork by local artists.  This winter, we’re lucky enough to have paintings up in our Bistro by outdoor enthusiast, Evan Whitehead.  Come enjoy a pint of Cabin Fever and check out Evan’s Mt. Baker-inspired paintings while sipping our Winter Warmer.

Here’s what Evan has to say about his art:

“As a born and raised local of Whatcom County, I have grown up around the mountains to islands, and am constantly sharpening my focus towards our pristine backyard.  Through my years of painting, I have always focused on the mountains in which I spend my time.  Continuously studying the details of these incredible landscapes, my painting style has progressed as I continue to refine my artistic visions.  My aspirations as an artist are for the viewer to connect with the art, to trigger a memory that would take them to a new yet familiar place, a happy place where they can get lost in the painting.

As an avid boarder, I have been focusing a fair amount of work towards paintings that would make a good graphic that would inspire someone if it were on their board or skis.  Certain board graphics have inspired me through the years and to be able to do that for others would be groovy.  Among other directions I’m pursuing are the glow in the dark paintings that make great night scenes, or the underwater fishy seascapes, I enjoy viewing my work in its originality and uniqueness.

My goals for my painting is to continue to strive and grow as an artist, for all to see and admire, and to search out all possible avenues to display my art to the masses.”

You can view Evan’s artwork here at Boundary Bay Brewery through January.  Or check out his website to see all of his work, purchase a painting or two and find out more about Evan and what inspires him.

200 live trees will be available to rent for $25 to $35 and you have your choice of  3’ to 4’ high Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, and Douglas fir.  Any trees returned in good shape will be planted in 2012 by the AASF “Stream Team” of staff and volunteers!  The trees will be relocated next to local streams to provide shade that keeps water cool for our salmon runs – a great way to enjoy the holidays and to bring in the new year!!

In addition to the Christmas tree rentals there will be art and gifts for sale. Adopt-A-Stream Foundation members receive a 10% discount off all items.  Boundary  Bay Brewery‘s own Graphic Designer, Tammy Findlay, will have 4 or 5 pieces of new artwork featured during the Holiday Extravaganza art show!  30% of the proceeds of her art sales will go to the NW Stream Center. Here’s a sneak peek of her work!

Janet Lightner, manager of Boundary Bay Brwery, pictured above with bucket

Looking for a great local gift that will make YOU feel good too?  Check out the HER Calendar that celebrates Whatcom County women that were nominated by the community AND benefits 12 local nonprofits!  Last May, fifthonsixth – a local marketing agency – asked their Facebook community who the most beautiful and successful women in Whatcom County were.

They stressed that they were looking for women who were beautiful and successful inside and out.  The response they got was overwhelming!  Out of hundreds of answers, over 30 women were chosen to be featured in the calendar’s professional and classy black and white photos…including our very own Janet Lightner!

The calendars can be purchased online or at the various locations across Whatcom County including The Greenhouse, Old World Deli, the Pickford, Village Books and here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  HER calendars retail for $20 each (plus tax) and the proceeds of the sales will support local charities like the Whatcom Humane Society, the Bellingham Food Bank, Whatcom Land Trust, Make Shift and the Pickford Film Center.

Here’s what Toys for Tots says about their organization:  Toys for Tots began in 1947, when Major Bill Hendricks, USCR and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children.  The idea came form Bill’s wife, Diane.  In the fall of 1947, Diane crafted a homemade doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas.  When Bill determined that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one.  He did.

The mission of the Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.  The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.

Over the 62 years of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children.  Sadly, this year, the organization is feeling the recession just like everyone else and the need is great for toy donations.