Ski to Sea Weekend with BEER!

For many years, a big part of Bellingham’s Memorial Day tradition has been the Ski to Sea race and accompanying festivities.  The race itself is a 93.5 relay race from MT. Baker to Bellingham Bay encompassing seven different sports:  Cross Country Ski; Downhill Ski/Snowboard; Running; Road Bike; Canoe; Mountain Bike and Kayak.

The weekend of fun also includes a community block party with music and food (and a Boundary Bay Brewery beer garden!), a junior Ski to Sea Race for the little ones, a hometown parade and special events all around town – including plenty of ones right here at Boundary Bay Brewery.

Starting Friday, May 25th, we’ll have all kinds of family friendly entertainment to keep everybody busy.  This Friday kicks off the Official Ski to Sea Block Party in our Beer Garden!  There’ll be music, dancing, food and fun.  It’s a costume party too (NOT required!), so wear your Ski to Sea themed attire for a chance to win a fabulous prize! Dress as an original 1911 racer or a modern day racer…be as creative as you want.  AND, the first 800 racers who show up with their race bibs get an official 2012 Ski to Sea beer glass for free!  Oh, and be sure to enter the Ski to Sea and Alaska Airlines contest for a chance to win two round trip tickets from Bellingham to ANYWHERE Alaska Airlines flies. We’ll have our BBQ up and running and there’ll be live music by The Atlantics, too!

Then, on Saturday, May 26th our Beer Garden will open at 2pm and we’ll have the BBQ running all day.  The Bellingham Firefighters Pipes & Drums band will be performing throughout the afternoon along with performances from other pipe and drum bands from the area.  Around 7pm, we’ll start charging a $5 cover for the live music by Sundance which is all ages till 10pm.

The weekend’s festivities will wrap up on Sunday, May 27th with live music by the True Spokes (formerly Flowmotion) at 8:30pm.  The show has a $10 cover as is 21+only, but the Beer Garden and BBQ open at 2, so people of all ages are welcome to relax down there and enjoy BBQ and beer until around 8 when we’ll start charging covers.

Be sure to try some of our Ski to Sea ESB this weekend, too!  It’s brewed specially to commemorate and celebrate the Ski to Sea annual race and this rare brew of ours only gets released once a year.  It’s available on tap here at the brewpub and in 22 oz. bottles sold here at Boundary Bay Brewery and at local grocery stores like Haggens.

Our Ski to Sea ESB is a copper colored English style pale ale that emphasizes the subtle blend of imported and domestic malts. The addition of dry hops adds a delightful hoppy aroma and a slight floral, grassy flavor.

We’ve even got Ski to Sea ESB tshirts and hoodies if you wanna commemorate your experience here in Bellingham this weekend!

Irish Dancing and Corned Beef

It’s St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday and we’re going to be celebrating in a major way here at Boundary Bay Brewery!  We’ll open as usual at 11 am and have a full day of fun planned to entertain the whole family!  Please be aware, though, that we have dancers and other performances happening throughout the brewery that day, so we won’t be able to rearrange tables to seat parties larger than eight  people.  Large parties are welcome to split into smaller groups or to stay together down in the Beer Garden.

our Dry Irish Stout

We’ll have a special menu of Irish Fare that will replace our regular menu for the day.  So, instead of your usual Yam Alechiladas, you can feast on a few of our regular standbys like our House Salad, Caesar salad and Pepperoni or Cheese pizzas or head down to the Beer Garden for BBQ.

But why not enjoy some festive faves like Corned Beef & Cabbage, Shepherdess Pie or one of these other delicious meals?

House Salad – Mesclun greens, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers & croutons with your choice of dressing: bleu cheese vinaigrette, alehouse, caesar, or Thai vinaigrette.  Beef it up by adding grilled chicken or Tempeh.

Caesar Salad – Romaine, parmesan cheese & croutons tossed with caesar dressing, topped with fresh lemon & cracked black pepper. Add grilled chicken or Tempeh to make it a meal!

Irish Stew – A warm & hearty compilation of vegetables, potatoes & tender chunks of beef simmered together in our Scotch Ale.

Smoked Salmon Chowder – Potatoes, smoked salmon, carrots, celery & onion in a rich cream base with fresh baked bread.

St. Patty Melt – 1/3 pound of natural black Angus beef, char-broiled and served on caraway rye bread with caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese.

Rueben – Seared corned beef on marbled rye made locally by Avenue Bread with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, melted Swiss cheese & your choice of roasted potatoes, house salad or Tim’s potato chips.  Or make it vegetarian with Tempeh!

Cured Salmon Sandwich – Irish Whiskey cured Sockeye salmon sliced thin and served on a locally made ciabatta roll with sliced tomato, caper cream cheese and pickled asparagus.  Served with your choice of roasted potatoes, house salad or potato chips.

Corned Beef & Cabbage – corned beef brisket braised in Amber and Scotch Ale, served with braised cabbage, carrots and red potatoes

Sheperdess Pie – a vegetarian version of shepherds pie with red beans, carrots, celery, mushrooms, peas, corn and pearl onions.

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There’ll be free entertainment all day in our brewpub: from Irish Dancers to bagpipers to traditional Irish tunes.

And, after the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade at Noon, there’ll be a Post Parade Party in the Beer Garden with live music from 1-5pm with BBQ food available.

Robert Blake and the Paddy Whackers will play later in the night for a $5 cover (21+ only!).  And, of course, special appearances from The Bellingham Firefighters Pipes and Drums throughout the day!

All ages are welcome in the Bistro and Beer garden till 9pm. 21+ in the tap room.

Penk O'Donnell Irish Dancers here at our brewery

Here’s our lineup for Saturday’s entertainment:

• Derek Duffy: 11am
• GO SEE THE PARADE AT NOON!
• Penk O Donnell Dancers: 1pm
• The Wayfaring Strangers (band): 1:30pm
• Penk O Donnell Dancers: 2:30pm
• The Wayfaring Strangers (band): 3pm
• McGlaughlin Irish Step Dancers: 4pm
• Anna Schaad & the Skagit Ceilidh Band: 4:30pm
• Penk O Donnell Dancers: 6:30pm Band TBA:
• Penk O Donnell Dancers: 8:30pm
• The Paddy Whackers (band): 9pm, $5 cover, in the tap room. 21+

In the Beer Garden
• The Paddy Whackers (band): 1:30-3pm
• Puirt Na Gael (band): 5pm

And don’t forget to raise a glass of our new Irish Red Ale or our Dry Irish Stout to say Cheers to St. Patrick’s Day!