Old Bounder Wins Silver

“Old Bounder” Barley Wine took home the Silver Medal at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) this past weekend! More than 4,300 beers were entered, representing 745 breweries from around the Country; the largest GABF competition to date.  The Professional Judge Panel awards gold, silver and bronze medals that are recognized around the world as symbols of brewing excellence. These awards are among the most coveted in the industry and Boundary Bay was one of two other WA breweries (American and Elysian Brewing) to receive a medal in 2013.

 “To continue to place at the GABF is an extraordinary accomplishment,” states General Manager, Janet Lightner, “We are so proud of our brewers who continue to bring home medals, especially considering the level of competition the GABF represents.”

This win marks Boundary’s 14th medal at the GABF. Old Bounder was awarded the bronze in 1998, silver in 2002 and another silver in 2004 in the Barley Wine Style Ale category.  “We have been fortunate to win many awards“, says Lightner, “Each of those metals signals a triumph in the craft beer community, but we also measure our success by the connections we build with our community of customers and neighbors who make it possible for us to keep doing what we love.” 

So what we’d like to say is…Thank you for your support, Bounders!  We couldn’t do it without you.

Our Friend, Danny Williams

Ed with Danny (on the right) in his beer cave!

We are sad to say that we lost our good friend, Danny Williams, this week.  His presence in our lives and in the beer industry touched us deeply, and the world just won’t be the same without him in it.

For over a decade, Danny was the cellar master for the Great American Beer Festival and was famous for his beer cave.  He created the cellar from a once-working gold mine and now used it to store nearly 3,000 bottles of craft beer.  We were lucky enough to visit him there regularly and got to experience his unbelievable beer cellar first hand.

Danny’s absence has already been felt in the craft beer community.  Here is what Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, said yesterday: “…Whether Danny was working on the GABF or doing an educational beer tasting for back-of-house staff at a CBC hotel or helping the formation of a women’s beer appreciation group, he touched the local and national beer communities many times in many ways. I have been tipped off to the beers from many great breweries by Danny, and he was a key piece for educating me on what some of our member companies are up to. I miss him deeply already. And I am sure many of his close friends inside and outside of the brewing community feel similar sentiments.”

Let us all raise a glass today to this wonderful man who left our lives too soon.  He will not soon be forgotten.  Cheers, Danny – from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

Janet and Ed enjoying beers with Danny

CDA vs. Black IPA

There’s a new beer style emerging currently, and brewing right alongside it is an argument about whether this new style should be called Cascadian Dark Ale (CDA) or Black IPA (or one of the many variants of the latter).

This new beer is basically a dynamic duo of malt and hops – it is characteristically dark or black in appearance, due to roasted malt, but still retains the big, bold hop flavors and aromas more traditionally found in an IPA.  There are claims that the style originated in Vermont and there are those who insists that homebrewers in the Pacific Northwest were making it first.  But, wherever it started, the style is finally hitting the mainstream.  As brewers across the country were experimenting with making this new beer style, a variety of names popped up because no one was quite sure what to call it:  Black IPA, Black Ale, Dark Ale, India Dark Ale, India Style Dark ale, India Style Dark Ale, Cascadia Dark Ale, etc.  In 2010, the Brewers Association added the style to the Great American Beer Festival guidelines and officially designated it as American-style Black Ale, but the debate about just what to call this beer rages on.

There are many who believe strongly in naming the style Black IPA, but a whole lot of us here in the Pacific Northwest are fighting for the name Cascadian Dark Ale.  Yes, the style is dark and yes, it still tastes very hoppy, so we can see why the early brewers used terms like Black IPA to try to explain what they were brewing.  But, it really bears little similarity to the historic IPA’s and paring the terms black or dark with pale ale in the same style name seems more than a little confusing!  So our vote is for Cascadian Dark Ale.  Not just because Cascadian hops are used in this beer style (and in a vast majority of all beers produced in the United States) and not just because there are those who trace the roots of this emerging beer style to our region.  We are championing the name Cascadian Dark Ale because here, in the Cascade region, we have embraced this style while it was still a gimmick for most of the rest of the United States.  The Pacific Northwest is where this new beer style is emerging, being embraced and being defined!  Perhaps it’s just that it’s a natural fit for us.  Those of us here in the Northwest seem to have a pallete all our own where big, bold flavors are appreciated – intensely roasted coffee and big, hoppy, bitter beers.  Naming this style Cascadian Dark Ale is about honoring this region and the styles and hops that come from here and that have helped to shape this industry.

Those who argue against the CDA name say that it shows regional favortism and that we’re poised to go the route of champagne if we allow this (only Champagne comes from Champagne region of France – everything else must be called sparkling wine).  But, brewing with Cascade hops or brewing the beer HERE in the Cascade Region is not a requirement for the style.  The name is more appropriately seen as an homage to where this beer style came into it’s own.  We don’t think this is any different from other beers named for specific regions:  Pilsners from Pilsen in the Czech Republic or Scotch Ale from Scotland.  Pilsners and Scotch Ales are now brewed everywhere, by all kinds of brewers…and yet, the names remain and they honor the roots of those beer styles.  Just as we hope Cascadian Dark Ales will honor the Cascade region and it’s part in brewing history.  Cheers – from all of us here at Boundary Bay Brewery!

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!

 

 

Oatmeal Stout Brings Home the Bronze!

We are thrilled to report that our Imperial Oatmeal Stout was awarded a Bronze Medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) last weekend!

The Boundary Bay Brewery Imperial Oatmeal Stout is a heavy weight monster of a beer that is definitely not for the timid!  This is a black, very rich and full-bodied stout with a silky smoothness that gives way to a long “roasty” finish.  We make it with Centennial and Fuggles hops and finish it with a combination of malts including Pale 2-Row, Dark Crystal, Chocolate, Oats and Roasted Barley.  This big brew has brought home lots of awards before:  2009 Bronze at NABA, 2008 Silver at GABF, 2006 Silver at NABA, 2005 Bronze at NABA, 2004 Bronze at WBC, 2004 Silver at NABA and a Bronze at NABA in 2003.

It’s always an honor to receive accolades for the beer we brew, but it’s especially exciting when there were 3,523 other beers vying for medals as well!  GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world and judges over 130 styles of craft beer.  All in all, Washington breweries were well represented in the GABF winner with Pyramid, Elysian, Hale’s, The Ram and Chuckanut all bringing awards home too.  Cheers to Washington Beer!

Great American Beer Festival 2010 Statistics

• 455 breweries in the festival hall
• 2,200+ beers served at the festival
• 49,000 attendees
• 3,400 volunteers
• 516 breweries in the competition from 48 states (including Washington, D.C.)
• 3,523 beers judged (includes 75 Pro-Am competition entries)
• 79 style categories judged, plus the Pro-Am competition
• 151 judges from 10 countries
• Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 44
• Category with highest number of entries: 142, American Style India Pale Ale

View the 2010 winners list or download a PDF list of the winners.

You Be The Judge Of Our GABF Beers

The Great American Beer Festival is happening this weekend and we know that not everybody can take a week off and fly to Denver to take part in this holiest of beer festivals.  So, for those of us left behind, we’re pouring our GABF beers this weekend here at Boundary Bay Brewery!  We’ll have Pilsner, ESB, Imperial Oatmeal Stout, Dunkles Bock and Cabin Fever on rotating taps throughout the weekend…starting Friday morning.  Taste them all or just the out of season faves like the Cabin Fever.  Judge them for yourself and tell us which gets your vote for the gold!  Cheers.

Welcome to Denver… (a graphic designer’s perspective on the GABF)

Thanks to the best volunteers ever!

It was a freakishly early flight to Denver. When we arrived it was as if the rules of Seattle and Denver weather had switched. I left 70 degree sunny Washington and arrived at 50 degrees and raining. The forecast called for warming by the weekend and I could put that twinge aside—that I’d just left the end of summer behind. This was to be my first visit to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) held in Denver, CO and I will tell you now that I’m not a beer expert or even close. I do enjoy beer (duh) and was very excited to see what the festival was like. I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been to a handful of beer festivals, but nothing on this scale. With 49,000 attendees and 3,308 beers entered into competition and 457 breweries in the festival hall, this was year’s GABF was bigger than ever.

So what do you do? I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Tammy and I do the graphic design and marketing for Boundary Bay Brewery. We do all of the design for Boundary Bay in-house. All of the beer and event posters, clothing designs, the website, blog, podcast, ads, etc are put together by our team of three downstairs in the bowels of the brewery. People who don’t understand graphic design marvel that we all have enough work and people in the field wonder how we get it all done. Yep, it’s a pretty sweet job. I went to the GABF to meet my people, the fans of craft beer! I wanted some feedback on what people like. I wanted to see what other breweries were doing to promote their beer. And I wanted to drink some GREAT beer!

When the mountains turn blue… We went to a brewer’s dinner at the Wynkoop Brewery on Wednesday night. The place was packed. I was advised to get a glass of Black Folie, the brain child of Red Stone Meadery and New Belgium Brewery, because it would be the first to run out. Wow! Delicious. My boss, Janet whisked me around, introducing me to friends. The Wynkoop is housed in a historic building right in downtown Denver. I enjoyed the vintage poster art hanging throughout the brewery. I tried some more sour beers and decided that they are a new favorite style for me now. After a while, we decided we’d mingled enough and we cut out to see the last of the Colorado Rockies game at Coors field. It was the top of the 5th and they let us in for free on one condition, we had to cheer for the Rockies. We wasted no time and got to hoopin and hollerin. We poked our heads into the Sandlot for a beer. The Sandlot brewery is actually owned by Coors and is part of The Blue Moon Brewing Company, but they brew their own beers on premises and these are the beers that have won more medals at the GABF since their opening than any other brewery. Despite our feverish cheering, the Rockies didn’t pull out a win that night. They did make it to the playoffs, but sigh, the Phillies pulled out a win. There’s always next year, and hey, the Broncos are 5-0. Thanks to everyone at the stadium and at Wynkoop for your hospitality and warm welcome.

Watch out for Falling Rock. On Friday I was having some serious baggage issues. I had stayed with my brother in Littleton and took the light rail into downtown. The light rail is awesome, so convenient and easy. Not so easy, the fact that I had all my bags for the trip with me because I was planning on staying with my dad for the rest of the my stay. I thought I’d check them at the Amtrak station. No can do without a Amtrak ticket. The attendant, while extremely polite and sympathetic told me her boss wasn’t one for exceptions, while her co-workers simultaneously nodded in agreement. So me and my bags went to The Sandlot, Falling Rock Tap House and then on the free mall bus to the Convention Center. Our stop at the Falling Rock put me in awe. So many taps, so many beers! In the basement, people were eagerly awaiting the results of the Alpha King Challenge founded in 1999 as a tribute to Alpha King Pale Ale, crafted by Three Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana. Here the hoppiest beers are judged in this fun event hosted by Chris Black, the owner of Falling Rock. Boundary Bay won this award in 2006 for our Imperial IPA and took 2nd place in 2008. A total of 70 beers from around the United States competed in the tenth annual Alpha King Challenge. Congrats to Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery and this year’s winner, “Hop Viviant”.

The Festival. I have to start by giving a shout out to our volunteers at the festival. They worked really hard and stayed upbeat and enthusiastic. They made working the festival less like work and more like, well, partying with a chicken hat on your head. I set up a little area with a portfolio of our beer & event posters. I did get a lot of positive feedback on the designs and was even asked to sign a couple of posters I brought to give away. Thanks for making me feel like a rock star! Most often, people told me they were happy that someone from the brewery was there. Often the booths are only staffed with volunteers that don’t know much about the beer or the brewery. They wanted to voice their appreciation of the beer to someone who’d hear it. My dad met me midway through the session and we spent some time seeking out sour beers. Some of our favorites were from New Glarus, Lost Abbey, Russian River and New Belgium. Cheers to all that came to our booth to try Boundary Bay beer and thanks for the feedback!

Saturday—Judgement day. I have to come straight out and say it. I was disappointed when Boundary Bay didn’t win any awards at the festival. The competition gets tougher every year as more and more breweries enter beers into the festival. The categories we typically enter our beer into are categories with a large number of entries. Some of the beers that tend to do better in award competitions are more unique and rare. If we should judge ourselves on anything, it should be the fact that we sell out of our beer, every time, everything we brew and we brew at capacity. There were a lot of other great WA beers at the festival that were shut out as well, but none of us are about to stop drinking their beer. A big congratulations to Chuckanut Brewery on winning Small Brew Pub of the year. This award is given to a brewery that wins the most medals compared to how many beers entered. Congratulations to all the other Washington State winners too. You can download a list of the GABF winners here.

Time to go fishing. After the festival, my dad and I headed out to the Blue River, near Silverthorne to do some fly fishing and camping. The weather was perfect. The fly fishing, it was pretty flat. But the saying is true, I’d rather have a bad day fly fishing than, well, just about anything.

For those NOT at the GABF

The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association in Denver, Colorado. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more than 1,800 different American beers. This weekend, in Denver, more than 46,000 people are enjoying the GABF. For those of us left at home, Boundary Bay Brewery wants to ease the pain just a little bit.

Today and tomorrow, we’re serving up some of the special brews that we made specifically for the Great American Beer Festival. Yep, you heard us right, we set aside some of those kegs of liquid gold for those not able to make it to Denver.

alpha king!!

On Friday (today!), we’ve got Alpha King on tap. This is like our Imperial IPA which won the Alpha King Challenge two years ago (and placed 2nd last year), but even hoppier if you can believe it! This hophead’s dream is our entry into this year’s Alpha King Challenge. Come in today for what may be your only chance to taste this one of a kind beer. Heads up…we’ve only got one keg…this one will go fast!

We’ve also got a special cask of our Black IPA for tonight’s Happy Hour.

Then, on Saturday, we’re bringing out the big guns! We’re going to have our Cabin Fever on tap as well as a special Bourbon Oak-Aged Barley Wine…both entries in this year’s Great American Beer Festival Competition.  Bring some friends, grab a couple pints and start judging like those lucky judges at GABF!

What To Do At The GABF

So we love craft beer…that’s no surprise at Boundary Bay Brewery, but even WE were shocked to learn that the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) draws more than 46,000 people to Denver, Colorado over the course of three days.  Why, you may wonder?  Well, it turns out that this festival offers up a lot more than a simple chance to drink A LOT of finely crafted beer. But, as long as we’re speaking of finely crafted beer, here’s which Boundary Bay brews you  can get your hands on in Denver:

• IPA: A style developed during the days of the British Empire, IPA‘s higher alcohol content and big hop character were natural preservatives that protected the beer during its long voyage eastward to India.  As one story goes, a shipwreck washed many cases of IPA to England’s shore and the locals tasted the beverage…the rest is history.  Original Gravity 1.070
• Pilsner: A light, honey-colored lager with a beautiful hop aroma and flavor.  This lager is brewed in a traditional manner using only the finest ingredients: Pilsner, Munich and Vienna malts and Saaz and Gr. Hallertau hops.  This beer is fermented at lower  temperatures  than an ale, creating a drier body, with less fruity esters.  Original Gravity 1.050
• Imperial Oatmeal Stout: Perhaps more than any other beer, Oatmeal Stout deserves to be called “a meal in a glass.”  For many years it was considered so nutritious that it was often served as a health tonic.  Lightly hopped, it is aged for one month to allow the medley of dark malts and oats to celebrate their union.  Try it with dessert!  Original Gravity 1.090
• Cabin Fever: Specially brewed and bottled for the Pacific Northwest winters, this winter warmer‘s dark red-brown color and rich malty flavor will complement any rich, hardy meal as well as your favorite spicy dish.  However, with it’s cold conditioned, smooth, dry-hopped flavor, Cabin Fever is very satisfying all by itself.  Original Gravity 1.072
• ESB: An English style pale ale that is copper-colored ad that emphasizes the subtle blend of imported and domestic malts.  Hops are in the background in this beer meant for everyday drinking.  Although the name is still misleading to some people, this ale is designed to capture the traditional flavor of English “Bitter,” which is a beer of great subtlety, never harsh nor particularly bitter at all.  It really shines as a beer to enjoy with friends and conversation.  Original Gravity 1.054

The Great American Beer Festival not only offers the chance to sample some of the finest beers the world; it offers multiple opportunities to learn about all things beer. You can explore the world of beer and food, learn about the brewers behind your favorite beer, understand what judges look for in a beer or pick up a few books to learn more about our favorite beverage. The Great American Beer Festival goes beyond tasting and delves into the craft beer experience.

All during the weekend, you can head to the Beer and Food Pavillion to learn about pairing beer and food, watch cooking demonstrations and more!  At this year’s GABF you can:

• Learn about the benefits of eating and drinking local.  Get handy tips on how to match local produce, meats and cheeses with the local craft beer in your town while trying delicious samples!
• Find out how to pair beer and cheese.  The pair can be humble farmhouse companions, but they can also offer some very intense and luxurious experiences. Participants will get a lesson in the basics of beer and cheese and leave with a list of can’t-fail pairings.
• Learn about cooking with beer and its numerous uses from brining to making sauces

If buying local and/or the slow food movement is more your thing, check out the Farm to Table Pavillion.  Chefs, local Colorado farmers, and small, independent brewers are joining together to add another option to learn about how well craft beer pairs with local food.  You will discover how much fresh, local foods have in common with craft beer from small and independent breweries.  You can sample craft beers paired with foods sourced from local farms and ranches; especially since the chefs, farmers and craft brewers, will serve ingredients deliberately chosen, prepared, cooked and brewed to showcase the high quality flavors available from small independent producers!  This educational focused Farm to Table Pavilion is arranged to facilitate meaningful discussions with farmers, chefs and brewers, who share similar philosophies on choosing specific ingredients to enhance their products.

Sustainability is a large concern whenever an event of this size is planned.  This year, the GABF is making every attempt to lessen its impact through innovative sustainability programs. Through their partnerships with ZeroHero, Colorado Convention Center, Centerplate Catering, Governors Energy Office, the Colorado Carbon Fun, and Renewable Choice Energy they aim to reduce their carbon footprint and come as close to a zero-waste event as possible.

There’s tons more to do at the festival too, but not enough blog space to write about all of them.  You can catch a glimpse of The Simpsons, participate in a directed tasting to learn how the pros judge beer, visit the GABF bookstore and catch one of the many book signings, sit in with professional brewers to hear what it takes to get into professional brewing,

Boundary Bay’s Christmas in July!

The Boundary Bay Brewery Cabin Fever is a strong ale or “Winter Warmer” with dark red-brown color and a very rich malty flavor.  While this big beer is deceptively strong, it tastes very smooth thanks to extra long cold conditioning.  Cabin Fever goes very well with richer, heavier foods or any spicy dish, but is equally satisfying by itself.  Made with Warrior, Mt. Hood, and Crystal hops and Premium 2-row, Munich, Carastan, Dark Crystal, Chocolate Malt, and Oats to round out the flavor.  Our Cabin Fever has won a number of medals including a silver medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup (also won a bronze medal at the 2006 WBC!), the gold medal at the 2004 NABA, a bronze medal at the 2002 GABF, and a silver medal at the 1999 GABF.

Now keep in mind that the Cabin Fever you’ve tasted before…and the same beer that has won all those medals…is made in the winter months with extra long cold conditioning.  But, for those of you lucky enough to make it in to the brewery during July will have the pleasure of tasting Cabin Fever that has been aged for eight months and allowed to fully ripen into it’s unique flavors.

Wikipedia says that “Old ale is a term commonly applied to dark, malty beers in the UK, usually above 5% abv, often also called Winter Warmers. Sometimes associated with stock ale or, archaically, keeping ale, in which the beer is held at the brewery. American brewed old ales will tend to be of a barley wine strength.  Because of the time required for the aging process, some investors would buy mild ale from brewers, age it into old ale, and sell it at the higher price. Eventually, brewers began to keep some beer behind at the brewery, age it themselves and sell it to the pubs.”

A century ago, big beers like our Cabin Fever and other strong ales were the rule rather than the exception.  They were generally high-gravity, high-alcohol ales brewed in the winter months in hopes of preventing contamination from airborne microflora.  It became common practice for those first mashes to provide a “stock beer” that was stored for the summer months.  And so, in keeping with the traditions of old, every winter when we here at Boundary Bay Brewery brew our Cabin Fever, we put away some of this winter warmer to age and ripen and tempt our palettes come July.  Hurry down to the brewery to grab yourself a pint of aged Cabin Fever.  Bring some friends and compare this ripened brew to your memories of Cabin Fever from last November.  Try it with our Mac and Cheese (everyone’s favorite!), our Hummus plate or one of Ralf’s soft pretzels if you’re looking for something a little lighter!