Brewing Belgian Beers?!

Boundary Bay Tripel

Belgian beers have a long and distinguished history…and a flavor profile that is uniquely their own.  Brewing with Belgian yeast often results in a distinctive spicy, pungent character and it’s not a style that we do very often here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  But, we’re always up for a new challenge so we entered into uncharted territory for us…all so we could participate in the Washington Beer Commission‘s 2nd Annual Belgianfest.

Last year, for the first Belgianfest, we brewed a Tripel which was received with high acclaim.  Our Tripel is golden in color, medium bodied and moderately hopped.  The flavor and aroma are both dominated by alcohol and Belgian yeast.  This beer has a nice malt backbone, is slightly earthy and has a dry finish.  And this heavyweight comes in at 9.5% ABV, so please enjoy responsibly!  This year, we uppped the ante and brewed the Tripel again as well as a Big Belgian Pale Ale.  We’re calling it the Big Belgian Pale as most Belgian Pales rank in around 5% ABV while ours tips the scales at 6.7%.  It is light to medium in body and a bit stronger than the average Belgian pale ale.  The nose has malt, Belgian yeast and a touch of hops.  The flavor is earthy, malty and slightly alcoholic.  Considering the alcohol content, it is very quaffable if we do say so ourselves!

We have our Big Belgian Pale on tap at the brewery now and we should have the Tripel soon, but you can also get a taste at Belgianfest which takes place at Warren G. Magnuson Park (Seattle) this Saturday (January 22nd).  Not only will you get a glimpse into the beer culture of Belgium, but you’ll also get to taste Belgian-style beers from over 20 Washington breweries.  And lots of us are brewing these babies for the first time, so this is a rare treat indeed!  Tickets are $30 advance or $35 at the door and your admission price includes ten 4 oz. tastes and a commemorative tasting glass.  There’s also a designated driver admission of just $5 (available at the door only) and includes free water and/or soda.  If they’ve got any advance tickets left, you can get ’em at Big Time Brewery or Full Throttle Bottles!

We’ll see you there…cheers!

Plan on Drinking LOTS of Beer Next Week

Alright folks, clear your calendars for next Wednesday, Thursday (…and maybe Friday too, if you’re smart!).  Plan on being here at Boundary Bay Brewery for another big beer week!

On Wednesday January 13th, we’ll be debuting our brand new Tripel.

We’ve brewed it to enter into the Belgianfest on January 23rd…put on by The Washington Beer Commission.  The Belgianfest will feature various Belgian style beer by over 20 Washington breweries to put a spotlight on the fascinating beer culture of Belgium.  Our Belgian Style Tripel is a strong, pale golden, medium bodied ale with 9.3% ABV.  It is midly spicy with a medium hop bitterness.  The aroma is of fruit, Belgian Abbey Yeast and alcohol.  It is a complex beer with a warming alcohol flavor and a long dry finish.  It was made with Pilsner, Vienna, Special B and Belgian aromatic malts.  Then, we rounded it out with Tettnang and Saaz hops, Belgian Candi sugar and Abbey Ale yeast, which is a Belgian Ale yeast with a very high alcohol tolerance traditionally used to make trappist style beers.

Then, on Thursday January 14th, we’re serving up a CASK of Imperial Porter for you!

Last year, our brewers turned out a batch of Imperial Porter to celebrate our 2,900th batch of beer.  It turned out to be such a hit, they’ve brought it back this winter too!  Historically, porter is a dark-coloured style of beer that is generally brewed with dark malts, but many breweries now brew porters in a wide variety of flavors like pumpkin, honey, vanilla, and bourbon.  We decided to keep things closer to the traditional style by using Pale, Crystal, Munich and Carastan malts with Simcoe and Tradition hops.  This is a big beer at 9.2% abv, but it is a sweet and well-balanced porter.  Aaron Jacob Smith, our head brewer, described this commemorative brew as “…deceivingly strong, yet silky smooth and black.”

Brewing a Belgian Beer at Boundary Bay

On January 23rd, The Washington Beer Commission is putting together the first-ever Belgianfest 2010!

Here at Boundary Bay Brewery, we’ve brewed up a Tripel to submit and we’re really looking forward to this beer festival.  Not only will the Belgiumfest highlight the skill and creativity of many Washington breweries, but it will celebrate the Belgian approach to brewing, which seems to be a whole lot like our own!  Belgians don’t limit themselves on their ingredients or brewing techniques and are not always compelled to “brew-to-style.”  Basically, if they like it, they brew it! And we can really appreciate that attitude!

There are many styles of Belgian beers (over 500 varieties!) and many that are practically impossible to categorize by style. However, there are some well accepted style definitions and, interestingly, our beer falls into one of those categories.  We’ve hand crafted a Tripel for this competition…historically a brown ale, but many (like ours) are now a golden blond and sweeter than a dubbel.  Both Dubbel and Tripel are Flemish Dutch words meaning double and tripel (respectively) that historically refer to a rough measure of the alcohol level in the beer styles.  Traditionally, monks would brew a beer around 3% or less for their consumption, then a dubbel at about 6% and then a tripel at about 9%.

Our Tripel was made with Pilsner, Vienna, Special B and Belgian aromatic malts.  Then, we rounded it out with Tettnang and Saaz hops, Belgian Candi sugar and Abbey Ale yeast, which is a Belgian Ale yeast with a very high alcohol tolerance traditionally used to make trappist style beers.  I do believe we’ll have some kegs to try here in the brewery, but the brewers are keeping things top-secret right now and keeping their lips sealed as to a release date here at Boundary Bay.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our real-time updates and we’ll be sure to spread the word when our Tripel’s coming up on tap!

And, if sampling a bunch of really creative, interesting Belgian beers from Washington breweries somehow isn’t enough to get you to the Belgianfest, the Washington Beer Commission has a few more tricks up their sleeve.  In addition to the two sessions of beer tastings on January 23rd, there will be a Belgian Beer Dinner at the Corson Building. Dinner details are still being finalized but check the Belgianfest website for more info as they post it.  Plus, there is going to be a special beer brewed exclusively for members of the Washington Association of Beer Lovers (WABL).  Word on the street is that it’s going to be a blended beer made with different Belgianfest beers from several participating breweries and that the group will collectively decide what the blend should be. The actual blending will happen just before the event, when most beers are ready, so no one knows what the beer is going to be like until the event.

Check out this partial list of beers you’ll get to try at the Belgianfest!  See you there…

THE DETAILS:

Saturday, January 23, 201

Session 1: 12-4pm
Session 2: 6-10pm

The Engine Room @ Georgetown Studios
5890 Airport Way S.
Seattle, WA 98108
Map

Admission:
$30 advance tickets
$35 at the door
Separate tickets required for each session
Admission includes a tasting glass and ten 4oz tastes
Designated driver admission is $5 and available at the door only
cash and check only at the door
21+ only

Space is limited- Order your tickets early!
Tickets are available online and at ticket outlets.