Boundary Bay Inside Passage Ale (IPA)

Brewed by Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Bellingham, Washington USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Bomber. Pours beautiful golden amber with orange highlights. Fairly sturdy dense white rocky head that actually hangs around. Picture-perfect beer all the way. Instant sinus-expanding pine and citrus when you get close, though it’s not a room-filler (at least when cold). The attack is hoppy right from the get-go, but not domineeringly. There’s caramel malt tying it together at mid-palate, and then there’s a clean whisper of a finish that doesn’t get in the way of the next sip. This is like one of those doo-dah birds at the fair, perfectly levered to keep you dipping your nose in the glass. It’s light on the body and the carb. I have to speculate that the brewer(s) was/were thinking about being on a sailboat on a hot sunny day when they were putting together the plan for this, especially given their location (not to mention the name)--it’s supremely refreshing but still rather light. Not sure if it’s my favorite IPA but it’s d4mn good.

Orange/amber with a thin white head. Taste is grapefruit/citrus/pine hops. Not amazing, but fairly decent IPA. Sharp clean bite, with a little sweetness.

UPDATED: MAR 16, 2010 Bottle (3/6/2006)

Pours a bright orange amber with lots of small floaty bits and a decent but short-lived white head. The aroma is straightforward PacNW IPA - a big blast of grapefruit and pine, a hint of honey sweetness. The flavor catches one a bit off guard - it’s surprisingly sweet on the tongue at first, like pineapple juice; the hops follow in expected form, with a flavor that more directly matches the aroma.

While the finish is nice enough, the flavor of this one simply cannot compare to the better examples of the style. The malt is too sweet, and the palate too thin. On the heels of a S/N celebration ale, this one disappoints, but as I start to let it be its own beer, it’s really plenty drinkable. 7/3/7/3/13=3.3

Tap at the High Life 3/16/10. Nice enough aroma, juicy as noted above, but disappointing flavors. A bit buttery, a bit of stewed vegetables. Not terrible, just not really good.

Draught at the brewpub. Pale amber. Rich aroma of lychee and grapefruit. Sweet with clean mouthfeel and near full body. Finished of with fruits and pleasant bitterness. This was the one beer I actually liked here. There is enough hops to cover the malt profile that I really don’t appreciate.

Very citric, tart lemony aroma, somewhat juicy. Orange amber pour, then on the second pour, major yeastcake. Thick eggshell white head oozes lace throughout. Very tangy flavor with lots of lemony c-hops and enough malt balance to keep you interested. Lght in body with with lingering bitterness. A few years ago, I might have raved about this, but now I think it’s pretty darn good. Thanks Skyhand.

On draft. Pours a hazy golden color with a thin white head. A very citrusy and piney hop aroma comes from this beer. Very hoppy inital flavor that gives way to a very balanced sweet malt flavor with a toasted /hoppy aftertaste. Decent body and tart mouthfeel.

Draught at the pub in Bellingham
Hazy gold, light head, light lacing. Nose of bright hop glory, a bit of pine and grapefruit. The flavor is balanced and a bit overbearing, hop bitterness. Good drinking IPA; lightly musky, but fresh and good.

GCBF. Poured a cloudy honey amber. Aromas of fresh grapefruit, apple. Taste quite fresh with grapefruit, apple and malt noted. Fairly good.

(Draft: Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro in Bellingham, WA) Golden in color and fully cloudy, this medium bodied and flavorful IPA is very hoppy and very tasty. Lightly sweet, moderate grapefruit, fairly strong bitterness, the classic west coast hoppiness is the main protagonist here. Solid malt contribution can be discerned more from the medium "plus" body than from the flavor since it can’t break through the dominance of the hops. Hops is prominent in the aroma, though no surprise there. Off-white head is fairly small and fades to a ring, but leaves some delicate lace patterns at the top of the glass. All the lighter beers have been good to very good, but the IPA is excellent.

On tap at the brewpub Medium light brown. hazy amber with a very small off white head and traces of lacing. Up front hoppiness in the aroma and as expetcted in the citrusy flavors as well. Well bittered and a medium body.