The Best of 2010

It’s hard to believe, but another year is already drawing to a close and it’s got us in a reflective mood over here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  So, today…we’re looking back!

Cheers to our 15th Anniversary!

2010 marked our 15th anniversary and we had a fantastic party here at the brewery to celebrate!  We ranked as the largest selling brewpub in the nation for the third year running and were voted the Best Brewpub in Washington by the readers of Northwest Brewing News – also for the third year in a row.  The Northwest Brewing News Readers choice awards also named Boundary Bay Brewery for Best Scotch Ale and Best IPA…which makes our IPA the winner for the last five years consecutively!

In 2010, we brewed our first Tripel, made an anniversary ale called “15” and created a special brew to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of Village Books…and all were met with rave reviews! We got a new Mash Tun and installed our very first beer engine which now lets us provide our thirsty customers with not one but TWO cask ales every day.  We brought home medals from the North American Beer Awards, the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup:  Silvers for our Dunkles Bock (WBC) and our Porter (NABA) and Bronzes for our Cabin Fever (WBC), Imperial IPA (WBC) and Imperial Oatmeal Stout (GABF).

our logo come to life in St. Paddy's Parade!

We had the pleasure of helping over 100 local nonprofits and in bringing the community together for Bellingham’s first annual St. Patrick’s Day parade (thanks to Janet, our General Manager!).  We had a Locks of Love donation party with free haircuts in our beer garden and brought together lots of local and sustainable businesses for our very first Earth Day Sustainability Fair.  We surpassed 10,000 fans on Facebook, held our first (possibly THE first ever?) Virtual Brewers Night and took back the tap as the House IPA at Beveridge Place Pub!

And, besides all that, we’ve kept on keeping on…brewing and bottling all our usuals that you’ve come to know and love, serving up fresh and local Northwest food, hosting events here at the brewery throughout the year and doing our best to help keep Bellingham a strong, local, sustainable community.  It’s been a whirlwind and we’ve had a fabulous time!  We just want to say thank you to all of our incredible fans who are such an important part of what we do.  We could never be a success without the love and support we receive from our community.  So, cheers everyone…and thank you!

 

 

Best Brewery in Washington!

Big news for our little brewery!  We were named the 2009 Small Business of The Year by the Bellingham/Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce last week.  And, earlier in December, we were awarded Best Brewery in Washington State by the Readers Choice Awards in the Northwest Brewing News publication.  These particular awards matter a great deal to us because they represent what the people who support our business think of what we do.  We have been fortunate to win many beer awards and each of those medals signal a triumph in the craft beer community.  But the awards we’ve received this month, reflect our connection to our community of customers, neighbors, friends and fans who make it possible for us to keep doing what we do. We have always tried to make strong connections with our customers and our community…in the hopes of making Bellingham as a whole a stronger community.  These awards make us feel like we’ve succeeded in doing just that.  Thank you, from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  And cheers!  (great image of our brewery posted on a Bellingham blog by lizziviggi.)

Voted Best Brewery in Washington State

We are oh so happy to announce that Boundary Bay Brewery has just been named the Best Brewery in Washington State by the Northwest Brewing News 2009 Readers Choice poll!

Each year, the publication asks hundreds of readers to vote online or by mail for best beer, best homebrew store, best bartender, best beer store, and best brewery…among many, many other categories.  We are honored to receive these awards, particularly because they are from the readers of Northwest Brewing News.  These are the people we make our beer for, the people who come in on a regular basis and sample our craft.  Sure, we brew beers that we like to drink, but with Reader’s Choice awards like this, we get to see that we brew beers that YOU like to drink as well!  And that really, really matters to us.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you!  Not only to those who voted in this Readers Choice poll, but to all of our loyal customers, friends and fans who have supported us through the years.  We opened our doors in 1995 and have been lucky enough to have been a part of a supportive, involved community since the very beginning.  While our mission has always been to brew craft beers that are excellent examples of classic styles, it has always been equally important for us to have a strong connection to our community.  I think there’s a reason Boundary Bay Brewery has been dubbed “Pure Bellingham.”  And that matters a whole lot to us!

The official results will be printed in the Winter issue of Northwest Brewing News which comes out January 17th.  Click here to subscribe online!

Boundary Bay Brewery ties for Best Brewery in Washington State!

Every year, Northwest Brewing News holds a Reader’s Choice poll.  They ask hundreds of readers to vote online or by mail for best beer, best homebrew store, best bartender, best beer store, and best brewery.

This year, Boundary Bay Brewery tied with Seattle’s Elysian Brewing for Best Brewery in Washington State!

We also won Best IPA “hands down” according to Alan Moen, editor of Northwest Brewing News.

We are honored to receive these awards, particularly because they are from the readers of Northwest Brewing News.  These are the people we make our beer for, the people who come in on a regular basis after a long day of work and sample our craft.  Boundary Bay’s continued success has as much to do with the community we are a part of as it does the beer we brew.  Boundary opened in 1995 and, over time, became such a town fixture that locals often refer to it as “pure Bellingham.”  Ed Bennett, owner of Boundary Bay, said his goals were always to brew good beer, make good food, and create a place where the people of Bellingham could be comfortable coming together.  This unexpected success just illustrates how well he has achieved his goals.  Boundary Bay, as a whole, works hard to stay connected to its customers and to support local organizations, charities, and musicians.  The brewery also offers support to the Bellingham community by employing over 100 people during its busy seasons.  “We try to do everything that we can ourselves,” says Ed, “from having an in-house bakery, maintenance department, and graphics department, to doing all of our own distribution.  It’s just how we do things.”  Bennett also recognizes the craft beer community as a strong foundation for Boundary’s growth and success.  He commented that “the brewing industry has always been supportive and I am honored to be part of that culture.  We live in a great region for craft brewing and the Pacific Northwest has a strong presence in craft beer.”