Barley Wine Food Pairing

One of our brewers here at Boundary Bay Brewery has a lovely wife who hails from The Heartland.   His Mother-In-Law came to visit recently and we sent a few bottles of our Barley Wine back to Iowa with her and asked her to take it to Jay Wilson, a fellow beer blogger whom you may be familiar with through his blog Brewvana or his recent side project: Diary of a Part-Time Monk.

Old Bounder, our Barley Wine brought home a 2011 Gold Medal from the North American Beer Awards and we wanted to share some with our pal back in Iowa.  The beer ended up on the Brewvana blog where Jay recommended pairing it with a Midwestern classic:  Beanie Weenies.  Seriously!  Check out the whole article here where he describes why the combination works so well.

Now, being a Northwest brewery, we don’t get much call for dishes like Beanie Weenies.  And I’m not sure we’d have ever come up with this beer and food pairing, but that’s what is so cool about craft beer.  It can work in a multitude of ways.  Recently, at one of our Brewmaster’s Dinners out at Semiahmoo Resort, our Old Bounder took the high road and was paired with Fig Tart with chèvre filling in a walnut crust with caramelized figs and  grand marnier.  And we’ve even made our own gelato, here at the brewery, with our Old Bounder…but those are classic barley wine pairings.

Barley wine has strong flavors of it’s own and easily overpowers most main dishes.  It’s common to see it matched up with strong cheese or dessert.  Think of it more like port – a great after dinner drink on it’s own, wonderful with stilton and walnuts or with something rich and sweet like chocolate torte.  And, apparently, it’s great when paired with fatty dishes that make you want to scrape your palate clean (Jay’s words, not mine!).

So we wondered, what other regionally specific classic flavors are out there that would pair well with our Old Bounder?  Tell us which dishes are classic flavors for you and how the big, bold flavors of Barley Wine compliment them.  We’d love recipes too, if you feel like sharing!  Cheers.

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!

 

 

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!

Beer Coming Up at Boundary Bay Brewery

Next week, we’ve got some seasonal beers entering the mix here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  On Monday, May 18th, our Highland Reserve Scotch Ale will be on tap. This is a very hearty, deep red ale with a full body and a fine malt character and an 8.0% alcohol by volume.  With just enough hops to balance the malt, the result is smooth and rich without becoming too sweet. This beer is very satisfying by itself, but also goes well with red meats, stews and rich sauces.  Made with Columbus and Fuggles hops, we add Pale 2-row, Carastan, Crystal, and Special “B” Roasted Barley…plus Peated Malt! This beer brought home the Silver Medal in the 2003 North American Beer Awards and in the 2006 Great American Beer Festival plus a Bronze medal in the 2006 North American Beer Awards.

Then, on Wednesday, May 20th, head down to the Beer Garden to sample our 3-B beer.  Named after the Bellingham Bay Brewery which operated in Bellingham until Prohibition brought the business to a close in the 1920’s.  At 3.7% alcohol by volume this light American style ale is a clean crisp and refreshing session beer. We use Sterling hops and2-Row, Pilsner and Vienna malts to create this light, warm weather brew.

As usual, we’ll have our standard beers on tap too for those who would rather stick to their tried and true favorites rather than branching out.  See you next week!

Got Cabin Fever?

Ah the joys of winter…frosty weather, impending holidays, and seasonal beers to soothe all our wordly woes.  I am oh so happy to say that Boundary Bay Brewery’s winter warmer, Cabin Fever, will FINALLY be on tap at the brewery this Tuesday, November 18th.  With an original gravity of 1.072, this big beer is deceptively strong.  We use Mt. Hood, Warrior, and Crystal hops along with Pale 2-Row, Munich, Caraston, Dark Crystal, Chocolate Malts, and Oats.  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.  Come in from the cold and grab a taste of this beer that won a Silver at the World Beer Cup in 2008, a Bronze at the World Beer Cup in 2006, a Gold at the 2004 North American Beer Awards, a Bronze in the 2002 Great American Beer Festival, and a Silver at the Great American Beer Festival in 1999.  Don’t go crazy this winter…get your Cabin Fever now!  And don’t forget, next Tuesday, you can grab yourself some 22 oz bottles of Cabin Fever since we’ll be bottling all day Monday.  This year, be the favorite guest at the Thanksgiving table…bring enough Cabin Fever for everyone!

We Brew Rootbeer Too!

So, by now most of you who are reading this blog know who we, Boundary Bay, are.  You know we are deep in the heart of beloved Bellingham.    You know we have good food here in our brew pub that keeps traditional pub fare on its toes.  You know we brew great Northwest beers that people like enough to give awards to.  But did you know that we brew our own root beer too?  Not only that, but our root beer has it’s own t-shirt and has won an award or two all by itself!

available with red or blue sleeves and collar, in kids sizes S, M, L

Sure, the shirt is made for kids, but you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy our root beer that took home the Gold medal (in the soft drink category) at the 2004 North American Beer Awards and the Silver in 2005.

Come in and enjoy the last little bit of summer by kicking back outside in our Beer Garden sipping on a good old fashioned root beer that is made with love, by hand, right here in lovely little Bellingham.

Pilsner on tap now!

Well, the weather outside is frightful, but at least there’s one thing we can count on to herald the beginning of summer: Pilsner is officially on tap at Boundary Bay Brewery! Our Pilsner is a light, honey colored lager with a beautiful hop aroma and flavor. This lager is brewed in the traditional manner using only the finest ingredients and is fermented at lower temperatures than an ale, which creates a drier body with less fruity esters. The Pilsner is brewed in limited quantities and is a summer favorite that some locals wait all year for, so hurry in for a taste, as it will only be on tap until it’s gone!

AWARDS
Silver – North American Beer Awards, 2005
Silver – North American Beer Awards, 2003
Gold – Great American Beer Festival, 2003

Featured Boundary Bay Brew: Dunkles Bock: All German, All the time!

Our traditional German-style Bock is made with all German malts and has a low hop flavor with a deep copper color.  It is strong, full-bodied and bottom fermented.   Apparently, it’s a consistent favorite as it’s won awards at the North American Beer Awards in 2004, 2006, and 2007 as well as at the Great American Beer Festival Awards in 2004 and 2001.  We’ll be releasing this long time favorite on March 18^th so if you can still stand after your St. Paddy’s Day celebrations, come on down to Boundary Bay Brewery and sample our Dunkles Bock – perfect with one of Ralf’s Bavarian pretzels!

Boundary Bay Brewing Co.’s ‘Jack of All Trades’ Aaron Joella enjoys Boundary Bay Brewery’s award winning Dunkles Bock.  If you fancy his Dunkles Bock shirt, they will also be available March 18th at Boundary Bay Brewing Co.’s online store.