Behind the Brew: Bow Hill to Boundary Blueberry Kolsch
FROM HOMEBREW TO FULL BATCH: CONNOR'S BOW HILL TO BOUNDARY BLUEBERRY KÖLSCH
It all started with a Boundary Family hiking trip and pounds and pounds of wild, Pacific Northwest blueberries last summer.
In July, 2019, Brewer Connor Cottrill was revisiting Anderson-Watson Lakes, where he had done an overnight backpacking trip with some fellow Boundary Bay employees a few weeks prior. He stumbled upon some wild blueberry bushes and picked a few, then a few more. Suddenly he was filling his pack with the deliciously sweet treasure, telling himself he needed to create something with them.
Join us as we visit our friends at Bow Hill Blueberry Farm - collaborating with our community to craft the perfect Summer Kolsch - ripe for the picking.
“If you look closely, you will notice a small pile of crushed beer cans,” Connor told us as he shared this photo from his blueberry foraging experience. “They kept me warm while I was picking in the rain. Then I took a nap.”
“I had no idea they were going to be there! And there were so many! I picked about 3 pounds to bring home for beer, and probably ate just as many when I was out there.”
Connor homebrews a lot in his spare time away from the brewery (he really loves making beer, in case you couldn’t tell) and knew these mountain-top berries would be an incredible addition to something special.
“I had 3 pounds of blueberries to brew with,” Cottrill recalled. "The berries were filled with intense, sweet flavor unlike any I had ever eaten before."
In the interest of finding a beer style that both showed off the blueberry flavors and didn't take several months to make, Connor finally settled on a Kölsch.
“I like Kölsch because it’s crisp and clean, and ferments faster than a lager - quicker turn around,” Cottrill added.
For those of you who aren’t as specialized in Kölsch style brews, it originated in Cologne, Germany. Just like Champagne, a true Kölsch isn’t considered one unless it comes from this particular region but has become pretty popular in the American Craft Beer scene.
Kölschs are fermented a little cooler than most ales. As such, they tend to be cleaner in flavor with a crisp finish, and pretty darn sessionable. Most Kölschs take 10 days to ferment and another week or two to mature in a brite tank.
“I wanted to express the blueberry flavor as much as possible,” so the decision to use a beer style that allowed for this expression of flavor was easy for Cottrill. Blueberry Kölsch it would be!
One unique problem arose for Cottrill when crafting at home. The 3 pounds of berries, although delicious when picked wildly, wouldn't be enough for the 10 gallons he wanted to brew. Getting the right balance between beer and berry would require more fruit.
A trip to the local Blueberry Farm was in order. It was here, at Bow Hill Farms in Bow, WA, that Connor first tasted their Heirloom Blueberry Juice; it was delicious and very close in flavor to the berries he had already picked. The juice itself completed that final, full blast of blueberry Cottrill was looking to pull through in his summer Kölsch.
Cottrill’s homebrew results were so successful that he decided to bring it into the brewery for his fellow brewers and Boundary Bay owners Janet and Ed to try. The crew was immediately hooked, and the Blueberry Kölsch was granted a full-scale batch for the summer of 2020!
BREWING THE BLUEBERRY KÖLSCH
Fast forward to June of this year. Much had changed around the brewery, but the team’s desire to create a Blueberry Kölsch had not. As it had worked so well before and was local, Bow Hill was the brewery team’s first choice for sourcing the blueberries needed.
In no time at all the team at Bow Hill was on board, and 30 gallons of Organic Heirloom Blueberry Juice from Bow Hill was delivered to the brewery. Brewers Connor, Jake and Jess began the process together. Connor himself wrote the recipe (scaled up from his homebrew version, of course), and brewed the first half of the batch, with Jake in charge of the second. Jess had the honor of adding in the juice towards the end of fermentation.
Brewer Connor posing during his visit with Bow Hill Farm owners Harley and Susan Soltes, and their dog, Douglas.
A VISIT TO BOW HILL FARMS
If there’s one rule for brewing a beer with locally sourced ingredients that Boundary Bay follows, it’s that a visit to the source is a must. Choosing community means connecting with the people who supply the wonderful ingredients we use for brewing and cooking.
A quick email was sent and Connor himself was scheduled to visit with Bow Hill Farm owners Harley and Susan Soltes.
What started as an hour tour of the farms turned into what felt like a walk around the family property with the Soltes’. Kind, welcoming and full of humor, the couple and Connor spent almost three hours wandering the property discussing growing blueberries, running a farm, sanitization processes, brewing styles and more. Themes of family and community collaboration were present all throughout the farm, making the Boundary Bay team feel even more at home.
The visit saw sibling coworkers, local student hires, employees who enjoyed their short, daily commute from “just across the valley”, and longtime family friends who had helped lead the blueberry picking charge for almost 10 years. They were even accompanied by Harley and Susan’s 13 year-old Golden-Corgi, Douglas - though, most of Douglas’ attention was on the birds fluttering between the rows of blueberry bushes.
"It was an amazing tour. The passion that Harley and Susan have for their blueberries is inspiring. They truly care about producing blueberries for their flavor and quality above all else. Other farms sacrifice flavor for higher yields. The difference is clear in all of their products. I hope to collaborate more with them in the future!"
Upon finishing up the visit, there was one Bow Hill product Connor just couldn’t leave without: Bow Hill Farms Pickled Blueberries to cook with.
BLUEBERRY KÖLSCH: HOW TO ENJOY
While many will be content to just sip away at this Kölsch, Connor also suggests that the Blueberry Kölsch has a diverse pairing ability. Cottrill claims the brew will be pairable with anything from a scone to a full-size chicken dinner.
How will Connor himself be enjoying it?
“I definitely plan on taking a bottle out to the beach along with some Taylor Shellfish oysters! And, obviously, to drink a bunch in-house here at the brewery.”
With today’s release of this brew, you’ll have a couple of ways to try the brew out:
Connor pouring his first bottle of the Bow Hill to Boundary Blueberry Kölsch into a tulip glass at the Brewpub - a very special moment for him!
To enjoy on tap at the Brewpub while dining in, reserve a table during lunch, dinner or our Sunday Brunch: bbaybrewery.com/reserve.
To enjoy to-go, pick up a bottle from the Brewpub on your way through town. Or, order for delivery in the Greater Bellingham area at bbaybrewery.com/delivery
Not in Whatcom County but want to try out Bow Hill to Boundary’s Blueberry Kölsch? No problem! Order a bottle to your doorstep through our Snohomish, Skagit and King County delivery program at bbaybrewrey.com/snoking
BOW HILL TO BOUNDARY’S BLUEBERRY KÖLSCH: FUN FACTS
Thanks to Bow Hill Farm’s creativity and effort to list the number of blueberries that went into each bottle of Heirloom juice, Connor was able to run some numbers on the batch himself. Turns out, there were exactly 131,280 blueberries that went into this year’s batch of Blueberry Kölsch.
Douglas the Dog made such an impact on the hearts of our team that visited the farm, he made it onto the label. We’ll let you discover the location of his cameo.
In addition to Douglas the Dog’s appearance, the label of Bow Hill to Boundary is actually modeled off of the farm’s “favorite row” on the property. The blueberry bushes perfectly frame the peak of a barn just across Bow Hill Road. We challenge you to find it on your next visit!
Connor specifically wanted to use the “Rubel” variety of blueberries from Bow Hill for both his homebrew and the Boundary Bay batch due to it being an “old school” variety and one that tastes closest to the wild blueberry flavor. Learn more about Bow Hill’s History and where their specific Rubel variety came from, visit: https://www.bowhillblueberries.com/blogs/community/history
To learn more about Bow Hill Blueberries, its farm and its products, visit: https://www.bowhillblueberries.com/
