New Local Releases

I've been more than a bit under the weather lately, trying to fight off some sort of sinus infection/head cold, which has seriously impacted my ability to both consume and appreciate the fine flavors of beer.  So I don't have anything in the way a a beer review to give you this week; I wouldn't want to subject any good craft beer to evaluation by my currently much-diminished senses of taste & smell.  However, the local craft brewers have been pretty busy, so I do have some news to relate on that front.

Kassik's Brewery has a new bottled release coming out: Orion's Quest Red Ale is in the bottle and will be released on Sunday, 9/24, so keep any eye out for it at your local fine beer store. They're also getting close to brewing another batch of their excellent Chocolate Cherry Stout.

Lots of cans!

Over at Kenai River Brewing, the Sunken Isle cans finally arrived a week ago, and I'm sure Doug and the boys will soon have them filled with lots of hoppy goodness.  Meantime, they've just put a new beer on tap.  They're already selling PBR (Peninsula Brewers Reserve), so why not some PCP, AKA PepperCorn Porter?  It's made with several varieties of ground pepper, giving it a touch of sweet heat.  I had a small sample last week and really liked it, but I need to stop by and get enough for a full review.

Meanwhile, at St. Elias Brewing Company, they've released two more new brews and one of them also happens to be a porter, though this one is made with coffee, not pepper.  Fair Trade Porter uses a cold steeping process with Kalahdi Brothers coffee to really bring rich, roasty flavors into this 6.2% ABV brew.  I got a small taste of this one back on 9/2 and I was amazed at the amount of coffee flavor it packs.  It went on tap last Sunday.  Then on Tuesday, St. Elias added Moonfire Saison to their tap line.  Here's the blurb from their Facebook page: 

"Traditionally, Belgian Saison was made during the cool months to be consumed during the heat of the summer, when brewing was impossible. Moonfire saison was brewed in the spring, but aged all summer long in white wine barrels. It’s brewed with the addition of brown rice and fermented with a special Belgian yeast strain. This is a complex style with fruity overtones in the aroma and a dry, spicy, tart character with contributions of oak and white wine."

I had a small sample of this beer back in early August, pulled straight off the barrel.  Even un-carbonated and at room temperature, it was delicious.  I'm very much looking forward to getting a pint of the finished product. 


Well, that's about it for this week.  Hopefully by next time around my head will have cleared and I'll have reviews of all these great new beers to pass on to you.  Or you can get out and try them yourself.


Until Next Time, Cheers!