A Northern Run, Part II

The lovely summer weather continues here on the Peninsula, which makes it tough to be inside on a
keyboard, instead of being outside, enjoying myself.  Still, beer news keeps coming, even when the weather's nice, and I have a lot of reviews from the trip to Fairbanks.  So let's get going.



I've written in the past about a new Alaska beer app being produced, called The Beer Up Here.  Well, the folks behind it have now announced that they will be releasing it at Augtoberfest on August 2 & 3rd at 49th State Brewing Company in Healy.  I've been following their progress on their blog, and it looks like it might be a very cool app, well worth checking out. Click on the link above to go to their website or look for it on iTunes after the release date.

Speaking of festivals, the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival is getting closer all the time; Saturday, August 10th will be here before you know it.  Locally, tickets are on sale at Kenai River, Kassik's, and St. Elias Brewing Company, while in Anchorage they are available at La Bodega.  Remember to bring $30 in cash or check made out to the Soldotna Rotary, since the breweries are selling tickets on their behalf.  Last year's event sold out, so don't wait too long to get you tickets or you may be disappointed.

Speaking of La Bodega, they just brewed their first beer, The Gladys Golden

Gladys

Ale.  They created it with Greg Mills of Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. and have posted plenty of pictures of the entire operation on their Facebook page.  The name honors Gladys the Goldfish, who used to live at their old location in the University Center Mall, and the beer will feature three different New Zealand hops.  Looks like a great time was had by all, and I look forward to tasting the fruits of their labor.  You should also mark your calendars for this year's Bodega-Fest.  It will be happening on Saturday, September 14th.  Note there's been a location change: instead of Kincaid Park, this year's festival will take place at Cuddy Park in midtown-Anchorage and will be benefitting a new charity, Alaska Public Media.

Anchorage Brewing Company shipped out their latest batch of Bitter Monk Double IPA last week, so you can expect to see it showing up on store shelves anytime now.  See my review on 10/12/2011.

All the breweries here on the Peninsula are working at full blast, trying to keep up with the tremendous summer demand from locals, tourists, and dip-netters.  Kassik's Brewery has earned two medals from the World Beer Championships, held annually by the Beverage Testing Institute.  Their Whaler's Wheat earned a Gold Medal with a score of 91/100, while their Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat earned a Silver Medal with 89/100.  Another feather in the cap for the Kassik's Team!

With all the dip-netters in town, I haven't been able to even get close to St. Elias Brewing Company for several weeks; their parking lot is full to overflowing pretty much all day.  However, they have announced a three new beers on tap: one brand new creation, Daddy WarBock (a bock aged in cabernet wine barrels), along with two old favorites: Brass Monkey ESB (reviewed on 4/6/2010) and Vanilla Bean Porter (reviewed on 8/3/2009).  Regardless of the maddening crowds, I plan to stop by and check them out soon.

Well, that more or less covers the news, so let's hit the reviews.

Let's start with Denali Brewing Company.  While I was in Talkeetna, I got to try their Kentucky Sour, a 5.7% ABV riff on a traditional Berliner-Weise summer beer, that's been aged in American oak.  It poured golden in color, with a small white head.  Pleasingly tart, especially in hot summer weather, with a bit of lemon flavor and some oakiness from the barrel.  Delicious.

I also had a glass of their I Squared Imperial IPA, 9.6% ABV and 122 IBUs (!).  It was a dark honey to tan color in the glass, with a small cream-colored head.  The nose was hops and some alcohol heat.  This beer was a real palate-wrecker; I could almost feel my tooth enamel dissolving in the hop bitterness!  You really have to like them bitter and strong to enjoy this one, but if that's what you're in the mood for, I Squared delivers.  To make it, they used six different malt varieties, ranging in color from Vienna to chocolate, and numerous hop varieties.  Zeus, Mt. Hood, Sterling, Willamette, and Czech Saaz were all added in the kettle, while more Czech Saaz, UK Challengers, and German Tettangers were used in the dry-hopping.  A bit of a tour-de-force, and you'll certainly not have more than one, but interesting nonetheless.

Moving on to 49th State Brewing Company, while I was in Healy I had a pint of their Baked Blonde Ale, 5.6% ABV and 18 IBUs.  I was a lovely clear gold with a nice white head in the glass.  There was some good hop aroma in the nose (Zythos & Cascade).  On the palate there was good, clean malt flavors and some nice hop bitterness.  Refreshing and well-made, it's a fine introductory beer, guaranteed not scare anyone off craft beers.

Their head brewer, Jay Bullen, was nice enough to give me a few brews from their Hibernation Series that they had hand bottled in swing-top bottles.  So far, I've had two of them.  The first was a Doppelbock at 6.8% ABV.  It poured opaque with a small tan head.  The nose was rich, with lots of caramel notes, spot on for the style.  On the palate the carbonation was good, and there was all the clean, deep caramel & malt flavors you look for in this style, with just a touch of alcohol on the finish.  An excellent doppelbock, as good as any I've ever had.

The second beer was a Chocolate Porter, at a hefty 7.4% ABV.  I'm unsure if Jay used real chocolate in this beer, or just chocolate malt.  Given the sweetness, I suspect the former.  It poured opaque with a small but dense khaki-colored head.  The nose was packed with sweet, chocolate notes.  The mouthfeel was good, as was the carbonation.  Quite sweet on the tongue, with the porter roastiness making its presence known only on the lingering finish.  One of the sweetest porters I've ever had, but very tasty.

At Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling Company, I had a glass of their Prudhoe Pig Oatmeal Rye Stout, 5.7% ABV & 15 IBUs.  I don't think I've ever had a beer combining oatmeal and rye before, so I was very curious to learn how they would work together.  The answer, at least in this instance, is "quite well".  The beer poured opaque with a nice tan head.  The nose was sweet (lactose?) with some roasted notes.  On the palate there was soem nice silkiness from the oats and some interesting spiciness on the finish from the rye.  An unusual combination, but it works and I enjoyed the beer very much.

OK, let's shift gears from upstate to some bottled beers from Outside,

I got to try some from the Dunedin Brewery in Florida, thanks to a visit from some of Elaine's relatives.  My brother-in-law Mark brought me two beers to sample, Rye Heart Southern Rye Ale and Mundofolbick Imperial Stout.  The former was an interpretation of a Scotch Ale, one of my favorite styles.  It poured a deep ruby color, with a small tan head that dissipated rapidly to a collar.  The aroma was all malt, with caramel sweetness and some hints of heat from the 7.7% alcohol.  The flavor profile was deep, clean maltiness with hints of caramel and some pepper notes from the rye, falling away gradually to a nice finish.  An unusual take on a Scotch Ale, but one I really enjoyed.

The Mundofolbick Imperial Stout came in at 9.7% ABV, poured opaque was another small tan head that dissipated rapidly to a collar.  The aroma was of sweet malt and roast coffee.  The mouthfeel was good, and there was plenty of roasted flavor on the initial attack, which was then balanced by some sweeter notes, before falling off to a nice, smooth, finish.  This one was right in my sweet spot for how I like my imperial stouts and an excellent beer.

I also had a bottle of Smoking Wood Imperial Rye Porter from The Bruery in California.  Prior experience told me that anything they produced would be outstanding, and this beer did not disappoint.  It poured opaque, with a big, dense tan head.  The nose was impressive, with roasted malt, oak, whiskey, and smoke all present in force.  On the tongue, the rye whiskey and smoke lead the attack, with the other elements gradually making themselves felt, including some peppery rye elements.  Everything was very smoothly integrated, making for a very complex finished product.  At 13% ABV, this one is definitely a sipper to be shared amongst friends after dinner, and savored slowly to pick up all that complexity.  Truly outstanding.

Let's shift gears one more time, to King Street's Irish Gael Export Stout.  This beer was released back in the spring, so it's a little embarrassing that it's taken me until now to review it.  That being said, it was definitely worth the wait.  It poured opaque with a nice tan head that dissipated to a collar.  The nose was primarily of roasted coffee, but there were definitely some notes of wood and whiskey present.  Mouthfeel and carbonation were good, and the flavor profile was smooth, rich and complex.  The roasted malt flavors you expect from a stout were in the foreground, but you could also tell that there was a lot happening in the background, giving a lot of depth to the flavor profile.  A very nice barrel-aged stout and one that makes me very eager to try King Street's next barrel-aged release.

Well, that does it for this week.  I'll be back next week with more news and reviews.  Meanwhile, get out and enjoy this sunny weather while it lasts!

Until Next Time, Cheers!

A Northern Run, Part I

Well, it's been three weeks since the last blog.  In my defense, first it was the July 4th holidays, and then Elaine and I left on a week-long trip to check out the breweries north of the Valley.  It was a working vacation, since we needed to get photos of all of them for Volume II of Beer on the Last Frontier, and a long-overdue return to that part of state.  We hadn't been to Talkeetna or Fairbanks for five years, since early July in 2008.  We also managed to time things so we could attend the 2013 Golden Days Beer Festival at Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling Company in Fox on Saturday, July 13th. 

We left on Thursday, 11 July (Happy Birthday, Dad!), and drove to Anchorage, where we stopped for lunch at the Fire Tap Alehouse south of O'Malley.  I started things off right with a nice King Street IPA, then follwed it up with a big plate of their Penne Pesce; Elaine had the Manicotti Formaggio.  Suitably fortified, we were ready to continue on to Talkeetna.

The first stop in town was at the Denali Brewing Beer Garden downtown, next to the Twister Creek Restaurant, where we met up with Sassan Mossanen, one of the driving forces behind Denali.  While Elaine snapped pictures of the  small brewery crammed into the back area at the beer garden, Sassan and I talked beer and sampled several, including their delicious Kentucky Sour.  It seemed hard to believe that when I was last in town, they hadn't even brewed their first batch, and now they were about to celebrate their 5th anniversary.

Besides their brewery in town, Denali has a large production brewery at mile 2 of the Talkeetna Spur Road (more on that later).  The 10 hectoliter brewhouse, one 20-bbl and two 16-bbl fermenters, and six wooden barrels produce the smaller batch, more unique beers that Denali offers in the Beer Garden and adjacent restaurant.  When we were there, the former had a dozen different beers on offer, while the later had eleven, with only eight beers appearing on both menus.  So that means their were a total of fifteen (!) different brews on offer.  That would have made for quite a tasting, and one I lacked the stamina for after a long day of driving, so I settled for sampling a half dozen or so, before heading off to check in at our B&B.  We did return to Twister Creek for an excellent supper, which gave me the chance to try another beer, their I Squared Imperial IPA. 

The next morning, after a big breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, we were on the road again heading north, dodging RVs and road construction.  Around 1 pm we finally arrived at 49th State Brewing in Healy, which was another picture of amazing growth.  We had last been there in September of 2011, toward the end of their first season.  At the time they were still brewing with their original 1/2-barrel system and had only one beer of their own on tap.  Now, that system has been relegated to making pilot batches and they are brewing on a 5-barrel system, which explained their ability to now offer about ten of their beers on tap.  Once again Elaine started snapping photos, while Brewer Jay Bullen and I sat down to chat.  We talked about their successful Hibernation experiment, where they brewed 10 different beers last fall, just before shutting down for the winter, and then left those beers to cold-condition during the long, cold, dark months.  They were mostly gone at at this point, except for an Imperial Stout that was still on tap.  I had a small sample of that one, and I thought it was excellent, so I'm sure that experiment will be repeated.  Jay told me he was extremely busy, just trying to brew enough beer to satisfy both the pub in Healy and the Prospectors Pizzeria and Alehouse a few miles south on the Parks Highway, which is owned by the same people.  Looking ahead, they are already gearing up for their big Augtoberfest on August 2 & 3.  Besides all the great music and food, they will be offering a full suite of German-style brews, including a schwartzbier brewed in collaboration with King Street Brewing of Anchorage.  Eventually, they hope to acquire another 10 to 15 barrel brewhouse just to brew their flagships.  Like just about ever other brewery in the state, they're struggling to meet demand.

After plenty of good beer and a great cheeseburger, Elaine and I pointed my yellow truck north again and made speed to Fairbanks.  We cruised into the Golden City around 5 pm, and dropped in at HooDoo Brewing, our first visit to this less than a year old brewery.  We found what seemed like half of Fairbanks sitting around, both inside and outside, enjoying the glorious sunshine and relaxing on a Friday after work.  Owner Bobby Wilken explanation for the number of people dropping in to have a beer or fill growlers was that HooDoo is selling 99.9% of their beer right there in the brewery and had no plans to package or even sign on with a distributor.  According to Bobby, they are absolutely committed to the Fairbanks market and are happy to avoid the hassles, expense, and demands of packaging or supplying draft accounts.  As long as HooDoo can make a go of it selling their brews from the brewery, that's all they plan to do.

I sampled the five beers that were available: a Kolsch, a Mild, a Bavarian Weiss, their IPA, and a Stout. The brewing system at HooDoo uses a separate lauter tun from the mash tun, allowing them to really replicate the clean, malty flavors of European brews, like the Kolsch.  I really enjoyed it, and it drew high praise from my wife, who spent six years in Germany and really knows her German beers.  I was extremely please to see a mild on offer, as I think this is a sadly under-brewed style in the US.  Their version had all the deep, rich malt flavor of a Northern British Mild, but with the lower ABV (4.1%) that let's you keep drinking it all evening.  The only thing that could make it better would be to serve it on cask, which Bobby says is something they are working toward.  The Bavarian Weiss was spot on for the style, with all the banana, clove, & bubble gum flavors that you get from using a genuine Bavarian yeast.  Their IPA was also excellent, tasting cleaner and better balanced than I would have thought one at 73 IBUs could.  Finally, the Stout was rich and chewy, with some nice sweetness from adding lactose.  All five beers were truly excellent and as long as they keep brewing to this standard, HooDoo brewing should have no problem getting the serious craft beer lovers in Fairbanks to beat a path to their door.

On Saturday, we headed out the Steese Highway to Fox, home of the Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Company and the site of the Golden Days Beer Festival.  When we arrived, there was already a big tent set up in the beer garden, which made me very happy, as it was quite warm and sunny.  Before the fest got started, we followed our by now standard routine of Elaine taking photos of the brewery and restaurant and me talking to the brewer.  I went looking for Head Brewer Levi Hansen.  He wasn't there, but I ran into Assistant Brewer Matt Austin instead.  This turned out to be very fortuitous, as Matt informed me that Levi would be leaving at the end of July and that he would be taking over as Head Brewer.  This was news to me, but it did give me a chance to talk over with Matt his ideas for future brews.  Once Elaine had all her shots done, we adjourned to the bar and I had a Prudhoe Pig Oatmeal Rye Stout to keep myself occupied until the festival proper started.

The festival started at 3 pm and ran until 10 pm.  As usual, Elaine and I were the first ones through the door.  The fest itself was well-organized (thanks to the efforts of Glenn Brady and the rest of the Silver Gulch staff) and not too crowded, at least in the early hours while we were there.  The beer choices were pretty extensive, especially amongst the bottled imports, and there were some great-looking bratwurst and other beer fest foods on offer.  The boys from HooDoo were there in their lederhosen, so I had to pose for a photo with them:

We were there for about two and a half hours, having a marvelous time, but we ducked out to go find some supper as things started to get more crowded.

On the return journey south, we stopped for lunch at Prospectors Pizzeria and Alehouse just outside of Denali National Park.  They have over fifty taps, with a ton of beers from local breweries.  When we were there, they had beers from 49th State, Sleeping Lady, Midnight Sun, Glacier BrewHouse, Silver Gulch, Alaskan (including a Rough Draft offering), King Street, Denali, Kenai River, Kassik's, Broken Tooth, and Arkose.  That's a pretty extensive line-up!  Plus, they have lots of excellent brews from Outside, both from the Lower 48 and imports.  I ended up drinking a glass of Biere De Miel Farmhouse Ale from Brasserie Dupont, which is one of my favorite breweries in the world.  The food was also excellent, and the portion sizes were huge!  Go here hungry or plan to take food home with you.

After lunch, we rolled south again to Talkeetna.  This time, we stopped at the production brewery at Mile 2 on the Talkeetna Spur Road, to meet with Boe Barnett, another of the principals behind Denali Brewing Company.  I was very impressed by the size of the brewing and canning operation here, with a 30-barrel brewhouse and 570 barrels worth of fermentor capacity either in use or in the process of coming on-line.  The three brand-new 120 barrel conical fermentors are particularly impressive, as was the huge storage space, filled with towering pallets of empty cans.  Later this year, they plan to open a taproom at this facility, with 12 taps pouring beers from noon to 6 pm.  They've only been in the new facility for two years, but they are already short on space and are planning to expand the cold storage room by another 60 extension.  The also have a sweet 1 barrel Blichmann brewing system that any homebrewer would give his eyeteeth for.  They use it (and a cute little conical inside a standard home refrigerator) to brew their test batches.  While Boe and I chatted, we sampled a Beklgian-style Quadruple that was keg-conditioned with brett; look for it to be released in the fall.

This was pretty much the last stop on our northern beer run.  All the developments made it clear to me that once every five years is much to long to wait between visits to the dynamic beer spots in this part of the state.  I'm going to have to visit much more often in the future.

You are probably wondering when I'm going to be giving you reviews of all the great beers I mentioned drinking above.  Well, that will be covered in Part II of this blog, along with other beer news. 

However, I have gotten one piece of beer news that is just too big to delay: King Street Brewing Company has joined the ranks of the breweries in alaska who are now canning their beers!  Here's the press release from Dana Walukiewicz:

"We canned our Blonde last week and will be canning our Pilsner this week.  About every week we hope to can a different beer so that people get an opportunity to take their favorite King Street brew with them on the go.  Last week we released a few cans to La Bodega and this week Brown Jug will have some too.  We also started selling them out of the tap room last Friday.  Our canning runs are pretty small, like 50-100 cases at a time.  So we don't expect them to hang around for long...but we'll try to keep up!"

Here's a photo of the finished product:

Finally, remember that tickets for the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival on Saturday, August 10th are now on sale at local breweries here on the Peninsula and at La Bodega in Anchorage.  This year's fest will be even bigger and better than last year's, so don't miss it!

Look for Part II, wth more beer news and the beer reviews from the Fairbanks run early next week.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Losing Daylight

Well, the Summer Solstice has passed, and we are once more losing daylight, and, as the Starks would say on Game of Thrones: "Winter is Coming".  But we've still got lots of summer before we have to start worrying about that, so let's eat, drink, and be merry while we can!

Speaking of being merry, tickets for the 3rd Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival should be on sale by this weekend at Kassik's Brewery, Kenai River Brewing, St. Elias Brewing, and Seward Brewing Company.  If you're in Anchorage, try La Bodega to pick up yours.  I strongly recommend you buy tickets in advance, as the festival gets better attended every year, so there's no telling how many they might have left to sell at the door this time round.  They're up to fifteen breweries in attendance this year, plus lots of other beers being poured by Odom and Specialty Imports.  Also tons of good food and good music.  Don't miss it!

One of the breweries in attendance will be HooDoo Brewing Company of Fairbanks.  They have just released a weissebeer, made with a real Bavarian yeast strain.  Look for lots of banana, cloves, and even bubble gum flavors in this one, all produced by this unique yeast.  A real summer thirst quencher, perfect for the Fairbanks summer heat.

I hear Midnight Sun has a couple of new brews, one on offer already and one coming soon.  Pleasuretown IPA is a standard or "single" IPA, brewed with plenty of citrusy hops, great for enjoying in the sun on MSBC's deck.  The have also brewed an as-yet-unnamed IPA with and for the Brown Jug Warehouse team.  It will be only available at their growler bar and at The Loft. Brewed with Columbus, Chinook, Citra and Pacifica hops, then dry hopped with Citra and Centennial, this IPA will need a name, and Brown Jug has decided to make a contest of it.  There's nothing on their website yet, but the details will be coming up there soon.  Basically, you will email in your name idea, and if your name is chosen you win a $500 gift card to Brown Jug. That's like a year of growler fills, if you are a moderate imbiber. Or one heck of a party! The beer will be delivered on Monday to their growler bar locations just in time for Fourth of July festivities.


At Denali Brewing, they have three new 120-barrel conical fermenters in service, which is always good news.  Plus, cans of their Twister Creek IPA and Single Engine Red Ale are now on offer at the Alaska Lodge in Sea-Tac Airport.  So if you're craving a good beer on your way to or from our fair state, you know where you can find it.


By all accounts the Solstice Brewfest at 49th State Brewing in Healy was a great success, and they are keeping the action going with nightly specials.  I should be there myself in a couple of weeks, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Over at Anchorage Brewing Company, they were bottling Batch #3 of their Bitter Monk DIPA (reviewed 10/12/2011) earlier this week, so once it bottle-conditions, we should be seeing it on the shelves.  The Arctic Saison, which they brewed in collaboration with Hill Farmstead Brewing (see my 5/22/2013 blog), has now been released and has been chosen as a Beer of the Month Club selection.  I believe it's on the shelves in Anchorage, so if you like funky saisons, you should definitely grab a bottle or two.


Here on the Peninsula, the brewers are all running as fast as they can, just to keep up with the summer demand.  At St. Elias Brewing, the Melvinator Helles and Chainsaw Logger are long gone, though this year's version of Sunfire Saison has taken their place.  The time around, Zach decided to use the Brasserie Dupont saison yeast strain.  The word amongst homebrewers is that this particular strain is tricky to use, but Zach reports he had no troubles.  The result is a saison noticeably drier and slightly hoppier that its predecessors by the same name.  Very nice, so get it while it lasts!.

OK, let's do some reviews.  I've been mighty light on them for the last couple of blogs, so let's make up for that, shall we?

First up, Sun of a Beak, a collaboration barley wine from Midnight Sun and Black Raven Brewing Company of Redmond, WA.  The beer was brewed with molasses, birch syrup, and toasted coconut, and weighed in at 8.3% ABV, 52 IBUs.  It poured opaque, with a big, tan head.  The aroma had toasty, roasty, and sweet notes, On the palate there were the same flavors plus some bourbon and wood notes from the barrel aging, but no discernible (at least by my palate) coconut.  This was OK by  me (I don't like coconut!) but several other on-line beer reviewers were disappointed by its absence.  At only 8.3%, it quite drinkable for a barley wine.

Moving on to New Belgium Brewing Company, the first beer from them is their Rampant Imperial IPA. It poured a deep, clear gold with a dig, dense white head.  Very enticing.  The nose was full of bright American hops, with plenty of resiny and citrusy notes.  There was plenty of good bitterness in the initial attack, as you'd expect, followed by lots of good, clean hop flavors and aroma.  Dangerously drinkable for an imperial IPA, it's 8.5% ABV could easily sneak up on you.  I also found it curious that it's priced the same in our local stores as it's less hoppy & less alcoholic sibling, Ranger IPA.  Worth seeking out.

The second brew from New Belgium is a new American classic, this year's version of their La Folie Sour Brown Ale, a member of their Lips of Faith series.  One of the first sour ales ever brewed in the US, this is a beer I've always wanted to try.  It poured a deep, translucent ruby, with a nice cream-colored head.  The aroma was a pleasant sourness with lots of malty back notes.  There was a serious sour attack, with good mouthfeel and good carbonation.  I could detect none of the wood-aging (other than the sourness itself), and I thought the finish was a bit lackluster, but overall a very nice sour brown, reminiscent of the classic Leifman's Goudenband Brown Ale that was its inspiration. 7% ABV.

I also had another of the Lips of Faith series from New Belgium, Heavenly Feijoa Tripel, brewed in collaboration with Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel of Montreal.  I will admit that I had to use Google to see just what a feijoa was.  Here's a picture of its fruit and flowers:

So what would it be like, used in a 9% ABV  tripel?  The beer poured a clear gold with a small, white head. The aroma had the earthy, spicy notes of a Belgian yeast, plus some tart, citrus notes from fruit.  On the palate, it seemed the tart fruit notes came through more strongly than the spicy yeast flavors, a reversal from the nose.  I typically am not taken by fruit beers, but this one was pretty good, actually.  Not sure I'd buy another, but I'm happy I tried it.  And now I know what a feijoa looks like...


A friend brought me back a bottle of Winema Wit from the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon.  It poured a cloudy gold with a nice, white head.  The aroma was classic wit: orange peel and coriander.  One the palate it was nice and refreshing, with good carbonation and a light mouthfeel, plus good, clean flavors.  A very nice wit, and the perfect beer to enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. 5.1% ABV, 18 IBUs.

Speaking of hot summer afternoons, weekend before last I came in hot and sweaty from a hike.  After a shower, I was looking for a refreshing beer to drink while I grilled up some steaks for supper, and I selected an Origins Burgundy Sour Ale from Crooked Stave.  It was an inspired choice! It poured a dark ruby with a nice bream-colored head.  The nose had some tartness and some wood, which were replicated on the palate: sour, oaky, refreshing and revitalizing!  Just want I wanted after a long, hot hike.  I can't think of a recent time when the beer in my hand better matched my mood and what I wanted to be drinking.  Excellent brew, like everything else from Crooked Stave.  6.5% ABV.

Last, but certainly not least, Darkest Hour Belgian-style Imperial Stout from Anchorage Brewing Company.  This beer has been a very long time in coming, but trust me, it was worth the wait.  Aged in French oak pinot noir and rye whisky barrels, this is a 13% ABV , 40 IBU heavy weight.  It poured opaque with a nice, persistent mocha colored head.  The nose had lots of whisky and wood notes, mixed in with the roasted barley and malty sweetness - very rich and complex.  On the tongue, it was more of the same, with a thick, chewy mouthfeel surrounding notes of dark fruit, chocolate, roasted coffee, oak, whisky, and wine, all in an intricate and complex dance across your taste buds.  The finish is long and slow, with some alcohol heat at the end.  This is a superb beer, one deserving of being savored in small glasses between a group of appreciative friends.  When I tasted it for this review, I was drinking alone and feeling almost guilty for keeping it to myself.  Seek it out at all costs.

Well, that's about it for this week's blog.  Next week's may be a bit late, what with the 4th of July holiday and all.  While you wait, get out and enjoy this summer weather while it lasts.  After all, we're losing daylight...

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Breaking News: Radio Talk Show on Beer!

Some breaking news:  I'll be one of the guests on tomorrow's Coffee Table on KDLL 91.9 FM/KBBI 890 AM, along with Zach Henry from St. Elias Brewing Company, and representatives from Homer Brewing Company and the Bear Creek Winery.  We'll be talking about the brewing and wine making on the Peninsula.  The show will be broadcast from 9 am to 10 am tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26th. Should be a lot of fun, so tune in if you can!

Basking in the Summer Sun

The warm spell continues here on the Kenai Peninsula and across most of the state.  Perhaps this is

Send more tourists!

our karmic reward for a long, cold winter and a miserable spring?  Whatever the reason, it's very enjoyable.  The only fly in the ointment -- pardon the pun -- is our bumper crop of mosquitoes.  Growing up in New Orleans, I thought I'd seen my share of bugs, but I'll be the first one to say that the Alaska mosquito takes the prize.  We've got no ticks or fleas up here, so the mosquitoes have to do triple blood-sucking duty, and they do it with relish.

Moving on to happier thoughts, we had the Kenai River Festival last weekend in Soldotna.  Given the exceptionally fine weather, attendance was phenomenal, as was the business at the beer  tent.  Both Kenai River Brewing and Kassik's Brewery were pouring a rotating selection of their brews.  By early Saturday evening, supplies were running so low that Kenai River brought in their Sunday beer allotment as well, but even so by 9:30 pm both breweries had completely sold out of beer!  On Sunday Kassik's was able to bring in their Sunday allotment, so the tent was able to reopen.  Quite a testament to the quality of our local brews and how much we like them!

(And before you ask, no, I did not play a big role in the sales. I only had one pint Saturday evening.)

More festival news.  The flier for the 3rd Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival has been released.  Here it is:

Click to enlarge

I want to call your particular attention to the list of breweries at the bottom.  Notice how much bigger it is than last year's?  The word is out about what a good fest we have down here, and brewers all across the state are making plans to attend.  So mark your calendars for Saturday, August 10th; it's going to be a great time!

In my last blog, I mentioned the Solstice Beer Fest taking place up in Healy next weekend.  Here's a more informative flier for that one:

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I also mentioned the beer dinner taking place at 49th State Brewing Company next Wednesday.  Here's the menu for that event:

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What an amazing menu; it's making my mouth water just to read it!


I wrote back on 5/22 about foudres being delivered to Anchorage Brewing Company.  If you've ever wondered how those big wooden vessels make it into the Brett Cave, the answer is this: one stave at a time!  Their Facebook page has a nice series of photos, showing the dis-assembly and reassembly of the foudres. Very interesting stuff!

Father's Day is this Sunday, and both HooDoo Brewing Company and Midnight Sun Brewing Company are offering special package deals on their beers & logo'd stuff.  If you're in either Fairbanks or Anchorage and are stuck for a gift, check them out.

Midnight Sun has also released a new collaboration brew, Joan of Arctic.  It's the joint project of Chelsea from MSBC and Jessica Gilman from Stone Brewing Company in San Diego. It's brewed with rhubarb and wild flower honey.

Glacier BrewHouse is hosting another blood drive next Friday, June 21.  They're offering a free appetizer and a pint glass (filled with root beer) to every donor.  Here's the flier for that:

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Arkose Brewery in Palmer will be having another of their excellent Beer Meets Chocolate events in two weeks.  Here's the flier for it:

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These events always sell out, so make your reservations well in advance!

The long-awaited 3rd canned beer from Kenai River Brewing is now a reality.  Peninsula Brewer's Reserve (aka PBR) is now available in cans.  In Anchorage it's now on sale at the Brown Jug Warehouse at Tudor and Old Seward, and will soon be making it's appearance in other locations where fine beer is sold.  It's a great beer to drink cold on a hot summer's day.

I finally made it into St. Elias Brewing Company last Monday evening.  Unfortunately, owner Zach Henry was not around, so I could not pick his brain for detailed information on current and upcoming releases, but I did get to try his new Chainsaw Logger Lager.  It's one of the newest brews on the menu, along with the Melvinator Helles Lager and returning summer-time favorites Island Girl Raspberry Kolsch and Hefeweizen.

Chainsaw Logger poured a deep gold color, with a nice white head.  The aroma was laced with American hops; you won't mistake this beer for some Euro-lager, I can guarantee that.  On the palate the carbonation was good and the flavors were very clean, as you'd expect from a lager.  There's respectable but not overwhelming bitterness up front, then a good, clean malt flavor plus enough hop flavor for balance, dropping off to a nice clean finish.  Wonderfully drinkable and a great match for the pizza I had it with.  It made me think of what a pre-Prohibition American lager might have been like, if they had made them with today's varieties of American hops.  Did I mention it's served in 20 oz glasses?  Tasty!

I had planned to write up a lot more reviews for this blog, but I'm a bit short on time (as usual).  So look for even more reviews than normal next week.  Until then, get out and enjoy some the wonderful sunshine and warm temperatures.  After all, Winter Is Coming...

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Summer At Last!

After what seems like two winters, it's finally summer here on the Peninsula.  Skies are clear and blue (mostly) and temperatures are upwards of 70 F (usually).  I'm busy and behind on this blog (typically), but I got lots of news and beer reviews, so let's get going (finally)!

One of the reasons I'm late with this blog is that I was writing an article for Alaska Magazine on Homegrown Beer & Wine.  Assuming my editor likes it, look for it in their November issue.

Silver Gulch Brewing will be having their annual Golden Days Beer Festival in Fox on Saturday, July 13th.  I'm planning to make this one, so if you're attending as well, look for me. Admission is $20 and get you 10 samples. Tickets are available at the gate or in advance at The Beer Store.  Call 907-452-2739 for more information.

Glen Brady from Silver Gulch will also be offering a couple of short course at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival later in July.  On July 23rd from 1 to 5 PM he'll teach you How to Improve Your Homebrew and on July 25th from 1 to 5 PM he'll lecture on the Pairing of Food and Beer.  Click on the links for prices and registration info.

Finally, Silver Gulch has a new brew on tap, or rather  an old brew back on tap, called Lowbush, a Cranberry Belgian Saison.  Here's how they describe it:

"A Belgian saison flavored with cranberries. Pilsen, Munich and Vienna malts are combined with Styrian Golding hops to give a delicate bittering, while spicy/peppery notes compliment the dry, tart, fruity brew."  5.6% ABV, 28 IBUs."

At HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks,  they will be holding a Fairbanks First Friday event at the brewery from 3 to 8 PM today, June 7.  You can find more info here.  Their Maibock is tapped out, so currently your choices are their Kolsch, Stout, or IPA on tap.

I can't even begin to keep up with all the events/music/food deals going on at 49th State Brewing in Healy.  Everyday, I see a new one on their Facebook page, like their $5 Blonde and Burger deal on their Late Night Menu, or $9.95 all-you-can-eat ribs late on Wednesday nights.  If you are going to be in the Healy area at all this summer, you definitely need to check out this page and see what's happening there.  Plus they will be holding a Summer Solstice Brew Fest on June 21-22.  There will also be some lead in events earlier in that week, such as Beer Chats at Prospectors Pizzeria from 4-5pm on June 17th-20th and beer dinners at 49th State Brewing on the 20th and 229 Parks Restaurant and Tavern on the 19th.  I don't have any details on the cost, but if you'll be in Healy around the Solstice, I'd call the brewery for details.

Also on Saturday, July 13th, Denali Brewing will be celebrating their anniversary.  I don't have any details yet, but I'm sure it will be a great time and worth checking out if you happen to be in Talkeetna that weekend.

This weekend is Colony Days up in the Valley, and Arkose Brewery is a big part of it. They have brewed New Colony Hefeweizen in celebration.  The celebration runs June 7, 8, & 9. Next weekend on June 14th, is Business & Industry Day in Wasilla; Arkose beers will be on tap at the Beer Garden of that event.

In Anchorage, La Bodega will be having a meeting of their Beer Club on June 18th from 4 to 6 pm at Hula Hands Restaurant. Admission for current members is free, or you can sign up for three months membership or just pay $10.  They will be tasting the new 8th Trappist beer, from St. Engelzell Brewery in Austria and The Bruery's Tradewinds Tripel and Saison Rue beers.  There will also be Hawaiian food plates available for order.  If you plan to attend, please RSVP to La Bodega at 569-3800.  La Bodega also has new summer hours; they're now open from 10 am to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

King Street Brewing has a new beer on tap.  Following their theme of the Year of Good and Evil, this one is named Devil's Moon.  It's a German-style helles lager, which should be delicious as we move into warmer summer weather.  Also, the Wheel Good Food Truck will be outside the brewery from 4 to 8 pm today.  Check out their menu here.

Midnight Sun Brewing Company has another First Firkin Friday tonight at 5 PM.  Artist Scott Clendaniel will be opening his June show at The Loft and the firkin will be Second Hand Smoke "Small" Smoked Stout, cask conditioned with cherries.  I had a sample of this brew, made from the second runnings from a batch of their Barfly Smoked Imperial Stout, back on Thursday, May 23rd.  I was heartbroken that they were only selling it by the glass and not by the growler; it was that good.

Glacier BrewHouse is encouraging folks to make Father's Day reservations there, with the slogan: "The last thing dad needs in another tie!"

 Broken Tooth Brewing and Midnight Sun Brewing Company have released their new collaboration IPA, Parallel Vines. Sean Heyer represented Broken Tooth and Davey Cacey represented Midnight Sun in the brewing process.  No details on the brew itself yet, but I'm sure it's good.

Here on the Peninsula, Seward Brewing Company has expanded their hours, now opening at 11:30 am until 9 pm.  Stop by and have a great burger for lunch!

At Kenai River Brewing Company, they have finished their first canning run of Peninsula Brewers Reserve (PBR).  Look for cans to appear in stores in a week or two, once they've had time to condition.

I haven't had the chance to stop in at St. Elias Brewing Company for several weeks, but I see they have three new brews on tap.  Island Girl Ale is back again, so it must be summer for sure; see my review on 6/15/2010.  The Melvinator is on tap; I believe it is a Bavarian-style Helles Lager.  There's also something called Chainsaw Logger; your guess as to style is as good as mine.

Finally, this weekend is the Kenai River Fest at Soldotna Creek Park.  There will be a beer garden, pouring both Kenai River Brewing and Kassik's Brewery beers.  My wife will have a booth at the festival, selling her photographic images, and I'll also be selling and signing our book, Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island Breweries (Beer on the Last Frontier: The Craft Breweries of Alaska) (Volume 1) .  Feel free to stop by and get your copy signed, if you haven't already.

OK, let's go to beer reviews.  I've got a bunch this time, many of them leftovers from The Culmination Beer Festival.


We'll start with some beers from Lawson's Finest Liquids, a tiny craft brewery in Warren, Vermont.  I'd had a slight acquaintance with their beers before, thanks to picking up a collaboration beer they did with The Bruery, Acer Quercus (see my 6/14/2012 review).  I was thoroughly impressed by it, so I was eager to try more of their stuff.  I was able to get three different beers from them.

First was their Double Sunshine IPA, at 8% ABV.  It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a big white head.  The aroma was all citrus and tropical fruit from lots of American hops, very appealing.  There was good bitterness up front and it persisted through the finish. Plenty of nice hop aroma and flavor, but balanced by the sturdy malt backbone.  A top-notch Double IPA.

Next I opened a bottle of their Fayston Maple Imperial Stout, at 10.1% ABV.   It poured opaque with a big tan head, a gorgeous-looking beer.  The nose was everything you'd look for in an imperial stout: full of big roasted coffee notes, plus some sweet elements from the maple syrup.  It's was incredibly rich and chewy on the palate, the sort of mouthfeel that you long for in a big beer like this.  The flavor profile was classic big roasty flavors, with some added sweetness, slowly falling away to a long, lingering finish.  Absolutely exceptional; one of the best imperial stouts I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

Finally, I had a bottle of their Toast Black IPA, at 5.9% ABV.  This is what I'd consider a true Black IPA, as opposed to a hoppy porter.  By that I mean it has zero roasted flavors; it achieves its black color without adding anything to the standard IPA flavor profile.  It poured very dark but with some ruby highlights and a big khaki head.  The aroma is bursting with American hops,  The bitterness was good, but not overwhelming; this isn't a West Coast hop bomb.  Carbonation is nice and the hop flavor is good.  A nice solid IPA, that just happens to be as black as midnight!

In conclusion, judging by the four of their brews that I've been able to try, I have to say that Lawson's Finest Liquids is an exceptional craft brewery.  I hope I get the chance to visit them someday, and if you are lucky enough to see anything they brew for say, I'd recommend you snap it up!

Moving on from Lawson's, I had a beer from another East Coast brewery: Smoked Porter from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Elmsford, New York.  This is another brewery which I had read about but never had the opportunity to try.  The Smoked Porter poured opaque with a big mocha-colored head.  The nose had plenty of smoke, naturally, backed up with malty notes.  Mouthfeel was light, with the smoke leading the attack, before falling away to a nice finish.  Overall, it reminded me on the German smoked beers of Bamberg more than a more robust smoked porter like Alaskan Brewing Company's.  I'd say it's a bit more drinkable fresh than Alaskan's Smoked Porter is, but much less likely to age well.  Definitely a quality beer.

I also managed to obtain a couple of bottles of Anchorage Brewing Company's latest releases,

thanks to happening to be in Anchorage on May 23rd, when they hit La Bodega (Thanks, Pamela!).  The first one I tried was Anadromous Black Sour Ale, 8.5% ABV and 30 IBUs, which was brewed with brettanomyces, pedioccocus, and lactobacillus.  It was then aged in over 40 French pinot noir wine barrels before being blended and bottle-conditioned.  The beer poured opaque with a small tan head.  The aroma is rich and slightly tart, with a touch of dark fruit; no brett funkiness, at least at this stage, but some oak elements present.  Not super sour at first taste, pleasant tartness and more oak, with medium mouthfeel and moderate carbonation.  It defintely reminded me of another beer.  It took a few moments to pull it from the old memory bank, but then I had it: Midnight Sun's Cafe Amsterdam 10th Anniversary Dark Strong Gruit. I first reviewed that hop-less brew on 5/18/2009, then again on 6/1/2010, at which point it had soured considerably.  Anadromous reminded me of that aged, more-soured version. So the next question is this: what will several months in the cellar do to its flavor profile?  I'll let you know.

The second beer is technically a beer from Mikkeller, rather than Anchorage Brewing Company, albeit that it was brewed and bottled at ABC: AK Alive Alaskan Wild Ale. It poured a deep orange-gold with a big white head. The aroma has some spicy yeast notes and some hops; nothing overwhelming.  Great carbonation, light mouthfeel.  There's good hoppiness on the attack, then some yeast spiciness on the back end, falling away to a nice, long finish.  Extremely drinkable; you'd never guess this brew is 8% ABV.  Be a wonderful beer to sample sitting in the summer sunshine on my patio.

I think I'll wrap things up here, and save some reviews for next week.  Remember, if you're at the Kenai River Fest in Soldotna this weekend, stop by and say hello.

Until Next Time, Cheers!