Canning O’ The Red

The craft beer scene has seen tremendous growth in the production and distribution of canned brews, so why the paradigm shift? There are a lot of practical reasons behind the craft canning movement; efficiency, recyclability, and consumability to name a few. At the core, it’s cheaper to produce and better for the environment.

Cans are lightweight and easier to move around, in comparison to its heavier and more breakable, bottle counterpart. Distribution wise, a truck-load of aluminum cans proves to be a more portable process overall, as apposed to the glassware alternative. The same notion applies to the average outdoor adventure…canned packaging fits the occasion; light weight, unbreakable (unless you’re really trying) and satisfyingly crunchable once consumed.

But besides practically reasons, “Beer cans also have a certain nostalgic appeal” states Charles Passy of Wall Street Journal, “that retro-chic factor, in other words”.  “That sound of a beer can being opened”, ads Oskar Blues spokesman Chad Melis, “is one we associate with good times”  Namely the 60’s, when cans were also at a pinnacle point in popularity!

According to a study by the Beer Institute, in 2012 cans constituted 53.2% of the beer market, while bottles had a 36.5% share. If you look back to 2006, cans accounted for 48.3% of the market and bottles 41.9%. That’s a pretty significant gap, and it makes sense. Cans are more compact and less packaging means you can move the same amount of product in less trips, reducing your overall expense and carbon footprint simultaneously.

So, there’s clearly reasons behind the…canned-ness…and we thought, what better event than the Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a day centered around the showcasing of GREEN-inspired innovations, to announce the arrival of our newest 100% recyclable product! Pick up a 16 oz. can of Boundary Bay Irish Style Red – just $2.25 at pint size! At 4% ABV, it’s the perfect session ale. Crack one and enjoy…wherever you might find yourself. Cheers!

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!

Looking Back – 2011 at BBAY

Another year is winding down and before we say hello to 2012, we thought we’d say a fond goodbye to 2011 with some of our favorite moments of the past year.  Here at Boundary Bay Brewery, 2011 gave us lots of opportunities to expand on previous successes and was jam packed with brand new adventures as well:

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!

Everybody’s Irish at Boundary Bay Brewery!

I don’t know, maybe it was all the Cabin Fever, but somehow this Winter seemed to fly by and I’m finding it hard to believe it’s already March.  It’s a busy time for us around the brewery as we prepare for St. Patrick’s Day…the BBAY way!

the Penk O'Donnell Dancers at Boundary Bay Brewery

If you haven’t yet celebrated St. Paddy’s Day with us here at Boundary Bay Brewery, you are missing one heck of a good time!  The fun starts right when we open our doors at 11am.  We’ll be serving up a special menu of Irish Pub Fare and pouring some special limited edition beers.  As for entertainment, we’ll have Bagpipers and Irish Dancing from the Penk O’Donnell Dancers and the McGlaughlin Dancers performing throughout the day in both the Tap Room (21+ only) and in the Bistro where families are always welcome!  Dance performances take place at 12:30 , 2:00 (McGlaughlin), 4:00, 6:00, 8:00 and 9:00 (McGlaughlin).  Then, around 8 pm, The Paddy Whackers will be joining the party!  They’ll be performing their living Irish tunes in the Tap Room ($5 / 21+ only) and we’ll bet you won’t be able to stay in your seat so come prepared to kick up your heels!  But, before all the festivities go down on the big day itself (Thursday, March 17th), there’s all kinds of Irish celebrating to do the weekend before to get you in the mood!

Boundary Bay Brewery in 2010 Parade

Saturday, March 12th is Bellingham’s 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day parade!  If you somehow missed the parade last year we strongly encourage you to not make the same mistake again this year.  Lots of local businesses, schools and organizations – plus bagpipers, cheerleaders, bands and dance troops – will be coming together to march down Cornwall Avenue at noon.  Yes, it’s a St. Patrick’s Day parade so there will be plenty of shamrocks and leprechauns and people wearing green.  But this parade is also a chance to honor Bellingham’s law enforcement and fire departments and a moment for the community to come together and celebrate all the cool people who make Bellingham such a great place to call home.  For more details on the parade route, the businesses that have signed up for the parade already and information on how YOU can be part of this year’s parade, check out the Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day parade website.

If you’re looking for the lazy man’s way to prep for the parade, then just swing by the brewery to have a pint and catch some traditional Irish dancing on Friday, Saturday or Sunday!  The Penk O’Donnell dancers will be kicking up their heels at Boundary Bay Brewery at 6:00 and 8:00pm on Friday, March 11th and at 1:00, 5:30 and 8:00 pm on Saturday, March 12th…not to mention 6:30 pm on Sunday, March 13th!

We’ve got a whole day of fun planned at Boundary Bay Brewery on parade day!  If you’re an early riser, come pre-funk with us before the parade at our Paddycakes Pancake Breakfast.  It’s an all you can eat pancake feed in our Beer Garden and the whole family is welcome.  $7 (kids 5 yrs. and under are free) gets you bacon or sausage and coffee, juice or tea plus all you can eat pancakes! And there’ll even be live music by The Mad Haggis! We’re serving up breakfast from 9-11am so you’ll still have time to go find a good vantage spot to catch all the action on Cornwall before the parade starts at Noon! Call the brewery at 360-647-5593 to make your breakfast reservations today!

After the parade, it’s back to the Beer Garden for BBQ, beer and lots of live music!  Families are welcome and there’s no cover, so bring the whole gang down and enjoy live music by Giant’s Causeway (1:30-3pm), Muddy Boots (3:15-4:45) and Whiskey Galore (5-6:30).  Hope to see you there!  Cheers.

St. Paddy’s Day with Boundary Bay Brewery

a pint of Dry Irish Stout from Boundary Bay Brewery

We all know that Saint Patrick’s Day is a big holiday when it comes to beer.  But for us here at Boundary Bay Brewery, it’s taken on a whole new dimension this year.

We’ve always had a long history of being a community hub; often described by locals as “pure Bellingham.”  So, it should come as no surprise that Boundary Bay Brewery and General Manager, Janet Lightner are behind the efforts to get Bellingham’s first St. Patrick’s Day Parade up and running.

Bellingham’s first St Patrick’s Day Parade will hit downtown streets on Saturday, March 13^th at noon. The event, spearheaded by our own Janet Lightner, is being coordinated by an all-volunteer committee and is directly aimed at bringing the community together.  The parade is timed to follow Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department’s Runnin’ O’ the Green Race and Fun Run at Bloedel Donovan Park.  “We’re looking forward to a day full of fun for the entire Bellingham community,” says Lightner.

Her inspiration is the long tradition of St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Chicago, New York, Savannah and New Orleans.  Like those cities, this parade will honor Bellingham’s Police and Fire Department personnel.  Lightner adds, “Especially this year, we want these brave men and women to know that the community supports them.”

Like the traditional parades of Lightner’s inspiration, the Bellingham parade will feature Irish dancers, pipe bands and marching bands.  In a non-traditional twist, however, Bellingham’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is focusing on being green.  The parade organizers are encouraging human and green powered floats representing local businesses, schools, neighborhood associations and groups from all over the community.  Entry into the parade is free and Lightner hopes that will encourage lots of local businesses to come together to participate in this year’s parade.

Want to get involved?  The parade’s website is www.bellinghamstpatricksday.com and the Facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/stpatsbham.  The committee is also using Twitter to build support at www.twitter.com/stpatsbham. Information requests can be emailed to stpatsbham@gmail.com.

the Penk O'Donnell dancers at Boundary Bay, 2009

We’ll be continuing the St. Patrick’s Day fun at Boundary Bay Brewery on Wednesday, March 17^th with our annual Irish shenanigans.  Enjoy a special menu of traditional favorites like Sheperdess pie and corn beef and cabbage (regular menu also available) and kick up your heels to live music from the Paddy Whackers.  Enjoy a pint of Dry Irish Stout and pull up a barstool for the Penk O’Donnell Irish dancers – a yearly St. Patrick’s Day treat at Boundary Bay Brewrey.