Beer & Cheese: Two of My Favorite Things

There's an old saying in the wine business: "Taste with bread, sell with cheese." While bread has a very neutral flavor, the better to let the wine express itself, cheese is almost the exact opposite. The creamy, butterfat goodness of cheese is almost perfectly designed to cover the tannins of an immature red or smooth the sharp edges of a less than stellar white, which is what makes it the "weapon of choice" for desperate wine merchants.

While cheese may hide the defects in a wine, wine and cheese do not compliment each other nearly so well as beer and cheese.

Now remember, the cheese I am talking about here is not some homogenized, pasteurized, mass-produced, and thoroughly commodified cheese like Kraft American Singles, anymore than the beer we are talking about is a BudMillCoors macrobrew. No, I'm talking about real artisanal cheeses, made the traditional way. "Craft" cheese, if you will.

Sorry, couldn't resist the pun...

Let's face it, it's certainly no coincidence that some of the great monastic brewers left in this world (Chimay, Orval, & Westmalle) also produce outstanding artisanal cheeses. Or that a "farmhouse" brewery like Brasserie Dupont also makes excellent cheese. Hell, Fritz Maytag, the genius behind Anchor Brewing Company and the godfather of American Craft Beer comes from a cheese-making background. Maytag Blue, anyone?

As I said above, good, flavorful, artisanal cheese pairs much better with beer than it does with wine. Cheese and beer are produced by similar processes and have much in common. The process of making beer involves mashing, boiling, & fermenting; cheese making consists of production, reduction, and ripening. The higher in alcohol a beer is, the longer it can be kept; the harder a cheese is, the longer it will last.

Personally, I was a little late to the "good cheese game". I didn't discover how absolutely fantastic cheese could be until Elaine and I were living in London and stumbled on to a place called Neal's Yard Dairy. They specialize in wonderful artisanal cheese and other high quality produce from farms located around London. That was where I discovered the joy of Colston Bassett Stilton...

Colston Bassett is one of the smallest Stilton Dairies in the UK. They buy milk from 5 farms surrounding the dairy. Their Stilton is more traditional than any other. The curd is hand-ladled before draining which results in a luscious, creamy texture when the cheese is mature. The rinds are dimpled and aged, bearing the marks of long months in the caves, but the cheese is creamy and luxurious, with a silky texture and a long, fruity bite. Pair it with a nice, hoppy British Bitter, like a Young's Special Ale or a Fuller's ESB, or better yet a strong Old Ale like Thomas Hardy's and you have a match made in heaven.

It opened my eyes to just how good cheese could be, both alone and paired with a good beer.

So why my sudden current fixation on cheese? Well, this weekend I paid a visit to our local specialty cheese shop, The Gourmet Garden, located at the "Y" in Soldotna, next to River City Books. While it may not be Neal's, it's still a very nice little gourmet market. I went in to replenish my supply of Stilton (not Colston-Bassett, unfortunately). Whenever I am there, I always take a look to see what new treasures might have arrived in the cheese case since my last visit. Over the last five years, I've found some pretty interesting things.

This time around, a couple of new cheese caught my eye (and then my taste buds). There was a cheddar made with caramelized onions; amazingly delicious. Then there was a cheese called a Boxing Cheddar from Australia (it had a kangaroo with boxing gloves on the label). It was a very hard cheddar, having been aged for three years, and was quite salty. It had a fantastic meaty, rich, salty flavor that paired very well with a strong, rich imperial stout. In the end, I walked out with a pound of Stilton and a half pound of each of the other two.

So if you like good craft beer, I'd recommend you try pairing it with some good, artisanal cheese. Just remember, you want to pair subtle flavored beers with subtle cheeses, while saving the beers with big, bold flavors for cheeses with the same. Serve the beer cool, but not cold, and the cheese at room temperature.

Besides buying cheese last Saturday, I made it out to Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop. I snapped up a jug of their latest batch of Double Wood Imperial IPA. As I predicted last week, it's excellent. If you like 'em hoppy, get some before it's gone.

Last week I had lunch on Thursday at St. Elias Brewing Company. Their Vanilla Porter was on, so I had a pint to accompany a breadbowl of their excellent Soup of the Day, a Beer & Asiago Cheese Soup. (Beer and cheese, what a novel idea...) The porter was excellent, with a nice clean taste and a subtle vanilla flavor. Zach stopped by my table to chat and told me that his latest batch of Brass Monkey ESB would be on tap later in the day. He said that he had tweaked the hop profile slightly, so I'm looking forward to trying the new version. St. Elias also has some cool new liter swing-top jugs; they have built in handles. I think I'll have to pick one up on my next visit. And before you ask, I'm still waiting for my BDOTY check to arrive, so I had to pay my tab...

As for "new" beers, I drank an old favorite last night, then realized that I had never written a review of it. Midnight Sun Brewing's Monk's Mistress, a Belgian-style Special Dark Ale. It's brewed with Belgian yeast, hopped with East Kent Goldings and Fuggles to 13 IBUs, and brewed to an impressive 11.5% ABV. It pours a very dark brown, almost black, with a good-sized tan head that is slow to dissipate. The roasted malts used give it a wonderful aroma, full of hints of dark fruits, like plums, figs, and raisins. On the tongue, the first thing you notice is a big alcoholic character, very boisterous and very warming. Mouthfeel is viscous, but the carbonation gives a lift, making it smooth and crisp. It's a very complex brew, and a great sipping beer. I spent about three hours finishing mine last night.

If you like malty, strong dark Belgian ales, you'll love Monk's Mistress. Midnight Sun's tag line for this brew is:

Submit. Surrender. Succumb. For tomorrow, you will repent.

I'd say that about sums it up.

We'll, that's all for this week. Have you contacted you Representative about H.R. 4278 yet? See last week's blog to learn why it's important that you do so.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Seeking Sasquatch (and other good beers)

Once upon a time (the early 90s), when I was living in the beer wasteland which Hawaii once was, March was one of the best times of the year. Why? Because that's when Sierra Nevada Brewing Company released their Bigfoot Barleywine-style Ale each year.

In our current state of craft beer grace, it's easy to forget what a big deal having an American-style barleywine on the shelves was then. Today, finding a barleywine on the shelf, or even on tap at a local brewpub, isn't very tough. But 15 to 20 years ago, Bigfoot was often the only one available. So when it hit the shelves, word would spread around and all the serious beer geeks would load up. We all bought at least a case, often two or three, which would then have to last us through the entire year. Plus we always tried to cellar a bottle or two for a couple of years, just to see how it would change.

Fast forward to today. While Bigfoot might no longer be the only game in town, it's still an absolute classic American barleywine. The 2010 batch (or Expedition, as it's called) has been released and has made it to Alaska. In fact, it has made it all the way to Kenai, with six-packs available at Country Liquors. It may also be available at other stores, but I saw it there last week for sure.

As for what Bigfoot is like, I reviewed the 2009 Expedition back on 3/16/2009. The 2010 Expedition is also excellent. If you're a fan of big, hoppy American barleywines, you've got to pick up a six-pack or two.

While I was at Country Liquors, I also picked up a bottle of Kulmbacher's Eisbock to try. Eisbock is a style of beer rarely produced in the US, due to our arcane liquor laws. It's beer which has been partially frozen and then had the ice removed. Since water freezes before alcohol, this is in effect a form of freeze distillation. Under US law, any form of distillation falls under a different tax/licensing regime, so most US breweries don't attempt this. Fortunately there's no problem with importing such beers from Europe, so we can still experience the style, even if we can't easily make it ourselves.

Eisbocks are strong, malty beers, similar to doppelbocks, but with an even more pronounced alcohol presence. Kulmbacker's Eisbock is very true to the style, weighing in at 9.2% ABV. It is deep ruby in color, and pours with a small but nice-looking head. The aroma is of sweet malt, rich & dark. On the palate it has medium body, with some alcohol warmth and a long, slow, smooth, slightly sweet finish. Wonderfully clean, this would be an excellent beer as a nightcap after a good meal.

I also snagged a bottle of Deschutes Brewery's Hop Henge Experimental IPA, part of their Bond Street Series. This beer has been a seasonal since 2006 and for a hophead like myself, it is an unadulterated pleasure. We're talking pounds and pounds of Cascades & Centennial hops, 8.75% ABV and 95 IBUs, which puts us deep into Double or Imperial IPA territory. Still, for all the hop bitterness, this beer is better balanced than many I've had with 20 or 30 less IBUs claimed on the label. They've used enough, crystal, pale and carastan malt to give the beer sufficient backbone not to collapse under the weight of that massive hop bitterness. If you've had this beer in the past, you should try it again, as the recipe has been tweaked slightly. If you've never had it, but you like hops, you should definitely pick up a bottle.

Over a month ago, I mentioned that I had picked up a bottle of Big Sky Brewing's Buckin' Monk Tripel at La Bodega in Anchorage.. This is a limited edition beer (I got bottle #2292 of 3000), finished in a nice 750 ml corked bottle. I had been itching to try it, but wanted to wait until I had a friend or two around to share it with. Finally, last weekend my friends Curt and Dave dropped by to help me with a couple of home repair projects. Once we were finished, I popped the cork and poured us each a glass. It poured a little hazy, but looked nice in the glass. Aroma was of sweet fruit, with some alcohol (10% ABV). Great mouthfeel, very heavy on the tongue, with the characteristic earthy, spicy notes from the Belgian yeast. Finish could be a little drier, but it's not bad. Very drinkable for such a strong beer, and about the best thing I've had from Big Sky. If you can score one of the other 2999 bottles of this out there and you like tripels, it's worth giving a try.

More good news for barleywines from Alaska: the results from the 2010 Hard Liver Barleywine Fest held at Brouwer's Cafe in Seattle, WA. First place went to Glacier Brewhouse's Old Woody '09 Barleywine. This brew also took first at the Great Alaska Beer & Barleywine Festival back in January. Once again, it's obvious that Alaskan brewers continue to "punch above their weight" in the arena of making good beers, especially barleywines.

Here on the Peninsula, Kassik's Kenai Brewstop released another batch of their excellent Double Wood Imperial IPA on Saturday, 3/20. Check out my review from 12/2/2009. This is a seriously amped up version of their Morning Wood, so if you like monster IPAs, be sure to grab some before it's gone.

St. Elias Brewing Company had quite the shindig last Wednesday for St. Patrick's Day. I slipped in about 4:30 to beat the crowds, but by the time I left at 7:30, the place was packed. I had a great pizza, drank about 3 pints of their Mother's Milk Irish Stout, and won a t-shirt in the trivia contest. I passed on the green-dyed beer, though. Zach should be putting the next batch of his Vanilla Porter on this week. He has tweaked the recipe slightly and gave me a preview sample, which I thought was even better than his last batch. St. Elias is turning into THE place to hang out in Soldotna; the only downside is that it's getting so that I have to leave work early to get a parking spot.

Wait a minute. "Have to leave work early?" That's no downside!

One final thing before I sign off. The Brewers Association has issued a Nationwide Support Your Local Brewery Action Alert regarding H.R. 4278, a bill in House of Representatives which would reduce the federal excise tax on small breweries (those producing less than 6 million barrels a year). Personally, I think this would be an excellent way to stimulate job growth, not to mention encouraging the production of good craft beer. If you would like to learn more, there is a resource page here. I have already contacted my Congressman, Don Young, and urged him to become a co-sponsor of the bill. If you care about craft beer in America, I suggest you contact your representative and make your opinion known.

Well, that's it for this week. Enjoy some good beer to celebrate the fact that spring is just around the corner.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Victory has a Sweet Taste. Kinda like a Good Scotch Ale...

Well, I did it. I'm sure some of you out there had your doubts; Lord knows, I did. But sometimes things just all fall into place.

My lovely wife Elaine and I made it to Denver by lunchtime on Thursday. That was after a full day at work, followed by a three-hour drive to Anchorage, then a 12:30 AM flight out, with a plane change in Portland. So by the time we made it to our hotel in Denver, we were both pretty well fried.

We did need to eat so we stumbled down the 16th St. Mall and chose a place named the Appaloosa Grill. We liked the look of the menu and I could see some Great Divide and New Belgium tap handles in the bar. So we went in and enjoyed a nice lunch, accompanied by a Titan IPA from Great Divide (me) and a Blue Paddle Pilsner from New Belgium (Elaine). Both beers were absolutely excellent, very fresh and delicious. This was my first indication that, unlike my last visit in 1990, the Denver of today is a fantastic beer town.

Then went back to our hotel and crashed for a few hours sleep before meeting up with my wife's nephew, Clay, and his wife Hillary. They drove us to a great neighborhood Italian place for supper, also accompanied by some excellent beer. Elaine was very happy to see they had Stella Artois on tap and I was very happy with my Odell Brewing 5 Barrel Pale Ale. Just another data point that demonstrates what great place for beer Denver has become.

After sleeping in the next day, we finally hit the pavement late in the morning and strolled down 16th St, snapping photos and doing some shopping, on our way to the Lower Downtown neighborhood and the famous Falling Rock Taphouse. It's located all of half a block from the home plate at Coors Field and routinely appears in lists of the top ten beer bars in the US.


Having never been there, Falling Rock was at the top of my list of places to visit. Walking in, you're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tap handles, both those on service and in racks along the walls. A constantly rotating selection of 75+ beers on tap and 130+ in the bottle makes this place a little slice of heaven for a serious beer geek like yours truly.

When we arrived on Friday, we were fairly early for lunch, perhaps 11:30, so the bar wasn't crowded at all, though it was beginning to fill up as we left about an hour later. We sat in a booth on the bar-side and perused the amazing beer menu. The absolutely huge selection included a selection of Russian River beers, seldom seen anywhere but around Santa Rosa, CA. I visited that brewery back in June, so I knew how fantastic they are and promptly ordered a Damnation Strong Golden Ale, while my wife had a Trumer Pils.They were even planning to tap two 4 gallon torpedoes of Pliny the Younger Triple IPA at 5 PM that day, but our server advised against showing up for that, since based on past experience, the beer would be gone in less than 15 minutes, leaving many disappointed customers.

The food was good, if a little greasy; I had a nice pastrami, with Swiss cheese and onions. Service was great; perhaps because it was slow, our waiter took plenty of time to chat with us. The beer was was absolutely spot on, and the decor and atmosphere were both exceptional. I see why this bar is where "everybody" goes after the Great American Beer Festival sessions breakup at the Colorado Convention Center.

After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon knocking around downtown, until it was time to head to the Wynkoop Brewing Company, the sponsor and host of the Beerdrinker of the Year competition. Each year, on the night before the competition, Wynkoop hosts an informal "meet-and-greet" dinner for the judges and the finalists, along with their respective spouses. It gives everyone a chance to get to know each other, before the formal competition the next day. After dinner, it's traditional for everyone to migrate the two blocks over to Falling Rock for some after-dinner beers.

I'd last been at Wynkoop in 1990, only two years after it had opened. In those days, it was about the only business open down in the somewhat dodgy LoDo neighborhood, full of old, empty warehouses and buildings dating from around 1900. Today, LoDo is full of great bars, restaurants, and theaters, and Wynkoop Brewing Company can take a lot of the credit for its redevelopment.

Since both of the other finalists had competed before, I was definitely the rookie in the field and was grateful for a chance to get to know both them and several of the judges in a low-key setting. Before dinner, I had an Auld Rabbit Ale ( created by last year's BDOTY, Cody Christman, brewed with Br'er Rabbit molasses, and served on cask). It was dark and rich, with the molasses imparting a touch of sweetness and smokiness. It's 6.4% ABV and a lovely, lovely drink. Elaine and I also got to meet Cody and spend a few minutes chatting with him before dinner; he's a great fellow and a real beer connoisseur.

In the course of supper (a great Venison Bourguignonne for me, and a fantastic Mac & Cheese for Elaine), I also got to meet both of my competitors (Phil Farrell & Logan Perkins) and their ladies, as well as a couple of the other judges. I enjoyed a pint of the Wynkoop's B3K Schwarzbier, a German-style black lager, coming in at 5.3% ABV and the winner of a Gold Medal at the 2008 GABF. I followed it up with a pint of their St. Charles ESB, cask-conditioned and dry-hopped; at 4.5% ABV, it's a classic British bitter, an eminently drinkable session beer.

Next, it was time for us all to stroll over to Falling Rock. We fetched up on the couches on the other side of the booths from the bar, and along with more great conversation, I enjoyed an amazing glass of Russian River Supplication. It's a sour brown ale, aged in French oak Pinot Noir casks inoculated with Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, & Pediococcus, not to mention sour cherries. At 7% ABV and 27 IBUs, it's wonderfully tart and refreshing. Just the thing for a nightcap, before the walk back to the hotel.

The next day we went to a late breakfast with Clay and Hillary, then I basically spent the next three hours being nervous, with my stomach knotting up, waiting for the competition to start. Once things got going, I actually felt better; the waiting that was the hard part for me. The questions went on for over two hours, and by the time it was over I was wrung out. Some were philosophical ("What three spices would you NEVER use in brewing a beer?") to factual ("Name seven hop varieties that start with the letter C.") to humorous ("Can you see Russia from your local brewpub?"). There was a blind beer tasting and a tasting of a beer I brought with me. We had to pour a hefeweizen for a grade. When the judges came back out and announced my name, I was totally surprised. My friends in the audience told me later that I had been doing real well, but it certainly didn't feel that way when I was up there.

So I want to thank each and every one of you for your support and encouragement. I especially want to thank my lovely wife Elaine, for her love and understanding through the whole thing. I couldn't have done it without you, honey!

After the event was over, all the photos had been snapped, autographs signed, and interviews given, Elaine and I slipped away to a quiet dinner with Clay and Hillary to unwind, then head back to our room for a little sleep before our 4 o'clock wake-up call and 8 AM flight back to Anchorage, via Seattle this time.

So, now that I'm the 2010 Beer Drinker of the Year, what am I going to do with it? Well, I'm going to do my best to use it to keep doing what I've been trying to do for the last several years: promote craft beer on both the Peninsula and in Alaska, and do everything I can to educate folks about craft beer and encourage folks who aren't currently craft beer drinkers to give it a try. This award should make things even more interesting...

So enough about me and my news. What other beer news is there out there?

A new brewery is getting ready to open in Sitka. Baranof Island Brewing Company is being established by Rick and Susan Armstrong, the brewery plans to use pristine water from the nearby rain and glacier fed Blue Lake to brew a variety of beers for both local consumption and eventual distribution. The brewery plans to bottle in 22 ounce bombers, so there’s a chance we’ll see the beer here on the Kenai, or at least in Anchorage. Word is that the brewery is just waiting for the State of Alaska Division of Environmental Health approval before going into production. Thanks to my good buddy Jim Roberts, the redoubtable Dr. Fermento and El Presidente of the Brewers Guild of Alaska, for this info. Jim was just down here to guest lecture in my beer appreciation class on Tuesday night, much to the pleasure of my students.

Since the good doctor was down this way, we met up at St. Elias Brewing yesterday at lunch. Jim was in a hurry to catch his flight, so rather than wasting time eating, we went straight to the beer. In addition to the Moose Juice Barley Wine and the new Winter Wheat, Zach Henry is about to put his Eclipse Specialty Ale on tap. You might have tasted this at the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival, but it hasn't been available since. It's actually a blend of Zach's Baltic Porter and his barley wine, which has been allowed to marry for over six months in a whiskey cask. The end result is 9% ABV, 65 IBUs, and has a wonderful rich flavor. I actually like it even more than his straight Moose Juice. Not sure exactly when it will be on tap, but if you stop by St. Elias anytime soon, be sure to ask about it.

St. Elias will also be doing a big St. Patrick's Day event (on March 17, of course), with a bar trivia contest from 6 to 7 PM, and a special on their Mother's Milk Irish Stout for the entire week. $3 pints and $6 growlers; you can't beat that.

OK, that's it for now. Elaine and I will be on the road again next week, this time to meet my daughter Liana in Vegas to celebrate her 30th birthday. So don't expect a blog for a couple of weeks, but when I get back I will hopefully have had some good brews down there to write about.

After all, if it's news about beer, what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas...

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Last Minute News

Well, things are getting down to the wire before Elaine and I have to depart for Denver. The Beerdrinker of the Year competition is on Saturday afternoon and should be over about 5 PM Mountain time. I'll try to send out a quick email with the results as soon as I can afterward.

Before I hit the road, I have a few more pieces of news to relate. First the latest in Kenai River Brewing Company's Single Hop IPA series is now on tap. This one is hopped exclusively with East Kent Goldings. I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet, but I love that hop variety, so I'm really looking forward to it. The beer appreciation class that I teach on Tuesdays will be touring Kenai River tomorrow night, so I plan to sample it then.

Second, I dropped into St. Elias Brewing Company on my way home from work last Friday. There has been some major work on the back of the bar, with the installation of a nitrogen-pressurized wine box (a refugee from the now-closed The Crossing restaurant) and four more taps. Two of the new taps will be dedicated to root beer and cream soda, but adding the other two to the previous eight will bring the total available for beers up to ten.

In addition to his usual line-up, Zach Henry currently has his Moose Juice Barley Wine and a new beer, his Winter Wheat Ale, on tap. He poured the Moose Juice at the Great Alaskan Beer & Barely Wine Festival, so some of you may have gotten a chance to taste it there. It's another of his whiskey-barrel-aged specials, having spent time in a Heaven Hill Bourbon cask, coming in at a hefty 9.6% ABV and 93 IBUs. I had a nice 6 0z. goblet of it. It's a good beer to have when you're only having one beer.

The imaginatively-named Winter Wheat Ale is a new seasonal, an unfiltered American-style wheat beer. At 5.4% ABV, it's a bit easier to handle in quantity that the barley wine. The flavor is delicate, with notes of wheat, oats, and apricots. It's a refreshing prelude to the spring that we are all hoping is just around the corner.

That's it for now. I'm looking forward to Denver, especially squeezing in a couple of visits to local bars and breweries before and after the finals. Wish me luck!

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Random Rants

The old saying is "Two steps forward, one step back." For the last few months, the progress of craft beer on the Peninsula has felt more like "All Ahead Flank!" (That's submarine speak for "Go Real Fast!"). Still, nothing is ever completely smooth sailing.

Personally, I've been busy trying to get ready for my trip to Denver next week for the finals of Wynkoop Brewing Company's Beerdrinker of the Year. I want to thank those of you who have sent me emails in support and especially the local breweries who have been generous enough to donate some swag for the "Bribe the Judges" portion of the contest. Growing up in Louisiana, I picked up a bit of wisdom at an early age: "Why hire a lawyer when you can buy a judge?" Seriously, I'm going to do my best to win and bring the trophy to Alaska.

Because of final prep for my trip and whatnot, there likely will be no blog next week. If there is, it'll be a short one.

So let's dive right in to this week's news.

First, I found out the hard way last week that the Bear's Den Restaurant in Soldotna no longer has Kenai River Brewing Company's beers on draft. In fact, they have no beers on draft; only Alaskan Brewing Company's beers in bottles. Now I've got nothing against Alaskan; if you've been reading these blogs you know I love their beers. But I hate to see a local establishment stop pouring a local beer, one that's brewed about a mile from their doorstep. Short of going to the brewery, you aren't going to find beer much fresher, and fresh beer is better beer. As a final indignity, the Alaskan Pale Ale I ended up ordering was served with a frosted mason jar to drink it out of. Ugh! If I'd ordered wine, I don't think it would have been served to me in a mason jar! While OK for tea or soda, beer (just like wine), deserves something a little classier than that. Once again, we see that some establishments just can't grasp the concept of treating beer with respect. Oh well...

Later in the week, I got some more bad news: BJ's Bar in Soldotna is going out of business permanently; they've sold their liquor license to Don Jose's Mexican Restaurant, so whatever takes their place, it won't be a bar. This is a real piece of history going away; Soldotna was founded in 1947 (the last town in the US to be founded as the result of homesteading, by the way) and for many of the early years it was just a post office, a gas station, and BJ's. For many years it's been where Hobo Jim, the official state balladeer of Alaska, performed on Friday and Saturday nights during the summer and occasionally during the winter. While it was never going to be Cafe Amsterdam or Humpy's Alaskan Alehouse, BJ's had some real character and was a good local bar. It will be missed.

Let's talk about happier things. Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop has released their Penny's Maple Porter. A portion of the proceeds from this brew goes to support the Rogues Gallery Kennel, a Kasilof dog-mushing kennel that specializes in taking-in dogs that other kennels have no use for. Penny is the lead dog of their team, so you can see why this beer bears her name. There will be a Meet & Greet event at the brewery on Sunday, February 28th, from 2-5 PM, with sled rides, poster signings, photo ops, and a silent auction. The Kennel will be entering this year's Iditarod, so if you're free on Sunday the 28th, drop by and meet a real, live Iditarod musher.

Whenever you stop by, be sure to try some of the porter. At 8.0% ABV, it's a pretty formidable brew, nearly opaque with a lovely tan head. The use of the maple syrup is nice and subtle, just an underlying hint of sweetness that balances well with the beer's roasted flavors. Very drinkable, it would be a good pairing with a nice roast, or even a leg of lamb. Kassik's next batch of their award-winning Caribou Kilt Strong Scotch Ale will go on sale this Saturday (2/20), and they just finished brewing up another batch of their outstanding Double Wood DIPA, so look for that fairly soon.

Also on Saturday, check out the Second Annual "Are You Smarter Than Our Kids" fundraiser for the Soldotna Boys & Girls Club at 6 PM at the Soldotna Sports Center. Several local leaders have signed up to be intellectually humiliated by some of our smart local youth. There will be appetizers from local restaurants and beer from local breweries for the audience, and it's all for a good cause.

In other local news, Kenai River Brewing Company's Breakfast Beer continues to sell at a rapid pace. As you can see from the photo at right, they were desperate enough to bring in some unskilled labor last Friday to help out with the brewing. The fact that all our local breweries are so busy trying to keep up with demand (and get a little ahead for the crazy days of the summer tourist season) is a very good sign.

St Elias Brewing Company will be having live music at their Third Thirsty Thursday this week. Stop by from 7 to 9 PM to hear 150 Grit.

My wife Elaine and I made one of our up-and-back-in-a-day Anchorage trips on Saturday. Nothing like thirteen hours riding in the car or shopping to really wring you out. However, I did get to stop into La Bodega for a few minutes and grab some interesting brews, like a Rogue XS Imperial Porter, a Buckin' Monk Tripel from Big Sky Brewing, and a Gouden Carolus Classic from Brouwerij Het Anker in Belgium. Haven't opened them yet, but when I do I'll let you know how they are.

On the way out of Anchorage we stopped by Arctic Brewing Supplies for some ingredients for my next homebrew (an American IPA for those of you keeping score at home), then dropped in at Midnight Sun's Loft Bar. It had been a while since my last visit and there were several new brews on that I wanted to try.

I wasn't in the mood to do a real formal tasting, but I did try three beers and here are my quick and dirty impressions. First, I had a sample of both their Second Chance Porter, an American porter with lots of roasty notes and good hoppiness; very well made with excellent drinkability. Then I tasted the Big Fish Porter, a commercial-sized version of the robust porter that won the Best of Show in the Great Northern Brewers' Homebrew Competition back in December. Also good, though I think I preferred the Second Chance.

After those two samples, I bought a glass of what I'd really come for, Midnight Sun's new Mayhem, a Belgian-style Double IPA. I gather that this will be a new year-round beer, available both on draft (currently) and in bottles (as soon as the Feds approve the label). In the glass the beer was lovely; where most of Midnight Sun's previous IPAs (Sockeye Red, CoHoHo, Gluttony) have been deep copper or darker in color, Mayhem is a beautiful deep gold. It had a nice white head, and a great hop aroma. Tasting it, you are immediately smacked by the 100 IBUs of bitterness from loads of American hops. Once your palate gets over the shock, the peppery, spicy elements from the Belgian yeast start to make themselves felt. At 8.2% ABV this beer is much too strong to be a session beer, not to mention there no way your palate could survive a sustained assault from all those IBUs. But if you're a hop head like me, you will absolutely love this beer. I can't wait for it to appear in bottles down here on the Peninsula.

Looking ahead for Midnight Sun, they will be re-releasing Brewtality, their Espresso Black Bier this Friday, 2/19. On the next First Firkin Friday, 3/5, they will be tapping a firkin of Mayhem, and the next Good Mojo Day will be 3/21. And the new food at their Loft Bar looks absolutely fabulous.

Well, that's about it for this time around. Look for a short blog next week, if there's one at all, and wish me luck in Denver. I'll try to get the word of the results out ASAP, though if I somehow manage to win, you'll probably be able to hear me yell all the way from Denver.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Absent Friends

Well, I hope you all enjoyed your Super Bowl Weekend as much as I did. Growing up in New Orleans, I never thought I'd live to see the day that the Saints won it all. This may indeed be a sign of the coming Apocalypse. Is it true that the last symbol carved into the famous Mayan calendar is a fleur-de-lys?

Thinking about my salad days in the Crescent City eventually lead me to thinking about other things from my past that are no more. This week I'm also lecturing my beer class on British beer styles, so my thoughts naturally turned to days spent in London pubs, drinking wondrous beers.

My first experience with British cask ale was in November, 1987. I was a young Lieutenant on the USS Silversides (SSN 679), and we pulled into Portsmouth in the south of England after over 10 weeks at sea. A buddy and I managed to wrangle a day's leave, so we hopped a train and headed for London. As soon as we reached London and exited the station, we stopped at the first pub and ordered a pint.

By sheer luck, it was a Young's pub.

If you've spent anytime in London, you know that their are (or were; it's been almost nine years since I last trod its dirty streets) two regional brewers: Young's and Fuller's. They both brewed excellent beers and I drank them both regularly, but Young's was my first and always remained my favorite. When wandering around London or the surrounding countryside and in doubt about where to stop for a "proper pint", one only had to keep an eye out for a sign marked with a ram, the symbol and mascot of Young's; once you saw that, you knew you were OK.

If you've never had cask-conditioned ale, then it will be hard for my words to convey to you just how wonderful it is, fresh and sparkling from the hand pump, bursting with lovely hop aroma and a bracing (but by no means overwhelming) bitterness. If you've never had any, perhaps you will get to experience it in Britain or at one of the increasing number of American brewpubs which are serving their beer on cask. I know that Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage regularly has an one of their ales on hand pump, and there may well be others in the state that I don't know about.

After that first visit in 1987, I returned to London whenever I could, trying out new pubs and breweries, until in 1998 I was stationed there. From 1998 until 2001, I lived and worked in the heart of London, walking from my flat just off Baker St. to my job at 7 N. Audley St. My local pub was The Turner Arms on Crawford St, a free house, where Nigel the landlord kept both Young's and Fuller's on. To this day I have a Young's sign hanging in my bar at home that I traded Nigel for after a long night of drinking. It was a wonderful three years.

As for Young's beers, first they had their regular bitter, which was called, unpretentiously enough, Young's Ordinary. Take it from me, it was anything but. It was wonderfully refreshing and dry, with a nice blend of fruit and hops. Then there was their Special (my usual drink of choice), a little darker in color, a little stronger in alcohol, and a little hoppier. Its bottled version is called Ramrod, after the brewery's ram mascot.

Speaking of bottled versions, Young's London Special Ale is the name given to Young's Export when it's packaged that way. This beer is one of the few true English IPAs to survive from the golden age of the mid-19th century. Bottle-conditioned, hoppy, earthy, and strong at 6.4%, for my tastes it is the finest bottled beer Britain has ever produced, hands down. Even when I lived in London, it could be hard to find; on more than one occasion, I had to have my neighborhood off-license (that's British for liquor store) special order cases for me.

In those days Young's was brewed at their Ram Brewery in the Wandsworth region of London. Located on the River Thames, beer had been brewed at that site since at least 1576. It was the oldest continually operating brewery in Britain. I toured it twice during my stint in London, and it was a magical place. They still delivered casks to near-by pubs via horse-drawn drays, with the horses (along with the brewery's namesake mascot, a ram) stabled at the brewery. The brewery itself was a mix of old and new, with fascinating pieces of industrial archaeology (like a steam engine dating from 1835) scattered about.

Unfortunately for beer lovers everywhere, Young's is a publicly owned company, so at the height of the housing bubble in Britain, the riverfront land it sat on was more valuable than the beer it produced and the history it represented. Sold off for 450 million pounds (about $800 million at the time), the brewery closed on 25 September 2006. It's to be turned into high-rise apartments and another shopping mall. Lord knows there aren't enough of those in the world.

Of course, the final irony is that due to the collapse of the housing bubble, the developers who bought the land are in financial trouble. Near as I can tell from reading news stories at a distance, they haven't even gotten final design approval, much less built anything. No telling if they ever will.

A sad end to the 430 years of brewing at the Ram Brewery.

Young's is still brewed elsewhere, but I doubt it can ever match up to what it once was. And that, my friends, is a real tragedy...

Well, enough about absent friends. Let's talk about what's here now. I saw a new beer at the local Safeway in Soldotna, one of Sam Adams' Seasonals, their new Noble Pils. My wife Elaine loves a good pilsner, so I snagged a six-pack. Poured into a classic pilsner glass, the beer is a pretty deep golden color, with a white head of dense foam. The aroma is appealing, with slight citrus and plenty of clean hop notes. The taste is a bit more complex than that of your typical pils, with each of the five noble hop varieties used (Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt, Saaz, & Hersbrucker) making their presence known. Crisp and clean on the palate, with plenty of carbonation. Very refreshing, just like a good pilsner should be. Not sure why this is their January to March seasonal; I'd think a brew like this would be more appropriate to warmer weather. Despite that, it's an excellent beer; if you're a fan of pilsners (and who isn't?), you should give it a try.

Well that's a wrap for this week. See last week's blog for upcoming beer events. By the way, if you're a fan of Alaskan Brewing's Baltic Porter (I certainly am; see my review on 11/17/2008), I have a bit of bad news. Alaskan only brews this beer once a year, in September, but they currently don't plan to brew it in 2010. It may be back in early 2011, but the folks at Alaskan aren't sure. So you might want to lay in some extra stock to tide you over. It's a great beer to cellar and should age very well.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

The March of Time

Time marches on, and the older we get, the louder we hear the clomp of its heavy boots coming up behind us.

This thought was a recurring theme during my recent visit to Anchorage for Alaska Beer Week, since several folks who knew me only through my blog commented that "you don't look much like your profile picture". Given that my old profile picture was taken almost seven years ago and shows me without a beard (or quite so much gray hair), I guess I have to concede the point.

So I have had my lovely wife Elaine take another photo of me, which should make it easier for you folks to recognize me if we happen to meet in a bar or alehouse.

In keeping with the theme of time marching on, I thought I would talk about an old, old favorite of mine, Traquair House Ale. This is an absolutely wonderful Scotch ale from the Traquair House Brewery, which is located in the oldest inhabited house in Scotland (it dates back to 1107). Until only a couple of centuries ago, every large castle or manor house would have had its own brewery on the premises. The one at Traquair House stood idle form sometime in the early 1800s until 1965, when it was discovered by the late Peter Maxwell Stuart, the 20th (!) Laird of Traquair. He restarted the brewery and managed it until his death in 1990. Now it is overseen by his daughter, Catherine Maxwell Stuart. Besides their namesake flagship brew, they also produce Jacobite Ale ( a winter warmer spiced with coriander) and Bear Ale ( Scottish ale at 5%ABV). Traquair House Ale is imported into the US by Merchant du Vin and distributed in Alaska by Specialty Imports. Locally, it's available at the Sav-U-Mor on K-Beach.

But what does it taste like? Well, it pours with moderate carbonation, producing a tan head that dissipates fairly quickly, but leaves a nice lacing on the glass. Its color is a very dark ruby or reddish-gold, and on the palate it is velvety smooth, very rich. You can taste a hint of the 7.2% ABV on the tongue, as well as the slightest suggestion of peat smoke. The finish is dry, enticing you to take another sip. Absolutely true to the style, one of the classic Strong Scotch ales in the world today.

Moving from a long-time favorite to something brand new, while I was in Anchorage I picked up a four-pack of Monk's Blood, a new beer from 21 Amendment Brewery, located in San Francisco. Previously, Alaska has seen their Brew Free or Die IPA and their Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Ale. This brewery has already made a big impression around these parts since they are producing good craft beer in cans. Given the number of folks in Alaska who love to spend time in the great outdoors, being able to enjoy good craft beer without the hassle of bottles is a big plus. Along with Oskar Blues Brewery and our own Sleeping Lady Brewery in Anchorage, 21st Amendment has been leading the can charge. I had the chance to visit their brewery/restaurant when I was in San Francisco last June; it's well worth a stop if you find yourself in the City by the Bay.

Monk's Blood is a Belgian-style dark ale, brewed with dark candi sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and dried dark figs; it's aged on oak chips to add in some woody flavors as well. I'd say it's roughly in the style of a dubbel, though its 8.3% ABV pushes it toward being a Belgian Dark Strong Ale, like the Chimay Grande Reserve or Rochefort 10. It pours a deep, rich brown, with a rocky tan head. The aroma speaks of the spices and the figs, perhaps with a touch of alcohol. On the tongue, it is gratifyingly complex, with the dark figs very evident. Perhaps a little too evident, as they make the beer seem a bit too sweet. The Amarillo hops give it a few citrusy notes, something you don't really expect for this style, but not unpleasant. It finishes slightly thin, but it is still delicious and very drinkable.

21 Amendment's website states that Monk's Blood is the first installment in their Insurrection Series, "a limited edition, once-in-a-while, four-pack release of a very special beer that rises up in revolt against common notions of what canned beer can be". I'll cry "Amen to that, brother", and I look forward to the next installment.

Some upcoming local beer events:

• Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop will be having a beer tasting at the Embassy Suites in Anchorage next Thursday, 10 Feb, from 5-8 PM. Stop by and try their Maple Porter and Caribou Kilt Strong Scotch. They will also be giving away a Kassik's jacket.
• Thirsty Thursday at St Elias Brewing Company, with live guitar and vocal folk music by Mike Morgan from 7 to 9 PM
• Midnight Sun will be tapping the first keg of this year's Fur RondyBrew, an Irish Red Ale, at the Spenard Roadhouse on Wednesday, 3 Feb, at 5 PM. The Roadhouse is even offering a dinner special to pair with the new beer.
• This Friday, Feb 5, is First Firkin Friday at Midnight Sun's Loft Bar. They'll be tapping a firkin of their Triple IPA Gluttony, dry hopped with Amarillos, at 5 PM. I made one of these events in December; they're a great time.

Finally, a couple of personal notes:

First, yours truly will be on KUDO 1080's Beer 101 Radio Program this Thursday, 4 February. The program runs from 2 to 3 PM, and I should be on for the last half hour. Tune it in or listen on-line at http://www.kudo1080.com. I'll be talking about the Peninsula beer scene and whatever else anyone who calls in wants to talk about.

Second, I just learned this week that I have been chosen as one of the three finalists for the Beerdrinker of the Year Competition, held by the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. I'll be flying down there at the end of the month for the final round of the competition, held on February 27th. The other two finalists (Phil Farrell & Logan Perkins) were both finalists in previous years and will certainly represent very stiff competition, but I'm going to go down there and do my best to represent Alaska and Alaskan beer drinkers with honor. If any of you might happen to be in Denver on the 27th, the competition is open to the public. I could use all the support I can get, as one of my competitors is a home-town boy who's bound to have lots of vocal supporters cheering him on.

Until Next Time, Cheers!