Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro in Bellingham, WA, is a big place but, on the Friday and Saturday my brother and I went by, very crowded. At least that keeps the beer on tap fresh, right? Maybe. I did the sampler tray, and the biggest disappointment was the Scotch Ale, which was flat. Ugh. I hope it was just a bad batch. The rest, fortunately, were fair to very good.

Rob’s Picks
• Inside Passage Ale – not so crisp but great hoppiness
• Bellingham Blonde – tasty, with a nice hoppy edge
• Imperial Oatmeal Stout – 8.5%! Very strong, maybe a bit too strong. Dangerous, perhaps. For advanced beer drinkers only…

The Rest
• Best Bitter ESB – fine and well-rounded, but not a whole lot of character. Could be hoppier. Great beginner beer, though.
• Amber – okay, but also kind of unremarkable. Goes down easy, though. Another great beginner beer.
• Scotch Ale – good caramel flavor, but pretty flat. With just a little carbonation it would have been really good.

Progress! Only one more microbrewery post until I’m all caught up, and then I’ll have to start hitting some new ones. There are six or seven nearby that I haven’t visited yet…