Take Back the Tap This Hoptoberfest!

 

 

Hoptoberfest, to those in the know, is the best time of the year for hop heads in Washington State!

Every year, during the month of October, Beveridge Place Pub in West Seattle features rotating taps of Washington State IPA’s and is also when the bar lets their regulars pick which IPA the Beveridge Place will have on tap for them for a full year!  Here’s how it works:  during the month of October, every time you head over to the Beveridge Place Pub and order a pint of IPA, you get to place a vote for your favorite IPA that you’d like to see become the 2011 House IPA.

This year, Hoptoberfest kicks off on October 4th and the Beveridge Place will feature up to 16 rotating Washington State IPA’s on tap for nearly a month of “bitter revelry”!  The elimination tournament kicks off with regulars being allowed to nominate (until October 15th!) any Washington-brewed IPA, but no Imperials.  Then, as each week progresses, the field of IPA’s gets smaller and smaller with the field narrowing to just three finalists after the first three weeks of the competition.  The last IPA standing is the one who received the most votes over the month and will be declared the House IPA for the following year.

Our Boundary Bay Brewery IPA has been the Hoptoberfest champion for years…except for 2010.  Last year, Black Raven won the title of House IPA and ended our reign for “as long as anyone can remember” (according to Seattle Beer News!).  We were in the top three finalists last year, along with the Black Raven Trickster IPA and the Harmon Point Defiance IPA.

And while we are fully in support of Washington craft beer we want to Take Back the Tap in this year’s Octoberfest!  And we need YOUR help!  Come on Boundary Bay Brewery fans, rally the troops and head to West Seattle!

Here’s what you can do: head to the Beveridge Place Pub as many times as you like during the month of October and drink many, many pints of IPA so that you can vote many, many times. We suggest marking Boundary Bay Brewery on that ballot, but we’ll leave it up to you!

Big Winter Beer Descriptions

Today is the Winter Solstice…the shortest day of the year, the darkest day of the year and the official first day of winter.  Our brewers used that as their excuse to load the taps here at Boundary Bay Brewery today with three of our biggest beers perfect for these winter days.  You already know what we have to say about our beers.  Today, for a little change, I thought I’d let some others tell you what they think of our beers.

Thoughts on our Imperial Porter from Seattle Beer News:

“ I sat at the bar and enjoyed a schooner of their new limited edition Imperial Porter (check out that link for their blog, by the way). This was one big porter, weighing in at 9.2% ABV. It was full of roast, chocolate & a little licorice. Brings lots of taste, but it’s a smooth drinker that is a perfect finish for an evening (not so perfect for a noon beer on a Saturday). Sounds like this one is available at the brewery only, so head on up if you want to get a taste.”  (see the whole article on Bellingham beer here!)

John Michaelson reviews our Old Bounder on Beer Advocate:

“This has always been a favorite barleywine of mine. Was very happy to see it on tap at the brewpub a while back.  The beer pours a coffee color brown color with good head retention and lacing. As expected, the beer is very sweet and malty on the nose, but with hints of underlying citrus from the hops. The flavors on the palate replicate the nose, but that sweetness is backed up with some firm hoppiness. The beer is quite rich with flavors of vanilla, butterscotch, coffee and cherry. The mouthfeel is quite plush, and the beer has a long, smooth finish. The beer is pretty drinkable, but with some noticeable warming from the abv.”

Our Cabin Fever gets talked about on atattoedtale’s Blog

“A little bit darker than most of your winter warmers. Leaves a nice latte colored head.  Interesting nose. Definitely malty with a lot of caramel and chocolate, but also reminds me of their IPA, with a hoppy, piney scent. I also get some nice spices, and molasses, and a hint of vanilla. A slightly sweet nose.  This is quite thick, but has a nice little carbonation bite. Good mouthfeel, I usually don’t care all that much about it, but I’m impressed with this.  Nice maltyness up front with a ton of caramel and chocolate. Lots of chocolate on the midpalate with a little bit of hop presence and some sweetness. The back end is my main complaint. It’s a little bit off balanced, and just a tiny bit hot, which it probably shouldn’t be at 7%.  Pretty solid brew here, and if you are in the mood for a winter warmer, this is one of the better one’s I’ve had.”

So come in for a nice big pint to celebrate winter, the solstice, craft beer…whatever!  Cheers.

Vote for your Favorite Washington IPA

Looks like our IPA here at Boundary Bay Brewery just might take the cake for favorite IPA in Washington State!  An article in All About Beer about The Modern IPA says

“In a nutshell, the IPAs’ sole reason for existence is that they are big beers. By that I mean they should be strong alcoholically, they should be extremely hop-bitter, and they should be fairly full bodied. Minus these elements, they are nothing more than ordinary bitters or pale ale.  North American IPAs start where modern British IPAs end: 5.5 percent ABV, 1055-90 OG, 40 to 60 IBUs. Many have alcohol content from the middle to the upper end of the range.

Many North American brewers tend to use Pacific Northwest hops and domestically grown grains instead of imported ingredients. These impart different taste characteristics to the beer, as each variety of hops and malt produces different results. Within North America, northwestern brewers tend to produce beers at higher hop bittering rates than do eastern brewers. It’s a regional preference and distinction”

Geoff Kaiser writes the Seattle Beer News blog.  He moved to the Pacific Northwest partly based on the quality of beer you can find here.  He decided to run a poll on his blog asking readers to vote on their favorite Washington IPA (7.5% ABV or less).  He’s restricted the voting to standard IPA’s, meaning no fruity beers or extra dark brews.  So far, we’re leading the pack!  One of the blog comments even reads “boundary bay, though — very glad to see that on top.”

Click here to see the stats and to vote for YOUR favorite IPA!

Boundary Bay Brewery Review

Check out this great review we got from Seattle Beer News:

“I couldn’t get [that] close to Boundary Bay and not at least stop by for a beer. As I was heading to a party, I decided to pick up a growler of one of my favorite beers on earth; the Boundary Bay IPA. I sat at the bar and enjoyed a schooner of their new limited edition Imperial Porter (check out that link for their blog, by the way). This was one big porter, weighing in at 9.2% ABV. It was full of roast, chocolate & a little licorice. Brings lots of taste, but it’s a smooth drinker that is a perfect finish for an evening (not so perfect for a noon beer on a Saturday). Sounds like this one is available at the brewery only, so head on up if you want to get a taste.”