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!

Local Connections – K & M Red River Farm

We had the pleasure of spending one of Fall’s last beautiful, sunny days out at K & M Red River Farm with Mike who gave us a farm tour, talked with us about sustainability and told us how he and Boundary Bay Brewery became connected.

K & M Red River Farm was one of our first local suppliers and we’ve been getting our salad greens from him for many years now. His small farm in the Lummi Flats is organic, uses no fertilizer at all and is farmed by just Mike and his single assistant.

Check out our newest Local Connections video to find out more about the products we get from this great local farm:

Local Connections: Cloud Mountain Farm

Nestled at the foot of Sumas Mountain in the far Northwest corner of Washington State, Cloud Mountain Farm is situated on 20 acres of orchards, vineyards, nursery fields, greenhouses and trial gardens.  They propagate and grow fruit trees, nut trees, berry plants and ornamental plants.  You’ll also find they sell a large variety of dwarf conifers and Japanese maples, hard-to-find orchard and garden supplies, quality tools, and garden books.

They’ve been growing apples commercially since their beginnings in 1978. They supply a number of restaurants in town and we are lucky enough to be one of them!  The menu here at Boundary Bay Brewery regularly features produce grown locally for us at Cloud Mountain Farm and we even serve up their hot apple cider on chilly Winter days.

Education has always been hugely important to the staff at Cloud Mountain Farm.  They have extensive trial gardens to test out crop development and which varieties work best in our climate.  For consumers, their goal is to make sure that when your leave their nursery, you have the right plants, tools and information to be successful in all your gardening endeavors. Their focus on education will certainly grow now that they’ve become a non-profit!  The farm will become an educational/training center for market farmers and consumers.  They will continue to grow and sell to the public through the farm stand, the Bellingham Farmers Market, local restaurants and CSA shares.  But now they will also expand their educational opportunities to include training programs for people wanting to learn the business of farming for market and providing consumer education for food production and ornamental gardening.

We were lucky enough to get to tour Cloud Mountain Farm in September and meet the incredible staff who run the farm.  We spent a lovely morning wandering through the fields with Cheryl, learning about farming for food and snacking on delicious tomatoes, grapes and apples.  Check out this video to find out more about Cloud Mountain Farm, the people behind it and their incredible produce that we use in our menu here at the brewery.

 

Local Connections: Gothberg Farms

Gothberg Farms is situated on 40 acres of flat, fertile, farmland in Bow, WA.  They use only a small portion for the goats and dairy, with the remainder leased out to “the real farmer next door”.  Rhonda got her first goats in April of 2002, a mother and doe kid pair.  This was supposed to just be the family milk, but it was infectious.  The following September, she added two more bred does … and as of February 2009, there were 22 bred does awaiting milk production for Spring.

The scenery surrounding the land is fabulous.  They look directly at Mt. Baker and Chuckanut Mountain and can see the San Juan Islands. On clear days the Olympic Mountains and the Canadian  Coastal range may also be seen.  In fact, the cheese room windows were intentionally placed so the ladies could see Mt. Baker while they work.  They say the sunrises and sunsets are really nice there and that they even have “resident” hawks, blue heron, and seasonal eagles, swans, geese, and ducks.

All of Gothberg Farm’s cheese is totally handcrafted. All moulds are filled by hand, turned by hand, and salted by hand. All wrapping and packaging is by hand, some with hand lettering on the labels. Yes, this is labor intensive but affords quality checks at every turn. The low-tech approach is always favored whenever possible.  Rhonda believes that to make a great product, it has to be done right from beginning to end.

Which is why the feeding program for the goats at Gothberg Farms has been very well thought out.  There is a high emphasis on prevention and health.  Rhonda feeds her goats a recipe which is custom mixed by Conway Feed, the local feed mill.  They are also given alfalfa hay from Eastern Washington as well as grass hay from Skagit Valley and they have full pasture access 24/7/365.

Hear more from Rhonda about her farm and the cheeses she produces for us here at Boundary Bay Brewery and for her local community. Be sure to check out this interactive map too that shows you where YOU can get Gothberg Farms (other than here at our brewery!).

 

 

 

Connecting Customers and Local Food

This September is Eat Local Month for Whatcom County.  To celebrate,  we using the month to cast the spotlight on a few of the local farmers we source their menu ingredients from.

Earlier this year, we began posting video blogs about our Local Connections.  The videos were each short interviews with local restaurants, delis and stores that serve Boundary Bay beer on tap or in bottles.  In each interview, we asked business owners to share why it was important to them to do business locally.

This month, we’re expanding their Local Connections videos to showcase where they get their chevre, apples, potatoes and greens.  We’ll film the video blogs out at the farms and give you a chance to meet the farmers face to face.  We think the videos will play an important role in connecting consumers and local food producers.

Boundary Bay Brewery works with many local suppliers and we it a priority to source at least 25% of their food budget from local producers.  We’ve even clearly marked dishes on our menu that are made with local ingredients  to help inform customers who think it’s important to support local agriculture too.

During September, we’ll be filming interviews with K & M Red River Farm, Cloud Mountain Farm and Gothberg Farms and will post the videos here on our blog and on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to also take advantage of all the Eat Local events happening throughout the month!

Eat Local Month is a project of Sustainable Connection’s Food and Farming Program and includes farm tours, edible events and special locally-sourced menu items featured at various restaurants throughout the month including at Boundary Bay Brewery from September 25 – October 1^st.  All week we’ll be serving up a special all local menu (alongside our usual eats!).  Here’s what we’ve got in store

Salmon Salad Sandwich

Samish Bay Coho salmon from Barleans mixed with capers, lemon juice, onion and mayonnaise topped with cucumbers from Cloud Mountain Farms and alfalfa sprouts from Happy Valley Sprouts and served on toasted ciabatta from Avenue Bread. $10

Spinach Salad

Fresh Alkmene apples from Cloud Mountain Farms on spinach from Red River Farms, with Gothberg Farms chevre cheese, hazelnuts from Holmquist Orchards with a honey-white balsamic-champagne reduction. $10

Caprese Salad

Heirloom tomatoes and basil from Cloud Mountain Farms and goat cheese from Gothberg Farm, drizzled with olive oil and served with Breadfarm‘s Bow Hill baguette.$9

Local Connections – Old World Deli

photo courtesy of Old World Deli website

We had the pleasure of chatting with Christos and Anna, owners of the Old World Deli in Downtown Bellingham last Friday.  Old World Deli is a true deli with an impressive selection of meats & cheeses that you can purchase by the pound as well as a staggering array of olives & extras.  This place could be Foodie Heaven!  You’ll find delights like orange prickly pear soda, black beluga lentils, capers in sea salt, Italian figs covered in dark chocolate, gluten free dark chocolate hazelnut cookies and multitudes of olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars.

And that list isn’t even really scratching the surface of the list of treasures to be found at Old World Deli!  They serve breakfast paninis like brie and apple, Nutella or pancetta, fontina and egg as well as lunch or dinner paninis like grilled vegetable, chicken pesto, muffaletta and albacore tuna.  They have soups and salads and cheese plates too!  Check out the whole menu here.

Old World Deli has an incredible selection of wines that are separated by region and have whole shelves full of bottles uner $10.95.  They also serve Boundary Bay Brewery beer and use our ESB to make their own bratwurst!  They offer catering services, monthly wine tastings and even live music in their space (occasionally).

Anna and Christos like this eclectic approach to their business.  They believe “…a deli is a meeting place where recipes, stories, shared experiences all revolves around how food has always been an integral part of families, friends & culture.” And they want to carry on that tradition…

Local Connections – Ciao Thyme

Ciao Thyme - 207 Unity Street, Bellingham WA

We had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica and Mataio Gillis last week for the latest video in our Local Connections series.  They are the owners of a wonderful local company that operates under quite a few names: Ciao Thyme, In The Kitchen and Incognito.  This single business functions as a cooking school (In The Kitchen), catering company (Ciao Thyme) and private dining space (Incognito) and is based right downtown on Unity Street. Best of all, they also feature Boundary Bay Brewery beer!

dining space for Incognito dinners

Jessica works with all the clients and writes menus designed to highlight local, seasonal flavors while Mataio works with local farmers and producers to source the incredible ingredients he’ll be cooking with.  They work together to provide catering with menus designed specifically for each event and to each client’s taste, but also to bring the community together through unique family style dining experiences in their space on Unity Street and cooking classes that range from making your own cheese, teaching kids to make Sushi and traveling to Umbria, Italy.

They are members of Sustainable Connections, believe strongly in the international Slow Food movement and in supporting local, sustainable agriculture.  They also donate 10 – 15% of their annual revenue each year to local non-profits in an effort to help our community continue to grow and thrive.  We are thrilled to have this Local Connections with Jessica and Mataio and are proud that they choose our craft beer to serve as part of their culinary adventures.  Check them out!

 

Local Connections – The Shakedown

The Shakedown is Bellingham’s newest music venue and it’s worth a visit!  Located at 1212 N. State Street, the bar now inhabits the space which was previously home to The Factory, Callaloo and Plan B.  Inside, you’ll find a staff of Belebrities (Bellingham Celebrities for those who don’t know!) like co-owner Hollie Huthman (local musician and band photographer), Michelle Schutte (of Jinx Art Space fame) and Krissa Woiwod (iDiOM Theater founder) and a menu that intriguingly mixes pub food (good ole’ french fries) and upscale dishes (Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches) that uses as much local product as possible.

They also make a point of pouring local beers…especially Boundary Bay Brewery Scotch Ale. Check out our latest Local Connections video and find out more about The Shakedown.  Cheers!

Local Connections – Big Rock Cafe and Grocery

We brew all our own beer here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  You probably already knew that.  But did you know that we bottle it and distribute it ourselves too?  We deliver to accounts all over Whatcom, Skagit and King county every day and we get to meet all kinds of great folks who choose to put our beer on tap in their establishment.  We figured a good way for you to get to know these amazing people too was to show you just how cool t

Casey & Cody - the men behind Big Rock

hey are in these Local Connections videos.  Our latest Local Connections episode was filmed at Big Rock Cafe and Grocery on the corner of the turnabout at College Way and Hwy 9 in Mount Vernon.

Big Rock is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They’ll also sell you groceries, fill your tank up with gas and pull you a pint while you’re there!  Yep, you read that right…Big Rock is a cafe, a grocery store and a gas station all rolled into one.  The place has been around since the 1920′s and over the years, has come to feel a whole lot like home to lots of people.

Brothers Cody and Casey run Big Rock, after buying it from their father who owned the place for 23 years.  They stopped long enough to chat with us last Friday about their unique business and why they like having Boundary Bay Brewery beer be a part of it:

Local Connections – Slough Food

This second episode in our Local Connections series profiles Slough Food – a great little shop in Edison that is definitely worth the trip!

John DeGloria, the owner of Slough Food, traces the inspiration for his shop to his lifetime love of good food and wine as well as his travels in Rome.  The place has an old world feeling and the owner himself stands behind the counter slicing meats and cheeses and greeting each customer who enters the store.  Not only can you find incredible artisan cured meats, fabulous cheeses and an unbelievable wine selection, but you can also enjoy treats like locally made honey, unusual grains and, of course, Boundary Bay Brewery beer!  You can also treat yourself to one of John’s tasting events to learn more about the delicacies you’re enjoying.

We were lucky enough to catch John for a few moments to ask him about Slough Food, why he chooses to support local businesses and why he decided to stock bottles of Boundary Bay Brewery beer when shelf space is a limited commodity in his tiny jewel of a store.  Here’s what he had to say: