Brewing Belgian Beers?!

Boundary Bay Tripel

Belgian beers have a long and distinguished history…and a flavor profile that is uniquely their own.  Brewing with Belgian yeast often results in a distinctive spicy, pungent character and it’s not a style that we do very often here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  But, we’re always up for a new challenge so we entered into uncharted territory for us…all so we could participate in the Washington Beer Commission‘s 2nd Annual Belgianfest.

Last year, for the first Belgianfest, we brewed a Tripel which was received with high acclaim.  Our Tripel is golden in color, medium bodied and moderately hopped.  The flavor and aroma are both dominated by alcohol and Belgian yeast.  This beer has a nice malt backbone, is slightly earthy and has a dry finish.  And this heavyweight comes in at 9.5% ABV, so please enjoy responsibly!  This year, we uppped the ante and brewed the Tripel again as well as a Big Belgian Pale Ale.  We’re calling it the Big Belgian Pale as most Belgian Pales rank in around 5% ABV while ours tips the scales at 6.7%.  It is light to medium in body and a bit stronger than the average Belgian pale ale.  The nose has malt, Belgian yeast and a touch of hops.  The flavor is earthy, malty and slightly alcoholic.  Considering the alcohol content, it is very quaffable if we do say so ourselves!

We have our Big Belgian Pale on tap at the brewery now and we should have the Tripel soon, but you can also get a taste at Belgianfest which takes place at Warren G. Magnuson Park (Seattle) this Saturday (January 22nd).  Not only will you get a glimpse into the beer culture of Belgium, but you’ll also get to taste Belgian-style beers from over 20 Washington breweries.  And lots of us are brewing these babies for the first time, so this is a rare treat indeed!  Tickets are $30 advance or $35 at the door and your admission price includes ten 4 oz. tastes and a commemorative tasting glass.  There’s also a designated driver admission of just $5 (available at the door only) and includes free water and/or soda.  If they’ve got any advance tickets left, you can get ’em at Big Time Brewery or Full Throttle Bottles!

We’ll see you there…cheers!

Me, My Dad and Beer

Papa Jones enjoying Boundary Bay brews!

I took my Dad down to the Washington Brewers Festival in Kenmore today for a little bit of pre-Father’s Day celebrating.  This has been a tradition of ours for the last few years and I would definitely suggest that anyone who doesn’t have plans for their Dad tomorrow to head down to Saint Edward State Park for awesome craft beer in a family friendly environment. 

On Sunday, from 11am-6pm, you’ll find plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained.  Besides all the great beer, you’ll also find live music, a Brewers Keg Toss contest, a beer toss and a rootbeer toss for the little ones, a kids playground (complete with bouncy houses and arts & crafts!), and a rootbeer garden featuring craft root beer made by hand from Lazy Boy Brewing, Rock Bottom Brewery, Silver City Brewery and of course…Boundary Bay!  There’s even a magician juggler from 1:30-2:30 tomorrow.

The Washington Brewers Festival is a celebration of world-class craft beers made (primarily) in Washington State.  You can find nearly 200 beers showcasing the incredible talents of our regional craft breweries and help support the Washington Beer Commission by attending.  This Brewers Festival is a major fundraiser for the Washington Beer Commission who help to educate Washington consumers about craft beer, promote beer brewed in Washington State and help foster a vibrant community of craft brewers here in Washington.  We are lucky enough to have over 130 breweries here in Washington which ranks us third in the nation for number of breweries per state (only California and Colorado beat our numbers!). 

And I’ve gotta say, after spending the weekend sampling so many amazing beers, I am so proud of Washington Brewers!  I’ve gotten to sample incredible beer all weekend: the Whip Ale American Pale from Diamond Knot, Pt. Defiance IPA from Harmon, Ballz Deep Double IPA from 7 Seas Brewing, Iron Horse Brewery‘s High Five Hefe that was a Ginger Honey Wheat, and a Berliner Weisse from Dogfish Head (located in Delaware!) that was called Festina Peche and was actually pulled through hops and peaches as it was poured.  Not to mention: Manny’s Pale Ale from Georgetown Brewing, the Barnstormer Brown Ale from Flyer’s, the Solstice Summer Ale from Fremont Brewing Company, a Pilsner Lager from Snipes Mountain Brewing Co. that was called Dos Borracho’s and of course…Boundary Bay’s very own Ginger Peach Ale and German Tradition Single Hop! 

And I swear, it’s really not because I work there, but my favorite of the whole afternoon was the Boundary Bay Brewery Ginger Peach Ale!  And Dad says he really enjoyed the German Tradition Single Hop.  All in all, though, the best part of the day was when we had just arrived at the festival.  We stopped at the merchandise booth so I could show my family the new Boundary Bay Brewery cycling jersey I had helped design.  When the volunteer at the booth realized that I actually WORKED for Boundary Bay, he said “Oh, I love Boundary!! God bless you for working there!”  And you know, I feel the exact same way!  Cheers.

(written by Amy Jones, Boundary Bay Brewery’s Public Relations and Social Media Guru)

Boundary Bay Brewery Father’s Day Contest!

Boundary Bay Brewery wants you to take your Dad to the Mother of All Father’s Day Festivals, so we want to give you a chance to win a ticket to the festival AND a WABL membership for your Dad.

If you live in the Seattle area and if you are a beer enthusiast, you’ve probably heard of The Mother of All Father’s Day Festivals put on by the Washington Beer Commission. The festival is held during the Fathers Day Weekend- June 19th – 21st, 2009.  The festival which takes place at Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore, WA is family friendly (on Sat. + Sun.) and there will be plenty to keep the whole family entertained…from live music, craft booths, kid crafts, and lots and lots of beer.  In addition to the great selection of beer there will be a small Wine and Cider Tasting area featuring Washington wines and ciders. For those who are not old enough to drink and designated drivers the Rootbeer Garden will be serving premium craft rootbeer and other soda drinks by Washington breweries. WABL is the WAshington Beer Lovers Club and the members will receive many exclusive offers throughout the year, including an extra taste and special WABL tasting glass (GLASS, not plastic cup!) at the Washington Brewers Festival, plus the privilege to try a WABL Beer, a special beer brewed by Washington brewers for each Washington Beer Commission festival that is available EXCLUSIVELY to the WABL members.

So, here’s what you have to do:  head to our Facebook Fan Page and post your response to the question below on our discussion board.  Then, we’ll choose our favorite response by June 12th and notify the winner.

CONTEST QUESTION:  “My Dad is most like [insert Boundary Bay beer here] because he’s….”

Example:  My Dad is most like a Boundary Bay Brewery Scotch Ale because he puts great importance on tradition, but still values his individuality.  And, like the Scotch Ale, he is very strong yet somehow still sweet and gentle.

And if you need inspiration check out our beer page on the official Boundary Bay Brewery website!

Boundary Bay is Brewing for the Washington Cask Beer Festival

Boundary Bay Brewery is busy getting ready for the Washington Cask Beer Festival on March 28th.  Not only do we have some great cask-conditioned ales to take down to the festival, but we’ve also been asked to brew one of the ten Herbert’s that will be featured the same weekend.

The Washington Cask Beer Festival has become a major highlight of the Pacific Northwest beer festival scene. The event features over 60 handcrafted cask-conditioned beers from the region’s most innovative microbreweries. This festival requires brewers to naturally condition the beer in a firkin or other vessels without artificially introducing CO2. Poured by gravity the result is smooth ale with a thick dense head that brings out full flavor.

The Washington Cask Beer Festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary this March. To celebrate this milestone this year’s Festival will feature ten different versions of the Herbert’s Legendary Cask Fest Ale. The Herbert’s is a special beer that’s normally brewed collaboratively by a group of Washington brewers for the Cask Festival in honor of Bert Grant, a Northwest beer icon.

This year all ten versions of the Herbert’s are brewed loosely based on the original recipe, or its variations. In any case guests shouldn’t expect to see ten beers that are exactly the same since every brewer has their own idea of what the Herbert’s is. Some say it’s an Amber, while others say it’s a Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA, etc. While there may be disagreements about what, exactly, is the style of the beer but one thing everyone can agree on is that the Herbert’s is a classic Northwest style beer- aggressively hoppy and refreshingly fruity, balanced with slight sweetness. Depending on each brewer’s interpretation and their personal taste, the “Ten Herbert’s” could be a wildly eclectic collection of tasty beers.  Boundary Bay Brewery is one of the lucky breweries creating one of the ten special brews this year.  Our Herbert Legendary Ale is a strong (7.7% ABV), hoppy American Amber featuring Simcoe, Centennial, Amarillo and Cascade hops with 2-Row, Crystal and Chocolate malts.

The Washington Cask Beer Festival is a fund raiser for the Washington Beer Commission, the first commission of its kind in the nation. Washington Beer is recognized internationally as being the highest quality thanks to the dynamic energy and creativity of the brewers and fresh ingredients available in our state. Established in July 2007 the Commission represents all 90+ breweries in Washington State and its mission is to ensure that more beer enjoyed in Washington state is made by its own craft brewers, using ingredients from our state’s agricultural industry.