If one local brewery goes all-out for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s Boundary Bay Brewery. And with daylight saving time granting an extra hour of evening light, Boundary opens its seasonal beer garden for the festivities — a Bellingham rite of spring.
“Boundary Bay is St. Patrick’s Day central,” marketing director Shanna Sheridan-McInnis said. “It’s kind of like the kickoff for the season. It’s all about coming back outside and enjoying the outdoors again.”
This year, Bellingham’s oldest brewpub celebrates the holiday with a full weekend of live music, Irish dancing, a special food menu and plenty of Irish Red Ale. Festivities kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 16 and run through Sunday, March 17. All ages are welcome in the beer garden and bistro; the taproom is ages 21-plus only. See Boundary Bay’s website for the event schedule and details.
I recently settled into Boundary Bay’s taproom for a flight of half a dozen brews. The Irish Red — easy-drinking, malt-forward, and sessionable — is a perfect Paddy’s Day pub-crusher. If you’re in the mood for something lighter, Boundary recently released a new Premium Lager. And in the super-light category is Lightner Lager, a 3.7% ABV American-style lager named after general manager Janet Lightner’s father, Craig.
Boundary didn’t brew a Dry Irish Stout this year, but the brewery offers no shortage of dark beer. Perhaps the closest in style to Dry Irish Stout is Dark of Day, a roasty yet light-bodied black lager. There’s also the Moored Over Porter, plus Boundary Bay’s classic scotch ale and imperial oatmeal stout, on the maltier, more indulgent side.
My favorite beer in the flight was Enchanted Frontier Cold IPA. This bright, balanced brew “unites the hop-forward nature of an IPA with the snappy character of a lager,” a sort of best-of-both-worlds ale-lager hybrid. Watch out for the 7% ABV on this one — it’s almost criminally drinkable. After a sip, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Enchanted Frontier won a gold medal at the 2023 Washington Beer Awards.
Irish-style beers and events
I contacted every brewery in Whatcom County to find out what’s brewing in March and found that Boundary Bay isn’t the only spot in town offering St. Patrick’s Day beer and events. You’ll find several Dry Irish Stouts, Irish Reds and even some green beer around Bellingham this month.
Kulshan Brewing is running a March special on two styles, Mossy Rock Dry Irish Stout and Red Cap Irish-Style Red. Both are discounted for the month — you can score pints for $5.50 and six-packs for $10. I recommend trying Mossy Rock served on nitro for a Guinness-like (but more robust) smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Kulshan will host live music and Irish dancers at its James Street (Sunnyland) location on Sunday, March 17 from 2–8 p.m.
Larrabee Lager Co. is planning a St. Paddy’s Day party on Saturday, March 16 featuring live music from The Devillies from 2–4 p.m. They’ll be dyeing a keg of beer green and offering a special pizza made with garlic cream sauce, potatoes, sausage, bacon, green onions and sauerkraut.
Stones Throw Brewery will celebrate with live Celtic music (2–4 p.m.) and a limited Irish Red Ale release on March 17. Their food truck, Galley2Go Fish and Chips, will offer a special food menu for the event.
Structures Brewing plans to release a “Shamrock-style” Green Sour Smoothie (6.3% ABV) along with a Nitro Dry Irish Stout for the holiday. Head over to its Old Town (Holly Street) location on St. Patrick’s Day for a house corned beef sandwich special.
The North Fork Brewery in Deming brews a Dry Irish Stout and a couple of interesting reds. The Littlest Witch, a pale red ale, is beet red from Lone Willow Farm beets added to the brew. Johnny Red Eyes, a double dry-hopped red IPA, is perhaps the hoppiest red ale in Whatcom County. Stop by The North Fork’s Deming location for a corned beef, cabbage and potato pizza special over the holiday weekend.
Twin Sisters Brewing will be slinging $6 pints of Otis Nitro Oatmeal Stout over the holiday weekend, served alongside a special menu featuring a Reuben and Irish stew.
In Skagit Valley, Shawn O’Donnell’s is already celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with 17 days of food and drink specials. O’Donnell’s goes all-out for March, with live music and an Irish Whiskey tasting leading up to the big bash. When the doors open at 7 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, the restaurant will host a full Irish breakfast before kicking off a day of live Irish music.
As always, there are too many seasonal beer releases to list here every month. Watch for Dry Irish Stout releases from Menace Brewing, Beach Cat Brewing and Fringe Brewing. And keep an eye on your favorite breweries for more seasonal announcements.
Finally, an update on Uisce Irish Pub’s new downtown Bellingham location. Though no opening date has been announced yet, owner Molly McGarry said the business will open in March, with plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Originally on Commercial Street, Uisce will likely be located at 1409 Cornwall Ave. according to a state liquor license. Keep an eye on Uisce’s social media for updates. Sláinte!
Brandon Fralic's Drink Cascadia column appears monthly. Reach him at drinkcascadia@gmail.com.
