A Quick Trip to SoCal

So no blog last week.  That's because I was actually in Southern California (or on airplanes flying there and back) for most of last week.  I needed to attend some training for my day job in Irvine on Thursday and Friday, so my wife Elaine and I flew down on Wednesday and back on Sunday.  Once I finished my training at 5 PM on Friday, visiting breweries moved to the top of the agenda.

Southern California seems to have an extremely mature craft beer culture.  For example, Thursday evening we went out to dinner at a chain seafood place, McCormick & Schmick's.  It's evidently quite a large chain, though not one I'd ever heard of.  Anyway, looking at the menu, I noticed the front page was food, while the back page was wine.  Bracing myself for the usual disappointment, I asked the waiter about beer choices.  He returned a few moments later with an entirely separate menu, listing their quite extensive bottle and draft choices, as well as tasting notes and suggested food pairings!  Then he pointed out the line of ales brewed on-site.  Color me impressed!  Some of the "fine dining" places in Alaska could learn a lot from this California chain restaurant.

The Bruery Tasting Room

Friday night we drove up to The Bruery, a few miles north of Irvine.  By "drove", I mean we crawled through bumper-to-bumper LA traffic for 90 minutes to go less than 10 miles.  Living in Alaska, one forget the madness that is California driving...

Click to enlarge

Anyway, when we arrived at around 6:30, the tasting area was busy and the food truck parked outside was doing a brisk business.  I ordered a goblet of their Mischief, a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. After all that traffic, I needed something with a little kick and the 8.5% ABV Mischief fit the bill perfectly.  It was a beautiful clear gold with an excellent white head and good lacing, as you'd expect for the style.  Besides the hops, I was sure that I was picking up some brett on the nose, but the server swore that there was no brett in it.  They do make a bottled version with brett, called Mischief Gone Wild, but he said their regular version had none.  Carbonation was excellent, hoppiness superb, and the beer was amazingly fresh, of course.  As good as the beers from The Bruery that I have tasted in the past were, they didn't have the kind of freshness you get drinking them at the source.  A superb beer from an excellent brewery.

By now, Elaine and I we starving, so we took some advice from the server about where to head for food and made our way to Old Town Orange County to a gastropub called The Haven.  We found the place without much trouble, but we hadn't reckoned on it being a Friday night in CA and weren't interested in waiting 45 minutes for a table.  So headed back through the streets of Old Town, looking for a place to eat without having to wait.  We eventually ended up at a BBQ joint, one that served up a delicious rack of St. Louis-style ribs.  As luck would have it, right across the street was The Bruery Provisions, a combination of a beer & wine bar, and beer & wine bottle store, and a gourmet deli.  After we finished dinner, we checked it out.

I pretty sure that Alaska's rather silly liquor laws would make it very difficult to open a store such as The Bruery Provisions, which is really too bad, as it was a great place.  Here are some pictures:

What you don't see in these pictures is the back of the store, with the deli case full of cheese and cured meets and the 30-tap beer tower and the tables for people to sit and enjoy a beer or a glass of wine.  I was also happy to see half a dozen or so beers from Midnight Sun among the bottles on offer.  Needless to say, I walked out the door with several purchases (more on that later).

Next day, we headed south toward San Diego County and two of the biggest names in craft brewing: Stone Brewing Company and Lost Abbey/Port Brewing.  We headed for Stone first, since we knew they served food and we'd be arriving around 11:30 am.  Arriving at Stone was interesting; there's no sign (I seem to remember an interview with Greg Koch in which he was quoted as saying that there was no sign because he wanted people to have to come there on purpose rather than just see it while driving by), and it's the only brewery/brewpub I've ever been to with valet parking!  We skipped the valet, parked ourselves, and walked in.

The outdoor dining area

It's an absolutely amazing facility. Besides the brewery (visible through a huge glass wall from the bar area) and a very large store, there's a large outdoor dining area/bar, that overlooks the "beer garden".  The beer garden is perhaps an acre of land that has been turned into a 21st century California version of an old-fashioned German beer garden.  There are small streams (crossed by foot bridges), numerous benches and tables and rocks to sit on, scattered through out the garden, off the path that winds through the entire area.  You can buy a beer up at the deck bar, then walk down into the garden area with your friends and enjoy it.  It was extremely cool!

Part of the garden. Seats near the water.

Another part, with shade to get out of the sun.

Inside Stone's bar from above.

Stone also seems to be doing an amazing amount of business.  When we arrived at 11:30 am (without a reservation; it's that Alaskan thing again), we were told the first available one would be at 1:45 pm.  Fortunately, we could get the full lunch menu at the bar.  We split an appetizer of pretzels, and then I had a roast beef melt sandwich and Elaine had a chicken schnitzel; it was all delicious.  For beer, I started off with a Smoked Porter, thinking it would go well with my sandwich.  This is a beer we can get here in Alaska, but once again, it was wonderfully fresh, drinking it at the brewery.  I noticed that they also had a beer engine and asked if they had a cask on.  At first our bartender said no, but then checked and found out that the cask was still on from the night before, their just released 2012 Old Guardian Barley Wine.  Since I'm a sucker for almost anything on cask, I had to have a glass of that as well.  As expected, the cask-conditioning gave it a more delicate, creamier carbonation.  I thought the hop aroma was more pronounced in this year's version and struck me as a bit less "English" than I remembered.  When I asked the server, he informed me that, sure enough, this year they had replaced the East Kent Goldings with a mix of American hops, Chinook, Calypso, & Cascade.  In fact, he said this is the first time Stone has ever used Cascade hops in any of their beers.  Very nice and I'll certainly be looking to pick up some in the bottle when it makes it to Alaska.

After our lunch and strolling through the beer garden, we headed out for Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, about a ten minute drive from Stone.  Located in an industrial park, the brewery was easily spotted by the number of cars parked around it and the ubiquitous food truck parked in front.  It was a release day for their Box Set Track #2 Beer, blend of their Cuvee, Angel Share, and Project X beers.  I was hoping to snag a bottle to bring home and share, but they were only selling it for consumption on the premises.  Since I'm a little funny about being told when and where I can drink something I've paid for, I decided to pass and had a pint of their Midnight Expression Black Lager instead.  As you can see these photos, the place was packed:

The Midnight Expression was an excellent black lager, completely opaque with a long-lasting tan head.  The aroma was of nice, roasty malt and the taste was extremely clean, with excellent balance and very refreshing.  It was a great beer for a warm California afternoon.  Of course I couldn't visit Lost Abbey and not pay my respects to its Brewer/Guru-In-Residence, Tomme Arthur.  I was honored that he actually remembered the last time we met, when we had dinner together (along with a lot of other people) during the 2009 National Homebrewers Conference in Oakland.  As always, I gave him my pitch to send more of his brews to Alaska, for all of us up here to enjoy.   A fantastic visit to a fantastic brewery.

So what did I bring back with me (besides a renewed respect for the brewers of SoCal)?  Here's a photo of my beer plunder:

I could probably have managed a couple of bottles more, but I didn't want to risk my suitcase going overweight, with all the extra $$$$ that entails.  I was on the lookout for the Alesmith Brewing's Wee Heavy Scotch Ale (see my review on 12/22/2010) since it's both fantastic and unavailable in Alaska, so when I saw a bottle at The Bruery Provision, it was a no-brainer.

I chose the two beers from The Bruery based on how interesting they sounded.  Acer Quercus is a collaboration brew with Lawson's Finest Liquids, a nanobrewery in Vermont.  The beer has been "oaked, smoked, and mapled", not necessarily in that order.  At 9.5% ABV, it sounded totally unique.  The Saison De Lente is their spring seasonal, a 6.5% ABV, 35 IBU saison with brett added.

Finally, I snapped up a bottle of Lost Abbey's Judgement Day Quadruple.  I could write about it, but why listen to me when you can have Tomme tell you himself (if the embedded player doesn't work, click here):

Yes, it's one I'll be cellaring for a special occasion or the End of the World, whichever comes first.

OK, with the trip report done, let's move on to local news.

St. Elias Brewing will be putting another cask of their Vanilla Bean Porter on hand pump this Friday. I missed this brew last time around on cask, so I'll definitely be stopping bye to grab a pint this time.  Zach Henry added extra vanilla beans to the cask, so this one should be extra delicious.

I saw Joe Gilman at Kenai River Brewing on Wednesday.  He's recovering from his elbow injury, doing physical therapy, and hoping to be allowed to start lifting things with his arm in a few weeks.  Stay with it, Joe!

Kassik's Brewery is getting big time press coverage!  They will be on KTUU's "Assignment Alaska" during the 6 PM news hour on Thursday, 23 February.  So set your DVRs!

Gabe Fletcher at Anchorage Brewing Company has finally found time to get his website up and it looks pretty cool!  Check it out here. Now all Gabe needs to do is claim his Facebook page!

Alaskan Brewing has announced that they will be expanding into the Texas market this spring, which is a big leap forward for them.  Also, the next beer in the 22 oz. Pilot Series will be Alaskan Birch Bock, an 8.5% doppelbock made with birch syrup.Here's how it's described in the press release:

" Alaskan Birch Bock is a tawny, copper-colored ale with lightly toasted and caramel malt highlights and the earthy undertones of birch, figs and spun sugar. Birch Syrup adds a subtle woodsy and sherry-like character that mingles with the hop bitterness to create clean and dry finish that nicely masks the spice of alcohol in this medium-bodied beer. "

  Release date will be 1 March, so look for it at your local beer store in early March.


Finally, it's not too soon to start thinking about American Craft Beer Week, which will take place May 14-20 this year, followed immediately by SE Alaska Beer Week, 18 to 26 May, which will culminate in the 20th Annual Great Alaska Craftbeer and Homebrew Festival in Haines, on Saturday, May 26th.  Everyone I've ever talked to says this is a fantastic festival, so if you can be in Haines, Alaska at the end of May, it should be a great time.  Stay tuned for more details in future blogs as we get closer and the event schedules firm up.

Well, that's about it for now.  I should have some more beer reviews next week, as I get caught up after my trip.  Take care and keep drinking that good craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Still Working My Way Back

It's been a bit of a rough week.  I'm still working my way back to full health, and my sinuses have been pretty screwed up, which has seriously impacted my perception of taste and flavor.  So I've steered away from trying any new brews (since I can't really evaluate them properly).  I do have some reviews below of beers I tasted before I got sick, but nothing really recent.

However, just because I've been ill, beer news hasn't stopped happening. A big announcement from Alaskan Brewing Company: they are following in the footsteps of Sierra Nevada Brewing and moving to get rid of twist-off caps on their 12-oz. bottles.  Pry-off caps are much better at protecting beer, and better protected beer means greatly improve quality and consistency.  The sacrifice in convenience is minimal, in my opinion, so the trade-off is well worth it.  A tip of the cap to the folks at Alaskan for doing the right thing.

Locally, tomorrow night (Friday, 10 Feb) is The Taste of the Kenai Event, and many local food vendors, including the local breweries, will be taking part. It will be held at the Soldotna Sports Center, from 6 to 9 PM.  Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased from the Kenai Peninsula Tourism & Marketing Council office.  It's a great chance to experience the best in food & drink that the Peninsula has to offer, and a fine way to spend a Friday night.

Zach Henry's new Vanilla Bean Porter at St. Elias Brewing has been getting some rave reviews from my friends, especially the folks who were able to get it from the cask last Friday.  I'm looking forward to trying it as soon as I shake this head cold.

Kassik's Brewery just released a new batch of their award-winning Carribou Kilt Wee Heavy Scotch Ale last Tuesday.  I think I'll make a run out their way this weekend and get me some!

Normally, I'd say things are going well at Kenai River Brewing, but after I saw this on their Facebook page this morning, I'm not so sure:

Forky strikes back!

Could it be that Joe Gilman's absence is being keenly felt?  Say it ain't so, Joe!

Now for some reviews:

While I was in Anchorage, I picked up an interesting looking porter from Sweden, D. Carnegie's Porter.  There's a very long history of porter brewing in the Baltic, including Sweden, so I thought it would be worth a try.  Since then, I've also seen it for sale at Country Liquors in Kenai.  It poured a deep ruby color with a small khaki head that dissipated pretty quickly. The aroma was mainly of chocolate malt, with a little roastiness.  This carried through onto the palate, before dropping away to a bit of a disappointing finish.  Stylistically, I'd say this was more of a brown porter than a robust or Baltic one, even though its 5.5% ABV is a bit strong for that style.  When I finally finished the beer, I took another stab at translating the Swedish label.  That's when I realized it was actually brewed by Carlsberg, one of the biggest breweries in the world.  Suddenly it's inoffensive mediocrity made perfect sense...

Another (and much better) beer that I grabbed in Anchorage was Boulevard Brewing Company's Harvest Dance Wheat  Wine-style Ale.  Since I pretty much love anything from Boulevard, especially their Smokestack series, I was looking forward to this one.  It poured a clear, deep gold color,with a truly massive white head that kept threatening to overflow the glass.  The nose was of bright, fresh Citra hops. Carbonation was exceptional, making the beer very light on the tongue.  There was nice bitterness but it wasn't excessive, and the French & American oak aging comes through a bit on the finish.  The single adjective that came to mind as I drank it was "brisk".  It hides its 9% ABV fairly well and is quite drinkable for such a big beer.  Another exceptional brew from Boulevard!

Finally, as I wrote last week, Alaskan's Black IPA is in the local stores at last, in both six-packs and 22-oz. bombers.  It poured very dark, almost opaque, but with some ruby highlights.  It had a nice, khaki-colored head and the aroma was chock-full of Centennial and Cascade hops.  Both the aroma and flavor had no discernible roastiness, leaving the field primarily as a showcase for the hops.  This is a nice, easy drinker, a beer you could readily have more than one of in a single sitting.

Well, that's about it for this week.  Hopefully the next time I take keyboard in hand, I'll be back to 100% in the tasting department and will have some more interesting brews to report.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Recovery Mode

Alaska Breweries section of the GABBF

Yes, I'm in recovery mode.  No, it's not because of Alaska Beer Week and the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival, good as they were.  It's because of a really nasty bug I picked up somewhere along the way, which has really had me under the weather for the last week or so.  Add that to all the work at my day job that piled up while I was up in Anchorage plus the deadline for my newspaper column, plus a last minute request from the Rare Beer Club, and something had to give.  That something was this blog, naturally, so here it is, three weeks from my last posting.

Steven Pauwels

This year's  Guest of Honor for the GABBF was Steven Pauwels, Brewmaster of the Boulevard Brewing Company.  Given that I've been admiring his beers for a couple of years, it was great to meet him in the flesh and chat about beer and brewing.  His speech to the GNB Club meeting was especially good.  Besides being exceptionally funny in a dead-pan European way, it was interesting to hear his perspective, as a Belgian, on how homebrewing has influenced and continues to influence the American craft brewing industry.  He was a real gentleman and someone I hope we see up this way again.

Alaska Beer Week as a whole was an absolutely fabulous time.  Last year's dozen or so events grew to more than sixty this time around.  Beer dinners, meet the brewer events, the Great Northern Brewers club meeting, and the GABBF itself-- they were all great.

To my knowledge, there was only one dark spot on a great week. Joe Gilman, assistant brewer at Kenai River Brewery, was injured in a freak curling accident late on the evening of Wednesday, January 18.  And before you ask, yes, I said curling. Yes, the Olympic sport with the ice and the rocks and the brooms.  He slipped and fell and sheered his humerus at the elbow, requiring surgery the next day to install a metal plate.  I know we all wish Joe a speedy and painless recovery.

In better news, Galaxy White IPA, the new release from Gabe Fletcher's Anchorage Brewing Company, will be the February offering of Rare Beer Club, one of the Beer of the Month Clubs. I know this because I was contacted by the Club to contribute some copy regarding Gabe and his brewery.  Galaxy White IPA is available locally here on the Peninsula at Country Liquors in Kenai for $9.99 for a 750ml bottle.  Gabe has also produced the beer for this year's Fur Rendezvous, the Running of the Reindeer Saison.  It should be available next week at Country Liquors as well.

Besides breaking Joe, while they were in Anchorage the crew at Kenai River released a bit of their brand-new Russian Imperial Stout at the Connoisseurs' Session of the GABBF, then put the leftover 7 gallons on tap last Friday. It lasted all of 3 and a half hours.  Fortunately, I was able to get some at the GABBF.  I thought it tasted pretty good, but that it could use a few months more conditioning.  Not sure when it will be released for real, but it will certainly be one to watch for!  The new taproom at the brewery is also nearing completion.  Doug gave me a quick tour a few days ago and I can tell you that's it's going to look very, very nice.

Over at St. Elias Brewing, there should be a new beer on the hand pump this Friday.  Not sure what it will be, so we'll just have to stop by to find out! (Late addition: It will be Zach's famous Vanilla Bean Porter, both on cask and draft!)

If you've been looking to try the new Alaskan Black IPA, it has finally made it to the Peninsula.  Look for it at Fred Meyer and other local stores.  I just picked some up today, so I should have a review for next week's blog.

I had the opportunity to try several new beers while I was in Anchorage.  Here are a few reviews:

I stopped by Cafe Amsterdam soon after arriving in town and had a beers with Ken Pajak. From his extensive draft list, the one I picked was Conflux #2, a Belgian IPA collaboration brew between Deschutes & Boulevard Brewing.  It poured a slightly hazy gold, with a nice white head that left excellent lacing on the glass.  The aroma was bright with spices; I could certainly pick out orange peel and lemon grass.  It had an excellent mouthfeel, with plenty of good carbonation and plenty of additional spiciness.  The hoppiness did not overwhelm the spiciness, as sometimes happens in White or Belgian IPAs.  Very nice and refreshing.

Friday night, after a wonderful sushi dinner, my wife and I stopped by SubZero Longue for an after dinner drink.  I ordered a  glass of Flemish Primitive #3, a De Proef/Surly Bird collaboration.  This beer was a lovely clear gold with a small white head that dissipated to a collar but left nice lacing down the side of the glass.  The aroma was classic Belgian, with the earthy, spicy notes that I always associate with a Belgian yeast, plus some citrus elements.  The beer itself was fairly dry, with good bitterness; in the respect it reminded me a bit of Saison Dupont.  Unlike that beer, there was a touch of sourness on the finish, likely from whatever wild yeast made it primitive.  Very enjoyable and complex, it made the perfect nightcap.

I also got to try another new release from Anchorage Brewing Company, their Anchorage IPA.  This is a draft-only brew, so do not look for it outside the Anchorage area.  It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a white head and an aroma that screamed Citra hops!  Excellent carbonation helps to keep the bitterness from overwhelming the palate, and I thought I could pick up a slight fruitiness, perhaps from the yeast strain used.  Talking to Gabe Fletcher, he told me that he decided to brew this beer "because he missed brewing an IPA".  As usual, if Gabe does something, he does it right.  This is a very nice, straight-forward American IPA, as good as anyone makes anywhere.  If you find yourself in Anchorage, be sure to hunt it up.

I picked up a bottle of the latest from BrewDog Brewery in Scotland, Bitch Please, another collaboration brew, this time with Three Floyds Brewery. This is a strong (11.5% ABV) ale, aged in Islay whisky casks.  It poured a very dark copper color, with a massive off-white head.  The aroma was of smoky Islay whisky, and that was pretty much the dominant flavor profile.  As much as I love Islay whisky, I thought it a bit overdone.  Whenever I'm dealing with any kind of spirits barrel aging, be it bourbon, scotch, rum, or whatever, I want the spirit in question to complement the beer, not overpower it.  An example of a beer which does something similar but does it right would be J.W. Lees Harvest Ale, aged in Lagavulin Casks.  Here, there's just too much Scotch, not enough ale...

Finally, I tried a bottle on Midnight Sun's Anchorage Ice Bock, the last in their World Tour series.  As you'd expect from an ice bock, this is a hefty brew at 10.9% ABV.  True to style, it;s malt forward, with only 14 IBUs of bitterness.  Ir poured a dark ruby color, with a slight cream-colored head.  The nose was of caramel and malt, with a touch of alcohol heat.  On the palate it had a smooth clean taste, plenty of malt body and a hint of caramel.  No discernible bitterness, and some alcohol heat on the finish.  A very nice take on the classic style.

Now that the World Tour has finished, I guess I should give you my own personal ranking of performances, from best to not-so-best.  Here they are, from the top:

London
Macchu Picchu
Moscow
Kyoto
Anchorage
Bangalore
Aukland

As always, your mileage may vary.

Well, that's about it for this week.  Sorry for the big gap, but to quote Forrest Gump: "S**t happens."  I'll be back next week with more beer new and reviews.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

It's Alaska Beer Week! Hurray!

Friday, January 13th marks the start of this year's Alaska Beer Week.  I don't know about you, but I'm damned excited!  Breweries all over the state are getting into the act, including those right here on the Peninsula.  Next week will be packed with events to make any lover of craft beer happy.

If you're wondering what events are scheduled, there are plenty of ways to find out.  You can go to their brand-new website, AKBEERWEEK.com.  You can go to the Brewers Guild of Alaska's events page at http://www.brewersguildofalaska.org/category/bga-events/.   You can also sign up for their Twitter feed, if you like to Tweet (I don't so don't ask me how).  If Facebook is your thing, be sure to "like" AK Beer Week at http://www.facebook.com/akbeerweek.  However you do it, figure out which events you want to attend and then celebrate craft beer in The Great Land.

One of the events coming up is Alaskan Brewing's Dark Beer Dinner at Simon & Seafort's Restaurant in Anchorage on Wednesday, 1/18, at 6:30 pm.  How's this for a menu:

“Alaskan Winter Ale” Duck Confit & Quesadilla

Fontina, chevre, tomato, onion, spring greens, tomato-cilantro relish

Mojo Rojo & “Alaskan Oatmeal Stout“ Buffalo Prawns

Avocado cream, buffalo sauce, ancho mojo rojo

Fried Chicken & “Alaskan Black IPA “Waffles

Buttermilk marinated, golden waffles, hot sauce, syrup, butter, powder sugar,

“Alaskan Smoked Porter  “Braised Beef Short Ribs

Harissa glaze, creamy polenta, oven roasted vegetables.

Oven baked Pear in Puff Pastry

Bartlett pear, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla ice cream “Alaskan Barley Wine Ale "  syrup

All this for only $45!  It should be a fantastic time, so call 907-274-3502 for reservations.

This is just one of the many beer dinners and other events taking place during AK Beer Week.

Our local breweries will all be big players during AK Beer Week.  First out of the gate, St. Elias Brewing will be kicking things off on Friday by offering all their specialty beers at $5 per goblet, instead of the usual $7.  Plus they'll be releasing a brand new beer, Bumper Crop.  It's described as a "double Farmer's Friend, aged in white wine barrels."  Stop by and check it out, along with their new Grasshopper Pale Ale.

Over at Kenai River Brewing, they're gearing up for their Beer Dinner at Spenard's Roadhouse in Anchorage on Tuesday, Jan 17th from 5 PM to Closing.  I haven't seen a menu yet, but I've eaten at the Roadhouse and the food is excellent.  

Doug and the boys also want to make sure everyone remembers to celebrate the 1st Annual Canned Craft Beer Day on Tuesday, 24 January.  Be sure you have some good canned craft beer on hand (Skiliak Scottish Ale or Sunken Isle IPA would be a good choice) and pop one open on the 24th to celebrate.  Cans have come a long way and I strongly suspect they're only getting started as far as being the packaging of choice for craft beer.

Now let's get to some beer reviews:

First up, the long-awaited The Tide and Its Takers Tripel from Gabe Fletcher at the Anchorage Brewing Company.  Let's face it, after the first three marvelous beers Gabe's released, we all know that his next offering was likely to be pretty special, and the tripel does not disappoint. As you can see from the picture (courtesy of my lovely wife Elaine), it poured a lovely gold color with a nice white head.  The aroma was interesting, with some spicy Belgian yeast notes intermingling with some bright, crisp citrus elements (likely from the Sorachi Ace hops) and just a touch of brett funk.  Most of the same flavors were there on the palate, plus a touch of woodiness from the aging in Chardonnay barrels.  Mouthfeel was good, and the brett funkiness reappeared on the finish.  Given my experience with Gabe's previous beers, I expect that cellaring will greatly increase the brett character, so if you don't like your tripels funky, drink this one fresh.  It's 9.0% ABV and 30 IBUs, and one of the best tripels I've ever had.  Another masterpiece from Gabe Fletcher's brewhouse.  Locally, you can find it at Country Liquors in Kenai for $11.69 a bottle.

My other review this week is Sierra Nevada Brewing's Ovila Quad.  The last beer in their Ovila trilogy, this one is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, weighing in at 10.4% ABV.  It poured a barely translucent dark ruby, with a large light tan head that dissipated fairly quickly.  The nose was of caramel and dark fruit, plums and raisins.  On the palate there was good mouthfeel, with plenty more dark fruit notes, perhaps with the addition of sour cherries to the mix.  The finish was long, with a slight amount of alcohol heat making its presence felt.  Overall, it was a perfectly respectable Belgian  Strong Dark Ale.  I would say that the Ovila Saison was the best of the bunch, but the Quad is a close second.

Well, that's about it for this week.  I hope you all enjoy Alaska Beer Week; I know I plan to.  If you see me at any of the events, please come up and say hello.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Breaking News: First Firkin Friday at St. Elias Brewing

As I was finishing up my blog yesterday, I was wondering if St. Elias Brewing Company might be putting a new cask ale on their hand pump for this Friday, January 6th.  I caught up to Zach Henry last night and he confirmed that they would be doing so.  Grasshopper Pale Ale is a new beer that he's calling --true to his style-bending ways--an American Bitter.  It's hopped with Galaxy hops from Australia and Zythos, a new proprietary hp blend from HopUnion.  I had a small, non-cask conditioned sample, and it was very nice.  So I think I stop by on my way home from work tomorrow to have a proper pint, pulled from the cask.  Maybe I'll see you there.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New

Ready or not, 2012 here we come!  Hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Years celebration.  Elaine and I kept things pretty low key here in Sterling; dodging amateur drunks on icy roads fits neither her nor my idea of a "fun" New Years Eve.

The start of a new year is traditionally a time to look back.  This graphic from the Brewers Association pretty much sums up 2011 from a craft beer perspective. While the U.S. beer industry as a whole was losing volume and barely holding its own on revenue (thanks to raising their prices), craft beer was growing at double digits in both volume sold and revenue earned.  Craft beer is the future and you can bet the big boys see it too.  Watch for more buyouts in 2012, plus more efforts by them to cash in by marketing beers that "look" like craft beers,  despite being made by A-B InBev or Miller-Coors.

In the personal betterment department, I promised myself I would finally get going on earning my Cicerone Certification, from www.cicerone.org.  For those of you not familiar with the Cicerone Certification Program, it is similar to the programs that exist for wine sommeliers, but focuses on beer rather than wine.  There are three levels: Certified Beer Server, Certified Cicerone, and Master Cicerone.  I have been meaning to get started for quite some time, but I finally took the plunge and signed up for the exam to earn the Certified Beer Server designation.  You will be happy to hear that I am now Certified Beer Server # 8845.  Stay tuned for updates as I work my way through the higher level certifications.  They will take longer, as they involve face-to-face examinations, none of which are currently scheduled in Alaska...

Looking ahead to Alaska Beer Week, the list of events is now posted on the Brewers Guild of Alaska webpage.  The dedicated AK Beer Week webpage is still under construction, but may be working by the time you read this.  So far I count about SIXTEEN different beer events, not counting the Great Alaskan Beer & Barley Wine Festival itself!  I am already making my reservations to ensure I don't miss out on events such as the Alaskan Brewing's Dark Beer Dinner at Simon & Seafort's, Kenai River Brewing's Dinner at Spenard Roadhouse, or Anchorage Brewing's Belgian Beer Dinner at SubZero.  These are some of the top beer events in Alaska every year, so decide which ones you'll attend and make your reservations now!

In the two weeks since I last took my keyboard in hand to blog, there have been several new beer releases that I need to tell you about.

First up, North Coast Brewing Company has released their Barrel-aged Old Rasputin XIV, to celebrate the 14th anniversary of their founding. Their standard Old Rasputin Imperial Stout is one of the best examples of this style currently available, and best of all, thanks to the folks at Specialty Imports, it's available here on the Kenai, both at the Save-U-More in Soldotna and Country Liquors in Kenai.  The barrel-aged version just takes things up several notches, thanks to the bourbon barrels used.  The previous release was Old Rasputin XII, two years ago.  It has gotten rave reviews from beers geeks, with an A rating on Beer Advocate.com and people tossing around terms like "one of the finest bourbon-barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts on the planet."  Old Rasputin XIV promises to be just as good.  It's available at Country Liquors in Kenai right now.  It isn't cheap, at just under $20 a bottle, but if you enjoy bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stouts (and who doesn't), you should grab yourself one before they are gone.

Sticking with the "black is beautiful" trope, on the winter solstice Alaskan Brewing released their new Black IPA in Juneau.  As you can see from the photo, this beer will be in 12 oz six packs.  It hasn't made its way to the Kenai  yet, so I haven't had a chance to sample it, but based on the information I received, it sounds like a lower alcohol version of their excellent Double Black IPA (reviewed on 8/26/2010).  Look for Cascade and Centennials, along with other PNW hops, plus plenty of roasty flavors.  Given how good the DIPA version was, I will definitely be grabbing some of this beer as soon as it's on the shelves locally.

Another beer that's been released but hasn't made it down here yet is Anchorage Brewing Company's The Tide and Its Takers Tripel.  This is the latest beer from Gabe Fletcher and I am very anxious to try it.  Once again, likely the only local place to find it is Country Liquors in Kenai, though if you find yourself in Anchorage, I know La Bodega at the University Center Mall has it as well.

Let's move on to some beer reviews.

Earlier, I mentioned North Coast Brewing, the makers of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.  For New Years Day, I decided to share one of their other beers with my friend Curt, their Old Stock Ale 2009 Cellar Reserve.  This was another bourbon barrel aged beer, though in this case the base brew was their Old Stock Ale, rather than their Old Rasputin.  This was bottle had rested in my cellar for quite some time, waiting for a special occasion.  It poured a lovely red-copper collar, with a small cream-colored head that rapidly dissipated to a color.  The bourbon made itself immediately apparent on the nose, followed by vanilla and dark fruit notes.  The taste was a continuation of the aroma, with spicy, buttery bourbon flavors intertwined with raisins, molasses, vanilla, and caramel notes. A potent brew at 13.2% ABV, this complex beer is one to sip by the fire, mulling over the year that's been or the one about to start.  An expensive brew, but well worth the price.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that Alaskan Brewing Company was releasing their 2011 Barley Wine on 1 December this year, earlier than in the past.  When I visited out local Fred Meyer shortly after Christmas, I was pleased to see that it had arrived, and I grabbed two bottles, one to cellar and one to drink.  Earlier incarnations of this beer have won several awards, including first place at the Toronado Barley Wine Festival in 2007  and a bronze at the 2008 World Beer Cup.  I had tasted and enjoyed those previous examples, so I was looking forward to this year's effort.  It did not disappoint.  It poured a very pretty dark ruby with a decent cream-colored head.  The aroma was primarily of caramel and sweet malt, with some alcohol heat.  This is an English-style barley wine, so the emphasis is primarily on the malt, not the hops, but there was still enough bitterness for good balance.  It had a long, smooth finish, which left me wanting another sip.  As 10.7% ABV, this is not overly strong for a barley wine; you can't call it sessionable, but I had no problem finishing a 22 oz bottle by myself over the course of a couple of hours.  This is an excellent beer and I'm planning to pick up a couple more bottles, to both drink and cellar, the next time I'm at the store.

Finally, I want to mention another beer that I drank over the holidays and greatly enjoyed.  On New Years Eve, I drank a bottle of Orval, the Trappist Ale from Brasserie d'Orval in Belgium. This would not normally be big news, as Orval is readily available, as are several other Trappists, such as Chimay and Rochfort.  In this case what made the beer so special was that I had been able to cellar it for a couple of years. Unlike the other Trappists, Orval is dosed with brettanomyces, the slow-working yeast that produces some amazing sour or funky flavors.  I love Orval fresh, but with a couple of years aging to bring out its brett character, it is truly sublime.  If you are a fan of brettanomyces in beer, I'd urge you to pick up a couple of bottles of Orval (it's on sale at Country Liquors in Kenai or many place in Anchorage), then stick them someplace dark, with a constant cool temperature, and forget about them for a couple of years.  I promise you won't be unhappy with the results.

Well, that's it for this week.  Hope you all have a wonderful 2012, and get to enjoy many excellent beers in the coming year.  I know I plan to.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Holiday Close-Out Blog

We're getting near the end of 2011, dear readers.  Yesterday was the winter solstice, so those of us residing in the Northern Hemisphere can look forward to increasing daylight.  Since sunrise in Soldotna this morning was 10:11 am and sunset will come at 3:52 pm (giving us here on the Kenai Peninsula a whole 5 hours and 41 minutes of daylight), that's a good thing.  Christmas is only three days away, so it's time to stoke up the wood stove, pull the turkey out of the freezer to start thawing, and pour yourself a nice beer to savor on a long winter's night.

And if you're reading this blog someplace warm and sunny, like Hawaii or Key West, you can just keep it to yourself, OK?

Up in the big town of Los Anchorage, Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company has released The Tide and Its Takers Tripel. This brew is made with Sorachi and Styrian Golding hops. It's aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels and weighs in at 9% ABV & 30 IBUs.  I know they have bottles at La Bodega.  Here on the Peninsula, Country Liquors in Kenai carries Gabe's beers, though I don't know whether they have or will manage to get any of this tripel in.  By the way, I stopped in there on Saturday and they had gotten in some more of Deschutes Brewing's The Abyss 2011 Imperial Stout, so if you missed out the first time around, you've got another chance. They also had Sierra Nevada's 2011 Celebration Ale on the shelves.

Also up in Anchorage, the Loft Bar at Midnight Sun has been celebrating the solstice as well.  Until yesterday, all 16 of their taps were dispensing dark beers.  To celebrate the return of the sun, now all their taps will now be dispensing light colored brews.  More importantly, everyone is starting to look forward to Alaska Beer Week, starting on Friday, January 13th and culminating the following weekend with the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival.  See my blog from 1/20/2011 for a run down on 2011's festivities.  If you haven't purchased your festival tickets yet, don't wait too long, as they sell out every year.  To get information on the numerous beer events during Alaska Beer Week, check out the Brewers Guild of Alaska webpage here or a new page at www.akbeerweek.com.  The new page is not up yet, but should be available by the end of December.

Moving down on to the Peninsula, our local breweries are getting ready for the holidays as well. Kassik's Brewery has their Big Nutz Imperial Brown Ale for sale on draft only right now; expect the bottles in a week or so.  Also on draft: Double  Wood Imperial IPA, 201 Barley Wine, Pale Moon Pale, Caribou Kilt Scotch, Penny Maple Porter, Chocolate Cherry Stout, and their Spiced Cream Ale. Available in Bottles: Spiced Cream Ale, Chocolate Cherry Stout, Penny Maple Porter, Caribou Kilt Scotch Ale, Morning Wood IPA, Beaver tail Blonde, Dolly Varden Nut Brown, & their Moose Point Porter.  They've also got plenty of different clothing items for sale. Beer or logo'd clothing from Alaskan breweries make great Christmas gifts; I sent a bunch to my beer-loving friends Outside this year.

Over at St. Elias Brewing, their new beer engine continues to get a workout.  I stopped there for lunch and they had a cask of their Moose Juice Barley Barley Wine on.  Since I had to go back to work, I passed on having one, but if you haven't tried their Barley Wine on hand pump, you really need to.  I changes the entire complexion of the beer.  I think they're still having some issues with temperature control of the cask, but I believe Zach has a plan to deal with that as well.

At Kenai River Brewing, they'll be tapping  a short keg of Chocolate Nut Crunch at noon tomorrow (Friday, 12/23), for pints only.  So if you haven't had a chance to try this one, you should stop by and give it a taste.  Plus, they have their  new beer, Holla Day Ale, that I mentioned in my last blog.  I finally got by to grab a liter of this to take home and sample.  When I tasted it last Friday evening, I was so impressed I drank the entire liter in one sitting and went back the next day for another one!  This is one of the best beers Doug & the crew have produced, in my opinion.  It pours a very dark ruby color with a cream-colored head, which dissipated fairly quickly to a collar but left nice lacing on the side of the glass. The aroma was primarily malty, but with the earthy, spicy notes that I always associated with Belgian yeasts, and just the slightest touch of smoke.  On the palate the mouthfeel was medium, with a clean, malty flavor leading off, then more of the Belgian elements, moving to a very nice finish with again a touch of smoke.  All elements were in perfect balance, and with an ABV of only 5.5%, this beer has tremendous drinkability.  In some ways, it's almost like a toned-down dubbel, with the same complexities in a lower alcohol package.  You really need to sample this one.  I'm planning to load up on it, as I think it will be an excellent accompaniment to the traditional holiday feast.  A tip of my hat to Doug & company for another exceptional creation.


Moving on, I've got three new beer reviews to share, two good ones and one not so much.  Let's have the bad news first.

Stone Brewing's Vertical Epic Ale 11.11.11.  This is the latest in their Epic Ale series, beers released on the "triple dates" each year, starting with 02.02.02, and meant to be cellared until sometime after 12.12.12, then consumed in a massive vertical tasting.  Some of the past entries have been quite tasty, and I have a bottle from each year from 05.05.05 on aging in my crawlspace.  So when 11.11.11 hit the market, I grabbed two, one to cellar and one to taste.  Last Monday I got around to opening up my immediate bottle.  Checking out the label, I had my first hint of trouble, when I read that it was brewed with Anaheim chilies and cinnamon.  It poured a pretty color, a dark copper with a big off-white head, but the aroma was nothing but chili and spice, which pretty much described the taste.  I took a couple more sips, but could not hack it, so down the drain it went.  I think I could have managed the chilies or the cinnamon, but both together were just way too much.  If you are crazy about chilies and spice (and to be fair, lots of reviewers on-line have liked it), you could give this one a try, but when I do the vertical tasting after 12.12.2012, I think I'll give this one a pass.

Midnight Sun's Moscow Russian Imperial Stout with Rye. The latest in their World Tour series, Moscow weighs in at 11% ABV and 45 IBUs.  It poured an absolutely opaque black with a small dark brown head that rapidly dissipated to a collar.  The aroma was mostly malty sweetness with some slight roasty notes.  There was excellent mouthfeel, with the rye announcing its presence via peppery notes amongst the roasted malt flavors.  There was some heat on the finish from the alcohol.  Another nice brew from Midnight Sun, not a challenging as their London Ale that I reviewed last week, but a great beer for drinking on a cold winter evening by the fire.

My third review is of a beer named, appropriately enough, Third Voyage Double IPA from Boston Brewing Company's Single Batch Series.  The name refers to Captain Cook's third voyage of discovery, which took him from Britain to New Zealand and then the Pacific Northwest.  In honor of the voyage, the beer is hopped using varieties from each of those locales, including Cascades and Simcoes, which dominate its aroma.  It poured a classic copper color with a big off-white head.  Good carbonation with plenty of hop bitterness, aroma, and flavor.  I thought it had a little more malt character than typical for a DIPA, so it seemed slightly more balanced than usual for this style.  ABV was 8 %.  Overall, a fairly middle of the road version of a Double IPA, which is a comment on how far the goal posts have moved in the last few years.  A decade ago, this beer would have been seen as amazingly hoppy.  Today, it's right in the mainstream for it's style.

That's it for this week.  I doubt you'll see a blog next week, but Christmas is a time for miracles, so you never know.  I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to each and every one of you.  I hope you all get to spend the holidays in the bosom of your family, eating lots of good food and drinking lots of great craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!