Boundary Bay Irish Red Ale

This is the newest bottle release from Boundary Bay. This is a brewery that I’m very familiar with after having lived in Bellingham for 3 years. Naturally, I had to have this. I brought it to my beer club, but I grabbed another bottle so I could do a proper review of it.

Stats:
Irish Red Ale. Washington. Limited Release.

Red to bronze in color. Head fades very quickly.

The nose features some toasted malts and with just a slight presence of hops. Nothing too crazy going on here.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with fairly high carbonation. Very easy drinking beer.

Toasted to slightly bready malts on the palate, with a little bit of stone fruits coming through on the mid-palate. The backend has a honey component with that toasted malt flavor again.

Nothing mind blowing here, but it’s a solid and easy drinking brew and it was a favorite at my beer club. 85 points.

Boundary Bay Amber

I got a growler of this amber the last time I was in Bellingham. I’m just now posting the review, sorry about that. This beer features Crystal, Carastan, and Munich malts with Columbus and Cascade hops.

Stats:
American Amber Ale. Washington.

Dark copper color. The head was decent when it was fresh.

It has a really wonderful nose. It’s highly hopped, so you get some pine and a floral spice note, but it’s balanced by some caramelized malt that give it a slight sweetness and brown sugar thing with some dark fruits.

Excellent mouthfeel, medium bodied with a good amount of chewy-ness.

Like I said, they didn’t skimp on the hops on this one. Lots of floral hops with that pine flavor, which tend to take over the palate. You do get some of the malt in a brown sugar and plum and blueberry flavor. Medium-high bitterness on the finish.

Not a bad beer, but I think the hops overwhelm a bit, but that doesn’t bother me too much. 87 points.

Boundary Bay Ski To Sea ESB

Boundary Bay finally bottled a new beer. I was super excited about this, and glad the brewery still had it by the time I got up there. Ski to Sea is a huge event in Bellingham, and this beer commemorates 100 years of racing. The label is fantastic with a illustration of the City of Bellingham.

Stats:
Extra Special Bitter. 5.5% ABV. Washington

Orangeish color, not too much lasting head, but there is some nice lacing.

The first thing I notice about the nose is this musty/dusty sort of thing. There is a nice citrus thing that I like as well. Not really getting any diacetyl, like I would often expect for the style.

Mouthfeel is alright. It does seem a tad too light.

That dusty thing comes through on the palate as well and has the citrus. Definitely has some hops which are mainly evident on the finish with bitterness. I am getting some peaches and black pepper that I’m liking a lot, too.

Nothing spectacular, but it’s a decent beer and worth a purchase if you are in the area. 85 points.

Boundary Bay Inside Passage Ale

This is a beer that I’ve had many times before. I wasn’t a huge fan of this beer when I first had it, but as my palate progressed and I started getting into those earthy IPA’s, I’ve grown to really like this beer. It’s also one of the most highly rated IPA’s. It’s been awhile since I’ve had it and thought that I should review it again, so here it is. There is almost no information about the beer on their website.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 6.4% ABV. Washington.

Slightly orange and a little hazy with a decent head and nice lacing.

Lots of hoppy goodness. Pine and orange seem to be the dominate the aroma here. Yep, those flavors really take over, but neither one seems to dominate the other.

Mouthfeel is excellent, medium to full-bodied.

Flavor is earthy with raw mushrooms, pine, dirt, with a little hint of orange citrus, bread, and black pepper. Fairly high dosage of hop bitterness, but not overwhelming for me. The finish is bready and dry with some juniper, black pepper, and tobacco.

I’ve reviewed this before, but clearly my palate has progressed. This is an earthy, piney, American West Coast style IPA. It’s bold, brash, aggressive, but complex and rewarding. 91 points.

Boundary Bay Oatmeal Stout

I went over to Boundary Bay to get a growler of their winter warmer Cabin Fever, but alas, they don’t do fills on seasonals. I actually knew that, but was hoping, since they bottle Cabin Fever, they would make an exception. Well I came home with some oatmeal stout instead. Not only did it hit the spot with this weather we’ve been having, but this is the only bottled beer that I havn’t reviewed.

Stats:
Oatmeal Stout. 8.5% ABV. Washington.

Black, but not the darkest stout out there.

Nose is very much oatmeal stout. You get lots of roasted malts with some slight sweetness and lots of chocolate.

Decent mouthfeel. Might be just a tad too light for me, but not bad.

Lots and lots of roasted malts, with chocolate, meaty-ness, some dark fruits, and a little bit of alcohol showing on the back end.

Not a bad beer, and will warm you up on a cold day, but the alcohol and the roasted-ness are a bit off-balanced. 86 points.

Boundary Bay Bellingham Blonde

My first growler review! This blonde ale is year-round staple at one of my local breweries, Boundary Bay.

Stats:
Blonde Ale. Not sure on the ABV. Bellingham, Washington.

Blonde in color, as you would expect, and leaves a pretty nice head.

Pale ale-ish nose. Definitely some hops in here, but don’t over power a maltyness that brings a little fresh fruit. I’m getting some peaches and nectarines and a hint of Manderin orange.

Good mouthfeel, not too light, but easy drinking.

The palate is slightly over-powered with hops, leaving a bit of bitterness on the finish. Some grassy hops mixed in with that malty-ness and some really nice fruit.

I’ve had this beer quite a few times in the past, and tend to recommend it to people when we go to Boundary Bay. It’s an easy drinker, though a little hoppy for some, but I like that. It is a bit off-balanced with the hops, but that is to be expected from Boundary Bay. 87 points.

Boundary Bay Old Bounder

I’d love to tell you about this beer, but I honestly can’t find any information on it. I can’t even find it on their website. But regardless, it’s Boundary Bay’s barleywine. Barleywines are very big beers. Sometimes they are sweet, but always high in alcohol. These are the type of beers that you can age for years.

Stats:
Barleywine. 9.6% ABV. Beautiful Bellingham, Washington.

Dark brown, caramelized color, with an okay head and decent lacing.

Pretty sweet nose, the caramel malts coming through big. Brown sugar and molasses. I get a little bit of heat on the nose. Some nice plum and dark fruits here as well.

A little cloying with a bit of carbonation, but pretty hefty mouthfeel.

Very similar taste to the nose. Lots of caramel malts. A little bit of hop backbone, but not very noticeable. A hair of alcohol on the breath from the backend. Again, nice dark fruit flavors.

Solid brew. One of my favorites from Boundary Bay. 90 points.

Boundary Bay Cabin Fever

Boundary Bay’s winter warmer is dry-hopped with Cascade hops, but other than that, I don’t know what else is used in it. Let’s see how it compares to the rest of the winter warmers out there.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 7.0% ABV. Beautiful Bellingham, Washington.

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. And if you are one of my readers in Bellingham, go pick up a bottle or just go to the brewery (invite me . 89 points.

Boundary Bay IPA

The requisite IPA from Boundary Bay. Boundary Bay is the largest brew pub based on beer sales in the nation, impressive.

Stats:
India Pale Ale. 6.4% ABV. Bellingham, WA.

Hazy orange color, with a bit of lacing.

Very hoppy with some pine, grassyness, grapefruit, caramel, lemon on the nose.

Quite carbonated, but light mouthfeel.

Very bitter back, slightly off balance. Pine notes up front with a little grapefruit and lemon.

Too off balanced for me. This is why I havn’t been a big fan of IPAs in general. The bitterness just overrides a lot of the palate. 84 Points.

Simple question for today’s review: are you a hophead?

Boundary Bay ESB

Another Boundary Bay brew. This is an ESB brewed with Perle, Mt. Hood, and Cascade hops. I’m generally a fan of ESBs. Despite the name, extra special bitter, they are usually more balanced that a lot of other beers.

Stats:
Extra Special Bitter. 5.6% ABV. Bellingham, WA.

Golden to coppery color with decent head.

Both hops and malts come through on the nose. Buttery scent coming through as well, and I get a little hint of strawberry.

On the thicker side in the mouth with low carbonation.

Flavor completely dissipates at the end, and just left with bitterness. Hops and malts up front, with that buttery thing coming through on the palate. Not much else going on here.

Not all that great. There are much better choices from Boundary Bay. 83 points.

What was the last beer that disappointed you?