Blues and Brews Block Party

The eigth annual Porterhouse Brewfest is set for Saturday, August 14 in downtown Mount Vernon, and features three of Washington State’s hottest blues bands, a motherlode of premium microbreweries and gourmet food from local eateries.  The fun begins at 2:00 pm and should last until around 7:30 pm.

Gates Street between 1st & Main will be closed for the annual “Blues & Brews Block Party” so definitely plan to come hang out at the best party happening in Mt. Vernon this summer. The event kicks off at 2PM with musical guests the Bill Mattocks Band, then Tim Halpin and the Better Half at 4:00 and the Red Hot Blues Sisters at 6:30.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $24 at the gate – tickets are available to purchase online.

Get sweet, sweet craft beer from these participating breweries:

Flyers Brewery (Oak Harbor), Hale’s Ales (Seattle), Skagit River Brewing Co. (Mount Vernon), Boundary Bay Brewery (Bellingham), Rockfish Grill / Anacortes Brewery (Anacortes), Two Beers Brewery (Seattle), Birdsview Brewing Co., Birdsview (Concrete), Full Sail Brewing Company (Hood River, OR), Snoqualmie Brewery (Snoqualmie), Deschutes Brewery (Bend/Portland, OR), New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, CO), Lazy Boy Brewing (Everett), Alaska Brewing Co. (Juneau, AK), Ninkasi Brewing Co. (Eugene, OR), Bridgeport Brewing (Portland, OR), Elysian Brewing Co. (Seattle), Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA), Pike Brewing Co. (Seattle), 192 Brewing Company (Kenmore), and Odin Brewing Company (Seattle).

We know it’s not like you need another reason to attend this awesome brewfest, but we wanted you to know that this is all for a good cause too!  The festivities are a benefit for the Lincoln Theatre which is a restored 1926 historic vaudeville & silent movie house in downtown Mount Vernon.  The theater presents a year-round schedule of concerts, current and classic films, and community events; as well as working with local school districts, hosting school performances and workshops by performing artists on tour, and annual concerts by secondary school bands. The Lincoln Theatre hosts concerts by the local youth symphony, presents community-sponsored children’s theatre productions, as well as serving as a venue for fund-raising events by local service organizations. The Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation, founded in 1987, is a registered non-profit organization supported by over 2000 members from Skagit and adjoining counties.

Brewing a Belgian Beer at Boundary Bay

On January 23rd, The Washington Beer Commission is putting together the first-ever Belgianfest 2010!

Here at Boundary Bay Brewery, we’ve brewed up a Tripel to submit and we’re really looking forward to this beer festival.  Not only will the Belgiumfest highlight the skill and creativity of many Washington breweries, but it will celebrate the Belgian approach to brewing, which seems to be a whole lot like our own!  Belgians don’t limit themselves on their ingredients or brewing techniques and are not always compelled to “brew-to-style.”  Basically, if they like it, they brew it! And we can really appreciate that attitude!

There are many styles of Belgian beers (over 500 varieties!) and many that are practically impossible to categorize by style. However, there are some well accepted style definitions and, interestingly, our beer falls into one of those categories.  We’ve hand crafted a Tripel for this competition…historically a brown ale, but many (like ours) are now a golden blond and sweeter than a dubbel.  Both Dubbel and Tripel are Flemish Dutch words meaning double and tripel (respectively) that historically refer to a rough measure of the alcohol level in the beer styles.  Traditionally, monks would brew a beer around 3% or less for their consumption, then a dubbel at about 6% and then a tripel at about 9%.

Our Tripel was made with Pilsner, Vienna, Special B and Belgian aromatic malts.  Then, we rounded it out with Tettnang and Saaz hops, Belgian Candi sugar and Abbey Ale yeast, which is a Belgian Ale yeast with a very high alcohol tolerance traditionally used to make trappist style beers.  I do believe we’ll have some kegs to try here in the brewery, but the brewers are keeping things top-secret right now and keeping their lips sealed as to a release date here at Boundary Bay.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our real-time updates and we’ll be sure to spread the word when our Tripel’s coming up on tap!

And, if sampling a bunch of really creative, interesting Belgian beers from Washington breweries somehow isn’t enough to get you to the Belgianfest, the Washington Beer Commission has a few more tricks up their sleeve.  In addition to the two sessions of beer tastings on January 23rd, there will be a Belgian Beer Dinner at the Corson Building. Dinner details are still being finalized but check the Belgianfest website for more info as they post it.  Plus, there is going to be a special beer brewed exclusively for members of the Washington Association of Beer Lovers (WABL).  Word on the street is that it’s going to be a blended beer made with different Belgianfest beers from several participating breweries and that the group will collectively decide what the blend should be. The actual blending will happen just before the event, when most beers are ready, so no one knows what the beer is going to be like until the event.

Check out this partial list of beers you’ll get to try at the Belgianfest!  See you there…

THE DETAILS:

Saturday, January 23, 201

Session 1: 12-4pm
Session 2: 6-10pm

The Engine Room @ Georgetown Studios
5890 Airport Way S.
Seattle, WA 98108
Map

Admission:
$30 advance tickets
$35 at the door
Separate tickets required for each session
Admission includes a tasting glass and ten 4oz tastes
Designated driver admission is $5 and available at the door only
cash and check only at the door
21+ only

Space is limited- Order your tickets early!
Tickets are available online and at ticket outlets.

Boundary Bay Brewery at Cask Beer Festival This Weekend

Boundary Bay Brewery is going to be at the Washington Cask Beer Festival this Saturday…and we’re bring our Herbert Ale with us!

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.  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 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. 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.

At the Washington Cask Beer Festival the brewers stay true to the traditional brewing and dispensing method of “cask-conditioned beer” while experimenting with their creativity to come up with the most innovative, distinctive beer.  If you are a true beer lover, this is a festival not to be missed.  See you there!