Summer's Racing Past

Hard to believe it's already the last week in July.  Man, where has this summer gone?  Time flies when you're busy, I guess, and this has certainly been a busy summer so far.

We're counting down to the First Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival.  The big news since last week is that Glacier Brew House has confirmed, so their beers will be pouring at the Fest along with all the other breweries I listed in last week's blog.  The Festival is August 13th, from 4 to 10 pm, and tickets are on sale at all the local breweries for $20 each.

On Wednesday, August 17th, Kinley's Restaurant in Anchorage will be hosting a 5 course gourmet dinner, accompanied by 6 beers from the Peninsula's own Kassik's Brewery.  It's $65 per person and you can check out the menu here. It sounds delicious!  Kassik's also has their Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat back on tap and their Cream Ale should be on tap at Buckets in Soldotna again by this weekend.

Speaking of festivals, La Bodega has thrown their hat into the ring with Bodega-Fest, a beer, mead, & cider tasting at Anchorage's Kincaid Park on Saturday, September 10.  Tickets go on sale on Monday, but I don't have any more details yet.  Pamela Hatzis and her crew at La Bodega are a great bunch, so this should be a real good time. I need to get back up to La Bodega soon; a certain mad doctor has started eying the beers they're holding for me behind the counter...

Over at Kenai River, Doug and the boys have gotten their new 20 barrel fermenter on-line.  Named "Daphne", she's dedicated to the production of their Sunken Isle IPA for canning.  As for when the first IPA cans will roll off the production line, a little bearded gnome told me that Kenai River has given final approval to the can artwork, so Ball should be manufacturing and shipping them anytime.  I'm hoping for canned Sunken Isle before Labor Day.  Their Beer of the Week is Honeymoon Hefe, with $8 growlers and $2.50 pints.

Speaking of coming IPAs, Gabe Fletcher at Anchorage Brewing Company reports that his Bitter Monk Double IPA is bottle-conditioning and should be ready to release "in about two weeks".  The date's not certain, since it depends on how quickly the yeast works.  He plans to bottle his third release, Love Buzz Saison, next week, so we can expect that one around Labor Day, give or take.  Given how good his Whiteout Wit was, I can hardly wait.

Over at St. Elias Brewing, it's been ridiculously busy, judging by the number of vehicles I see parked there as I go past on my way home. Yes, I do sometimes pass by without stopping for a beer...

Anyway, if you didn't get to try the Gunpowder Brown Ale that I reviewed two weeks ago, you've missed your chance, at least until they brew up another batch.  It was replaced last Friday by a new beer, their Cocoa Brown Ale.  This is another English-style brown ale that was brewed with unsweetened cocoa and hopped with Centennial and Willamette hops.  When I stopped in on Sunday to pick up a liter of it, Zach told me that it was a real b***h to filter, due to the cocoa.  In the glass it was a slightly translucent ruby-brown, with a tan head.  The aroma was of malt & caramel, no roasted or hop notes.  On the palate there was good carbonation and medium mouthfeel, with malty flavors pretty dominant.  The cocoa gradually becomes apparent, and is strongest on the finish.  It's an interesting take on a brown ale, but I think I preferred the straight Gunpowder Brown.  Perhaps I'm just not enough of a chocoholic to go for this one.

Also on tap as of Tuesday is an old favorite, Jabberwocky ESB.  I reviewed an earlier version of this beer back on 11/18/2010.  It was delicious then, so I'm very much looking forward to drinking it again.

That's the news for this week.  Let's enjoy summer while it lasts and drink some good beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Things Are Different in Alaska

Hello, neighbor!

I think that sometimes folks up here forget just how different it is living in Alaska.  Then something happens to remind you, like looking out of your window and seeing a rather large brown bear in your front yard.  Or you read a newspaper story like this one in the Anchorage Daily News: Rural Police Target Possession of Home-brew Ingredients.  Yes, you can get arrested in certain dry villages in Alaska for the mere possession of yeast and sugar.  Most folks probably don't realize that Prohibition still lives on in some places in these United States.

I found the timing of this article particularly interesting, as I had just watched a preview on the local PBS station for the next documentary from Ken Burns, Prohibition, which will begin on Sunday, October 2, of this year.  It's based on Daniel Okrent's excellent book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (see my review on April 5, 2011).  If there's one thing we should have learned from that "Noble Experiment", it's the futility of government trying to keep people from getting something they really, really want, be it alcohol, drugs, or whatever.  But obviously plenty of folks still haven't learned that lesson, hence the reality that you can be arrested in certain places in this state for owning too many baking supplies, while criminals are making fistfuls of money bootlegging $20 bottles of vodka into dry villages and selling them for $500, and the State Troopers demand more tax dollars from the rest of us to try to stop them.  So if you like to imbibe alcohol in any form (and I assume you do if you're bothering to read a beer blog), I suggest you make plans to watch that documentary.  "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."-- George Santayana.

On a more pleasant note, plans for the First Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival continue to advance.  I attended another planning meeting last Thursday, and everything looks to be on track for an absolutely fabulous time.  Here's a partial list of the bands who will be playing:

Ever Ready

Bull Don and the Moose Nuggets

Curtis Hahn

Robert Pepper

Robb Justice and Diggin Roots

In addition to the breweries (Alaskan, Denali,  Kassik's, Kenai River, Midnight Sun, Moose's Tooth, Sleeping Lady, & St. Elias), Bear Creek Winery, and Celestial Meads who will all be there pouring their individual products, Specialty Imports will also be offering several great beers from outside Alaska in bottles.  Not to mention that I and my friends will be manning the Kenai Peninsula Brewing & Tasting Society table, offering samples of home brew from our members.  This is looking to be a super exciting event, so pick your tickets up in advance at any of our local breweries and mark your calendar for Saturday, August 13, from 4 to 10 PM.

On the local beer scene, the reds are in, which means we're overrun with dipnetters from Anchorage and points north.  As annoying as this is for those of us trying to get from Point A to Point B around here, it's good news for our local establishments.  Every time I drive by St. Elias, their parking lot is full to overflowing, and I suspect Kenai River and Kassik's have probably seen their business spike as well.  

Speaking of business spikes, Kenai River is looking to hire a Saturday employee.  If you'd like to pick up some weekend work and you're at least 21 years of age, stop by and fill out an application.  You can grab some Naptown Nut Brown while you're there; it's the beer of the week, with $8 growlers and $2.50 pints.

Kassik's Brewery shipped out another 1800 bottles of their Morning Wood IPA to Anchorage yesterday, so if you live in the big town and wants some, it should be hitting the shelves anytime.

A-B InBev just announced another round of 3% to 5% across the board price increases, after a 3.4% drop in shipments last quarter.  This is the third such increase in the last year.  Every time their sales volume drops, they increase prices by about the same amount.  See, kids, that's how you keep profits up even as fewer and fewer folks buy your product.  Just another reason to drink local craft beer...

Alaskan Brewing has announced a new upcoming release to celebrate their 25th anniversary: Perseverance Ale, a Russian Imperial Stout, brewed with fireweed honey and birch syrup, coming in at 9% ABV.  I think it's way cool they're making this one with some unique Alaskan ingredients. Sounds delicious, and it should be released in September, so watch for it.

Well, that's about it for this week.  Sorry that I don't have any new beer reviews, but I guess I've spent the last week finishing off some six packs, growlers, and what not of brews that I had already reviewed.  I will say that it's been great to have Midnight Sun's Sockeye Red IPA on hand in 12 oz cans.  Sometimes a 22 oz. bomber is just a little more beer than you want in one session, so having the 12 oz. option is very nice.  Hopefully I'll have a new beer or two for next week.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Summer Time, and the Livin' Is Easy...

 It's been a busy couple of weeks since I last sat down to write something for this blog, both for me personally and for the Alaska beer scene.  As I mentioned in my last blog, my daughter Liana and her fiance Jim came up for a visit, plus Independence Day and other events, so all that has kept me hopping.  So let's see if I can get caught up here.

Since Jim & Liana were due in to Anchorage at 5 AM on Thursday, Elaine and I drove up there Wednesday afternoon and spent the night.  I realize it's a bit of a departure from my usual subject matter, but it's my darn blog so I'm going to take the liberty to talk about where we went for dinner that night: Jimmy's New York-Style Sushi Restaurant at 301 E. Dimond Blvd.  I had seen the sign on previous Anchorage trips and --like just about everyone else-- wondered what "New York-style" sushi could be.  Then I read a very positive review of the place in The Anchorage Press, one which mentioned that they actually had an "all-you-can-eat" sushi deal for $35.  Given how much I love sushi and how expensive it is, I had to give that a try.

When Elaine and I walked in, the place was empty, and it stayed that way the entire time we were there.  On the plus side, this meant we got exquisite service, both from our waiter and from the owner, Jimmy Zhou, behind the sushi bar.  I negelected to snap pictures of most of the beautiful and delcious platters we enjoyed, until a couple at the very end.

Lightly grilled white tuna with sauce

A pickled seafood salad

Everything, including Elaine's chicken teriyaki, was outstanding.  It's amazing to me that this place isn't absolutely packed with folks.  If you're in Anchorage and you like sushi, head to Jimmy's, give them your 35 bones, and prepare to be stuffed with amazing dishes.

After dinner we headed over to Cafe Amsterdam.  It was also almost empty (due to good weather and the parking lot repaving going on right outside their door, I guess), so we settled on a couple of stools.  Looking over the chalkboard, I noticed they had a beer listed called Green Devil, from Midnight Sun.  Not having heard of it before, I asked the bartender about it.  He told me that it was a collaboration between Green Flash Brewing Company of San Diego, CA and our own Midnight Sun.  It's Midnight Sun's Arctic Devil Barleywine that's been hopped using the hop schedule for Green Flash's Barleywine.  Intrigued, I had a glass.  It's Arctic Devil heritage is immediately apparent, with the big maltiness, strong alcohol, and plentiful wood-aged notes that I associate with that superb barleywine.  However, it had a much more assertive hop character, with the citrus and piney notes that I've picked up in other Green Flash beers.  It was a very interesting hybrid, though personally I think I prefer the original Arctic Devil.  I don't know how long it will last, so swing by Cafe A and form your own opinion.

Gabe's new space

The next day my future son-in-law Jim and I dropped in on Gabe Fletcher at the Anchorage Brewing Company.  Things were in a bit of disarray, as Gabe was getting ready to expand into a newly completed space.  I forgot to ask the square footage, but it looked to me like it will be about the same size as Gabe's current work area, i.e. the area not filled with barrels.  He said he plans to use it to bottle condition his brews and for storage.  We also got to look at his amazing $150k Italian bottling machine; it does just about everything except drink the beer for you.

German Vat

Critters!

While he's got the rest of the year already planned out pretty well, Gabe's also thinking about the future.  He plans to start experimenting with sour beers and has purchased a huge German wood vat to use in the effort.  However, the most important ingredient in making sour beer is the bacterial cultures used, and Gabe has imported the finest "critters" available.  He's obtained a sample from Vinnie Cilurzo at Russian River Brewing Company, the undisputed "King of Critters".  I snapped photos of both the vat and the keg full of Vinnie's pets that will soon be making their home there.  Besides sour beers, Gabe is also thinking about releasing some "draft-only" brews next years as well.

On the way out of town, we stopped by Midnight Sun to pick up a couple of growlers.  The place was busy as always, this time with Marines in dress blues loading up on cases of Sockeye Red IPA in cans. That was June 30th and they had just finished their first canning run.  As of today, it's made its way down to various stores here on the Kenai (Country Liquors, Three Bears, maybe more). So now we all have another choice for beer in cans.

Speaking of IPAs in cans, Kenai River continues their slow and steady march toward canning their Sunken Isle IPA.  On Tuesday, July 5th, their new 20 barrel fermenter arrived at the brewery.  They're still waiting on the cans to arrive, but in another few weeks we should have one more canned IPA to choose from.  They also have their Breakfast Beer and Naptown Brown back on tap, and this week's special is Hoppin' Salmon Wheat, with $8 growlers and $2.50 pints.

Another reason to stop by our local Peninsula breweries is to pick up tickets for the First Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival, which are now on sale.  The Soldotna Rotary is organizing this event on Saturday, August 13th, from 4 to 10 PM, at 37661 Kenai Spur Hwy (the old Glacier Pontiac Dealership).  Tickets are $20 and get you in the door, plus a commemorative glass and three 8 oz. samples.  Additional sample tickets will be on sale for $3 each.  There will be two stages with live music for the entire time, plus food for sale.  Attendance is limited, so get your tickets before they sell out!  As I said, they're on sale at all our local breweries, and posters should be here soon.

St. Elias Brewing Company has a new beer on, Gunpowder Brown Ale. It's in the style of a Northern English Brown Ale, rather than the sweeter (and much rarer) Southern English Browns.  It pours  a semi-translucent brown with a nice cream-colored head. The aroma is primarily of malt and caramel, without any discernible hop aroma. Carbonation is good, with excellent mouthfeel.  The beer leads off with malt, then a slight amount of roastiness makes itself apparent.  Hops are just here for balance, so we're not looking at an overly hoppy brown.  Alcohol is about 5.6%ABV, so this beer is quite drinkable.  In fact, it reminds me of a stronger version of their much-loved (by me, at least) Marathon Mild from summer 2009.  Another delicious brew from Zach Henry & company at St. Elias.

Tapping the IPA

The usual suspects

St. Elias was also kind enough to host the July party for the Kenai Peninsula Brewing  & Tasting Society on Sunday, 10 July.  Since the weather gods cooperated for once, we were able to party on their outside patio.  Zach was generous enough to donate some pizza and a cask of his Williwaw IPA that had been dry hopped with Falconer's Flight, a proprietary blend of hops from HopUnion.  As usual, both the pizza and beer were excellent.  Several members also brought in excellent homebrews and ciders; at this rate, I am looking forward to seeing several of our members winning medals in upcoming homebrew competitions.  If you live around here and are interested in brewing or just drinking good beer, the Kenai Peninsula Brewing & Tasting Society is probably worth your looking into.  And I'm not just saying that because I'm the President of it.

Interspersed with all this, I did get the chance to try a couple of new beers.  I wrote in my last blog about Midnight Sun releasing their new Bangalore Double IPA, part of their 2011 World Tour series.  This beer is now out in 22 oz. bombers, as well as on draft, so I snagged some when I was in Anchorage.  As you can see in the accompanying picture, it poured a lovely clear copper, with a big off-white head and nice lacing.  The aroma was full of hops, as you'd expect from an 85 IBU DIPA, but there was also the notes of the Indian spices used.  On the palate, it initially presents as a classic Double IPA, with massive hop bitterness up front, but then the spice elements begin to creep in, especially toward the finish.  There's a touch of alcohol heat from the 9.5% ABV as well.  The spices are used with restraint and subtlety, but they are definitely there.  All-in-all, this beer really wasn't to my taste, but I once again applaud Midnight Sun for their willingness to push the envelope and try something new.  If you're a hophead who  really loves Indian food, this might be the perfect brew for you.

While in Anchorage I also picked up another beer from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City.  I've been impressed with there other brews, so anytime we get a new one up here in Alaska, I'm eager to try it.  This time around the beer was their Two Jokers Double Wit.  Given that wit beers are traditionally fairly low strength beers, meant to be refreshing thirst quenchers, a double wit is almost an oxymoron, like an imperial mild.  Still, the guys at Boulevard generally know what they're about.  It poured a cloudy gold with an absolutely huge head that dissipated fairly quickly (a Duvel-style tulip is a good glass choice for this beer).  The aroma was of spices and citrus, with perhaps a touch of wild sourness?  On the palate, the beer was surprisingly light for its 8% ABV.  The spices and citrus were still there, along with the hint of wildness.  Very refreshing and a wonderful pairing for a salad or some halibut cooked simply with herbs and butter.  Very nice and a perfect summer beer.

Well, that's about it for now.  Look for a blog next week, as I'm back in the groove now.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

P.S.  I just realized that Sunday, 10 July marked the third anniversary of my starting this blog.  Sure doesn't seem like it's been three years.  Thanks again to everyone for your interest, and I hope we'll all be here next year.  

Things Are Looking Up

The weather's warmer and drier, and Independence Day is right around the corner.  Thing's are looking up!  I've got a fair amount of news to cover this week, so I'm going to dive right into it.

The First Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival now has its own Facebook page.  That's probably the best place to keep up with new developments for it.  Tickets will be going on sale any day now at the local breweries, and it wouldn't surprise me if they sell out, so don't delay too long in getting yours.  Admission will be $20, which gets you a commemorative sample glass and three 8 oz pours.  Tickets for additional 8 oz pours will be available for $3 each.  The Fest will be held at the old Glacier Pontiac Dealership at 37661 Kenai Spur Hwy in Soldotna from 4 to 10 pm on Saturday, August 13th.  I'll see you there!

Second, Amy Hogue, the wife of Kenai River Brewmaster Doug Hogue was hospitalized over the weekend with appendicitis.  At last word she was doing well and should be out of the hospital soon, but I know we all will keep her in our thoughts and prayers.  Feel better soon, Amy.

Dr. Fermento hard at "work"

Third, the dean of Alaskan beer writers, James "Dr. Fermento" Roberts, paid us a flying visit on Saturday afternoon.  I hooked up with him at St. Elias Brewing Company to have a couple of beers and generally chew the fat on the local beer scene.  Jim was in town for a Peak company picnic up in Nikiski, and was happy to report that after years of his prodding, the organizers finally served Kassik's brews rather than generic macros at the event.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Jim's work, he writes the Alaska beer column for The Celebrator, a national beer newspaper.  He also has a weekly beer column in The Anchorage Press, and a weekly blog on the KTUU website, Last Frontier Beer.  He just got back from attending Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp.  Finally, he writes a semi-weekly PDF blog that he emails out to anyone who signs up (send him an email at jroberts@peakalaska.com to be added to the list).  Oh, and he's the President of the Brewers Guild of Alaska, too.  Knowing how hard it is to keep up with just this blog and a monthly column, I honestly don't know where he finds the time, but somehow he does.  So if you want to stay abreast of the Alaska beer scene, Jim's da man.

Medusa

While talking things over, we drank goblets of Zach Henry's latest creation, Medusa. This beer was brewed at 10% ABV, then after primary fermentation was complete, it was put into oak barrels that had held white wine, along with fresh apricots, for aging and a secondary fermentation.  The result is indeed a monster of a beer;  it may not turn you to stone, but a couple of these will definitely get you stoned!

In the glass, it's a cloudy honey color with a small white head, as you can see from my amateurish attempt to photograph it.  The aroma was extremely rich and complex, with every aspect of the beer detectable.  I could pick up the apricots, the white wine, the oak, plus the underlying malt and hops of the base ale.  On the palate this beer was quite light for its strength, and had a nice, fairly dry finish. This is a brew that can well be called "dangerously drinkable", as it hides its high alcohol content extremely well.  Another delicious barrel-aged offering from St. Elias.

I stopped at St. Elias on Friday night as well, for a little relaxation at the end of the work week.  I had a pint of the year's version of their Sunfire Saison.  It's very similar to last year's (see my 8/22/2010 review), except that Zach has dialed the alcohol back a bit.  Last year's was 6.4%, while this year's is 6%.  Chatting with Zach, he told me that he wanted folks to be able to have more than one, hence the strength reduction.  Personally, I like the change.  The beer is just as tasty as it was last year, and that much more drinkable.

Up in Anchorage, Midnight Sun has released a new beer, Bangalore Double IPA, on draft and in 22 oz. bottles.  This is the first beer in their 2011 World Tour series.  It uses a mix of various Indian curry spices, and comes in at 9.5% ABV and 85 IBUs.  I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet, but I hope to soon.  Reports are the spices are fairly subtle and the overall effect is nice.

Midnight Sun will also be releasing their Sockeye Red IPA in cans beginning early next month, and will be at the Kenai Peninsula Beer Fest in August.  Also, mark your calendars for 11/11/2011: they will be tapping the very last keg of their Good Mojo Sour Brown Ale at the brewery on that date.  I was lucky enough to get a growler of this beer when it was first released and it was/is superb.  If you're a sour beer fan, you shouldn't miss your last shot at this one.

I tasted another new beer over the weekend: Ommegang Brewing's Belgian-style Pale Ale, or BPA for short. This beer is brewed using their Belgian house yeast but two of the three hops used are classic American varieties. Columbus hops are used for bittering, then three additions of Celeia hops for aroma, followed by dry hopping with Cascades.  The resulting beer weighs in at 6.2% ABV and is an interesting hybrid between the two brewing regions.  It poured a beautiful gold in color, with an absolutely tremendous white head.  The aroma clearly showed its mixed heritage, with spicy, peppery, earthy Belgian yeast notes, yet classic Cascade aromas from the dry-hopping.  On the palate, it was similar, with Belgian elements blending with the bitterness and hop flavors from the Northwest hops varieties.  Outstanding carbonation and a nice, light mouthfeel.  A lovely summer beer, I had mine with a BBQ pork sandwich and it complimented it nicely. Another excellent brew from the folks at Ommegang.

Well, that's about it for this week.  The forecast for next week's blog looks a bit iffy; my daughter and her fiance will be in town, so between that, Independence Day, and my 49th birthday, I'm liable to be a bit too busy to get anything out.  So enjoy the respite from my meanderings and drink some good craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Summer Solstice 2011

What's the solstice?

It's Summer Solstice time again here in Alaska.  When you live in a place with such extreme changes in its day-night cycle, the solstices, both winter and summer, are truly something to celebrate.  You have to loose something to truly value it, so daylight is something we never take for granted up here on The Last Frontier.  In December, we celebrate that the days will (finally!) start getting longer, while in June we celebrate that they have gotten as long as they can.

For our breweries here on the Kenai, this time of year means all-out production, trying to keep up with the surging demand from the tourists visiting our fair state.  Still, as busy as everyone is, I have a few snippets of news:

Kenai River's Beer of the Week is Skilak Scottish.  $8 growlers and $2.50 pints.

St. Elias Brewing will be releasing their Sunfire Saison again any day now (see my review of last year's version on 6/22/2010).  This was a wonderful beer and I'm looking forward to trying it again.  Zach reports that he'll be replacing his Pipedream Rauchbier with a brown ale (no name yet).  There will be another cask-conditioned beer tapped on First Thursday, 7 July, at 7 PM. LATE ADDITION: The Sunfire Saison is on tap now, along with Medusa, "a monstrous ale fermented with apricots then aged in Oak White Wine Barrels". ABV is about 10%, so watch your step!

Kassik's reports that their Imperial Spice Honey Wheat is about gone, to be replaced by their Big Nutz Imperial Brown.  They are also thinking of bottling their Otter Creek Amber next, though they will likely change its name.

Anchorage Brewing Company, Gabe Fletcher's new brewery, has released its first beer, Whiteout Wit.  I missed the release party at the Snow Goose in Anchorage on 6/19, but managed to score a couple of bottles at La Bodega the day before.  As a reminder, all of these beers will be barrel-aged and triple-fermented (primary, barrel, & bottle-conditioned).  They'll all be released exclusively in 750 ml corked bottles.

Click to enlarge.

Whiteout Wit poured a lovely light gold in color, absolutely crystal clear, and with a massive white head.  This beer is perfect in an over-sized tulip glass (AKA a Duvel-style one), to give room for this huge head.  Most wits are slightly cloudy, due to the wheat in the mash, but not this one.  The aroma was very enticing: Spiciness, both from the yeast used and the actual addition of spices (coriander and peppercorns), and lemon-citrus notes, both from the use of lemon peel and Sorachi Ace hops.  When I tasted it, the first thought that came to mind was "effervescence"; the beer is beautifully carbonated and wonderfully light on the palate.  The flavor notes from the lemon and the spices blend beautifully with the woody notes from aging in French Oak Chardonnay barrels and the touch of tart funkiness from the secondary fermentation with brettanomyces.  The brett notes are extremely well-balanced and totally integrated into the overall flavor profile, really becoming apparent only on the long finish.  In summary, this beer is another masterpiece from Gabe Fletcher.  I don't think I've ever had a beer that would be a better choice for a warm, summer's day, or as an aperitif before a fine dinner, or as an accompaniment to a nice salad.  Run, don't walk to buy this beer.  At less than $9 a bottle, it's ridiculously reasonable, and if you're in to beer trading, this stuff will be worth its weight in gold (or at least in beers from the East Coast).  Once again, I have to tip my hat to Gabe.  Well played, sir, well played.  I can't wait to taste the next beer that emerges from his creative genius.

So long, old friend!

While I was in Anchorage I took the opportunity to snap up all the Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter that I could afford.  I love this beer (see my review on 7/31/2008), but Flying Dog has joined the long list of breweries (Dogfish Head, Great Divide, Avery, Left Hand Brewing, etc) that have decided to pull out of the Alaska market.  I realize we're a small market and pretty far away, but it's sad that we'll be losing access to even more great beers.  Guess we'll just have to drink even more of the wonderful beers that are brewed by Alaskans for Alaskans.

While it's unfortunate that Flying Dog is pulling out, I'm happy to report that other breweries are starting to filter into Alaska.  Case in point, Boulevard Brewing Company from Kansas City.  I've written about their outstanding brews, usually when I was able to taste them on my travels or I picked up a bottle and brought it back to Alaska.  However, we're now starting to see their beers put in an appearance in the stores up here.  I'm still waiting to see some of their Tank 7 Farmhouse Saison (reviewed on 9/27/2010) or their Dark Truth Imperial Stout (3/9/2011) but many of their other brews are available in Anchorage, especially The Sixth Glass (8/2/2010).  This is a really exceptional quadrupel and I'm very happy that Alaskans now have access to it.

I did pick up another beer in Anchorage: Brasserie D'Achouffe's McChouffe Belgian Brown Ale.  I decided to give this a try after tasting their collaboration Ommegang last month, Gnomegang.  McChouffe is ostensibly their take on a Scotch Ale, which is probably my favorite style of beer, so...

It poured a dark, translucent ruby-brown, with a nice off-white head.  The aroma had the spicy, earthy notes that scream "Belgian yeast" to me, plus some caramel sweetness.  On the tongue it delivered a medium mouthfeel, with good carbonation.  Malt was in the foreground, as you'd expect from the style, but it was backed up with some spiciness from the yeast.  The finish was nice, but not terribly long, and I did not pick up any of the smokiness that I (though not everyone) like in this style.  All-in-all, a good beer, but not one I'd go out of my way to have again.  I'll have to try some of their other brews again and write formal reviews, as I remember them as being more impressive.

Well, that's about it for now.  As we all know, summer in Alaska is always much too short a season.  So let's get outside and enjoy it (with a beer in hand) while it lasts.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

The Sky is Crying

Kassik's 5th Anniversary Party

There's a wonderful blues song by the late, great Elmore James by that title.  It's first line is: "The sky is cryin'.  Can't you see the tears roll down the street?"  Well, for the last week here on the Kenai, the answer to that question has too often been "Yes".  In other words, we've gotten quite a bit of rain, and we're getting more of it today.  I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow, when my lovely wife Elaine will be manning her tent at the Soldotna Wednesday market.  But we bought a propane heater on Saturday, just in case...

Click to enlarge.

The dreary weather didn't put a damper on the 5th Anniversary Party at Kassik's Brewery on Saturday.  Elaine and I managed to stop by around 1 PM and things were in full swing.  The Couzins were playing some great tunes, lots off good beer was being poured, and Carroll Martin of Diamond M Ranch was dishing up some delicious BBQ.  All-in-all, it was a grand affair.  Additionally, the labels for their Caribou Kilt Wee Heavy Scotch Ale came in, so bottles are now on sale at the brewery and will be going out today to their distributor, which means they will be on local shelves very soon.  More good news:  Kassik's Dolly Varden Nut Brown Ale is also being released in bottles today.


Last Thursday evening, St. Elias Brewing Company continued their First Thursday tradition of tapping a cask-conditioned beer.  I'd missed the last two tappings and darn near missed this one, thanks to construction delays on the Sterling Highway.  When I walked into the place, Zach Henry was just setting the cask up on the bar and getting it ready to tap.  I walked over to get a picture, at which point Zach announced that I would be the guest tapper that evening.  Despite all the time I've spent hanging around in bars, this was a first for me.  Here are a few of photos (courtesy of Brandi Kerley), so you can see how it went:

Safety brief from Mr. Henry before conducting the evolution.

Lining up the mallet with the spigot.

Looks like we have penetration.

All done.  Someone hand me a glass.

It was a lot of fun, and I recommend you give it a try if the chance ever presents itself.  But what about the beer?  It was a Puddle Jumper Pale Ale, dry  hopped with 4 ounces of East Kent Goldings.  It had the same wonderful, creamy carbonation that's the hallmark of cask-conditioning.  Very nice.

St. Elias has another new beer on tap: Lucid, a Belgian Pale Ale that was barrel-aged for over a year.  It poured a cloudy honey color, with a small, fast-dissipating head.  The aroma was of hops and some woody notes.  It was nice and light on the palate, with good hop bitterness, then with a nice woody tang on the finish.  This beer wasn't aged in a "wet" bourbon cask, so you should expect no whiskey; it's just wood.  At 5.7% ABV, it's much more sessionable than the usual barrel-aged offerings from St. Elias.

On the debit side of the ledger, the much beloved Tin Hat has finally gone; my friend Curt and I got a couple of goblets on Friday, and were sitting at the bar as the keg blew.  It will be missed.

Over at Kenai River Brewing, the march towards their second canned offering continues.  They've just brewed a triple batch of their Sunken Isle IPA, and I can't wait to grab a six-pack of that next month to take out on the river.  This week's beer special is Arctic XPA, at $8 a growler or $2.50 a glass.

Besides the Lucid reviewed above, I didn't get to try any new brews this week, as I was too busy drinking old favorites.  Among them, I had a nice bottle of Anchor Brewing's Porter; it's a beer I've been drinking for about 25 years, and it's still amazing.  Last month it was on draft at The Back Door Bar in Kenai.  I don't know if it still is, but if so, it's worth the trip.  If not, you can find it at Save-U-More or Country Liquors.

Well, that's about it for this week.  Cross your fingers for some better weather; we need some sunshine!

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Summer Time?

It's the 1st of June and it's raining here on the Kenai; I really hope this isn't indicative of how this summer is going to go.  Sunny and dry is what we're looking for, not rainy and cool.

Our local breweries continue to make progress.  Kassik's Brewery now has their award-winning Caribou Kilt Wee Heavy Scotch Ale on tap.  They've also got a bunch bottled, but they are still waiting on the labels to come in.  Hopefully they'll be heading out the door early next week to Anchorage and other points around the state.  Kassik's also has their 5th Anniversary Party this Saturday from noon to 5 pm.  There will be beer, food, and live music, with all proceeds going to benefit the Food Bank, so cross your fingers for good weather and stop by if you can.  I'll see you there.

Thanks to continued expansion, Doug Hogue at Kenai River Brewing has taken an official leave of absence from his "regular" job as a teacher to become a full-time brewer.  Now their brewhouse can be operated two shifts a day, rather than one, which should help out with production.  There's another 20 bbl tank on the way, which will be dedicated to producing Sunken Isle IPA for canning, following up the big success of Skilak Scottish in cans.  Best estimate now is for the canned IPA to be available in July.  The only fly in the ointment is that because they're so busy meeting demand, Doug and the boys haven't had a chance to brew any more of their one-off beers, like a new Single Hop IPA. They do have their new Hoppin' Salmon Wheat (review below), and they're running a special all week on their Pillars Pale Ale, $8 growlers and $2.50 pints.

At St. Elias Brewing, tomorrow is another First Thursday.  I haven't heard any details, but there should be  the tapping of another cask-conditioned beer at 7 PM.  I've missed the last couple for various reasons, so I'm really hoping to be able to stop by. Late Addition: The cask beer will by Puddle Jumper Pale Ale, dry-hopped with East Kent Goldings.  Mother's Milk Irish Stout is back on tap, along with Lucid, a 100% barrel-aged Belgian Pale Ale.

Looking further afield, Midnight Sun Brewing up in Anchorage just celebrated their 16th anniversary.  They too are expanding, picking up warehouse space around the corner to house their barrels for wood-aging.   it shouldn't be much longer before we see the first of their canned beers, Sockeye Red IPA and Kodiak Brown, show up on local shelves.

Meanwhile, down in Juneau, Alaskan is re-releasing their Raspberry Wheat Beer (reviewed 6/22/2010), the summer entry to their Pilot Series.  This mean their Imperial IPA won't be on the shelves much longer, so if you want to try it, you'd better grab it now.

Turning to beer reviews, thanks to the generosity of folks coming up here to visit, I got to try beers from two different Michigan breweries that don't distribute to Alaska.  The first beer was an Oberon Ale from Bell's Brewery.  Bell's is a very highly regarded brewery located in Kalamzoo, Michigan, and has a pretty limited distribution.  Oberon Ale is their summer beer, in the American Wheat style, and comes in at 5.8% ABV.  It poured a cloudy gold with a nice, white head.  The aroma was bright, with mild citrus notes.  The carbonation was excellent, with a nice smooth mouthfeel.  Hops are restrained, just there for balance, making for a refreshing and thirst-quenching brew. An outstanding summer beer, perfect when you're looking to cool off.

I was even more excited to try the other beer, a Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale from Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  As a huge fan of the Strong Scotch or Wee Heavy style, I couldn't help but hear tales of this excellent example of that style, but this was my first ever chance to actually taste it myself.  It poured a deep ruby-brown in color, with a big cream-colored head.  The aroma was rich with sweet malt, caramel, and hints of peat smoke.  On the palate the beer was equally big and complex, tons of sweet malt, but also a significant hop presence (50 IBUs) and just enough smoky peat.  The finish is long and complex, with a touch of alcohol heat from the 8.5% ABV.  This is an absolutely outstanding Strong Scotch and I am so happy that I finally got to taste it.  My only regret is that I can't get anymore of it or any of the other great beers Founders Brewing Company makes.  Well, maybe someday...

Finally, let's talk about Kenai River Brewing's new Hoppin' Salmon Wheat.  This is another American Wheat Ale in style, but as you can guess from the name, it's for folks who like hops.  However, it's actually not a very bitter beer; instead, the focus is on hop flavor and aroma.  It pours a cloudy honey color, with a big off-white head.  The nose is heavy with the citrus/grapefruit notes that scream American hops.  It's very light on the tongue, with plenty of good carbonation and a tremendous amount of hop flavor, but, as I said above, not a ton of bitterness.  The relatively low level of hop bitterness greatly improves the "sessionablity" of this beer, i.e. you can drink plenty of it without wrecking your palate.  I finished a liter of it by myself in the course of watching the Mariners beat the Yankees, and found the last glass just as easy-drinking as the first, which would not have been the case with a 60 or 70 IBU IPA.  This is the summer beer for you hopheads out there; light and refreshing, but loaded with hop flavor and aroma. Very nice.

Well, that's about it for this week.  Let's all hope for some better weather in the coming days, so we can get out in the sun and work up a thrist for some good, local craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!