Boundary Beer in Seattle This Week!

Seattle Beer Week is just about here and we figured why not throw in a few more tasting opportunities down in Seattle during the hooplah?  Love Boundary Bay beer but can’t get up here to Bellingham often enough?  Well, this is your chance to try all kinds of Boundary Bay Brewery craft beer in the Seattle area and even meet the owner, Ed Bennett.  Each event features different Boundary brews, so choose wisely…or attend them all!  Cheers!!

Thursday May 13th:  Join us at the College Inn Pub for an early release of our Locker Lager  5-7 pm! Boundary’s Proprietor Ed Bennett  is a huge Husky football fan, so come on down and talk College Football and enjoy some award winning hand crafted beer!

Boundary Bay Night at Collins Pub 05/14 from 04:00 PM-07:00 PM –  “celebrating Washington’s finest microbrewery”. Eight Boundary Bay beers on tap, including cask and special release beers. Schwag.  Brewery Folks.  Food specials.  Fun, Fun, Fun!

Monday May 17th 74th St. Ale House 6-8 pm Beers from Boundary served up in a souvenir pint glass!  Scotch Ale (the cult classic) and a special Brewers IPA.

Tuesday May 18th The Hill Top 6-8 pm Award winning beers from Bellingham served up in a souvenir pint glass!  Try our Cask conditioned Oatmeal Stout,  IPA (voted the favorite by Northwest Brewing News readers) and the Dunklesbock (Silver medal winner at the World Beer Cup)

Latona Cask night featuring Boundary Bay Brewery Thursday – May 20th from 6-8 pm!  Our series of Single Hop Beers continues with this exciting beer brewed with German Tradition hops.  Our brewers have double dry hopped this single hop special for the Latona…so definitely stop by for a taste of this rare brew!

Will Travel to Bellingham for Beer!

Seattle Beer Week is kicking off on May 13th and we’re pretty sure there’s gonna be lots of brew hounds hot on the trail of craft beer!  So, if you’re looking for a little beer trip beyond the ordinary, come check out Bellingham’s local craft beer scene! Just 85 miles north of Seattle and a mere hour south of Vancouver, B.C., Bellingham is known for our friendly people, authentic communities, cultural attractions and a clean environment. There’s something here for everyone: adventure, relaxation, mountains, forests, bays, boating, hiking, biking, cycling, shopping, dining, art, culture and more!  Not to mention beer!

Beer has been brewed commercially in Bellingham since before the city officially incorporated in 1903.  Prohibition put an end to all the brewery shenanigans in the late 20’s, though, until Ed Bennett (owner of Boundary Bay Brewery) came to the rescue in 1995!  He opened Boundary Bay Brewery in a restored historic warehouse in downtown Bellingham and has never looked back!  Since then, our beer has gone on to win over 70 awards at regional, national and international levels, we’ve been voted the Best Brewery in Washington (Readers Choice Poll, Northwest Brewing News) for the last two years and named 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Whatcom/Bellingham Chamber of Commerce.  We’ve even been the largest selling brewpub in the nation for 2007 and 2008 (numbers not available for 2009 yet).  And if all that isn’t enough to sweet talk you into ditching Seattle for the day (or longer!!) you can check out these other great beer spots while you’re here:

Located just a block away from Boundary Bay,  The Honey Moon serves locally made wine, cider and mead.  Or head in the other direction another couple of blocks and find yourself at the North Corner Brewing Supply Store or Chuckanut Brewery.  And if you’re up for a little adventure a bit further from town, hop back into the car to head to the mountains to check out North Fork Brewery and their Beer Shrine or to the waterfront for Anacortes Brewery and Rockfish Grill.

So, now that we’ve talked you in to it…how do you get here?  Well that’s easy!  You can hop on the train right in downtown Seattle for beautiful scenery and a relaxing commute for under $30.  You can even put your bike right onto the train (for an extra $5) and explore Bellingham like the locals do!  Amtrak trains depart for Bellingham at 7:40 am and get you up here before 10 am!  Or if 7:40 in the morning just sounds too darn early for you, you can catch the bus for about $20 bucks (still through Amtrak!) at 12:20pm and get up to Bellingham by about 2:30.

If you’d rather drive, we definitely recommend Chuckanut Drive (Route 11)…a beautiful and slow paced alternative to I-5!  Going North, the exit is just north of Burlington and marked on exit sign #231. Chuckanut Drive takes you through gorgeous farmlands, in and out of the towns of Allen & Bow, with some of the area’s best restaurants, bed & breakfasts and antique & art galleries. The Drive continues along the rock shoulder of the Chuckanut Mountains and from here you overlook the San Juan Islands from any of the many viewpoints along the way. There are also many spots for picnics or just getting out and stretching your legs. Try one of the many hikes, either to lakes on Chuckanut & Blanchard Mountains or to the beaches at Larrabee Park or Teddy Bear Cove. The Drive continues all the way to the 1880’s brick town of Fairhaven, now a suburb of Bellingham. From the North you can do it in reverse by taking the Fairhaven Pkwy exit #250 at the south end of Bellingham.

Whole Weeks Devoted to Beer!

Ah May!  Spring has Sprung, we’re all feeling frisky and there are eleven whole days this month strictly devoted to celebrating all things craft beer!  Could this month get any better?!?  Seattle Beer Week kicks off May 13th and winds down May 23rd while American Craft Beer Week runs May 17th to the 23rd.  We suggest clearing your calendars now and cashing in on that vacation time you’ve got saved up at work.  This is gonna be huge!  Seattle Beer Week features all kinds of events happening at breweries, bars and bottle shops in the greater Seattle area and all the way up here to Bellingham.  Craft Beer Week, on the other hand, is a national celebration with thousands expected to participate.  The “Mother of All Beer Weeks” celebrates small and independent craft brewers and is a chance to highlight all that the U.S. loves about craft beer. In 2006, the week became the largest national effort focusing on American craft brewers and remains so today.

Here’s how we’re participating at Boundary Bay Brewery:

On Friday, May 14th, we’ll have our only event outside of our own brewery.  Collins Pub in Seattle 4-7pm is hosting Boundary Bay Night, where they’ll be “celebrating Washington’s finest microbrewery”!   They’ll have eight Boundary Bay beers on tap, including at least one cask and a special release beer or two. Not to mention schwag, food specials, and people from Boundary Bay Brewery on hand to charm you!  Collins Pub: 526 2nd Avenue, Seattle WA 98104. Phone: 206-623-1016.

Take part in Afternoon Delight at Boundary Bay Brewery on Wednesday, May 19th from  4-7 pm.  You’ll get to meet the Boundary Bay Brewers and sample vertical tastings of Cabin Fever and Old Bounder!  The beers will be paired with a selection of sweet and savory snacks.  Our Old Bounder is a rich, full-bodied barley wine.  Copper in color with a smooth caramel sweetness, warming alcohol content and balanced hop character.  Excellent with desserts or as an after dinner beverage.  The Boundary Bay Cabin Fever is a strong ale or winter warmer with dark red-brown color and avery rich malty flavor.  While this big beer is deceptively strong, it tastes very smooth thanks to extra long cold conditioning.  Try it with spicy foods, paired with rich heavy foods or all by itself!

Join us in the Beer Garden for a Highland Scotch Ale Release Party 4pm on Thursday, May 20th.  Our Highland Scotch Ale is rich and dark with a faint smokey finish.  Dark crystal and peated malts are added to achieve the elements unique to this historic seasonal.  This seasonal brew is hand made annually in commemoration of the Highland Games held in Bellingham each summer and this year we’ll be having a Highland Extravaganza in our Beer Garden to celebrate it’s arrival.  The annual Bellingham Scottish Highland Games includes competition in piping, drumming, dancing, and athletics and we’ll have competitors here to show you what they do!  Come enjoy BBQ while watching the Highland Games athletes, pipers and dancers!  We’ll have a special cask of this beer on hand for the party and the Highland Scotch Ale will be available on tap at the bar Friday, May 21st.

Join us in the Boundary Bay Brewery beer garden for a Locks of Love party!  The fun begins at noon on Saturday, May 22nd when two of our brewers are getting sheared and donating their hair to Locks of Love to help support the American Cancer Society.  We’re hoping other brewers from the greater Seattle area will join in…not to mention any of our usual customers who have 10 inches of hair to cut off and donate!  Stylists from Honey Salon and Bellisima Salon will be set up in the Beer Garden to cut anyone’s hair who’d like to donate to Locks of Love and we’ll even have representatives here from St. Joseph’s Cancer Center to provide support, answer questions and raise awareness.  BBQ and beer too, of course!

Boundary Bay Brew Master Dinner to Celebrate Beer Week

Celebrate Seattle Beer Week (May 7th-17th) and American Craft Beer Week (May 11th-17th) with us at a Boundary Bay Brewery Brew Masters Dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s in Bellevue Square. Join us May 13th at 6pm for five courses all expertly paired with our signature beers.  The first course consists of Pan Grilled King Salmon on toast with scallion aioli paired with our Blonde Ale.  For the 2nd course, our ESB is matched up with a warm cucumber soup with scallop and sole mouseeline.  Our Scotch Ale is the star of the 3rd course with chilled shrimp saled with cucumbers, feta and tomatoes.  The 4th course is pan seared “Jidori” chicken breast topped with parsley taragon gremolata with ramp and sausage risotto…all paired with our IPA.  And, last but not least, try our Oatmeal Stout in the 5th course with marscapone cheesecake with rhubarb glaze and chocolate covered strawberries.  All for $59.95 (tax and tip included). Reservations strongly recommended (425-454-2606).