American Craft Beer Week

So it's now American Craft Beer Week, which started on Monday and runs through Sunday, May 19th.  If you haven't done anything to celebrate it yet, you are seriously behind the times!  Breweries all over the state are having events, some of which I blogged about two weeks ago, and some of which were only announced recently.  There is a Coast-to-Coast Toast scheduled for 4 PM Alaska time today, Thursday, May 16th.  Sounds like a good reason to leave work early to me! Here are some events that you haven't missed yet.

Glacier BrewHouse has a special three course fixed price ($59.90) menu all week, featuring a wood-aged beer to pair with each course.  Here's the menu:

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Looks like a great deal on both the food and the beer.

Arkose Brewery in Palmer has had several events.  Besides the Coast-to-Coast Toast, they will also be having a Beer + Chocolate Pairing on Saturday at 3 PM for $20 per person.  Here's the pairing list:

1. Maiden Mild + Salted Caramel
2. Bitter Earth ESB + Maple Ganache Rolled in Caramelized Pecans
3. Spindrift IPA + Lemon and Caramelized White Chocolate
4. Boxcar Porter + Cayenne

Call 746-2337 for reservations.

Up in Fairbanks, the folks at at HooDoo Brewing have been doing lots of stuff to celebrate ACBW.  First, they tapped their first ever lager, a Maibock.  Here's their tasting notes for it:

"HooDoo Maibock pours a rich golden color with a creamy white head on top.  The aroma is clean with an inviting malt complexity and a lightly spicy noble hop note.  With the first sip comes a juicy hit of delicious German malts.  Hints of honey, candy sugar, and clean aromatic hops.  Medium bodied, the rich malty flavors are supported by a soft underlying hop bitterness, balancing the beer."

 HooDoo also have special commemorative posters and t-shirts on sale.  They are also holding their 1st Annual Limerick Contest, with the five finalists ( Kate Morrison, Jason Jones, Kath N Kedan Griffin, Shawn Armstrong, and Andrew Slaygull) reading their entries tonight at 6 PM at the brewery to determine the winner.  Also tonight from 3 to 8 PM, the Sipping Streams Tea Co. will be offering mouth-watering Chinese dumplings (dim sum) at the brewery for $3 each or four for $10.  Finally, on Saturday at 11 AM, Homegrown Market will be cooking up locally made brats outside the brewery; stop by and have some lunch!

It's not an ACBW event (I posted their schedule for this week in my last blog), but Midnight Sun will be offering tours and tastings next Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to anyone with a Tips/Tams card.  Here's the flier for that:

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Too bad I don't live in Anchorage, as I'd be there for sure...

Down at Kodiak Island Brewing, they report that Wingnut Brown Ale is back on tap.  Here's the nice art that goes with it:

Out at Kassik's Brewery, the Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat is back on tap, and they have a new beer in the bottle for a limited time: Pretty Fly for a White IPA, at 8.3% ABV.  Here's a the label:

At Kenai River Brewing, they are celebrating American Craft Beer Week by offering $2 glasses of beer all week, with a different beer being on offer each day. So far, we've had Peninsula Brewers Reserve and Arctic XPA.

At the 14th Annual Commercial Craft Brewing Competition of the West Coast Brew Fest, Alaskan Brewing Company took home a Gold Medal for its Summer Ale in the "Mixed" Category, another Gold Medal for their Black IPA in the "Porter/Black IPA" Category, and their Imperial Red Ale took a Bronze Medal in the "Amber Ale" category.  This year, there were 150+ entries in 18 categories.

I haven't had a lot of new beers lately, but I have had a couple. First up, Harviestoun Brewery's Ola Dubh Special Reserve 18.  This is an Old Ale (the name means "black oil"), made by aging the brewery's Old Engine Oil, a 6% ABV porter in casks that used to hold 18 year old Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The resulting 8% ABV beer is black as midnight, thick and viscous, with a small tan head that dissipated rapidly to a collar around the glass.  The nose is rich, full of sweet malt notes and peat smoke, with a touch of alcohol heat.  On the palate the texture is thick, with roasty malt leading the attack, but lots of well-integrated whisky and wood notes, that are most noticeable on the finish.  For a whisky lover such as myself, it doesn't get much better than this.

Next, I received a bottle of Oyster Stout from The Porterhouse Brewing Company in Dublin,

Ireland as a gift from a couple of fellow beer lovers. Stout and oysters as a pairing goes back at least as far as the mid-nineteenth century, and likely much father.  The briny taste of the oysters is perfectly matched by the roastiness of a good dry stout.  So it's not surprising that over the years, various brewers have tried mixing the two.  This version poured a very deep ruby color with a nice mocha-colored head that left good lacing on the glass.  The beer is hopped with Galena, Nugget, and East Kent Goldings; the Golding were detectable in the nose, plus plenty of roasted malt notes.  The carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice, with plenty of roast malt leading the attack, followed by hints of sweetness and saltiness. The presence of the oysters is very subtle, but they did seem to add some extra complexity to the beer, on its way to a nice finish.  I had heard good things about this brewery in the past, but this was my first chance to try any of their beers.  Assuming this brew is typical, I'd very much like to taste some more of their beers. 5.2% ABV.

Finally, I drank another bottle from my cellar, a Deschutes Brewey's The Dissident Sour Brown Ale from 2010.  The bottle had a "Best After" date of 11/1/2011, so I think I did my due diligence there.  It poured a slightly hazy reddish-brown, with a nice persistent cream-colored head.  The nose was primarily of tart cherry notes.  The mouthfeel and carbonation were good on the palate.  Initially, it was primarily the cherry-laced tartness, then the malt made its presence felt, making for a much better integrated and well-balanced flavor profile.  Personally, I'd love to know what this beer would have tasted like sans cherries, as I have a feeling that the base sour brown ale might have been delicious just on its own.  If you still have any bottles of this release in your cellar, I'd recommend drinking them soon.  I think the 2010 was in better shape than the 2008 that I tasted and reviewed back on 3/22/2013.

Well, that's about it for this week.  If the weather doesn't keep me from getting up to Anchorage, I hope to have some more interesting beers to review next time.

Until Next Week, Cheers!

Two New Beer Books

Well, it was snowing as I drove to work this morning.  Yes, two days into May and it's snowing.  This is the winter that just will not end.  Oh well...

On a more positive note, I recently received two new beer books which I had on pre-order from

Amazon.  The first is one I've been waiting for since I sat next to the author, Tom Acitelli, at a media luncheon in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010.  He told me then that he was working on a book that he hoped would be the definitive history of the American craft beer movement to date.  He called it The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution , which I thought was a pretty clever title.  Fast forward to last month, as his book was finally published.  I have not yet had the chance to sit down and read it from cover to cover, but in just my casual perusals to date, I can tell it's an excellent work.  Tom has done a fantastic job of research, but he has also coupled it with an interesting and engaging style of writing.  The result is no dry tome of history, but captures the excitement and vigor of the American craft beer movement.  I can't wait to incorporate this work into the college course I teach on beer.  If you have any interest at all in the American craft beer phenomenon, you need to read this book.

The second book that I received was called simply Cheese & Beer by Janet Fletcher.  As you might guess from its title, it is wholly dedicated to pairing up those two most delectable foods.  While I like to think I know a fair amount about beer, my knowledge of cheese is somewhat limited, so I was very interested in what I could learn from this book.  Lavishly illustrated, I found what the author had to say about craft beers to be spot on, so I suspect her cheese recommendations are equally good.  This is the first book that I have come across which is solely dedicated to pairing cheese with beer, and I'd say it was long overdue.  If you really enjoy good artisanal cheese, you should definitely buy this book.


Up north in Fox, Silver Gulch Brewing has their Old 55 Pale Ale available from the cask!  Get some while it lasts!  In Fairbanks, HooDoo Brewing currently has their Kolsch, their Stout, and their IPA on tap.

Now that they are open again, 49th State Brewing Company has a new website.  Check it out here.

Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company is currently in Copenhagen, Denmark, getting ready to pour his brews at a beer festival being held there on May 3rd & 4th.  Sounds like a lot of fun, though I'm not quite sure what to make of their festival logo...

As I wrote last week, we're in the middle of Midnight Sun Brewing Company's celebration of their 18th Anniversary.  If you will be in Anchorage this week, you should certainly be checking out that list of events I posted last week.

Looking ahead to American Craft Beer Week, May 13 thru May19, I'm sure there will be events planned all around the state, but it seems Midnight Sun is first out of the gate.  Here's a list of what the have planned so far:

SAT MAY 11 @ 11am

SUN OF A BEAK PREMIER

During AK Beer Week in January, the fine folks from Black Raven Brewing Co. in Washington traveled north to collaborate on a beer. Sun of a Beak, Imperial Bourbon Barrel Coconut Porter, will be released simultaneously in Washington at Black Raven Brewing Co. and Alaska at The Loft at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. for Craft Beer fans to enjoy.

SAT MAY 11 @ 9pm

GET YOUR CAN TO MAD MYRNA’S

Even if it is still snowing we are getting our cans over to Mad Myrna’s for the grand opening of their outdoor, summer time Tiki Bar. Be one of the first to sip a can of Kodiak Brown, Snowshoe White Ale or Sockeye Red IPA in the best outdoor Tiki Bar in Alaska.

SUN MAY 12 @ 12:30pm

Midnight Sun Brewing Co. Tour for Crush and The Cellar

The Folks of Crush and The Cellar will be coming to tour the brewery, taste some beers and get a brief beer class with Darcy.

MON MAY 13 @ 6pm

BEER DINNER: OLD Midnight Sun Brewing Company @ Sub Zero/Humpy’s

Kick off Craft Beer Week with some incredible pairings from Humpy’s/ Sub Zero and some fine selections from the cellars of Midnight Sun Brewing Co. and Humpy’s.

Reservations: 276-BEER

Menu:

Greet Beer: CoHoHo Imperial IPA brewed with Juniper

Appetizer: Midnight Sun 3000 / Belgian Style Barleywine 2013 /13.2%
Grilled tomato & tart cherry compote. Served on grilled on Baguette and finished with fresh thyme.

Salad: Arctic Devil / Barleywine 2002/ 10 %
Fresh apples tossed with crisp romaine, dates, raisins and walnuts in barley wine vinaigrette. Topped   Fried goat cheese.

Entree: The New Black /Belgian Black Bier 2010/ 8.4%
Bier braised lamb shank w/ sweet potato mash and baby arugula & grilled radicchio

Dessert: Tree Hugger /Spruce Tip Stout 2010/ 12.6%
Chocolate raspberry mouse with fresh berries and crushed coffee beans

THU MAY 16 @ 4pm

COAST TO COAST NATIONAL TOAST

Raise a glass to Craft Beer! This will be a massive toast, taking place at the same time from coast to coast, so you can raise any glass wherever you are, but if you happen to be in The Loft at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. we will have a taste of 3000, Belgian Style Barleywine Oak Aged in Red Wine Barrels for you to offer your SALUT to!

THU MAY 16 @ 6pm

FREE BREWERY TOUR

So you drink a lot of beer, but do you know where it comes from? Do you want to get a sneak peak (taste) of what is in our tanks now? Join our FREE tour, offered every Thursday, but with even more craft beer fun during American Craft Beer Week.

FRI MAY 17 @ 6:30pm

BREWIN’ FOR BRUINS

This is the third annual, adults only, night out in the Zoo. Join the Midnight Sun Chapter of the American Assoc. for Zookeepers for beer tasting, silent auction, food and some furry friends putting on a special show. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 the night of. To purchase go to http://www.alaskazoo.org/aazk.

Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling Company has also announced an ACBW event.  Each day at 3:30 from May 13th thru 17th, they will be having a vertical tasting of a different beer style.  Some will be their own beers and some will be examples of the style from around the world.  There will be a presentation on the style each day by their head brewer, Levi Hansen.  $10 for each daily tasting.  Here's the schedule of styles:

Monday - Porter
Tuesday - Lager
Wednesday - Belgium
Thursday - Barley Wine
Friday  - IPA

Sounds like a helluva good time!

Here on the Peninsula, Homer Brewing Company's annual beer dinner with The Homestead Restaurant is coming up this Saturday.  See last week's blog for more details.

Seward Brewing Company is open and has posted their new food menu.  Here it is:

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St. Elias Brewing Company has released another new beer, their Dos Lobos Vienna Lager.  It's a clean, slightly sweet, reddish lager that makes an excellent accompaniment to lots of foods.  I paired it on Sunday with some home-made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, and it was superb.  When I was last there, they still had the excellent Czech Point Pils on tap, as well as Kriek Lambic and Forbidden Fruit Pomegranate Lager.

Let's do some beer reviews.

First up, something from the cellar.  I opened a bottle of Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte XXIII Porter this week.  It was released in June of 2011, with a "Best After" date of June, 2012, so it was quite ready.  25 % of this beer was bourbon-barrel aged, and it was brewed with orange zest, chocolate nibs, and Pasilla Negra chillies.  It poured opaque with a good-sized mocha colored head.  I could pick up the orange and chocolate in the nose, but not the bourbon or the chillies.  Great mouthfeel and good carbonation.  On the palate the flavors were rich and deep; a very complex profile, with all of the numerous elements -- oak, bourbon, chocolate, roasted malt, oranges, peppers -- in a nice balance.  It reminded me of a complex dance, with the various dancers moving in and out of the spotlight, without ever getting in each others way.  The 10.8% ABV was only evident in a touch of alcohol heat on the finish.  Delicious and worth waiting two years for!

Next, St. Elias Brewing Company's Kriek Lambic.This beer was fermented with a yeast strain “captured” from the air of the very same Senne Valley where traditional lambic is brewed. It was fermented in Hungarian Oak for nine months, where the sour cherries were added.  It poured a slightly cloudy, pinkish-orange color with a small head.  The aroma was tart, with notes of oak and cherries.  The taste was similar, being tart but not sour, with oak and cherry notes.  Dry and refreshing, this beer will be excellent in warmer weather (if we ever get any). 8% ABV.

Finally, Kenai River Brewing's Falconer's Flight Imperial Rye Pale Ale (FFIRPA).  The fourth in the series, this one is the best one yet, IMHO.  It poured a deep honey color with a big, off-white head.  The aroma is laced with the characteristic American hop notes from the Falconer's Flight hops.  At 103 IBUs, I was expecting an initial bitterness attack that would take the enamel off my teeth, but it was amazingly subdued, with the hops being very well-balanced by the big malt backbone. At 9% ABV, this beer is wonderfully drinkable, with on a slight lingering bitterness on the finish.  As I said above, I think this is the best beer yet in Kenai River's Imperial Rye Pale Ale series, so if you liked any of its predecessors, you really need to seek this one out.

Well, that's it for this week.  More beer news and reviews next week, I hope.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Missed It...

I had planned this blog to be a reckoning of what a fabulous experience last weekend's Culmination Beer Festival was.  Unfortunately, just before my wife and I were about to depart on the road to Anchorage on Saturday, we had a family emergency come up and had to cancel our plans to attend.

However, I have heard from many of the lucky folks who did get to attend how wonderful it was. (Way to rub it in, guys!)  The beers were superb and the attendees were there for all the right reasons. To quote my good friend Jim Roberts: "It was a whole different mood with serious beer drinkers in a dignified setting."  You can read much more about it in Jim's column in this week's Anchorage Press.  Given how successful it was, I'm sure we will be seeing another Culmination; I only hope I'll actually be able to make it to that one!

If like me you missed the Festival, all hope is not lost.  Some of the beers that were left over from the event will be going on sale today at Brown Jug, La Bodega, and Humpy's. Here's the list:

CAPTAIN LAWRENCE Smoke Porter	$12.95
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE St Vincent Dubbel	$19.95
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE Xtra Gold	$19.95
CASCADE BREWING Noyaux	$44.95
CASCADE BREWING Strawberry	$34.95
CASCADE BREWING Vlad The Imp Aler	$49.95
CROOKED STAVE Origins Artisanal	$14.95
CROOKED STAVE Surette Artisanal	$9.95
FOUNDERS BREWING All Day IPA	$4.95
FOUNDERS BREWING Breakfast Stout	$4.95
FOUNDERS BREWING Centennial IPA	$4.95
JESTER KING Barrel Aged Sour Red	$19.95
JESTER KING Organic Barrel Aged Wild Ale	$19.95
JESTER KING Sour Barrel Aged Stout	$19.95
GIGANTIC 22 OZ Geezers Need Excitement Choc IPA	$6.95
LAWSONS FINEST Double Sunshine IPA	$16.00
LAWSONS FINEST Fayston Maple Imperial Stout	$24.95
LAWSONS FINEST Toast Black Ipa	$13.00
LOGSDON FARMHOUSE Cerasus	$29.95
LOGSDON FARMHOUSE Seizoen	$15.95
LOGSDON FARMHOUSE Seizoen Bretta	$15.95
SANTE ADAIRIUS Maiden Fields	$17.00
SANTE ADAIRIUS Saison Bernice	$17.00
SANTE ADAIRIUS West Ashley	$22.95
BLAUGIES-HILL FARM La Vermontoise	$14.95
JOLLY PUMPKIN Collababeire	$18.95
JOLLY PUMPKIN La Roja Grande Reserve	$17.95
JOLLY PUMPKIN Sobrehumano	$21.00
MIKKELLER GRASSROO Wheat Is The New Hops	$7.95
PRAIRIE Ale	$16.95
PRAIRIE Hop	$16.95
THE BRUERY Melange 3	$32.95
THE BRUERY Smoking Wood Rye	$22.95
THE BRUERY Sour In The Rye	$22.95
THE BRUERY Trade Winds Tripel	$11.95
THE BRUERY Mischief	$11.95
THE BRUERY Saison Rue	$14.95
THE COMMONS Flemish Kiss	$16.95
THE COMMONS Fleur De Ferme	$16.95
THE COMMONS Urban Farmhouse Ale	$16.95

Quantities are most certainly limited, so if you want any of these fine brews, you'd better get after them post-haste.

Speaking of limited availability, Rob Weller of Specialty Imports reports that they have a very limited number of Distant Matter IPA kegs (#31685) in stock.  This beer is a collaboration between Anchorage Brewing Company and Hill Farmstead Brewery, which is a small craft brewery in Vermont producing IPAs and Belgian-style beers.  It's 6% ABV and uses Citra and Amarillo hops.  If you're the sort that buys beer by the keg rather than the bottle, I'd jump on this one.

On the national stage, the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week is fast approaching. This year it will take place from May 13th thru May 19th.  This year's theme is "Toasts the Red, White, and Brew".  The Brewers Association press release states that there will be celebrations in all 50 states, but I have not yet heard of anything happening in Alaska.  So let's get something planned!

I wrote about some of the upcoming events for Midnight Sun Brewing Company two weeks ago, including their Beer Dinner at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood on May 1.  Here's the complete list of all their 18th Anniversary Week events:

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Also in Anchorage next week, Glacier BrewHouse will be hosting a Beer Dinner on Thursday, May 2.  Here's the flier for that one:

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As long as we're talking beer dinners, let's head down to the Peninsula, where Homer Brewing Company and The Homestead Restaurant are having their annual Dinner at the Brewery next Saturday, May 4th, at 6:30 pm. Chef Jeff Hulscher and sous Chef Alber Balderas come together to pair Homer Brewing beers with specially prepared high-end food that starts with crab wontons consisting of crispy wontons filled with crab, cilantro, cheese and red peppers. They're dressed with a spicy sauce and paired with Homer Brewing’s Red Knot Scottish Ale. This is followed by a cheese & ESB soup including Tillamook aged white cheddar and broccolini, paired with Homer’s King and Wings Extra Special Bitter. A shrimp spinach salad comes next consisting of fresh spinach with an orange abbey vinaigrette, topped with grilled rosemary shrimp and paired with Homer’s Abbey Ale. The main course consists of short ribs, braised with a porter reduction and served with roasted sweet potatoes and grilled marinated red cabbage and paired with Homer’s China Poot Porter. Pan-seared local sablefish is an alternative to the meat dish, also dressed with a porter reduction and accompanied by roasted sweet potatoes and grilled, marinated red cabbage. This is paired with China Poot Porter as well. For dessert, expect a “Cherry Garcia stout float” which consists of Cherry Garcia ice cream and a Florentine cookie paired with Homer’s Odyssey Oatmeal Stout. Call The Homestead at 235-8723 for reservations.

As I reported a couple of weeks ago, 49th State Brewing in Healy will be reopening tomorrow, April 27th.  While they have been closed all winter, they have not exactly been idle.  Before shutting down, they filled their fermenters with brews that would benefit from a long, cold aging through the winter months in Healy. Their opening day beer line-up will be as follows:

Baked Blonde
Solstice IPA
Golden Dahl Tripel
Dunkelweizen
Oatmeal Stout
Vienna Lager
Vagabond Saison
Chocolate Porter
Smoked Marzen
White Peach Wheat
Double IPA

I'm really looking forward to heading up that way this summer to try out some of their new brews.

Up in Talkeetna, besides their canning efforts, Denali Brewing Company has also been bottling some special beers.  Somehow this escaped my notice until recently, when Boe Barnett was nice enough to send me some images of the labels for these beers.

Front label

Back label

Front label

Back label

Boe reports that the Bomb finished 4th out of 75 entrants in the Wild-Acidic category at The Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beers in Chicago last November.  I'm not sure how wildly distributed either beer is, but I'd certainly snag a bottle if you happen to be passing through Talkeetna and they are still available!

Speaking of competitions, a couple of our local breweries have been quite successful.  Alaskan Brewing Company's much-beloved Smoked Porter took a Bronze Medal in the "Specialty Other Special Feature Beer" category at the 2013 International Brewing Awards in London.  This competition has been held since 1886 and is often call "the Oscars of the brewing industry."  All the judges are currently practicing brewers, and this year saw over 800 entries in 10 categories with 35 classes.  Congratulations to the Brew Crew in Juneau.

Moving down to the Peninsula, the latest issue of All About Beer Magazine  reports that the Chicago-based Beverage Testing Institute recognized two beers from Kassik’s Brewery as being in the top three beers in the world in their respective categories for 2012. Their Big Nutz Imperial Brown Ale (8.5% ABV) took top honors in the Strong Beer category, while their Buffalo Head Barley Wine (10.5% ABV) was tied for third place in the Barley Wine category. Congratulations to Frank, Debbie, Jason, Luke & the rest of the crew at Kassik’s.

At Kenai River Brewing Company, they have just released the fourth beer in their Imperial Rye Pale Ale series: Falconer's Flight Imperial Rye Pale Ale, aka FFIRPA, at 9% ABV and 103 IBUs. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but if it's anything like the first three, it will be excellent.  And if you haven't gotten any of their superb Wee Heavy Skilak Scottish yet, what are you waiting for?

Seward Brewing Company reopened for business last week; they are now open from 4 to 10 pm, seven days a week.

St. Elias Brewing Company has put a new brew on, a Munich or Vienna Lager.  I have not had a chance to stop by and try it yet.  When I was last in, their excellent Czech Point Pilsner was still on tap, but it may be off by know.  Check out my column in next week's Redoubt Reporter for a discussion about fruit lambics in general and St. Elias' new Kriek in particular.

I haven't had the chance to try too much in the new beer department lately, more's the pity.  but I did drink bottles of Alaskan's Smoked Porter from 2006 and 2007 which I have had in my cellar.  This is a beer that really ages well, possibly because the smoke components act as anti-oxidation agents.  I like a fresh Smoked Porter, but then I love Islay Scotch Whisky -- the smokier the better.  A few years in the cellar helps tame the smokiness a bit, for those of you who aren't as fond of it as I am.

Both beers looked the same in the glass: opaque with small tan heads that dissipated to collars, though the '07 seemed to dissipate a bit more slowly.  The aroma was also similar with the smoke being balanced by chocolate and roasted elements from the malt.  On the palate, the initial attack of smokiness from the '07 was noticeably fiercer than that of the '06, then the malt flavors come in to balance, with the smoke returning on the finish for the '07.  Overall, I thought the extra year in the cellar produced a much better balanced and integrated beer, with a longer and smoother finish.  I'll be interested to taste another bottle of the '07 next year, to see how it's doing.

Well, that's about it for this week.  I hope to be back next week with more news and beer reviews.

Until Next Time, Cheers!