Cask Ale Comes to the Kenai

Friday, June 18th, will be a banner day in the story of good beer on the Kenai Peninsula. For the first time, at least as far as I know, ale will be served from the cask. Back on 2/8/2010, I waxed rhapsodic about how much I enjoyed good cask ale when I was living in Britain. I mentioned that it was available, at least occasionally, in Anchorage. Well, now folks in the central Kenai will get a chance to try it also.

When I stopped by St. Elias Brewing Company last Friday, Zach Henry called me back into the brewery to show me his latest acquisitions: three firkins, tw0 made of stainless and one of wood. Firkin is derived from the dutch word for a "fourth", as it holds a quarter of a standard barrel, or about 72 pints. Here's a picture:

You can clearly see the bung hole in the side, by which the firkin is filled and vented, while the tap hole on the end is located on the bottom on the cask end, rather than in the center, as on a keg. This is because a cask is set on its side to be tapped, with gravity causing the beer to flow out, rather than being forced out by carbon dioxide as in a conventional keg.

Cask ale is a much more perishable commodity than keg ale, since drawing off ale allows air to enter the cask, which eventually produces oxidized "stale" beer. So no cask can remain on service beyond a few days. However, a fresh cask ale is an absolutely wonderful experience.

According to Zach, he will be tapping the casks during their 2nd Annual Summer Solstice Festival this weekend. He plans to tap a cask of his Williwaw IPA each evening at about 7 PM. I'm not sure what his plan is for the wooden firkin of Farmer's Friend Ale.

Besides oohing and ahing over Zach's new firkins, I also tasted his latest release, Island Girl Ale. This is a "no doubter" raspberry ale, and is a pretty shade of pink, or maybe rose, in color. Coming in at 5.5% ABV, the raspberry flavor is very much in the forefront, with a nice clean finish and not much bitterness. I'm not a great fan of fruit beers myself, but I'm sure that Island Girl will be a very popular summer choice, especially with the ladies.

Zach also told me that as soon as the Brass Monkey ESB is finished, it will be replaced by his new saison, which he's very happy with. Can't wait to try it!

I also stopped in at Kenai River Brewing Company on Friday to sample their Russian River Razz, another take on a raspberry ale. This is a much more subtle take on a fruit beer. In the glass it's light gold in color, rather than pink. Tasting it, I had to hunt for the raspberries; they are there, but you do have to look for them. In fact, I seemed to perceive them best as part of the finish. At 5% ABV and 20 IBUs, it's a nice summer beer, very drinkable and thirst-quenching.

I also had some more of their latest Single Hop IPA, hopped with Saphir hops, which I reviewed this back on 5/11/2010. If you've never had the chance to taste this hop variety before, I'd suggest you swing by Kenai River and give it a try.

Finally, a couple of international beer stories caught my eye. First, a fellow blogger named Steve Williams, AKA The Beer Justice, was selected as the official London Ale Taster, which sounds pretty similar to being chosen Beerdrinker of the Year, except he gets even more money to spend on beer (1000 British pounds, to be exact). You can read the full story here. Congratulations, Steve, and welcome to the club.




Second, it seems that A-B Inbev can now have you arrested for wearing the color orange, at least in South Africa. If you had any doubt that that company has gotten way too big for its britches and needs to be broken apart, this story should remove all doubt. Remind me never to visit South Africa, either!

Well, that should about wrap things up for this week. Be sure to check out one or both of the cask tappings at St. Elias. I'll be making a quick trip to Anchorage over the weekend, so hopefully I'll be bring back some more interesting beers to review.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Hope Springs Eternal

Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always To be Blest.
---Alexander Pope

On Saturday, my lovely wife Elaine and I decided to take a little drive and visit the community of Hope, Alaska. When I say little drive, I mean little by Alaskan standard; it was 85 miles one-way. For the past six years, on every drive to Anchorage and back, we have driven past the turn-off to Hope. On most trips one or the other of us has said, "We need to go up and check out Hope sometime." Last Saturday we finally did it.

Hope is a pretty amazing place. Founded in 1899 by miners pulling gold out of Resurrection Creek, the town got its name purely by chance. After discussing what their new town would be named, the miners agreed that they would name it after the very next newcomer to arrive by boat. When young Percy Hope stepped ashore, Hope got its name. Today it's a small, quiet place, with a population of about 150 folks.

From a beer prospective, the most interesting thing about Hope is the Seaview Bar. It's located in a historic building right downtown, next to the Seaview Cafe, with which it shares a patio. It's a fabulous location, with a terrific view out across Turnagain Arm towards Bird Point. The weather was a little wet while we were there, but on a nice sunny day the patio would have been a great spot to enjoy a beer.

When Elaine and I went inside, I actually did not hold out too much hope for the beer selection. Boy, was I wrong! As you can see from the photo, they had seven taps and every one was a local Alaskan beer. Huzzah! In bottles, they had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Alaskan Amber and Summer Ales, plus the usual suspects (Bud, Miller, Coors, etc). An amazingly good selection, considering how isolated they are.

As you can see from the interior photos, the decor is pretty much pure, rural Alaska. Chatting with the young fellow tending bar, Joshua, I learned that the bar is only open noon to 11 PM from mid-May to mid-September and that they have live music on Thursday and Saturday nights. I think you can get food from the cafe next door, though we didn't actually order any.

All things considered, I had only two complaints about the Seaview Bar. One, it had no foot rail. There's a reason bars need foot rails, which I might go into in a later blog. Whenever such a rail is absent, I really miss it. Two, they need better beer glasses. I noticed that wines was served in proper wine glasses, but beers were poured into mason jars, of all things. Maybe that's part of the "Alaskan ambiance" they're trying for, but if that's the case, why not put their wines in them too? Once again, we see folks disrespecting good beer. Sigh...

Regardless of those two complaints, the Seaview Bar is a wonderful place to have a beer or three. If you find yourself in Hope, you really need to stop by and check it out.

While we were at the Seaview, I had a "jar" of Denali Brewing Company's Mother Ale (it's was excellent, by the way) and I used a new style of notebook for my tasting notes. If you're the sort of beer geek who likes to take notes on beers that you drink, check out the pocket-sized beer journals at 33 Bottles of Beer. They are very handy and much more practical to stick in your pocket than a full-size notebook.

Speaking of tasting beers, I had a Samuel Adams Double Bock, one of their Imperial Series, over the weekend. It poured a dark amber with some ruby highlights. The head was a light tan and seemed to subside fairly quickly. On the palate, it was very malt forward, in keeping with the style, with some alcohol heat. The finish was nice and smooth; good balance. This is a worthy American version of the classic German doppelbock; if you like strong, dark lagers, this is a good beer for you!

On the local scene, Kenai River continues to release one-off kegs of some of their previous efforts. Most recently it was a keg of Conglomeration, the IPA the brewed using all the hop varieties from the first year of the Single Hop IPA series. These releases never last long, so you really need to sign up on Facebook if you're interested.

At St. Elias Brewing Company, they have just released their new summer seasonal, Island Girl, a raspberry ale. There will be live music on Thursday, June 10th with Mike Morgan, from 7-9 PM. St. Elias will also be having their 2nd Annual Summer Solstice Festival, next week on the 18th and 19th of June. Look for live music on the patio, starting at 6 PM, and apparel giveaways. Elaine and I will see you there.

Over at Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop, they've got several events coming up. They'll have a beer tent at the Kenai River Festival, held at Soldotna Creek Park this weekend. Look for their Beaver Tail Blonde, Morning Wood IPA, Moose Point Porter, Gold Nugget Hefeweizen, and Dolly Varden Nut Brown Ales on tap. Their brews are also on tap at the Peninsula Oilers' ballpark; the Oilers kick off their home season this Friday. There's nothing better than taking in a good game with a hot dog and a brew, take it from me. I also hear they're down to their last keg of the Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat, so get it before it's gone.

Well, that's about it for the week. Next week I'm going to try to review the slew of summer beers that have been released locally. Hope y'all like raspberries...

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Stretching the Limits

Some things are just plain "Out There". They stretch the limits; the limits of propriety, they limits of society, even the limits of sanity. Of course, it's only by such stretching that the limits are ever expanded.

One of the main reasons I teach a class on beer is to help people stretch their personal limits, to help them expand their definition of what constitutes "beer". For far too many Americans, beer is defined by the very narrow stylistic range of American Light Lagers, exemplified by BudMillerCoors. I try to expose my students to many of the other styles of beer out there, to see the tremendous range of choices available, but there are some styles which are so "out there" that I don't spring them on my students, for fear of scaring them off.

This weekend I had a couple of brews which would certainly qualify as pushing the boundaries.

Back on June 18, 2009 I reviewed Midnight Sun's Cafe Amsterdam 10th Anniversary Dark Strong Gruit. Technically, this isn't even a beer, since it contains no hops at all. The label proudly proclaims "00 IBUs" and "no hops were harmed in the making of this beer". At the time I found it less sweet than I expected, with a nice flavor from the spices added. Last week during a stop at Sav-U Mor, I saw that they had some bottles of this for sale. I was interested to see how the passage of a year would have affected the gruit, given that hops were originally added to beer in the first place to help preserve it. How would a totally unhopped beverage fair?

When I poured the beer I noted no change in the appearance or the nose, but on the palate the difference was immediately noticeable. The fermentation process had continued in the bottle, and the beer had become quite tart over the course of a year.

Sourness is usually considered a defect today, but centuries ago, when all beers were stored in wood, sourness was pretty much an inevitable result of beer being kept for any period of time, as the microflora living in the wood would eventually add more and more sour flavors the longer the beer was kept. Many brewers blended sour old or stock ales with younger, sweeter brews to produced a desired flavor profile. This gruit was pretty sour, but still very enjoyable on its own terms. If you're interested in stretching the limits of your taste experience and want to know what most ales tasted like six or seven centuries ago, here's your chance. Snag a bottle at Sav-U-Mor and give it a taste. Just be careful: at 12% ABV, this "beer" is not to be trifled with!

After revisiting this unique beer and whetting my appetite for tart brews, I went digging in my beer refrigerator for something special and came out with a bottle of Boon's Geuze.
This beer is a lambic, a spontaneously fermented beers from Belgium. Once again, here is a style of brewing that dates back centuries, to a time before brewers understood the significance of yeast in the brewing process. Instead of being deliberately inoculated with yeast, lambics are simply exposed to the air overnight and are fermented by whatever yeasts happen to drift in. They are hopped, but where most brewers seek the freshest hops available, lambic brewers use very old hops, which have lost all their aromatic and bittering properties. They are added for their antibacterial preservative properties alone. Finally, lambics are aged, traditionally in wood, and can become quite sour after several years.

Most people's exposure to lambics is likely in the form of one to which fruit has been added. The sweetness of the fruit, traditionally cherries or raspberries, helps balance the tartness of the underlying beer. I prefer a geuze (or gueuze; spellings vary), which is a lambic without fruit. Instead, older, sourer lambic is blended with younger, sweeter beer, then bottled. The sugar in the younger beer help balance the sourness of the older component and produce a refermentation in the bottle, naturally carbonating it. This harkens back to the old technique I mentioned above, blending old and new beers to achieve the desired flavor.

The result is one of the most amazing experiences to be had in the world of beer. A sparkling, highly carbonated drink, it poured a cloudy, pale amber with a wonderful, dense and long-lasting white head. The aroma was of tart cider, very appealing. On the palate is was wonderfully light and remarkably dry, with enough sourness to make you pucker. Little malt and no hops, this beer was a classic geuze. Such beers are difficult to find, even up in Anchorage, but they represent another opportunity to stretch your beer palate.

Speaking of stretching the limits, another volley has been fired in the "strongest beer in the world" war. The Schorschbrau Brewery in German has reclaimed the title from Scotland's BrewDog with their announcement of the release a 43% ABV "beer", which tops BrewDog's 41% Sink the Bismark. Here's a graphic which shows the recent progression:


With the exception of the Boston Brewing Company's Sam Adams Utopia, all of these beers use freeze distillation to increase strength (see my blog on 3/21/2010 for a discussion of this process). While using freeze distillation has a long history with the eisbock style of beer, these newer brews have pushed the limits so far that I'm not even sure that they qualify as beer anymore. In my opinion, they are more like beer-flavored liquors than beer. I'm sure their brewers would disagree, but when you change something so fundamentally, I'm not sure you can legitimately continue to call it by the same name.

After all, you can only stretch the limits so far, before they want to snap back.

That's about it for this week. Don't forget there's live music at St. Elias every Thursday from 7 to 9 PM. It's Thumper's Credo again this week.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Sunrise Sunset

Everything in is this life comes and goes, especially beer. Like a fine meal, each batch of craft beer is a perishable commodity, a transitory phenomenon like a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Enjoy them while you can, because they won't last. Even if there is another sunset or beer just like it tomorrow, it won't be the same; there will be some subtle difference.

While I know that all good brewers strive for consistence, I think that may be one of the things which turns me off when it comes to the BudMillerCoors macrobrews: their utter sameness, both amongst each other and from one batch to the next.

Yes, I know it's a triumph of the brewer's art and modern technology, but drinking the same beer over and over again would be as boring as eating the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No matter how well-made and tasty, after a while you're bound to be sick of it. I prefer to take the risk of change, to enjoy the sunrise in the knowledge that the sunset must inevitably follow, to revel in the beer while realizing that in doing so I'm consuming the very thing I am enjoying, hastening its demise, even as I am conscious of the reality that there will never be another quite like it.

My friends Curt, Dave and I had this driven home to us last Friday when we stopped in at St. Elias Brewing Company on the way home, planning to start our respective weekends with a goblet of their Eclipse Strong Ale. However, when we took our seats at the bar, I could see that it was no longer on the chalkboard, and a quick chat with brewer Zach Henry confirmed that it was gone (along with the Winter Wheat), much to Curt's disappointment, as he has long thought it was fantastic. Imagine my chagrin when Zach suggested that my rave reviews in this blog had contributed to Eclipse's swift demise! By voicing how much I'd enjoyed drinking it, I'd hastened the day that I could no longer could do so.

So you can see why my thoughts are running the way they are. Even if Zach decides to try to make another blend like Eclipse, it will never be exactly the same. Perhaps it will be even better, but it won't be the same; from now on, the pleasure of drinking that beer will reside only in my memories...

However, for every sunset, there's a sunrise. Also on Friday Zach was just in the process of putting on this year's version of his Marathon Mild Ale. I reviewed last year's version of this beer on 6/5/2009. Zach has tweaked the recipe a bit, making the beer darker in color but even lighter in alcohol, coming in at 3.6% ABV. This is the classic session beer, the beer to have with lunch before you go back to the office or to choose when you've got a long evening ahead of you and you want to keep your wits about you. While it's low on alcohol, it's very high on taste; this darker version is even better than last year's in that area. This beer is proof positive that a beer doesn't need to be high in alcohol to be packed with flavor. If you've never had a mild before, you really need to try this beer.

Other news from St. Elias: Zach sister Jessie has brewed her first beer; look out for a raspberry ale real soon. Their outside patio is now officially open and they are still having live music every Thursday night from 7 to 9 PM. This week the band is Thumper's Credo, so either Bambi's rabbit friend is their lead singer or they've got lots of percussion...

Looking to the other breweries in the area, Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop released their latest batch of Gold Nugget Hefe last week, which is another sure sign of spring! Kenai River Brewing Company has their latest Single Hop IPA, made with Saphir hops, on tap. Doug and the lads have also been putting the occasional 5 gallon or 50 liter keg of prior IPAs on and announcing it on their Facebook page. So far we've seen Chinook and Glacier. Once the word goes out, they don't last long, so if you want a shot, you'd better "friend" them on Facebook. Assistant Brewer Joe Gilman is off to Haines for the Haines Beerfest; stay out of trouble, Joe!

And now for something completely different, as boys on Monty Python used to say. I came across this painting the other day and thought I'd share it with you.

The Ale-House Door was painted around 1790 by Henry Singleton; it's sometimes referred to as At the Inn Door. The original 10 x12 inch canvas in in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

I really enjoy the imagery: a weary traveler, his bindlestaff and tired dog at his feet, stops at the alehouse to smoke a pipe and enjoy a refreshing pint (or is it a quart?) of good English ale, served to him by the proprietress.

The quintessential English-ness of it, coupled with the sense of welcome that it seems to exude, very much appeals to me. I bet that ale tastes just delicious...

Based on the sign, it would appear that this pub is named The Bell. This was a very common pub name, thanks to a common saying of the day that "a bell speaks all languages".

Just another of the many examples of beer in art through the ages.

Well, that's about it for this week. I hope you will all enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend. Get outside, enjoy the good weather, grill some burgers and drink some good craft brews.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Yardwork + Teamwork = Good Times

Happy American Craft Beer Week! I'm celebrating by drinking good beer all week; what are you doing?

Summer comes on apace here in the Great Land. Seems everyone is busy cleaning up from winter and getting things fired up for summer. Elaine and I spent the weekend working around our yard, buying new plants then potting and planting them. If all goes well, that hard work should translate into plenty of potatoes, onions, carrots, strawberries, not to mention flowers and kitchen herbs, between now and when the snow flies again.

Yard work can really bring on a thirst, which gave me a good excuse to try three new beers, two of which represent collaborations between multiple brewers/breweries. But before I opened either of them, I opened a bottle Schlafly Oak-Aged Barlywine (2007 Vintage), produced by the St. Louis Brewery. I'd never had a Schlafly beer before and they don't distribute to Alaska. I only had this one because I'd traded some Midnight Sun brews to another beer lover in Rhode Island, and this was one of the beers he'd sent me in return.

I poured the beer out into a large 20 oz snifter; it's color was a very dark amber with a fair off-white head, which dissipated relatively quickly. The aroma was of vanilla, oak, caramel, perhaps a little chocolate. On the palate the wood became even more evident, even dominate. Finish was long and dry. The label listed the beer's stats at 10% ABV and 75 IBUs. Without the extensive wood-aging, I think this would be a fairly run-of-the-mill barleywine; the tremendous amount of wood-derived flavor components make it something else entirely. Sitting next to a roaring fire pit on my patio, looking out over the fruits of my yard work on a cool May evening, this woody brew was excellent. It's too bad I loathe cigars...


My next beer was one I've been anticipating for several months: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken's Ale. This beer was released back in mid-March, as the first in a series of four beers being brewed in collaboration between Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman and other pioneers of the craft brewing movement to celebrate SN's 30 years in business.

This particular beer was a collaboration between Ken and Fritz Maytag, the man behind Anchor Brewing in San Francisco and the godfather of American craft brewing (see my blog on is on 4/26/2010 for more on Fritz). Style-wise, it's an Imperial Stout, corked and caged into a 750ml bottle with a magnificent label.

Pouring this beer (again into a 20 oz snifter), I'm greeted with an absolutely opaque liquid, with a luscious-looking tan head. The aroma is superb, chock full of roasted coffee and dark chocolate, very inviting. The beer is just as good on the palate, rich and full bodied, with roasted malt/coffee and smooth chocolate flavors fighting it out for supremacy. The finish is quite dry, long-lasting and moreish. Hard to believe this beer is 9.2% ABV, it is so phenomenally drinkable. My only regret is that I didn't get my hands on a couple more to cellar for a few months to a few years; I suspect this beer would aged wonderfully. You probably won't be able to get your hands on any of this beer, but if you do, grab it! I know I'll be waiting for the next three beers in the series with great anticipation.

The final beer in this trio is Juxtaposition Black Pilsner, a collaboration brew between Stone Brewing Company of San Diego, CA, Cambridge Brewing Company of Cambridge, MA, and BrewDog Brewery of Fraserburgh, Scotland. Stone is justly famous for it's flagship brew, Arrogant Bastard Ale, while BrewDog is one of the new crop of European breweries inspired by the example of American craft brewers. They are earned themselves quite a bit of press notice on account of their extreme strength beers and their take-no-prisoners ad campaigns. Here's an example:




Cambridge is somewhat less well known, but during the two years I spent living outside Boston and attending MIT, they were one of my favorite haunts, with outstanding beer and food. (I especially remember how good their paella was). So when these three got together, they were bound to produce something unusual.

Juxtaposition claims to be a Black Pilsner, which is another name for schwarzbiers, a regional specialty of northern Franconia in Germany. I poured my 12 oz. bottle into another 20 oz snifter; the large, tan head produced mostly filled the glass. The aroma was an equal fight between coffee, licorice, honey, and cocoa, with some hints of alcohol (10% ABV). When I tasted it, the flavor profile was not at all like the schwarzbiers I've had in the past; it was much closer to a stout that to the black lagers I'd tasted. Roasted flavors predominated, with some hop bitterness and alcohol heat. The finish was good, with lots of lingering notes. All-in-all, it was a very unique brew, from three pretty unique breweries. There was a tremendous amount going on, and I'm still trying to decide if it was a symphony or a shambles. Guess I'll need to drink a few more to make up my mind...

In other news, the 18th Annual Great Alaska Craft and Home Brew Festival in Haines, AK will be happening on Memorial Day Weekend. I have yet to be able to make it there, but I hear it's a great time, so be there if you can. Maybe next year...

Well, that's the beer news from the Last Frontier. I hope you all enjoy American Craft Beer Week and drink lots of good craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Hints of Summer At Last!

Well, it looks like we're finally starting to see some warmer weather up here; we're staying above freezing at night and all the snow is gone. We'll be seeing mosquitoes before too much longer...

Last week we had some very nice clear days, which was good, since the Soldotna Community Playground build was in progress. I've been part of the project since they held a beer tasting last January to raise money (1/11/2010). I didn't get to help out much during the build, since last week was very busy for me in my day job at the College: graduation, two days of Campus Emergency Response Team training (pictured), and then an end of the year staff meeting & BBQ. Still, they had 800+ volunteers help out with the construction and the new playground is beautiful.

Now all we need is a beer garden built right next to it and Soldotna will be the best place to play on the Peninsula!

Besides our better weather, the other harbinger of summer is change is opening hours for our local businesses. The "official" start of our tourist season is Memorial Day Weekend, and the local establishments which cater to them are opening for the season or expanding their business hours. Last year's summer was nothing to write home about, so we're all hoping to have something better this year.

St. Elias Brewing Company has increased their opening hours. As of May 1st, they are now open from noon to 10 PM, Sunday to Thursday, and from noon to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Given how busy they've been every time I've been in there in the last few weeks, I don't know how many tourists they're going to be able to accommodate, but I guess that's a good problem to have!

Also at St. Elias, the Snow Angel Imperial Pilsner and Moose Juice Barleywine are finished, and they've been replaced by Eclipse, a blend of vanilla porter & barleywine that's spent several months in a whiskey cask. This beer was served at the Great Alaska Beer & Barleywine Festival in January, and lots of folks have been waiting impatiently for it to be on tap again. It's 9.0% ABV, 65 IBUs, and loaded with bourbon and wood-flavors. For sale in 6 oz. goblets only, it a wonderful after dinner sipper. Zach Henry tells me that he'll be making another mild ale soon; this one will be darker than last summer's wonderful Marathon Mild, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop has just re-released their Gold Nugget Hefeweizen and their Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat, so if you're hankerin' for a good wheat ale, grab your growlers and head out to Nikiski.

Over at Kenai River Brewing Company, the boys have been very busy. Their latest Single Hop IPA, made with Challenger hops, is almost gone. Their next one will be made with Saphir hops. As always, these beers serve as a great venue to showcase the qualities of specific hop varieties. Challengers are an English hop, a descendant of Goldings, first introduced in 1972. In the IPA I thought they were nice and subtle, strangely reminiscent of Chinooks. I think they only have about 5 gallons left, so be sure to grab some soon if you want any. Doug gave me a taste of the upcoming Saphir Single Hop IPA. Saphir hops are a new breed of European hop that is starting to replace the Hallertauer Mittlefrüh variety, which has become more and more susceptible to disease and pests. It shares many of the Hallertaur Mittlefrüh characteristics, which makes it very well suited as an aroma hop. In the IPA, I thought it was a little more aggressive than the Challenger, but that may be simply because the beer was younger. It's not a hop that I am very familiar with, but it seems very interesting. If you're a homebrewer or a serious hophead, you need to give this a try.

Another beer on at Kenai River is a reformulation of their Resurrection Summer Ale. Doug has added some rye malt to the wheat malt he's used in the past. The result is a little darker in color (I think) and an even better flavor, with the rye adding interesting flavor notes. At 4% ABV, this is definitely a wonderful session beer, great to have a summer party or picnic. If you've tried it in the past, be sure to taste the new version.

In other news, Oklahoma has finally legalized homebrewing, effective 1 November. Now the only states left in which brewing beer at home is still illegal are Mississippi and Alabama. Americans are still saddled with a ridiculous number of archaic and down right stupid restrictions on the purchase and consumption of alcohol, but at least we are making some progress, slow though it may be.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

National Homebrew Day

Well, I hope you enjoyed National Homebrew Day on Saturday; I know I did. I had thirteen friends and former students from my beer appreciation class over and together we brewed a batch of my Pinnacle Ale, an American IPA. Besides the brewing fun, we drank a couple of growlers of beer from Midnight Sun (more on that below) and several of my homebrews, while nibbling on some very fine cheeses. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I really enjoy events such as National Homebrew Day. I think it's incredibly important that all lovers of craft beer and homebrewing make every effort to reach out to those folks that they know and introduce them to these things we know and love. It's the only way to really grow the community of American Craft Beer.

Speaking of that, American Craft Beer Week is May 17 to 23rd. The mission of American Craft Beer Week is to encourage beer lovers everywhere to celebrate the accomplishments of America's small and independent craft brewers. So check out their website, sign the Declaration of Beer Independence, and look for an event near you, wherever you are.

I was up in Anchorage on Thursday, so on the way out of town I stopped at Midnight Sun and had those two growlers filled. For the first, I picked their CoHoHo Imperial IPA; this is a winter seasonal, so when it's gone, it's gone until next winter. It's one of my favorite brews; see my review on 10/20/2008 for details.

For the other growler, I went with the second beer in their 2010 Pop Ten Series, Gold Digger Double American Pilsner. The design thought behind this beer is very interesting; as near as I can tell, it's made exactly like an imperial pilsner, except that the classic European noble hops are replaced by American varieties. It pours a lovely clear, golden color, with a nice, white head, just like a standard Czech pilsner. It has the same clean, crisp taste on the palate, but with a much more pronounced and robust bitterness and hop aroma. A Pilsner Urquell drinker in Prague would probably say that it lacks the subtlety and delicacy of a "real" pilsner, but so what? We're brash Americans and this is one fine tasting beer. It's draft only, so look for it in Anchorage.

I also picked up a bottle of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Glissade Golden Bock. I have to admit, I haven't had the chance to drink many bocks in the last several years; it's not a very popular style with American Craft brewers. However, based on what I remember from my sojourns in Europe, Glissade seems spot-on for the style. It's a lager, of course, and brewed up from two-row European barley. German Magnum and Perle hops are used for bittering, while German Spalter and Slovenian Aurora & Styrian hops provide the finishing & aroma. Glissade pours a lovely deep gold color with a nice white head. The aroma is a nice balance of hops and malt, with neither dominating. On the palate, it has the crisp and clean taste you'd expect of a cold-fermented lager, with plenty of malt backbone to stand up to the 42 IBUs of bitterness. The beer is so well-balanced that the 6.2% ABV is not apparent; it's as easy-drinking as a beer with less than 5% ABV. This is a great beer to enjoy sitting out on the patio in the sunshine, as the last, lingering traces of winter are melting away. Another quality product from Sierra Nevada.

My final new beer of the weekend was one I had been looking forward to for a long time. Bridgeport Brewing Company's Highland Ambush Scotch Ale. I'm a sucker for a good Strong Scotch, and this one had the added feature that 33% of it had been aged in used bourbon whiskey casks and then blended with the un-aged two-thirds. First brewed in the 80's for Bridgeport's Brewpub, it was re-released in December and I've been looking to snag a bottle ever since, so I was happy to pick some up at La Bodega. (By the way, I saw on Saturday that it is now available at Fred Meyer in Soldotna, AFTER I had gone to the trouble to buy some in Anchorage. Typical.)

The beer itself poured with a slightly thin appearance, and very little head, which is not atypical for some Scotch ales. There was not a tremendous nose, but some malt was noticeable. On the palate, my first impression is that the beer was thin, almost over-attenuated. While I don't expect my Strong Scotch Ales to be as chewy as an Imperial Stout, I do look for a good backbone of unfermentables to build around. Not so with Highland Ambush. The wood aging did eventually make itself felt, though there was no discernible bourbon flavor. The finish was not bad, long and quite dry. All-in-all, not a bad beer, but not anywhere near the best Scotch ale I've ever had. I'm not sure how "wet" the whiskey barrels used were, but their impact was minimal, at least to my palate. Since they're available locally, you can try it for yourself, but I was sadly unimpressed...

Well, that's about it for now. I'll be pretty busy this week, trying to wrap up the end of the semester at my day job, but I hope to have more local beer news to report next blog.

Until Next Time, Cheers!