Bill Howell's Blog, page 13
March 21, 2014
New Beer Releases for Spring
Spring definitely went on hold last weekend, with a big snow dump in Anchorage. Wee didn't get nearly so much down here on the Peninsula and the last few days have been beautiful and sunny, if still a bit cold. This will be a bit of a short blog, as I've been running behind this week, but there are some new beer releases out there that I want to write about before they are "old news".
But before I start talking about new beers, here's a tip of the hat to Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company. His A Deal with the Devil Barley Wine just took 1st Place at the Brouwer's Hard Live Barley Wine Festival in Seattle, beating out 56 other entries. 2nd place went to Lost Abbey's Angel Share Grand Cru and 3rd place to Firestone-Walker's Sucaba. Congratulations, Gabe!
Moving on to the new releases, HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks released a Scottish Export Ale on Wednesday. Here's how they describe it:
Photo courtesy of HooDoo Brewing
I love Scottish and Scotch Ales and this one sounds excellent. Too bad I'd have to drive 600 miles to try it! There is also a very nice one-page spread on HooDoo in the latest issue of Alaska Magazine .
Barb Miller at Midnight Sun Brewing Company sent me some info about their upcoming releases. Here's what you can expect from them in the next couple of months:
Friday, April 4th at 11 AM: Release of Unite (Strong) Pale Ale, brewed with hibiscus and aged with dark sweet cherries. This beer was brewed on March 8th, International Women's Day, as part of Pink Boots Society's inaugural International Women's Collaboration Brew Day. 8% ABV, 50 IBUs, late Cascade hops, plus the hibiscus and cherries. Draft only.
A new beer series: ALASKANA- MSBC has 8 beers slated for this series at this time but this is an "open-ended" series so they can add beers as they go… The first 3 to be released in APR are Hibernator Double Smoked Bock, Matanuska Thunk Funk Saison aged in red wine barrels with Brettanomyces, and Bore Tide Wheat Wine aged in High West rye bourbon barrels.
Friday, May 2: For First Firkin Friday , MSBC will be tapping a firkin of a big beer (like Lust or Sloth). Stand by for further details.
Saturday, May 3: Midnight Sun's 19th Anniversary Party . They will be a tapping a firkin of their 19th Anniversary beer, a saison brewed with yarrow, dry-hopped with New Zealand Rakau hops.
Monday, May 5th: MSBC's actual 19th anniversary, along with Cinco de Mayo. To celebrate, they will be tapping a firkin of Pleasure Town IPA, cask-conditioned with jalapeños, serranos, coriander and lime zest.
Finally, Monday May 12th thru Sunday May 18th is American Craft Beer Week. Look for food specials and and different brews on tap in The Loft all week long. Midnight Sun will participate in the national toast to American Craft Beer at 4 PM on Monday May 12, so why not stop by and join in?
In my last blog, I wrote about some of the upcoming releases from Broken Tooth Brewing. Well, they've been good enough to create a nice graphic showing off their new bottle releases, so here it is:
Click to enlarge
Alaskan Brewing has announced a change in both the label and the recipe of their IPA. First released in 2007, Alaskan's IPA will now be called Icy Bay IPA and the label will feature a photograph of a surfer on that body of water, rather than a drawing. Here it is:
Click to enlargeThe recipe will now showcase more hop intensity in aroma and flavor, and more hop complexity with Bravo and Calypso in addition to the Cascade, Summit and Apollo hop flavors that have always been in Alaskan IPA.There’s also a higher IBU without losing the balance of a great malt backbone. 6.2% ABV, 65 IBUs.
Finally, Glacier BrewHouse has just released two new beers for spring:
Kristal Weizen -- South German-style filtered wheat beer. Clear straw in color with aromas of banana and clove. Made with premium German Pilsner Malt and German Weiss yeast. 6.07% ABV.
Saison -- French-style Saison with fruity and spicy flavors supported by a soft malt character and slight tartness. Made with special French Saison yeast. Definitely a smooth operator. 8.26% ABV.
Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseSome more news of the not-a-beer-release variety:
49th State Brewing Company in Healy has announced that they will open for business this year on April 25th, which is earlier than last year. Now word yet on what they will be offering, though several of their Hibernation series should top the list.
No date yet for the Seward Brewing Company's opening. I understand that it is under new management, but I've been unable so far to contact the new owner to get any details on his plans for 2014. I'll keep working on it.
Kenai River Brewing Company has sold their two-head manual canning machine to Baranof Island Brewing Company in Sitka. My understanding is that it's to serve as a stop-gap measure until they can get their new canning line installed later this year.
That's about it for news. How about a couple of quick reviews:
Alaskan Brewing's Jalapeno Imperial IPA: I mentioned this beer in last week's blog. Since then, I've had a chance to try it. It poured a deep clear copper color - very pretty, like a fine Scotch whisky - with a big, cream colored head. The aroma was of citrusy American hops; I couldn't detect the peppers in the nose. Carbonation was good, and the mouthfeel was medium. The initial bitter attack was good, then hop flavor, then the pepper heat, which increased toward the finish. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of chili beers, but this one from Alaskan is one of the best I've ever had. The pepper notes are restrained enough to compliment the beer, rather than dominate it. If jalapenos are your things, definitely give it a try. 8. 5% ABV.
Gigantic Brewing's Bang On Pale Ale: Another deep clear copper brew, with a nice white head. The nose had lots of enticing hop notes. Nice mouthfeel and good carbonation. Good up front bitterness, a touch of toffee, falling off to a nice, clean finish. Very moreish as our Brit cousins would say. An excellent pale ale. 5.6% ABV.
Victory Brewing's HopDevil IPA: One of the classic East Coast IPAs out there. Poured the classic copper color with a big off-white head and a nice aroma of American hops. Good lacing on the glass. Nice lingering bitterness, plenty of good clean hop flavors, but more restrained than its West Coast cousins. Very drinkable and an excellent IPA. 6.7% ABV.
That's it for this week. Hopefully we'll have more spring-like weather next week. Meantime, keep drinking good craft beer!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
But before I start talking about new beers, here's a tip of the hat to Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company. His A Deal with the Devil Barley Wine just took 1st Place at the Brouwer's Hard Live Barley Wine Festival in Seattle, beating out 56 other entries. 2nd place went to Lost Abbey's Angel Share Grand Cru and 3rd place to Firestone-Walker's Sucaba. Congratulations, Gabe!
Moving on to the new releases, HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks released a Scottish Export Ale on Wednesday. Here's how they describe it:
Photo courtesy of HooDoo BrewingThis is our take on the strongest of the Scottish Ales - the Scottish Export Ale. Rich and malty, but clean and dry. These beers often have a slight peat smoke character, so in addition to the nine varieties of Scottish, English and Belgian malts, we included a small portion of peat smoked malt to the grist for a hint of earthy smoke. OG: 13.6 // IBU: 26 // ABV: 5.6
I love Scottish and Scotch Ales and this one sounds excellent. Too bad I'd have to drive 600 miles to try it! There is also a very nice one-page spread on HooDoo in the latest issue of Alaska Magazine .
Barb Miller at Midnight Sun Brewing Company sent me some info about their upcoming releases. Here's what you can expect from them in the next couple of months:Friday, April 4th at 11 AM: Release of Unite (Strong) Pale Ale, brewed with hibiscus and aged with dark sweet cherries. This beer was brewed on March 8th, International Women's Day, as part of Pink Boots Society's inaugural International Women's Collaboration Brew Day. 8% ABV, 50 IBUs, late Cascade hops, plus the hibiscus and cherries. Draft only.
A new beer series: ALASKANA- MSBC has 8 beers slated for this series at this time but this is an "open-ended" series so they can add beers as they go… The first 3 to be released in APR are Hibernator Double Smoked Bock, Matanuska Thunk Funk Saison aged in red wine barrels with Brettanomyces, and Bore Tide Wheat Wine aged in High West rye bourbon barrels.
Friday, May 2: For First Firkin Friday , MSBC will be tapping a firkin of a big beer (like Lust or Sloth). Stand by for further details.
Saturday, May 3: Midnight Sun's 19th Anniversary Party . They will be a tapping a firkin of their 19th Anniversary beer, a saison brewed with yarrow, dry-hopped with New Zealand Rakau hops.
Monday, May 5th: MSBC's actual 19th anniversary, along with Cinco de Mayo. To celebrate, they will be tapping a firkin of Pleasure Town IPA, cask-conditioned with jalapeños, serranos, coriander and lime zest.
Finally, Monday May 12th thru Sunday May 18th is American Craft Beer Week. Look for food specials and and different brews on tap in The Loft all week long. Midnight Sun will participate in the national toast to American Craft Beer at 4 PM on Monday May 12, so why not stop by and join in?
In my last blog, I wrote about some of the upcoming releases from Broken Tooth Brewing. Well, they've been good enough to create a nice graphic showing off their new bottle releases, so here it is:
Click to enlargeAlaskan Brewing has announced a change in both the label and the recipe of their IPA. First released in 2007, Alaskan's IPA will now be called Icy Bay IPA and the label will feature a photograph of a surfer on that body of water, rather than a drawing. Here it is:
Click to enlargeThe recipe will now showcase more hop intensity in aroma and flavor, and more hop complexity with Bravo and Calypso in addition to the Cascade, Summit and Apollo hop flavors that have always been in Alaskan IPA.There’s also a higher IBU without losing the balance of a great malt backbone. 6.2% ABV, 65 IBUs.Finally, Glacier BrewHouse has just released two new beers for spring:
Kristal Weizen -- South German-style filtered wheat beer. Clear straw in color with aromas of banana and clove. Made with premium German Pilsner Malt and German Weiss yeast. 6.07% ABV.
Saison -- French-style Saison with fruity and spicy flavors supported by a soft malt character and slight tartness. Made with special French Saison yeast. Definitely a smooth operator. 8.26% ABV.
Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseSome more news of the not-a-beer-release variety:
49th State Brewing Company in Healy has announced that they will open for business this year on April 25th, which is earlier than last year. Now word yet on what they will be offering, though several of their Hibernation series should top the list. No date yet for the Seward Brewing Company's opening. I understand that it is under new management, but I've been unable so far to contact the new owner to get any details on his plans for 2014. I'll keep working on it.
Kenai River Brewing Company has sold their two-head manual canning machine to Baranof Island Brewing Company in Sitka. My understanding is that it's to serve as a stop-gap measure until they can get their new canning line installed later this year.
That's about it for news. How about a couple of quick reviews:
Alaskan Brewing's Jalapeno Imperial IPA: I mentioned this beer in last week's blog. Since then, I've had a chance to try it. It poured a deep clear copper color - very pretty, like a fine Scotch whisky - with a big, cream colored head. The aroma was of citrusy American hops; I couldn't detect the peppers in the nose. Carbonation was good, and the mouthfeel was medium. The initial bitter attack was good, then hop flavor, then the pepper heat, which increased toward the finish. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of chili beers, but this one from Alaskan is one of the best I've ever had. The pepper notes are restrained enough to compliment the beer, rather than dominate it. If jalapenos are your things, definitely give it a try. 8. 5% ABV.
Gigantic Brewing's Bang On Pale Ale: Another deep clear copper brew, with a nice white head. The nose had lots of enticing hop notes. Nice mouthfeel and good carbonation. Good up front bitterness, a touch of toffee, falling off to a nice, clean finish. Very moreish as our Brit cousins would say. An excellent pale ale. 5.6% ABV.
Victory Brewing's HopDevil IPA: One of the classic East Coast IPAs out there. Poured the classic copper color with a big off-white head and a nice aroma of American hops. Good lacing on the glass. Nice lingering bitterness, plenty of good clean hop flavors, but more restrained than its West Coast cousins. Very drinkable and an excellent IPA. 6.7% ABV.That's it for this week. Hopefully we'll have more spring-like weather next week. Meantime, keep drinking good craft beer!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
March 12, 2014
Not So Fast on That Early Spring...
Since in my last blog I speculated on a possible early spring, we had to get more snow. Not a lot, but enough to remind everyone that winter's not quite done yet. So batten down the hatches and stand by for some more heavy weather until we can finally escape this weird winter we've been having.
I wrote about the Beer and Swine Festival on April 5th in my last blog. Nothing really new to say about them, but they do have a new poster out, which is a bit easier to read than their original one, so here it is:
Click to Enlarge
Last time round I also wrote about the Talkeetna Beer Trippin' that the Great Northern Brewers will be holding the same weekend as the Beer and Swine Festival. The menu for the Beer Dinner at Twister Creek on Friday, April 4th has now been released. Here it is:
Click to enlarge
Looks like there will be plenty of delicious food paired with outstanding beers and exceptional company.
Baranof Island Brewing Company is still on a roll after receiving their $350k loan from the city of Sitka. They'll be holding an event at Nome's Arctic Native Brotherhood Club the Friday, March 14th, to raise money for the ANB. Besides their beer, their will be food and live music. Here's the flier for that event:
Click to enlarge
Midnight Sun Brewing Company has a nice new ad in this month's Beer Advocate magazine. Here it is:
Sunday, March 8th, was National Brew Day for the Pink Boots Society. I'm looking forward to tasting their collaboration brew.
Anchorage Brewing Company is working on Batch #2 of Arctic Soiree (see my review of Batch #1 in my last blog). Look for #2 to hit shelves in about a month. They also said to expect more Love Buzz Saison in June. Gabe was also trying to enter Batch #2 of The Tide and Its Takers Tripel in the World Beer Cup. If he was able to scare up enough of it to do so, I suspect ABC will have another award to hang on its wall soon. Tickets for The Culmination Festival have still not yet gone on sale, but when they do, I will make a Breaking News post (after I've bought my own, of course!).
I had a data dump from Tyler Jones at Broken Tooth Brewing regarding beers that are on tap at Moose's Tooth . Rather than paraphrase it, I'll just give you the whole thing:
Tyler also reports that Broken Tooth should be releasing their bottle-conditioned beers soon, perhaps as early this week. They had some problems with the labeling, but that's been taken care of.
Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Company will be having a First Tap Party this Saturday, March 15th, at 5 PM. In homer of St. Patrick's Day, they will be serving Kachemak Bay Oysters and corned beer and cabbage to pair with their news Dry Irish Stout. Here's how they describe it:
South on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks, 49th State Brewing has begun to stir to life after a long winter's nap. It may be -22F in Healy, but that's not stopping them from taking delivery of new tanks which will triple their production capacity. Still a month or so until they open, but it looks to be another banner year for them.
Alaskan Brewing has released the latest beer in their Pilot Series: Jalapeno Imperial IPA. I've seen it on sale locally, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Their release notes describe it as an "Imperial IPA made from glacier-fed water, the finest quality Centennial, Sterling, Magnum, and Apollo hops, premium two-row and specialty malts, and a whole lot of fresh jalapeños." I'm sure I will have a review done soon.
Speaking of reviews, I only have two for this blog, as I haven't been drinking a lot of new beers lately. But first, I want to do a quasi-review of the latest batch of Czech Point Pilsner from St. Elias Brewing Company. I reviewed this beer back on 4/12/2013, and this year's batch is just as excellent. The only difference is that this year, Zach Henry used Sterling hops, rather than the traditional Saaz. Comparing the present beer to my memories, I couldn't taste a difference. It would be interesting to taste them side by side to look for changes, but alas, that's not possible. Regardless, it's an excellent pilsner, so get it while it lasts.
Midnight Sun's 3000 Belgian-style Barley Wine: I reviewed this beer on 2/15/2013, shortly after its release, so how has a year in the cellar changed it? It poured opaque with a mocha-colored head that was much bigger and denser than is typical for such a strong beer; it was also surprisingly long-lasting and left excellent lacing. The red-wine & oak notes in the nose had eased off a bit after a year, but they were still there, while the alcohol and malt notes seemed to have increased. Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was good, though a bit drier than its typical for such a big beer. The flavor profile was just a complex as you'd expect, with the rich caramel and toffee notes contrasting to the vinous oak notes, before falling off to a nice finish. A year in the cellar has definitely improved this beer, but I still don't think it's reached its peak. 13.% ABV, 25 IBUs.
Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast: Brewed at the Anchorage Brewing Company, this is an oatmeal stout made with coffee and fermented in oak. It poured opaque with a nice tan head that left good lacing. The aroma was a blend of roasted coffee flavors and sweet malt notes, like a cup of black coffee with sugar in it. The carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was medium. On the palate there was a silky smoothness from the oats and a roasty bitter bite, that grew even stronger as the rest of the flavors fall away at the finish. An excellent example of a coffee stout. 7.5% ABV.
Well, that's it for this week. I should have more beer reviews next time around.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
I wrote about the Beer and Swine Festival on April 5th in my last blog. Nothing really new to say about them, but they do have a new poster out, which is a bit easier to read than their original one, so here it is:
Click to EnlargeLast time round I also wrote about the Talkeetna Beer Trippin' that the Great Northern Brewers will be holding the same weekend as the Beer and Swine Festival. The menu for the Beer Dinner at Twister Creek on Friday, April 4th has now been released. Here it is:
Click to enlargeLooks like there will be plenty of delicious food paired with outstanding beers and exceptional company.
Baranof Island Brewing Company is still on a roll after receiving their $350k loan from the city of Sitka. They'll be holding an event at Nome's Arctic Native Brotherhood Club the Friday, March 14th, to raise money for the ANB. Besides their beer, their will be food and live music. Here's the flier for that event:
Click to enlargeMidnight Sun Brewing Company has a nice new ad in this month's Beer Advocate magazine. Here it is:
Sunday, March 8th, was National Brew Day for the Pink Boots Society. I'm looking forward to tasting their collaboration brew.
Anchorage Brewing Company is working on Batch #2 of Arctic Soiree (see my review of Batch #1 in my last blog). Look for #2 to hit shelves in about a month. They also said to expect more Love Buzz Saison in June. Gabe was also trying to enter Batch #2 of The Tide and Its Takers Tripel in the World Beer Cup. If he was able to scare up enough of it to do so, I suspect ABC will have another award to hang on its wall soon. Tickets for The Culmination Festival have still not yet gone on sale, but when they do, I will make a Breaking News post (after I've bought my own, of course!).
I had a data dump from Tyler Jones at Broken Tooth Brewing regarding beers that are on tap at Moose's Tooth . Rather than paraphrase it, I'll just give you the whole thing:
Better Off Red (India Red Ale) When you’re down to one ski and you need fuel to tackle an untamed slope like the wicked K12, look no further. Takeoff with a burst of lavish flavor from Amarillo, Challenger and Crystal hops. Then ride the fortified base of pale and Munich malts, and finish with a touch of roast malt to score a luscious crimson hue. Go that way really fast, if something gets in your way, turn! You'll be the hottest thing since sunburn! Brewed by Sean Heyer. OG 1.058, ~65 IBU, 6.2% ABV
Vanna Brown (American Brown) Still missing the Midtown Brown? Solve the puzzle with this smooth, malt-rich roasty brown ale!Brewed by Sean Heyer OG 1.055 ~38 IBU ABV 5.4%
Something Red (Red Ale) A beautiful single-hop red ale featuring fruity/citrusy Simcoe hops. Brewed by Dave Parker OG 1.064 42 IBUs ABV 6.1%.
Let It ESB (Extra Special Bitter) A big ESB which straddles the fence between a traditional ESB and a contemporary IPA. Brewed by Sean Heyer OG 1.068 ~50 IBU ABV 5.9%
Méprise (Belgian Brown) A fortuitous accident while loading grain yielded this Belgian Beauty. Spiced with Coriander & Orange Peel. Brewed by Dave Parker OG 1.084 ~26 IBU ABV 8.4%
Wheatwine ’14 (WheatWine) You all know by now what a BarleyWine is. A WheatWine is similar, only it’s brewed with, you guessed it: Wheat.Brewed by Dave Parker OG 1.091 ~65 IBU ABV 10.1%
C’est Chic (Belgo-Amero IPA) Auhhh - Freak Out! Le Freak - C’est Chic… Freak Out! Le Freak - C’est Chic... Brewed by Dave Parker OG 1.078, ~87 IBU, 8.4% ABV
Smokin' Willie Porter (Smoked Brown Porter) Based on our Prince William Porter, this beer begins very subtly and (slowly) develops into a filling, rich and adventurous experience. A beautiful balance of chocolate and brewery-smoked malt character that’s flavor-forward without being overwhelming. Brewed by Aaron Benolkin OG 1.065 29 IBU ABV 6.0%
Darth Delirium 2014 (Belgian-Style Stout) Bold, Black & Beautiful. Brewed with love and chocolate and aged for a year. Brewed by Sean & Dave OG 1.099 ~78 IBU ABV 10.1%
Devil’s Thumb Double IPA (Double IPA) 6 Varieties of American hops balanced with strong citric and tropical flavors. Brewed By Dave Parker OG 1.082, ~86 IBU, 9.4% ABV
Cheechokoholic (Brown Ale plus Cocoa) Chocolatey and Fresh in Alaska!Brewed by Sean Heyer OG 1.057, ~28 IBU, 5.2% ABV
Tyler also reports that Broken Tooth should be releasing their bottle-conditioned beers soon, perhaps as early this week. They had some problems with the labeling, but that's been taken care of.
Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Company will be having a First Tap Party this Saturday, March 15th, at 5 PM. In homer of St. Patrick's Day, they will be serving Kachemak Bay Oysters and corned beer and cabbage to pair with their news Dry Irish Stout. Here's how they describe it:
Stepping Stone Stout
(Irish Dry Stout)
Stepping Stone is a tip of the hat to the Yukon Quest and one of the most inviting hospitality check points on the trail. Congratulations to Mandy Nauman and her dogs for their 2014 Quest finish!
This stout should not be feared. While it is dark and roasty it is smooth, easy-drinking and ‘session-able’. This stout starts with hints of coffee and chocolate then gives way to a clean and dry finish leaving you yearning for the next sip. Sláinte! 4.9% ABV, 30 IBUs.
South on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks, 49th State Brewing has begun to stir to life after a long winter's nap. It may be -22F in Healy, but that's not stopping them from taking delivery of new tanks which will triple their production capacity. Still a month or so until they open, but it looks to be another banner year for them.
Alaskan Brewing has released the latest beer in their Pilot Series: Jalapeno Imperial IPA. I've seen it on sale locally, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Their release notes describe it as an "Imperial IPA made from glacier-fed water, the finest quality Centennial, Sterling, Magnum, and Apollo hops, premium two-row and specialty malts, and a whole lot of fresh jalapeños." I'm sure I will have a review done soon.Speaking of reviews, I only have two for this blog, as I haven't been drinking a lot of new beers lately. But first, I want to do a quasi-review of the latest batch of Czech Point Pilsner from St. Elias Brewing Company. I reviewed this beer back on 4/12/2013, and this year's batch is just as excellent. The only difference is that this year, Zach Henry used Sterling hops, rather than the traditional Saaz. Comparing the present beer to my memories, I couldn't taste a difference. It would be interesting to taste them side by side to look for changes, but alas, that's not possible. Regardless, it's an excellent pilsner, so get it while it lasts.
Midnight Sun's 3000 Belgian-style Barley Wine: I reviewed this beer on 2/15/2013, shortly after its release, so how has a year in the cellar changed it? It poured opaque with a mocha-colored head that was much bigger and denser than is typical for such a strong beer; it was also surprisingly long-lasting and left excellent lacing. The red-wine & oak notes in the nose had eased off a bit after a year, but they were still there, while the alcohol and malt notes seemed to have increased. Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was good, though a bit drier than its typical for such a big beer. The flavor profile was just a complex as you'd expect, with the rich caramel and toffee notes contrasting to the vinous oak notes, before falling off to a nice finish. A year in the cellar has definitely improved this beer, but I still don't think it's reached its peak. 13.% ABV, 25 IBUs.
Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast: Brewed at the Anchorage Brewing Company, this is an oatmeal stout made with coffee and fermented in oak. It poured opaque with a nice tan head that left good lacing. The aroma was a blend of roasted coffee flavors and sweet malt notes, like a cup of black coffee with sugar in it. The carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was medium. On the palate there was a silky smoothness from the oats and a roasty bitter bite, that grew even stronger as the rest of the flavors fall away at the finish. An excellent example of a coffee stout. 7.5% ABV.
Well, that's it for this week. I should have more beer reviews next time around.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
February 28, 2014
Early Spring?
It's hard to believe it's still February, what with daytime highs in the upper 40s and snow melting left and right. Of course, Mother nature is probably just setting us all up for a killer late March cold snap, once everything has started trying to bloom. Still, we might as well enjoy this good weather while we can.
I'm a week behind on this blog due to having to prepare and deliver a couple of presentations. I gave on last Thursday as part of the KPC Showcase series and I've got another one tonight.
If you'll be out on the town tonight, I'll be giving a presentation at the Kenai Fine Arts Center , starting at about 6 pm, entitled "The Impact of Beer Upon History" . Yes, I know it's rather ambitious to try to cover 10,000 years in one evening, so why not come on by and see how I do it. I'll be signing copies of my books afterwards, so if you missed out on getting them signed last week at the KPC Showcase , here's another chance.
Speaking of events, Green Star's Beer & Swine Fest will be taking place at the Snow Goose in Anchorage on Saturday, April 5th. There will be two tasting sessions, one from 2 to 5 pm, and one from 6 to 9 pm. Each session will be limited to 150 tickets, which will go on sale at the Green Star website on Tuesday, March 4. Look for beverages from Midnight Sun, Bear Creek Winery, Odom Corp., Specialty Imports, Anchorage Brewing, Kenai River Brewing, Sleeping Lady Brewing, and 49th State Brewing, along with appetizers from various restaurants and a silent auction. Here's the flier for it:
Sounds like it should be a fantastic time and it's for a great cause, so get your tickets next week.
The same weekend as the Beer & Swine , the Great Northern Brewers will be having their Talkeetna Beer Trippin' Event . Here's the schedule for that:
Click to enlarge
I've yet to make one of these, but I keep hoping, as it sounds like a great time.
Up at HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks, they tapped a new beer yesterday: HooDoo Tripel. Here's how they describe it:
Photo courtesy of HooDoo Brewing
Unfortunately, we never get any HooDoo beers down south; they're so popular in Fairbanks, that there's none left for us!
Due to not getting a blog out last week, I missed spreading the word about another great event, which took place at Glacier BrewHouse Wednesday night. I think the flier speaks for itself:
Kudos to Jeff King and Glacier for supporting such a worthy cause.
Anchorage Brewing Company has released the label for their Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales collaboration beer:
Click to enlarge
At Kenai River Brewing, they've been quite busy pumping out 305 cases of Peninsula Brewers Reserve. Here's the proof:
Photo courtesy of Kenai River BrewingAt St. Elias Brewing Company, there's both good news and bad news. The bad news is the H&H Winter Warmer, the Burton Ale that Zach Henry and I brewed, has gone the way of all flesh. All that's left is a single cask which Zach plans to put on handpump in the second half of March.
The good news is that it's been replaced by two new beers: Insidious XPA and Queen of Hearts. There's a review of the XPA below. The Queen of Hearts is described as "a blackberry lambic style ale aged in red wine barrels with wild yeast for 8 months." Zach also tells me that there should be a new Czech pilsner on tap by early next week; the twist of this one is that he used Sterling hops, rather than the traditional Saaz variety. It will be interesting to see how it turned out.
OK, let's do some beer reviews.
Grassroots Brewing's Arctic Soiree: A collaboration between Anchorage Brewing and Hill Farmstead Brewing, you know this brew is unusual as soon as it hits the glass, since it pours a clear pink (!) with a small white head that dissipates to a collar. The aroma has the distinctive Brett funk. Mouthfeel is light and the carbonation is moderate. On the palate there are floral notes from the hibiscus added, no perceptible hop flavor, followed by some tartness from the Brett and lime juice on the finish. 6% ABV. A very unusual brew, to say the least, but I enjoyed it. To a certain degree, it reminded me more of herbal tea than beer.
Anchorage Brewing Company's 2014 Rondy Brew Saison with Lemon Grass & Brett: Another brew from the wooden world of Gabe Fletcher, this one tasted much more like beer than the preceding one. It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a big white head that left good lacing. The nose was a pleasing blend of funk from the Brett and citrus from the lemon grass. Carbonation and mouthfeel were both good, and the beer was tart on the palate without being truly sour, thanks to the combo of Brett & lemon grass. There was a touch of excessive bitterness on the finish, but overall I liked it a lot. 6% ABV, 30 IBUs.
Green's Gluten-Free Dry-Hopped Lager: I must admit, I only tried this beer at the request of Jhon Gilroy of Merchant du Vin , as I have not had much luck with gluten-free beers in the past. Still, I am always willing to experiment, so I gave this beer a try. It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a decent white head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma had plenty of citrusy hop notes. Carbonation was OK, though the mouthfeel was slightly thin. The bitterness was good, and it had a clean lager taste, but I thought the finish was a bit lacking. All-in-all, judged against your typical craft beer, I'd say this one was decent, not exceptional. However, judged against your typical gluten-free beer, it was outstanding. Most gluten-free beers, I can't bring myself to finish my first glass, much less the bottle. With this one. I actually drank a second bottle. Personally, I am very grateful that I don't suffer from celiac disease, so I can drink the real thing. But if you are a beer-lover who needs to drink gluten-free, Green's Gluten-Free Dry-Hopped Lager is about the best things I've seen come along.
St. Elias Brewing Company's Insidious XPA: Pours a very light gold with a big white head. The nose reveals the presence of plenty of Galaxy and Citra hops. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. The hop flavor and aroma is great. At 4.5% ABV, this is an excellent session ale. If it was summer, this would be a classic "lawnmower beer". This is the beer to have when you plan to have more than one.
Well, that's it for this week. Keep enjoying this warm weather while it lasts, and I'll be back next week with more beer news and reviews.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
I'm a week behind on this blog due to having to prepare and deliver a couple of presentations. I gave on last Thursday as part of the KPC Showcase series and I've got another one tonight.
If you'll be out on the town tonight, I'll be giving a presentation at the Kenai Fine Arts Center , starting at about 6 pm, entitled "The Impact of Beer Upon History" . Yes, I know it's rather ambitious to try to cover 10,000 years in one evening, so why not come on by and see how I do it. I'll be signing copies of my books afterwards, so if you missed out on getting them signed last week at the KPC Showcase , here's another chance.
Speaking of events, Green Star's Beer & Swine Fest will be taking place at the Snow Goose in Anchorage on Saturday, April 5th. There will be two tasting sessions, one from 2 to 5 pm, and one from 6 to 9 pm. Each session will be limited to 150 tickets, which will go on sale at the Green Star website on Tuesday, March 4. Look for beverages from Midnight Sun, Bear Creek Winery, Odom Corp., Specialty Imports, Anchorage Brewing, Kenai River Brewing, Sleeping Lady Brewing, and 49th State Brewing, along with appetizers from various restaurants and a silent auction. Here's the flier for it:
Sounds like it should be a fantastic time and it's for a great cause, so get your tickets next week.
The same weekend as the Beer & Swine , the Great Northern Brewers will be having their Talkeetna Beer Trippin' Event . Here's the schedule for that:
Click to enlarge I've yet to make one of these, but I keep hoping, as it sounds like a great time.
Up at HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks, they tapped a new beer yesterday: HooDoo Tripel. Here's how they describe it:
HooDoo Tripel is a strong, effervescent ale brewed in the Belgian tradition. One of the strongest styles of Belgian beer, Tripel is deceiving in its light color, and inviting in its aroma and candy-like sweetness. Made with only the finest European malts, fermentable sugars are also derived from an addition of Belgian Candi Sugar during the boil. This sugar addition results in not only a higher alcohol content, but also allows the yeast to ferment the beer to a high degree leaving a clean, dry finish. Flavors from the yeast and malts compliment each other with peppery, fruity flavors dominating, and an occasional hint of bubblegum. ABV: 8.3% // IBU: 30 // OG: 18.1
Photo courtesy of HooDoo BrewingUnfortunately, we never get any HooDoo beers down south; they're so popular in Fairbanks, that there's none left for us!
Due to not getting a blog out last week, I missed spreading the word about another great event, which took place at Glacier BrewHouse Wednesday night. I think the flier speaks for itself:
Kudos to Jeff King and Glacier for supporting such a worthy cause.
Anchorage Brewing Company has released the label for their Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales collaboration beer:
Click to enlargeAt Kenai River Brewing, they've been quite busy pumping out 305 cases of Peninsula Brewers Reserve. Here's the proof:
Photo courtesy of Kenai River BrewingAt St. Elias Brewing Company, there's both good news and bad news. The bad news is the H&H Winter Warmer, the Burton Ale that Zach Henry and I brewed, has gone the way of all flesh. All that's left is a single cask which Zach plans to put on handpump in the second half of March.The good news is that it's been replaced by two new beers: Insidious XPA and Queen of Hearts. There's a review of the XPA below. The Queen of Hearts is described as "a blackberry lambic style ale aged in red wine barrels with wild yeast for 8 months." Zach also tells me that there should be a new Czech pilsner on tap by early next week; the twist of this one is that he used Sterling hops, rather than the traditional Saaz variety. It will be interesting to see how it turned out.
OK, let's do some beer reviews.
Grassroots Brewing's Arctic Soiree: A collaboration between Anchorage Brewing and Hill Farmstead Brewing, you know this brew is unusual as soon as it hits the glass, since it pours a clear pink (!) with a small white head that dissipates to a collar. The aroma has the distinctive Brett funk. Mouthfeel is light and the carbonation is moderate. On the palate there are floral notes from the hibiscus added, no perceptible hop flavor, followed by some tartness from the Brett and lime juice on the finish. 6% ABV. A very unusual brew, to say the least, but I enjoyed it. To a certain degree, it reminded me more of herbal tea than beer.
Anchorage Brewing Company's 2014 Rondy Brew Saison with Lemon Grass & Brett: Another brew from the wooden world of Gabe Fletcher, this one tasted much more like beer than the preceding one. It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a big white head that left good lacing. The nose was a pleasing blend of funk from the Brett and citrus from the lemon grass. Carbonation and mouthfeel were both good, and the beer was tart on the palate without being truly sour, thanks to the combo of Brett & lemon grass. There was a touch of excessive bitterness on the finish, but overall I liked it a lot. 6% ABV, 30 IBUs.
Green's Gluten-Free Dry-Hopped Lager: I must admit, I only tried this beer at the request of Jhon Gilroy of Merchant du Vin , as I have not had much luck with gluten-free beers in the past. Still, I am always willing to experiment, so I gave this beer a try. It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a decent white head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma had plenty of citrusy hop notes. Carbonation was OK, though the mouthfeel was slightly thin. The bitterness was good, and it had a clean lager taste, but I thought the finish was a bit lacking. All-in-all, judged against your typical craft beer, I'd say this one was decent, not exceptional. However, judged against your typical gluten-free beer, it was outstanding. Most gluten-free beers, I can't bring myself to finish my first glass, much less the bottle. With this one. I actually drank a second bottle. Personally, I am very grateful that I don't suffer from celiac disease, so I can drink the real thing. But if you are a beer-lover who needs to drink gluten-free, Green's Gluten-Free Dry-Hopped Lager is about the best things I've seen come along.
St. Elias Brewing Company's Insidious XPA: Pours a very light gold with a big white head. The nose reveals the presence of plenty of Galaxy and Citra hops. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. The hop flavor and aroma is great. At 4.5% ABV, this is an excellent session ale. If it was summer, this would be a classic "lawnmower beer". This is the beer to have when you plan to have more than one.Well, that's it for this week. Keep enjoying this warm weather while it lasts, and I'll be back next week with more beer news and reviews.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
February 13, 2014
Breaking News: Baranof Island Brewing Receives $350K Loan from City of Sitka
I received this press release yesterday, just a bit too late to make it into my regular blog. However, it's such big news that I don't think it can wait a week:
As I said, this is big news, especially about Baranof Island purchasing a canning line and joining the ranks of breweries in Alaska using that packaging.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
Baranof Island Brewing CompanyReceives Major Economic Development Loan
February 12, 2014FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sitka, Alaska: On February 11, 2014, Baranof Island Brewing Companywas granted a $350,000 development loan by the Mayor and City Assembly of Sitka. The loan was granted from The Southeast Alaska Economic Development Revolving Loan, also known as the Stevens Fund. This loan will allow the microbrewery to purchase a new grain mill and establish a beer-canning line.
Baranof Island Brewing Company was founded in 2009 by Rick and Suzan Armstrong, in a garage 2 miles outside of downtown Sitka. According to Mr. Armstrong, “Right now, our 310 gallon system is simply not large enough to meet the growing demand for craft beer from Sitka.” Mr. Armstrong notes that demand for Baranof Island Brewing Company beer has been growing, and last summer, the company was only able to fill half the Alaska orders for its various styles. “With growing Alaska demand and with our expansion into Washington State” Mr. Armstrong said, “this loan is crucial to help us scale up our production facilities.”
The Armstrong’s predict that new grain mill will increase current efficiency and will allow for 1,356 extra gallons of beer to be produced per month. New fermenting tanks will also be on the shopping list. These new tanks will allow the fermenting and conditioning process to occur in the same tank, reducing labor and cleaning costs.
The most important investment will be a canning line. Canning is gaining favor in the craft beer industry as an economical method to distribute beer while preserving flavor. Glass bottles are expensive to ship to Sitka empty and even more costly to ship out full. Aluminum cans will drastically lower shipping costs and will increase the shelf life of Baranof Island Brewery beers.
Baranof Island Brewing Company’s beers are available for sale throughout Alaska and in northern Washington State. The company currently produce six main unfiltered and unpasteurized American style ales, with an additional rotating list of seasonal ales. Contact: Nick Feurey(907)-747-2739
(914) 656 7319 - cell
As I said, this is big news, especially about Baranof Island purchasing a canning line and joining the ranks of breweries in Alaska using that packaging.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
February 12, 2014
Six More Weeks of Winter
Well, here we are on the back half of winter. We got a nice break for a bit, while the Lower 48 got to experience a typical Alaskan winter (heh, heh, heh), but now things are back to normal, i.e. single digits during the day and below zero at night. Times like these, you need a good beer to keep you warm.
Midnight Sun Brewing Company is releasing a new beer in collaboration with Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge : Modern Romance Spicy Chocolate Dark Ale, brewed with cacao nibs, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chilies, and Mayan Spice blend. 9.3% ABV, 37 IBUs. It will be released on draft at MSBC's The Loft, at the Museum downtown and in the City Beer Store in San Francisco on Valentine's Day. Bottles will be available in March, as soon as they receive government approval for the label:
Also coming in March will be the next addition to MSBC's list of canned beers, their new Pleasure Town IPA. Here's the label for that:
This addition will mean that four of MSBC's beers are now available in cans.
King Street Brewing has their Coconut Chocolate Porter (AKA La Dolce Vita) back on tap.
Glacier BrewHouse was recognized by OpenTable with a 2014 Diner's Choice Award. They will also be having another Blood Drive this Saturday from 10:30 am to 6 pm. A donation gets you a pint of root beer and a free appetizer, and the pleasure of knowing you helped save a life.
Up in Fairbanks, HooDoo Brewing will be celebrating Valentine's Day by hosting an event with A&K Cupcakes . They will be pairing their delicious mini-cupcakes with Hoodoo's Stout and Barley Wine. It runs from 3 to 8 pm.
Here on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing has their new Pacific Gem Imperial Rye Pale Ale (PGIRPA) on tap. I had a glass of it last night while my college class was touring the brewery on a field trip. It was delicious! Kenai River has their new tanks fully connected and was in the process of brewing the third batch of the day to fill them up.
On Thursday, February 20th, I'll be making a presentation as part of the KPC Showcase series. I'm calling it "Is Craft Beer the New Wine? And Is That a Good Thing? " The presentation starts at 7 pm in the McLane Commons and there will be a book signing afterwards.
On Saturday, February 22, the 4th Annual Taste of the Kenai will be happening at the Sterling Community Center from 6 to 9 pm. Food and drink vendors from all over the Peninsula (including St. Elias, Kenai River, Homer Brewing, High Mark Distillery, and Bear Creek Winery) will be there. Last year's event sold out, so if you are interested, act soon. Tickets are $50 a person.
OK, let's do some beer reviews:
Alaskan Brewing's Hopothermia Double IPA: I mentioned this beer's release in 12 oz. 4-packs back on 1/10/2014, but here's the review. It poured a dark, clear copper color with a big white head that left good lacing on the glass. The nose had tons of bright floral and citrus American hop notes. Carbonation was good as was the mouthfeel. The initial bitter attack was good, with enough malt for reasonable balance, followed by plenty of good, clean hop flavor. A very well-made DIPA, and more drinkable than the average interpretation of this style. 8.5% ABV.
Chimay's Cinq Cents Tripel: It poured a clear gold with a huge white head. The aroma has spicy,earthy Belgian yeast notes and is recognizably from the Chimay house yeast. Carbonation is good and the mouthfeel is light. There is some nice up front hoppiness, then the fruity, peppery notes from the yeast, falling away gradually to a nice finish. 8% ABV. A classic brew and an old-favorite of mine.
Gigantic Brewing Company's Most Premium Russian Imperial Stout: I mentioned in my 1/24/2014 blog that I had tasted this beer at the
Specialty Imports Trade Show
the week prior and was looking forward to obtaining a bottle. When I managed to do so, it poured totally opaque with a nice brown head. The aroma had all the roast malt and coffee notes you look for from a big RIS. The mouthfeel was excellent, nice and chewy, with good carbonation. The flavor profile was rich and complex, with coffee, chocolate, and dark fruit notes fighting it out for supremacy. Overall, the beer is extremely well-balanced and the 10% ABV is completely obscured by the big flavors. An excellent Russian Imperial Stout, and well worth seeking out.
That's it for this week. Stay warm out there and drink good beer.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
Midnight Sun Brewing Company is releasing a new beer in collaboration with Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge : Modern Romance Spicy Chocolate Dark Ale, brewed with cacao nibs, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chilies, and Mayan Spice blend. 9.3% ABV, 37 IBUs. It will be released on draft at MSBC's The Loft, at the Museum downtown and in the City Beer Store in San Francisco on Valentine's Day. Bottles will be available in March, as soon as they receive government approval for the label:
Also coming in March will be the next addition to MSBC's list of canned beers, their new Pleasure Town IPA. Here's the label for that:
This addition will mean that four of MSBC's beers are now available in cans.
King Street Brewing has their Coconut Chocolate Porter (AKA La Dolce Vita) back on tap.
Glacier BrewHouse was recognized by OpenTable with a 2014 Diner's Choice Award. They will also be having another Blood Drive this Saturday from 10:30 am to 6 pm. A donation gets you a pint of root beer and a free appetizer, and the pleasure of knowing you helped save a life.
Up in Fairbanks, HooDoo Brewing will be celebrating Valentine's Day by hosting an event with A&K Cupcakes . They will be pairing their delicious mini-cupcakes with Hoodoo's Stout and Barley Wine. It runs from 3 to 8 pm.
Here on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing has their new Pacific Gem Imperial Rye Pale Ale (PGIRPA) on tap. I had a glass of it last night while my college class was touring the brewery on a field trip. It was delicious! Kenai River has their new tanks fully connected and was in the process of brewing the third batch of the day to fill them up.
On Thursday, February 20th, I'll be making a presentation as part of the KPC Showcase series. I'm calling it "Is Craft Beer the New Wine? And Is That a Good Thing? " The presentation starts at 7 pm in the McLane Commons and there will be a book signing afterwards.
On Saturday, February 22, the 4th Annual Taste of the Kenai will be happening at the Sterling Community Center from 6 to 9 pm. Food and drink vendors from all over the Peninsula (including St. Elias, Kenai River, Homer Brewing, High Mark Distillery, and Bear Creek Winery) will be there. Last year's event sold out, so if you are interested, act soon. Tickets are $50 a person.
OK, let's do some beer reviews:
Alaskan Brewing's Hopothermia Double IPA: I mentioned this beer's release in 12 oz. 4-packs back on 1/10/2014, but here's the review. It poured a dark, clear copper color with a big white head that left good lacing on the glass. The nose had tons of bright floral and citrus American hop notes. Carbonation was good as was the mouthfeel. The initial bitter attack was good, with enough malt for reasonable balance, followed by plenty of good, clean hop flavor. A very well-made DIPA, and more drinkable than the average interpretation of this style. 8.5% ABV.
Chimay's Cinq Cents Tripel: It poured a clear gold with a huge white head. The aroma has spicy,earthy Belgian yeast notes and is recognizably from the Chimay house yeast. Carbonation is good and the mouthfeel is light. There is some nice up front hoppiness, then the fruity, peppery notes from the yeast, falling away gradually to a nice finish. 8% ABV. A classic brew and an old-favorite of mine.
Gigantic Brewing Company's Most Premium Russian Imperial Stout: I mentioned in my 1/24/2014 blog that I had tasted this beer at the
Specialty Imports Trade Show
the week prior and was looking forward to obtaining a bottle. When I managed to do so, it poured totally opaque with a nice brown head. The aroma had all the roast malt and coffee notes you look for from a big RIS. The mouthfeel was excellent, nice and chewy, with good carbonation. The flavor profile was rich and complex, with coffee, chocolate, and dark fruit notes fighting it out for supremacy. Overall, the beer is extremely well-balanced and the 10% ABV is completely obscured by the big flavors. An excellent Russian Imperial Stout, and well worth seeking out.That's it for this week. Stay warm out there and drink good beer.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
January 31, 2014
Selling Beer
For all brewers -- except homebrewers, of course -- despite whatever else it may be, brewing beer is a business. Some may be looking to get rich, some may be looking to get by, some may not care if they lose money at it, but on some level, every commercial brewer is trying to sell the beer they make to the public.
I was reminded of this recently by a couple of things. First, as we get ready for the Super Bowl this weekend, the big beer companies have been trotting out their new ads. Here's the one from AB-InBev:
Obviously this is a fantastic commercial, in the sense that it's cute and heartwarming, but it begs the obvious question: What does this have to do with the beer they sell? Other than playing into the old joke about Budweiser being the product of a diabetic Clydesdale, I fail to see the nexus between this commercial, cute as it is, and the product it is advertising. Best Buds? You could sell marijuana in Colorado with that slogan...
And therein lies the problem with most mainstream beer ads: they talk about everything except the beer. A cute puppy and a clever pun in an ad campaign are no more likely to attract someone who drinks beer for the taste than is a clever beer name. It doesn't hurt to have a memorable name, but no one drinks Russian River's Pliny the Elder or Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA because they think the names are cool. They drink them because they are exceptional beers, produced by exceptional breweries, with tremendous reputations. That's why craft beer sales are growing, while beer as a whole is losing market share.
In my book, that's better than all the cute puppies and magnificent horses in the world.
But then again, I'm not the marketing director for AB-InBev...
And just to show that I'm not playing favorites, we had a Miller-Coors fiasco this week with regards to their upcoming release of Miller Fortune. This 6.9% ABV beer is explicitly designed to try to win back some of the drinkers who have switched from beer to spirits. Unfortunately, the mainstream press who tried to report on it are so totally clueless about beer (thanks in no small part to decades of the big producers treating beer as being nothing but a commodity) that when Bloomberg News Service ran a story on it ( MillerCoors Seeks Spirit Fans with Bourbon-like Lager ), follow-up stories in other outlets totally dropped the ball as to what was going on, stating that the new beer actually contained bourbon, forcing MillerCoors to issue a clarifying press release. All this begs the question as to why mainstream media outlets can't be bothered to hire someone who knows something about beer to write about it. Time , for example, assigned their Health reporter to write about Miller Fortune. I guess they never heard of the North American Guild of Beer Writers; let me suggest that the next time they need a beer story written, they pay one of us to do it!
At least what they print will make some sense...
Let's say, just for the sake of argument, you wanted to make a beer commercial that was actually about the beer. Then you might come up with something like this:
Green Bench Brewing "Journey of Beer" from Momentum on Vimeo.
Well, after all that national news and opnion, what's up on the Alaska beer scene?
Silver Gulch Brewing has their Lowbush Cranberry Belgian Saison on tap. It's described as: "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."
HooDoo Brewing has announced that they have begun barrel-aging their 2014 Barley Wine in Dry Fly Whiskey barrels. The plan is to keep the beer on the wood for 6 to 12 months. As part of the UAF Chancellor's Gala , HooDoo will be holding a beer & food afternoon from 3 to 4:30 pm on Sunday, March 30. All proceeds go to support charity and tickets are $55 per person, available on the Gala's website.
I received an email from Shawn Standley at Denali Brewing the other day. In part, it said that February would be a quiet month in Talkeetna, making it a great time to visit. If you need more encouragement, here's the current beer list at the Twister Creek Restaurant :
Click to enlarge
While February will be slow, March looks to be hoppin'. Here's the list of events:
March 1-2: IditarodMarch 8: The Trio - a fat tire bike race sponsored by Speedway Cycles and Denali Brewing Company.Here's the poster for it:
March 15: Oosik Classic http://www.denalinordicskiclub.org/April 4-6: Beer Trippin' in Talkeetna with the GNBC home brew competition
Arkose Brewery in Palmer will be having another of their excellent Beer Meets Chocolate events on -- wait for it -- Valentines Day! Here's the poster for that one:
Click to enlargeAt King Street, they are still pouring their Bock and their Barrel-aged Breakfast Stout.
Over at Glacier BrewHouse, they have a new Baltic Porter on tap, courtesy of assistant brewer Bart Chelmo. Here's how they describe it:
Sleeping Lady has announced their next Beer Dinner , taking place on Wednesday, February 26th at 6 PM. Tickets are $55 each and are on sale now. Here's the menu:
Click to enlarge
Midnight Sun's Beer Ambassador Darcy will be in Seattle tonight, pouring their Arctic Devil Barley Wine at Chuck's Hop Shop .
Last Saturday, Kassik's Brewery held their 2014 Vertical Barley Wine dinner. Unfortunately, it was the same night as the Beer & Bacon Festival at the Challenger Center, so I couldn't make it, but I understand it was sold out and a great time, as was the Beer & Bacon Fest .
Over at Kenai River Brewing, they have a new brewer, Devin Wagner. You can read more about that in my next Redoubt Reporter column, which will be out next Wednesday. Meantime, the last of the Winter Warlock Old Ale went on tap today at the brewery. If you haven't tried it yet, or just would like to have some while watching the Super Bowl, this is your last chance.
Finally, let's do a couple of beer reviews.
21st Amendment's Lower De Boom Barley Wine: I was eager to give this one a try, if for no other reason than it was packaged in a 8.4 oz. can, which is pretty unique. It poured a deep honey color, with a small, cream-colored head that dissipated rapidly to a collar. The initial aroma had some hops, but they were somewhat subdued, compared to a typical American Barley Wine (like Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot, for example). The carbonation was fairly low, and the mouthfeel was medium. There was some initial hop bitterness, but once again it seemed subdued, and there was some heat from the 11.5% ABV on the finish. The label listed 95 IBUs, but it did not taste close to that. In searching for an explanation, I happened to turn the can over. That's when I noticed the packing date on the bottom: 02/05/2013. Now it made sense; after a year in the can, I'm sure the beer had lost a lot of its hop character. I'll try to find a fresher sample to try next time around.
The Lost Abbey's Saint's Devotion Belgian Pale Ale: I picked this one up last October when I was down in the Bay Area. Since it was bottled with Brett, I was giving it some time for the funkiness to develop. It poured a lovely crystal-clear gold with a big white head. There was plenty of Brett funkiness in the nose. Carbonation was excellent, and the mouthfeel was light and refreshing. The Brett flavors were present but not excessive, giving it nice, crisp flavors. It finishes quite dry. Overall, slightly tart and very refreshing.
That's it for this week. More news and reviews next week.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
I was reminded of this recently by a couple of things. First, as we get ready for the Super Bowl this weekend, the big beer companies have been trotting out their new ads. Here's the one from AB-InBev:
Obviously this is a fantastic commercial, in the sense that it's cute and heartwarming, but it begs the obvious question: What does this have to do with the beer they sell? Other than playing into the old joke about Budweiser being the product of a diabetic Clydesdale, I fail to see the nexus between this commercial, cute as it is, and the product it is advertising. Best Buds? You could sell marijuana in Colorado with that slogan...
And therein lies the problem with most mainstream beer ads: they talk about everything except the beer. A cute puppy and a clever pun in an ad campaign are no more likely to attract someone who drinks beer for the taste than is a clever beer name. It doesn't hurt to have a memorable name, but no one drinks Russian River's Pliny the Elder or Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA because they think the names are cool. They drink them because they are exceptional beers, produced by exceptional breweries, with tremendous reputations. That's why craft beer sales are growing, while beer as a whole is losing market share.
In my book, that's better than all the cute puppies and magnificent horses in the world.
But then again, I'm not the marketing director for AB-InBev...
And just to show that I'm not playing favorites, we had a Miller-Coors fiasco this week with regards to their upcoming release of Miller Fortune. This 6.9% ABV beer is explicitly designed to try to win back some of the drinkers who have switched from beer to spirits. Unfortunately, the mainstream press who tried to report on it are so totally clueless about beer (thanks in no small part to decades of the big producers treating beer as being nothing but a commodity) that when Bloomberg News Service ran a story on it ( MillerCoors Seeks Spirit Fans with Bourbon-like Lager ), follow-up stories in other outlets totally dropped the ball as to what was going on, stating that the new beer actually contained bourbon, forcing MillerCoors to issue a clarifying press release. All this begs the question as to why mainstream media outlets can't be bothered to hire someone who knows something about beer to write about it. Time , for example, assigned their Health reporter to write about Miller Fortune. I guess they never heard of the North American Guild of Beer Writers; let me suggest that the next time they need a beer story written, they pay one of us to do it!
At least what they print will make some sense...
Let's say, just for the sake of argument, you wanted to make a beer commercial that was actually about the beer. Then you might come up with something like this:
Green Bench Brewing "Journey of Beer" from Momentum on Vimeo.
Well, after all that national news and opnion, what's up on the Alaska beer scene?
Silver Gulch Brewing has their Lowbush Cranberry Belgian Saison on tap. It's described as: "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."
HooDoo Brewing has announced that they have begun barrel-aging their 2014 Barley Wine in Dry Fly Whiskey barrels. The plan is to keep the beer on the wood for 6 to 12 months. As part of the UAF Chancellor's Gala , HooDoo will be holding a beer & food afternoon from 3 to 4:30 pm on Sunday, March 30. All proceeds go to support charity and tickets are $55 per person, available on the Gala's website.
I received an email from Shawn Standley at Denali Brewing the other day. In part, it said that February would be a quiet month in Talkeetna, making it a great time to visit. If you need more encouragement, here's the current beer list at the Twister Creek Restaurant :
Click to enlargeWhile February will be slow, March looks to be hoppin'. Here's the list of events:
March 1-2: IditarodMarch 8: The Trio - a fat tire bike race sponsored by Speedway Cycles and Denali Brewing Company.Here's the poster for it:
March 15: Oosik Classic http://www.denalinordicskiclub.org/April 4-6: Beer Trippin' in Talkeetna with the GNBC home brew competition
Arkose Brewery in Palmer will be having another of their excellent Beer Meets Chocolate events on -- wait for it -- Valentines Day! Here's the poster for that one:
Click to enlargeAt King Street, they are still pouring their Bock and their Barrel-aged Breakfast Stout.Over at Glacier BrewHouse, they have a new Baltic Porter on tap, courtesy of assistant brewer Bart Chelmo. Here's how they describe it:
"Medium body, low bitterness, and smooth lager characteristics combine with flavors of chocolate and roast perfectly. Deep, dark ruby in color. Alcohol:6.56% by volume."
Sleeping Lady has announced their next Beer Dinner , taking place on Wednesday, February 26th at 6 PM. Tickets are $55 each and are on sale now. Here's the menu:
Click to enlargeMidnight Sun's Beer Ambassador Darcy will be in Seattle tonight, pouring their Arctic Devil Barley Wine at Chuck's Hop Shop .
Last Saturday, Kassik's Brewery held their 2014 Vertical Barley Wine dinner. Unfortunately, it was the same night as the Beer & Bacon Festival at the Challenger Center, so I couldn't make it, but I understand it was sold out and a great time, as was the Beer & Bacon Fest .
Over at Kenai River Brewing, they have a new brewer, Devin Wagner. You can read more about that in my next Redoubt Reporter column, which will be out next Wednesday. Meantime, the last of the Winter Warlock Old Ale went on tap today at the brewery. If you haven't tried it yet, or just would like to have some while watching the Super Bowl, this is your last chance.
Finally, let's do a couple of beer reviews.
21st Amendment's Lower De Boom Barley Wine: I was eager to give this one a try, if for no other reason than it was packaged in a 8.4 oz. can, which is pretty unique. It poured a deep honey color, with a small, cream-colored head that dissipated rapidly to a collar. The initial aroma had some hops, but they were somewhat subdued, compared to a typical American Barley Wine (like Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot, for example). The carbonation was fairly low, and the mouthfeel was medium. There was some initial hop bitterness, but once again it seemed subdued, and there was some heat from the 11.5% ABV on the finish. The label listed 95 IBUs, but it did not taste close to that. In searching for an explanation, I happened to turn the can over. That's when I noticed the packing date on the bottom: 02/05/2013. Now it made sense; after a year in the can, I'm sure the beer had lost a lot of its hop character. I'll try to find a fresher sample to try next time around.
The Lost Abbey's Saint's Devotion Belgian Pale Ale: I picked this one up last October when I was down in the Bay Area. Since it was bottled with Brett, I was giving it some time for the funkiness to develop. It poured a lovely crystal-clear gold with a big white head. There was plenty of Brett funkiness in the nose. Carbonation was excellent, and the mouthfeel was light and refreshing. The Brett flavors were present but not excessive, giving it nice, crisp flavors. It finishes quite dry. Overall, slightly tart and very refreshing.
That's it for this week. More news and reviews next week.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
January 24, 2014
AK Beer Week: The Aftermath
So I survived another
Alaska Beer Week
, more or less intact. While it is no where near the scale of some of the beer weeks in the Lower 48 - the ones that have 300+ events -
Alaska Beer Week
has become quite the extensive (and intensive) experience.
I'm not about to give you all a beer-by-beer account of my time in Anchorage, but let me hit a couple of highlights.
The Humpy's and Sub-Zero Belgium Beer Dinner of Wednesday Night - I've attended this dinner in years past, but this year I must say that Billy Opinsky and his chef outdid themselves. Here is a copy of the menu:
As you can see from the menu, the only dish which did not contain king crab was the dessert! Not to mention all the fabulous beers which were served with the various dishes. The event went from 6 PM to almost 11 PM, and I could barely make it back to my hotel, I was so stuffed with good food and good beer! Kudos again to Billy for a superb evening; even at $100 per person, I'm sure he lost a ton of money on the affair.
On Thursday afternoon, I took in the annual Specialty Imports Trade Show . As always, it was a total class act, with a nice buffet and plenty of interesting new brews to sample. Here are a couple of things that jumped out at me:
Arkose Brewery in Palmer has signed on with Specialty , so now we can have some hope of seeing their fine beers down here on the Peninsula on occasion!
Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing in Portland was there, pouring several new brews, including a wicked Russian Imperial Stout. I'm looking forward to snagging bottles of all his latest releases.
Kenai River Brewing was pouring their famous Gummi Beer Tripel. Here's their new graphic for it:
Plus, there were several new artisanal cider makers and meaderies there. Both of those sectors are growing rapidly. By the way, if you are interested in cider, I highly recommend this book:
World's Best Ciders: Taste, Tradition, and Terroir
by Pete Brown and Bill Bradshaw. I read it over the holidays and learned a tremendous amount about traditional & artisanal ciders from all over the world.
Thursday Night was the joint event between the Great Northern Brewers Club and the Brewers Guild of Alaska at The Snow Goose. This year's event was organized a bit differently, with lots of excellent food and plenty of great beer. To avoid the gatecrashers we've suffered from in the past, this year tickets and IDs were required at the door, which seemed to produce a much more mellow atmosphere inside. The guest speaker were Peter Bouckaert and Kim Jordan from New Belgium Brewing Company in Ft. Collins, CO. and Dick Cantwell from Elysian Brewery in Seattle, WA.
Saturday at the Connoisseurs Session of the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival proper, the winners were announced for the various categories. The Winter Seasonal Award went to Shmaltz Brewing (I missed exactly which beer). Anchorage Brewing Company's A Deal with the Devil Barley Wine (last year's winner) took 3rd place in the Barley Wine contest, Firestone-Walker's Sucaba took second, and Alameda Brewing's Ol' Alger was chosen as the best of the barley wines. Congratulations to all of this year's awardees.
Speaking of ABC's A Deal with the Devil, the beer they were pouring at the fest was from last year's batch, because all of this year's release went into bottles. By the time you read this, every bottle that hit the shelves in Anchorage will be gone. In fact, they disappeared so fast, even with a one-bottle-per-customer-max rule, that Pamela Hatzis and her crew at La Bodega saved the last dozen bottles and held a drawing for a chance to buy one. However, I think that the drawing was this morning, so if you haven't scored a bottle yet, I'm afraid you are out of luck. I understand that 63 cases of this beer will be heading south in about three weeks, so if you are reading this blog Outside, you'd best check with your local beer store to see if they'll be getting any.
Oh, and by the way, it sells for $30 a bottle, and it's worth every penny...
I wrote above that Kenai River Brewing was pouring their Gummi Bear Tripel up in Anchorage. As of today, Friday, 1/24, they have it on tap at the brewery. Also new at the brewery are two brand-new 40-barrel fermenters. Here are a picture of one of them arriving, and then both in place, courtesy of Doug Hogue:
These new vessels pretty much fill all the available brewery space. If Kenai River wants to expand anymore, they are going to have to get themselves a bigger building!
While I was in Anchorage, I had lunch one day at Flattop Pizza + Pool , the new venture located between Humpy's and Subzero , on the corner of 6th Ave and F St. I was there quite early, so there wasn't much going on, but that gave me good chance to check the place out. Lots of big screen TVs give it the sports bar feel, several nice pool tables, and about 12 to 15 local beers on draft (I forgot to count the exact number). I had a nice Anchortown Pizza for lunch, and a glass of Flattop Pale Ale, the house beer brewed for them by Denali Brewing Company.
The beer poured a deep copper color, crystal clear with a white head that left good lacing on the glass. The aroma was nice, with plenty of good, citrusy American hop notes. Mouthfeel and carbonation were both good, with a decently bitter attack up front, that gradually feel away to a nice, clean finish. Very well done, and an excellent accompaniment to the pizza. If you are in the downtown corridor and looking for pizza and beer, Flattop should definitely be on your short list of choices.
I also finally got around to reviewing St. Elias Brewing Company's Matushka Imperial Stout. This is a beer that Zach Henry has brewed before, but I think he has really hit the bulls-eye with this version. It poured opaque with a big brown head. The aroma was of roast malt, vanilla from the oak, dark fruit, and I swear I was getting notes of pears from it as well! Nice carbonation and excellent mouthfeel - chewy and oily, just the way I like my RIS. The flavor profile was rich and complex; I picked up coffee, lots of malt, more oaky vanilla, even some chocolate. Best of all, no hint of how strong the beer is, none of the solventy alcohol heat you sometimes get on beers this big. An excellent brew, probably in the top ten beers I've ever had from St. Elias.
Well, that's about it for this week. I should a have a longer blog next week, along with more beer reviews. Until then, get out and drink some good beer!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
I'm not about to give you all a beer-by-beer account of my time in Anchorage, but let me hit a couple of highlights.
The Humpy's and Sub-Zero Belgium Beer Dinner of Wednesday Night - I've attended this dinner in years past, but this year I must say that Billy Opinsky and his chef outdid themselves. Here is a copy of the menu:
As you can see from the menu, the only dish which did not contain king crab was the dessert! Not to mention all the fabulous beers which were served with the various dishes. The event went from 6 PM to almost 11 PM, and I could barely make it back to my hotel, I was so stuffed with good food and good beer! Kudos again to Billy for a superb evening; even at $100 per person, I'm sure he lost a ton of money on the affair.
On Thursday afternoon, I took in the annual Specialty Imports Trade Show . As always, it was a total class act, with a nice buffet and plenty of interesting new brews to sample. Here are a couple of things that jumped out at me:
Arkose Brewery in Palmer has signed on with Specialty , so now we can have some hope of seeing their fine beers down here on the Peninsula on occasion!
Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing in Portland was there, pouring several new brews, including a wicked Russian Imperial Stout. I'm looking forward to snagging bottles of all his latest releases.
Kenai River Brewing was pouring their famous Gummi Beer Tripel. Here's their new graphic for it:
Plus, there were several new artisanal cider makers and meaderies there. Both of those sectors are growing rapidly. By the way, if you are interested in cider, I highly recommend this book:
World's Best Ciders: Taste, Tradition, and Terroir
by Pete Brown and Bill Bradshaw. I read it over the holidays and learned a tremendous amount about traditional & artisanal ciders from all over the world.Thursday Night was the joint event between the Great Northern Brewers Club and the Brewers Guild of Alaska at The Snow Goose. This year's event was organized a bit differently, with lots of excellent food and plenty of great beer. To avoid the gatecrashers we've suffered from in the past, this year tickets and IDs were required at the door, which seemed to produce a much more mellow atmosphere inside. The guest speaker were Peter Bouckaert and Kim Jordan from New Belgium Brewing Company in Ft. Collins, CO. and Dick Cantwell from Elysian Brewery in Seattle, WA.
Saturday at the Connoisseurs Session of the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival proper, the winners were announced for the various categories. The Winter Seasonal Award went to Shmaltz Brewing (I missed exactly which beer). Anchorage Brewing Company's A Deal with the Devil Barley Wine (last year's winner) took 3rd place in the Barley Wine contest, Firestone-Walker's Sucaba took second, and Alameda Brewing's Ol' Alger was chosen as the best of the barley wines. Congratulations to all of this year's awardees.
Speaking of ABC's A Deal with the Devil, the beer they were pouring at the fest was from last year's batch, because all of this year's release went into bottles. By the time you read this, every bottle that hit the shelves in Anchorage will be gone. In fact, they disappeared so fast, even with a one-bottle-per-customer-max rule, that Pamela Hatzis and her crew at La Bodega saved the last dozen bottles and held a drawing for a chance to buy one. However, I think that the drawing was this morning, so if you haven't scored a bottle yet, I'm afraid you are out of luck. I understand that 63 cases of this beer will be heading south in about three weeks, so if you are reading this blog Outside, you'd best check with your local beer store to see if they'll be getting any.
Oh, and by the way, it sells for $30 a bottle, and it's worth every penny...
I wrote above that Kenai River Brewing was pouring their Gummi Bear Tripel up in Anchorage. As of today, Friday, 1/24, they have it on tap at the brewery. Also new at the brewery are two brand-new 40-barrel fermenters. Here are a picture of one of them arriving, and then both in place, courtesy of Doug Hogue:
These new vessels pretty much fill all the available brewery space. If Kenai River wants to expand anymore, they are going to have to get themselves a bigger building!While I was in Anchorage, I had lunch one day at Flattop Pizza + Pool , the new venture located between Humpy's and Subzero , on the corner of 6th Ave and F St. I was there quite early, so there wasn't much going on, but that gave me good chance to check the place out. Lots of big screen TVs give it the sports bar feel, several nice pool tables, and about 12 to 15 local beers on draft (I forgot to count the exact number). I had a nice Anchortown Pizza for lunch, and a glass of Flattop Pale Ale, the house beer brewed for them by Denali Brewing Company.
The beer poured a deep copper color, crystal clear with a white head that left good lacing on the glass. The aroma was nice, with plenty of good, citrusy American hop notes. Mouthfeel and carbonation were both good, with a decently bitter attack up front, that gradually feel away to a nice, clean finish. Very well done, and an excellent accompaniment to the pizza. If you are in the downtown corridor and looking for pizza and beer, Flattop should definitely be on your short list of choices.
I also finally got around to reviewing St. Elias Brewing Company's Matushka Imperial Stout. This is a beer that Zach Henry has brewed before, but I think he has really hit the bulls-eye with this version. It poured opaque with a big brown head. The aroma was of roast malt, vanilla from the oak, dark fruit, and I swear I was getting notes of pears from it as well! Nice carbonation and excellent mouthfeel - chewy and oily, just the way I like my RIS. The flavor profile was rich and complex; I picked up coffee, lots of malt, more oaky vanilla, even some chocolate. Best of all, no hint of how strong the beer is, none of the solventy alcohol heat you sometimes get on beers this big. An excellent brew, probably in the top ten beers I've ever had from St. Elias.
Well, that's about it for this week. I should a have a longer blog next week, along with more beer reviews. Until then, get out and drink some good beer!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
January 10, 2014
AK Beer Week Is Upon Us!
Hello and welcome to 2014! I hope everyone had as nice a holiday break as I did, but we're back at it now, hot and heavy!AK Beer Week starts today and the number of different events happening over the next ten days is simply staggering. I can't even begin to list all the different releases, tastings, beer dinners, and other events scheduled both in Anchorage and at breweries and brewpubs around the state. The AK Beer Week Facebook page is simply overflowing, while the events section of the AK Beer Week webpage is packed as well. I counted 32 different events, not counting daily specials. If you are going to be in Anchorage or anywhere else in the metro areas of the state between now and next Sunday, you should definitely check out what's available in your area.
And if you see something you are interested in, I'd suggest making reservations right away, as many events are already booked up/sold out!
Moving past
AK Beer Week
, there has been some other pieces of news since my last blog before Christmas. Alaskan Brewing Company has announced the return of their ESB as a seasonal release. From 1995 to 2008, this beer was one of Alaskan's flagship beers, but it has not been available in a bottle since then. It will be available through the end of March.Alaskan has also added Hopothermia Double IPA, formerly one of its Rough Draft series, to its line-up of year-round brews available on draft or in four-packs of 12 oz bottles.This beer is brewed with Nugget and Apollo hops to provide bittering in the kettle, then late additions of Amarillo, Citra, and Centennial hops to add notes of spicy grapefruit and orange. HOPothermia has 8.5% ABV and 70 IBUs of bitterness. Alaskan has also released a new beer in the Rough Draft Export Series, Taku River Red Ale. Made with four different caramel malts and using Apollo, El Dorado, Summit, Meridian, Centennial, and Citra hops, this hoppy red ale comes in at 5.7% and 55 IBUs.
They are sort of AK Beer Week events, but each of these new releases deserves its own mention. Midnight Sun Brewing will be releasing this year's Arctic Devil Barley Wine at 3 PM tomorrow at the brewery. They are also releasing their new Pleasure Town IPA at 5 PM today at the brewery, while Broken Tooth Brewing will be releasing this year's Darth Delirium at the same time at the Moose's Tooth . And last Tuesday, King Street Brewing released their Bock, which weighs in at 6.8% ABV.
Given all these great new beers being released, I wanted to mention a cool new gizmo I got for Christmas: The Growler Saver. Here's a video that shows how it works:
As I said, I got one and I've used it and it works quite well. If you're the sort who ends up pouring out half-full growlers of flat beer, this is the solution to your problem. You can find more info on their website here.
At St. Elias Brewing Company, H & H Winter Warmer is now on tap. Since I helped brew this beer, I won't write a review (since that would be a bit self-serving). I'll just say that I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. For more info on what we were trying to accomplish with this brew, check out my 12/12/2013 blog.
I realize that I have fallen quite far behind with my beer reviews, so let's try to make up some ground, before I have a bunch more to do from AK Beer Week .
Kenai River Brewing's Pacific Gem Single Hop IPA is still on tap. The beer pours a clear honey color with a nice, cream-colored head. To my nose, the aroma had plenty of piney notes, and good bitterness on the palate. The Pacific gem hops reminded me a bit of Chinooks. Very nice. 7% ABV and 70 IBUs.
Oakshire Brewing's Watershed IPA: This brew pours a clear deep gold with a big, white head. The nose was full of bright citrusy hops. On the palate there was good bitterness, followed by tropical fruit notes, without being overwhelming. The beer had a nice clean finish. Another quality American IPA. 6.7% ABV, 70 IBUs.Rivertowne Brewing's Maxwell's Scottish Ale: I received a can of this beer from Wendell Dutcher of Kenai River Brewing. Looking at the can, I thought that perhaps Kenai River should sue them, since the label design is so similar to their Skilak Scottish Ale! The beer wasn't too different either, pouring a deep ruby with a cream-colored head. The aroma was of caramel with a touch of smoke. The carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. Definitely malt forward, with clean flavors and no discernible hop bitterness. Smooth finish. Nice beer, though I think Skilak Scottish is better. 5.1% ABV.
Alaskan Brewing's 2014 Barley Wine: This year's version of this perennial favorite was released before Christmas. It poured a clear, deep honey color with a nice, cream-colored head. Unlike many barley wines, this one actually had some hops in the nose, along with the massive caramel sweetness. On the palate there was a nice balance between malt and hop bitterness, with a touch of heat from the 10.7% ABV on the finish. Great now, but perfect for cellaring, it's worth picking up multiple bottles of this one.Deschutes Brewing's 2010 The Abyss Imperial Stout: I pulled this beauty from my cellar to open over the holidays. It poured opaque with a small brown head. The aroma was rich and decadent, full of coffee, vanilla, & molasses notes. Carbonation was light, but mouthfeel was excellent, with plenty of chewiness. The flavor profile was extremely rich and complex, with coffee, dark fruit, vanilla/oak, and molasses all making their presence felt. The 11% alcohol reveals itself during the nice, long finish with some warming notes. An exceptional beer, one of the best Deschutes brews, in my humble opinion.
Gouden Draak 9000 Quad from Van Steenberge: Another brew that I was saving for the holidays. This strong Belgian beer poured lighter than most quadruples, as it was a deep honey color with an off-white head, rather than being brown. The aroma had the spicy, peppery notes characteristic of Belgian yeasts. The 10.7% alcohol was apparent from the start, with a rich and warming flavor profile. There was some honey-like sweetness, but balance with good hop bitterness. Overall, it was lighter than the typical quad, but very nice. Almost a Belgian barley wine, if such a thing existed.
Well, that's it for this week. I'll be in Anchorage for a good part of next week, so don't expect a blog, but if you are at any of the Alaska Beer Week events, keep an eye out for me. I'm always happy to talk to anyone who actually reads this stuff that I write.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
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December 20, 2013
Last Blog of 2013
This will be it for 2013, baring some incredible breaking news that would necessitate me taking up my virtual pen between now and the New Year. Looking back, it's been another great year for craft beer, and craft beer in Alaska in particular. Good, sustainable growth, more new breweries on the horizon, multiple exceptional brews released -- yes, 2013 was a darn good year. So let's wrap it up and go have a nice strong beer...Lots of breweries and brewpubs will be closed on various days in the next two weeks, so rather than try to list them here, I will just remind you to check their websites or Facebook pages.
Speaking of websites, the one for AK Beer Week has been updated and new events are being listed regularly. If you will be in Anchorage anytime from 10 to 19 January, you should definitely check out your options.
The Twelve Days of Barley Wine at Glacier BrewHouse is close to wrapping up, but you still have today and tomorrow to try them out.
Denali Brewing has released Milepost #2 in their Flagstop series; it's a Flanders Red Ale (see my review on 8/30/2013). You can find bottles at their
Beer Garden
or
Twister Creek
in Talkeetna, or at
SubZero
in Anchorage. They also have a slew of beer dinners coming up. Here's the list that Shawn Standley sent me:Fri, Dec 20: DBC Beer Dinner at Chinooks in Seward. Each course will also have a bourbon paired with it. Here's the menu:
Chinook’s Bourbon/Beer Dinner Dec. 20, 2013 Welcome Beer: Agave Gold
Course 1 Grilled Spot Shrimp, Grits, Candied Bacon, Red Eye/Red Pepper Gravy, Truffled PopcornCask Conditioned Single Engine Red aged with Pomegranate
Course 2 Smoked Beet and Goat Cheese Pie, Radish Sprouts, Pickled Beets, Foie Gras MousseSlow Down Brown
Course 3 Porter Braised Beef Cheek, BBQ Baked White Beans, Peppered Cabbage Roll, Pickled PeppersKrük Schwarzbier
Course 4 Buttermilk Ice Cream, AK Barley Waffle, Vanilla Scented Fried Chicken, Bourbon Syrup2010 Old Mad Dog Barley Wine
Mon, Jan 13: DBC Beer dinner at Eagle River Alehouse featuring: Agave Gold, Slow Down Brown, Kruk, NO DAM Way RyePA, 2013 Old Mad Dog Barley Wine
Mon, Jan 13: DBC Beer dinner at the Anchorage Curling Club . Beers to be determined
Thurs, Jan 16: "I'll Have Another" collaboration release party at Café Amsterdam. Coffee Stout. Breweries: Denali Brewing, Midnight Sun, Kenai River Brewing, Haines Brewing
Jan ?-19: Burgers and Brew challenge at Taproot featuring burger and beer pairings from Denali Brewing and Midnight Sun
Note the collaboration beer release above at Cafe Amsterdam . Each year, the four breweries listed agree on a beer style at the Haines Beer Fest to brew and release for AK Beer Week . This year the style was coffee stout and all four beers will be released at 5PM on Thursday, January 16th. Here's the flier for that:
I posted back on 12/6 pictures of Anchorage Brewing Company's new labels. Here's some shots of the bottles themselves, "borrowed" from the Facebook page, fresh from being imprinted:
ABC will also be doing a Deal with the Devil Day at four bars in the Lower 48, and releasing their Jolly Pumpkin collaboration beer, Calabaza Boreal at The Culmination Festival on May 17th.
Out at Kassik's Brewery, they are rotating several specialty draft brews through New Years. including Chocolate Cherry Stout, Spiced Cream Ale, White Chocolate Ale (new release), and Smoked Russian Imperial Stout. They are also offering 10% off select 22 oz bombers, hoodies, shirts, hats, ornaments, and glassware.
Speaking of glassware, Homer Brewing Company has 2014 collectible pint glasses on sale.
Kenai River Brewing just finished brewing batch #3 of their famous Gummi Bear Tripel, using 7,425 of the little candies. Not sure when they plan to release it, but it's on the way. I had a great time at the brewery last Friday night, signing books and drinking beer, even if it was blowing a blizzard out side!
St. Elias Brewing Company will be releasing H & H Winter Warmer tomorrow, Saturday, December 21st. See last week's blog for a description of this collaboration brew between myself and Zach Henry. If you try it, I'd appreciate some feedback, so feel free to make a comment and tell me what you think.Speaking of feedback, if you are one of the folks out there who has purchased a copy of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Everything In Between (Beer on the Last Frontier: The Craft Breweries of Alaska) (Volume 2)
, I'd appreciate it if you would take a moment to go onto Amazon.com and write a short review of it. Feedback like that is the only way things get improved, and I'm always eager to write better.Well, I think that about wraps things up for 2013. I want to thanks each and every one of you for taking the time to read my ramblings in this blog. I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I'll see you in 2014.
Until Next Time, Cheers!
December 14, 2013
More Breaking News: Two New Beers from Broken Tooth Brewing
Technically, this isn't breaking news at all. It's "Regulars News that I should Have Reported But Totally Spaced Out."
Tyler Jones of Broken Tooth Brewing was kind enough to give me the head's up about two new releases on tap at the Moose's Tooth , but I completely forgot to include the info in my latest blog.
So here's what Tyler had to say about the two new releases:
Lunchtime IPA (Session IPA) You want a beer that’s bursting with hops and flavor like an IPA but won’t slow you down? This is it! Medium bodied, pouring a pale copper with tight white lacing and brimming with citric hop flavors with hints of orange and grapefruit. Lunchtime is a great time for IPA! Brewed By Sean Heyer OG 1.044, ~51 IBU, 4.7% ABV
Cheechokoholic (Brown Ale plus Cocoa) In the ancient Americas, Cocoa was offered to both Mayan and Aztec Gods as tribute. In modern Alaska we offer this Cocoa-infused ale as a brief respite to your hectic Holiday season. With three separate additions of Ghirardelli cocoa, this elixir pours a dark garnet color with a rich, roasty malt backbone and dry, clean finish. Some like it hot, some like it cold; we like it chocolate! Brewed by Sean Heyer OG 1.057, ~28 IBU, 5.2% ABV
They both sound mighty delicious, so head on down to the Moose and check them out!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
Tyler Jones of Broken Tooth Brewing was kind enough to give me the head's up about two new releases on tap at the Moose's Tooth , but I completely forgot to include the info in my latest blog.
So here's what Tyler had to say about the two new releases:
Lunchtime IPA (Session IPA) You want a beer that’s bursting with hops and flavor like an IPA but won’t slow you down? This is it! Medium bodied, pouring a pale copper with tight white lacing and brimming with citric hop flavors with hints of orange and grapefruit. Lunchtime is a great time for IPA! Brewed By Sean Heyer OG 1.044, ~51 IBU, 4.7% ABV
Cheechokoholic (Brown Ale plus Cocoa) In the ancient Americas, Cocoa was offered to both Mayan and Aztec Gods as tribute. In modern Alaska we offer this Cocoa-infused ale as a brief respite to your hectic Holiday season. With three separate additions of Ghirardelli cocoa, this elixir pours a dark garnet color with a rich, roasty malt backbone and dry, clean finish. Some like it hot, some like it cold; we like it chocolate! Brewed by Sean Heyer OG 1.057, ~28 IBU, 5.2% ABV
They both sound mighty delicious, so head on down to the Moose and check them out!
Until Next Time, Cheers!
