Graduation Week

As you may or may not have noticed, there was no blog last week.  This week's blog will be very short, as it is Graduation Week at the college where I work and I am extremely busy, having to work late and be on the road quite a bit this week.  Which is too bad, as I had several interesting brews as part of last weekend's Open It Event, but hopefully I'll get to write about them next week.  However, there is some beer news that just won't keep.

Kassik's at Three Bears

First, three Kassik's Brewery beers are now available in 22 oz bombers.  Here's the proof, in a photo snapped by my lovely wife at the Three Bears Warehouse store in Kenai on Sunday.  If you're interested in seeing their new bottling line, a great time to check it out would be this Wednesday evening (May 4) at 6:30 PM, as the Kenai Peninsula Brewing & Tasting Society will be holding our monthly meeting at the brewery and getting a tour.  Meanwhile, be sure to pick up some of their bottles and keep an eye out  for the bottle version of  their medal-winning Caribou Kilt Strong Scotch Ale, due out next month.

Gabe and his new toy

Also on the bottling front, I touched base with Gabe Fletcher at the Anchorage Brewing Company to get an update on his status.  His first beer, Whiteout Wit, is finished and ready to be bottled; Gabe reports that he is just waiting for his bottler to arrive.  Look for a release in mid to late May.  Besides his 160 standard barrels of beery goodness, Gabe now has a new 660 gallon oak barrel that he's going to use to produce sour ales.  I have blogged about the various beers he has planned in the past, but as a reminder, here are the specifications for the Whiteout Wit:

Whiteout Wit Beer. Made with Sorachi hops and spiced with fresh lemon peel, Indian coriander, and black peppercorns. Aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels. 6% ABV & 20 IBUs.

I got to taste a sample in early February, and I can't wait to grab a few bottles of the finished product.

Speaking of new releases, Kenai River Brewing Company has created a new American Wheat Ale with lots of hop flavor, and they need your help to name it!  Just stop by the brewery for a taste and then give them a name; you have to do this in person, no electronic submissions.  The deadline is Friday, May 6th, so don't miss out on your shot at beer immortality.

Finally, St. Elias Brewing Company will be having another shindig on Thursday evening, May 5, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  There will be live music and a new cask-conditioned beer released, a special kolsch, that was primed with agave syrup and dry-hopped with Pearle hops.  Sounds like it should make an excellent chaser for tequila shots.  Look for another new release next Thursday, May 12th, as well.  They'll be tapping a cask of  Williwaw IPA that's been dry-hopped with HopUnion's proprietary  hop blend, Falconer's Flight.  These cask-conditioned offerings only last a single night, so don't miss them.

Well, that's all I have time for this week.  Look for more reviews next week for several new and exciting brews.

Until Next Time, Cheers!