New Coffee, New Beer, Same Old Local Love!

We’re switching things up here at Boundary Bay Brewery!  For years now we’ve been serving Tony’s Coffee and we decided that we’d rather work with a local coffee roaster since our community and local economy are so important to us.  We are very pleased to announce that we are now serving delicious coffee locally roasted by Bellingham Bay Coffee Roasters.  Especially because, just like us, they’re family owned and operated!  They’ve even created a special blend just for us – the Boundary Bay blend.

The blend they created for us here at Boundary is comprised of coffees coming from South and Central America, as well as Africa. It’s a medium-dark roast and it is hand roasted by Fernando & Emma Torres (who run Bellingham Bay Coffee Roasters) using a drum-roaster with no computers, or profiling equipment. The entire roasting process is checked using their senses (smell, touch, and visual characteristics of the bean), along with years of experience roasting coffee.  The blend itself offers a nice, dense body, with pleasant, well-balanced acidity, and slight blueberry notes on the finish.

Now, we’re even using their coffee in a new beer of ours: Nitro Header Stout.  This stout is a lighter, dry style blended with their Morning Header Blend and served from a Nitro tap. Their Morning Header is a Dark Roast blend of coffees from South And Central America and is 100% certified Organic.  It has a nice, heavy body with smoky tones and very light acidity.  We’ll have this new beer of ours on tap here at the brewery as of Monday, April 23rd.  You can also find it on tap at the Copper Hog (eventually) and on tap at Civic Field during the Bellingham United soccer team home games.

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Eating Vegetarian at Boundary Bay Brewery

There are plenty of vegetarians around here …I mean, come on, it’s Bellingham!  So, we’ve complied a list of all of our vegetarian menu options to help make eating out at Boundary Bay Brewery even easier for anyone with vegetarian leanings.  Here’s what’s great on our menu for veggie lovers:

Appetizers

• Tapenade
• Hummus Plate
• Bavarian Pretzels
• Nachos and Imperial Nachos
• Chips and Salsa

Salads

• House Salad (optional add tempeh)
• Harvest Salad (optional add tempeh)
• all dressings are vegetarian EXCEPT Caesar dressing (which contains anchovies)

Soup

• no soup is vegetarian, check soup of the day

All Day Items

• Yam Alechiladas
• Yellow Curry
• Mac and Cheese
• BLAT (order with Tempeh Bacon)
• Tofu Sandwich
• Reuben with Tempeh
• Tempeh Tacos
• Mediterranean Pizza
• Margherita Pizza

Dinner Menu

• Grilled Shitake Mushrooms

BBAY Scotch Ale Salted Caramels

Scotch Ale Salted Caramels

We all know beer is a good thing.  And, if you’re like me, you probably think salted caramels are a really great thing too.  So, we figured…why not put them together?  The result are these delicious caramels made with our Scotch Ale and topped with flaky sea salt.  Here’s our recipe:

BBAY Beer Caramels
yields about 24 squares

2c brown sugar
.5 lb butter
1c corn syrup ( or substitute .5c agave nectar if desired)
8oz cream (~10 oz if using agave)
12oz scotch ale (~14oz scotch ale if using agave)
salt for topping
thermometer that reads up to 240F

note about agave nectar: while agave nectar can take the place of corn syrup in most recipes without much notice, it can be tricky in sugar work like caramel. the measurements for other liquids present are an estimate, since a less dense and sweeter inverted sugar can throw the ratios of such a recipe off substantially. also keep in mind that agave nectar browns faster than other inverted sugars, so be sure to keep your stovetop temperature medium/medium high at most.

pan size: depending on the carbonation and variety of ale you add to the caramels, keep in mind that boil-over in the early stages is a strong possibility. i recommend using a pan which has a volume double that of your cooked product, in order to give you some room. if you’re in a house with a bunch of small pans, consider halving the recipe.

1. melt sugar and butter together over medium heat until fully incorporated
2. add ale and syrup, then slowly whisk in cream
3. cook caramels to 240F (stir constantly, be patient. this part takes a while)
4. once the caramels hit 240F, pour the mixture into a parchment paper lined baking dish about 2″ deep.
5. salt the caramels while they are still hot
6. leave at room temperature for an hour, then chill for two hours.
7. before cutting, bring up to room temperature for about 30 minutes, otherwise some parts can shatter.

          

Eating Gluten Free at Boundary Bay Brewery

We know that eating out when you have dietary restrictions is never easy.  So, we’re trying to better inform our customers and let them know which menu items are best for them.  If you’re Gluten Free and eating at Boundary Bay Brewery, here’s what we’ve got for you.  But please remember that our restaurant is not entirely gluten free and, due to cross contamination, we can never guarantee that our items are 100% gluten free.

Appetizers

• Hummus Plate (sub tortilla chips for pita bread)
• Cheese Plate (sub tortilla chips for bread)
• Chips and Salsa
• Nachos
• Tapenade (sub tortilla chips for Foccacia bread)

Salads

• House Salad with no croutons (sub corn tortillas or tortilla chips for bread on side)
• Harvest Salad with no croutons (sub corn tortillas or tortilla chips for bread on side)
• All dressings are gluten free EXCEPT for Caeser dressing (which contains Worchestershire)

Soup

• Beer Beef Stew

Sides

• Tim’s Potato Chips
• Roasted Potatoes
• Spanish Rice
• Beans

All Day Items

• Yam Alechiladas
• Fish Tacos
• Yellow Curry
• All of our sandwiches can be made into a lettuce wrap if you request lettuce substituted for bread or burger buns

Dinner Menu

• New York Steak
• Sockeye Salmon

Drinks

• Bottled Gluten-free beer
• Bottled Ciders
• Wine

Vegan Options at Boundary Bay Brewery

We know being a Vegan is a commitment and it’s not always easy to dine out while meeting your dietary needs.  So, in hopes of making things easier for our customers who are Vegan, we put together this list of foods on our menu that are great choices for Vegans.

Appetizers

• Tapenade (order with no dairy)
• Hummus plate (order with no dairy)
• Chips and Salsa
• Ralf’s Bavarian pretzels and pretzel buns

Soup

• none of our regular soups are vegan, but check the soup of the day!

Salads

• House Salad (order with no dairy)
• Harvest Salad (order with no dairy)
• Thai vinaigrette

Sides

• Tim’s potato chips
• Roasted Potatoes
• Spanish Rice
• Beans
• Dinner veggies (request that they are cooked in oil, not butter)

All Day Items

• BLAT with Tempeh Bacon (white bread contains honey)
• Tofu Sandwich
• Tempeh Tacos (order with no dairy)

Winter Beer Tasting

On Saturday, January 21st, a few Boundary Bay Brewery folks will be at Bellingham Technical College (BTC) teaching about Winter Beers.  Join Anthony, our Assistant Brewer, and Matt, our Kitchen Manager and BTC culinary program alumni, for an afternoon of Winter Beer Tasting and food pairing!

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.

What To Pair Your Winter Beer With…

Cabin Fever

We know choosing foods to pair with your beer can get a bit tricky during the winter months, when rich, dark, flavorful seasonal beers are in season.  So, our Sous Chef, here at Boundary Bay Brewery, came up with a few suggestions to help you find just the right flavors to compliment the craft beer you’ll be serving.

CraftBeer.com recommends matching strength with strength and suggests pairing assertive beers with strongly-flavored foods.

Our Cabin Fever is the most popular of our big beers.  It’s our Winter Seasonal ale with a dark red-brown color and a very rich malty flavor.  Try it with an apple, cheddar and sorrel turnovers for a savory pairing, or go sweet with a dessert pairing of chocolate espresso torte.

If Cabin Fever’s not quite your thing, try our Old Bounder.  It’s a rich, full-bodied barley wine that has a copper color, a smooth caramel sweetness and a balanced hop character.  Which makes it a perfect partner for dark fruits like figs served with nuts and blue cheese (or another cheese with big flavor, if you prefer).  For a sweet pairing, check out the Cranberry Panna Cotta recipe below:

Cranberry Panna Cotta

Old Bounder

for panna cotta

4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
6 tablespoons cold water

for cranberry sauce

1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup port wine
1 tsp orange zest
Mixture of 1 tsp arrowroot powder and 1/3 cup water (for thickening)
candied orange peel for garnish

panna cotta recipe

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups.

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish with sauce and orange peel

cranberry sauce

1. Cook the cranberries in the sugar and water until soft.
2. Add the orange zest and wine
3. Slowly whisk in your arrowroot/water mixture until desired consistency. Be sure to use low heat.
4. Try not to reduce the sauce after adding the port. It is easy to turn this cranberry-port sauce into a port wine reduction!

BBQing With Beer

Now that summer’s finally here (well, in theory at least!), what’s better than spending a weekend afternoon BBQing and drinking beer?  We think the only thing better than that is BBQing WITH beer – especially Boundary Bay Brewery beer!

Here in our latest video, Matt Hanson, our Kitchen Manager, shows us how to make a Jamaican Jerk marinade with Boundary Bay IPA.  In the video, he marinates steak, but he’s quick to point out that this marinade would be equally great on chicken or even tofu!  Check it out:

Our IPA is undoubtedly our most popular beer and it’s available in kegs, pony kegs, growlers and in 22 oz. bottles here at the brewery.  Don’t forget, you can always head over to the Boundary Bay Brewery YouTube channel to check out all of Matt’s cooking videos.  Cheers!

Tarragon Chicken

There are quite a few dishes we’re known for here at Boundary Bay Brewery – our Mac n cCheese, our Yam Alechiladas, our Smoked  Salmon Chowder.  Another perennial favorite is our Tarragon Chicken and we’ve decided to share the recipe here with you!

If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s two chicken breasts stuffed with feta cheese and tarragon, served in a Mandarin orange cream sauce.  When we told our Facebook fans we were filming the recipe segment with our Kitchen Manager, Matt Hansen, they went a little crazy!  Here’s a couple of the comments:

Enjoy (ideally with a pint of hand crafted beer)…from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup – from The Soup Dude

Our Soup Dude here at Boundary Bay Brewery is hard at work year round.  Lately, though, he’s been making a whole bunch of new soups and this is one of our current faves.  So, here’s his recipe for Hot and Sour Chicken Soup:

3 whole chicken breasts – halved, then cut into strips

1 yellow onion – julienned

4 cups green cabbage – shredded

2 T sesame oil

3 quarts low sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup sambal olek (or other red chili paste)

3/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 T lemon juice

1/2 cup green onions -chopped (for garnish)

1/4 cup cilantro – chopped (for garnish)

2 limes cut into wedges (serve on side – 0ptional)

Heat the oil in a large pan and lightly brown the chicken.  Add cabbage and onions, cook until soft.  Deglaze the pan with some of the chicken stock.  Transfer all pan contents to a soup pot.  Add stock, sambal, soy, vinegar and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes and adjust spiciness as desired.  Garnish with cilantro and green onion and serve with a lime wedge on the side.  Enjoy with your favorite Boundary Bay Brewery beer!  Cheers.