Bill Howell's Blog, page 9

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and judging by the traffic I saw yesterday here on the Kenai, I'd say a lot of folks in Anchorage got an early start on it. That's good news for all our local breweries and brewpubs, as more visitors mean more demand for their beers. Of course it also means they have to serve fruit-laced brews like Island Girl and Kumquat Kolsch Ale, so it's not all beer and skittles as our British friends would say. Still, it's good to see tourist flocking in to enjoy our fine local beers.

And let's face it, our local brewers can use all the business they can get, to help pay the heavy taxes the state of Alaska imposes on them. In case you don't know, Alaska has the second highest state beer taxes in the nation. We were #1 for the longest time, until a couple of years ago when Tennessee jacked theirs up significantly and finally passed us.  Here's a graphic from the Tax Foundation which shows just how big a bite of state government (you know, those buffoons who can't even pass a budget) take from our hard-working local brewers.

Click to enlargeAs successful as craft beer has been in Alaska, I can't help wondering how many more excellent breweries we'd have if we taxed them like Wyoming, at $0.02 per gallon, instead on $1.07. Just to be clear, by far the single most expensive component in the retail price you pay for a beer is the combined federal and state taxes on it, to the tune of over 40%. So the next time you want to gripe about the price of beer, be sure to remember whose fault it is!

Let's move on to happier thoughts. Last night was the Brewers Dinner in Haines and today is the Beer Festival . I was able to attend both in 2012 and 2014, and hope to make it there again next year (what's with the even numbered years? Beats me.). After our local festivals, it's easily my favorite one. Here's the menu from last night courtesy of Dave Short:

Click to enlarge Photo courtesy of Denali Brewing Company

Based on my prior experience, I'm sure it was delicious. The festival today is sold out, so if you are planning to attend, I hope you already have your tickets.



Speaking of festivals, it's not too soon to mark your calendar for this year's Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival . It will be held from 5 to 10 pm on Saturday, August 8th, at the Soldotna Sports Center. This festival just keeps getting better and better each year, and all profits go to support local charities. I have been to every one so far, and have no plans to miss this one. Tickets are on sale on the website.



And if you are dwelling in Southeast and think Soldotna is too far to go for an August festival, how about the 4th Annual Capital Brewfest ? It will be happening on September 26th.

More news: Last Saturday, Bobby Wilken of HooDoo Brewing announced that the brewery is releasing its beers in cans. HooDoo is going with 16 oz. "tall boy" cans and is using the "360End" design, meaning the entire top of the can comes off when it is opened. The cans feature a photo of downtown Fairbanks in 1916, and are designed to the labels can be easily modified for different beers. The first beer on offer is HooDoo's excellent Kolsch. The cans are being sold in four-packs at the brewery taproom. When I asked Bobby about possibly distributing cans elsewhere in the state, he replied: "Only on site for now.  We'll be playing it by ear as far as distribution.  In the short term, I suspect the demand in the taproom will take anything we can package.  A little further out and hopefully we can build enough inventory to share with more of the state!" Congratulation to Bobby and the rest of the HooDoo gang on reaching this milestone.

Photo courtesy of HooDoo Brewing
From Midnight Sun Brewing Company, Darcy Kniefel reports that the tickets for the Big Stout Camp-out will go on sale next Saturday (5/30) at 2 PM at the brewery.  The camp-out will take place on the nights of Friday 8/28 and Saturday 8/29 in Cooper Landing. There are a total of 50 tickets available with packages for RVs and campsites. The ticket price includes 2 nights of camping, and dinner, stouts and cigars on Saturday night. Read more about it in my 4/4/2015 blog. She also reports that the brewery will be releasing a new beer, Powerline Pilsner, soon.



Speaking of pilsners, St. Elias Brewing Company has a new one on tap, AK Pilsner. This brew is the counter-part to the AK ESB brewed by Kenai River Brewing Company and reviewed by me on  5/5/2015. Both beers were brewed using only Alaska Grown hops, the first commercial beers ever to be produced that way. See below for my review, but I know that Zach only brewed a half batch of this beer, so if you want to taste this historic brew before its gone, don't delay. St. Elias Brewing is also finishing up an expansion of its outdoor patio seating, just in time for summer.

Beers on tap at St. Elias on 5/22/2015
As mentioned above, Kenai River Brewing Company also has a new brew on tap, Kumquat Kolsch Ale. If you have it at the brewery, you can get it infused with even more fresh kumquat flavor.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing Company
Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady has two new beers on: its Honey Cream Ale is back, along with a firkin of Scotch Ale aged on vanilla beans and American oak chips.

Photo courtesy of Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady
Alaskan Brewing Company picked up two more awards, this time at the 2015 Australian International Beer Awards . Hopothermia earned a silver medal, and its Smoked Porter took home a bronze.


Bearpaw River Brewing only has three days left in its Kickstarter campaign. As part of the campaign, the brother Wade posted a video describing the beers they plan to brew. You can check it out here.


Finally on the news front, I wanted to give you an update on the availability of my new book, Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun . For reasons which aren't worth going into here, the book won't be arriving at the Alaska distributor, Todd Communications, until next Thursday, May 28th. Hopefully, it should reach the retail outlets around the state the following week. So if you have been holding off buying a copy from Amazon because you want to support local Alaskan businesses, you should not have to wait too much longer. Jim Roberts, AKA Dr. Fermento, wrote a very nice review of it in The Anchorage Press , which you can read here.



I have already planned some signing events in June. You can either purchase a book at these events or bring a copy you have already bought, and I'll be happy to sign it. For the latest info, check out my Amazon author page, but here is a list of what I've scheduled to date:

June 17th Soldotna Wednesday Market          11 am to 5 pmJune 19th Kenai River Brewing Company      4 to 6:30 pmJune 24th Midnight Sun Brewing Company   4:30 to 6 pmAs I schedule more events, I'll update my author page, so if you can't make one of these, keep checking it for others.

Now let's move on to some beer reviews.

I had to go down in the crawlspace in my home the other day, which is always the signal for me to review my "Beer Cellar" Book, to see if there are any beers aging down there which are ready to drink. I brought up several, and I will review them in this and future blogs as I get around to drinking them.

Alaskan Brewing's 2006 Smoked Porter: Over 8.5 years old, this beer is still in very good shape. Most 6.5% ABV porters would have crashed and burned years ago, but the smoke seems to keep these wonderful brews fresh. It poured opaque with a small tan head that dissipated to a collar. There was still a little smoke in the nose, along with some faint roasted malt notes. The carbonation was on the low side, but the mouthfeel was still good. The smokiness on the palate was muted but still present. Flavor profile was good, with no hints of oxidation. A real tribute to the brewer's skill to have a beer this old, which such low alcohol, taste so good.

Alaskan Brewing's 2007 Smoked Porter. A year younger, this beer tasted much smokier than the
2006. It also poured opaque with a small tan head that dissipated to a collar. Much more smoke apparent in the aroma, along with the roasted malt. Carbonation was also better than the 2006, with mouthfeel about the same. More smoke on the palate and a flavor profile closer to the fresh beer. Hard to believe that it's just the difference of one year, so I surmise that for whatever reason, the 2007 was made slightly differently than the 2006, which caused it to retain its smoky notes better.


Midnight Sun Brewing's 2012 Berserker Imperial Stout: Over 2.5 years on this beer. It poured opaque with a small but persistent brown head. The aroma was of sweet and roasted malt, with hints of the bourbon barrel-aging. Mouthfeel was excellent, and carbonation was still good. The flavor profile was rich and complex, as you'd expect, with notes of chocolate, coffee, and molasses. The elements from the bourbon barrel seemed to have reduced over time, which actually brought the beer into even better balance than when fresh, in my opinion. The 12.7% alcohol was slightly noticeable on the finish. This is a beer that definitely seemed to improve with at least two years of cellar time.

St. Elias Brewing's AK Pilsner: As mentioned above, this beer was brewed solely with AK Grown hops. It poured a crystal clear gold with a small white head. The nose was balanced between biscuity malt and hops. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. There were good clean malt flavors, balanced by a decent hop bitterness. I'd call it more in the style of a German than a Czech pilsner, but its an excellent summer beer and a historic brewing achievement for our state. 5% ABV.

Well, that's it for this week. Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend and the start of summer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Back from a (Denali) Road Trip

Hello again, faithful readers. No Friday blog last week, as Elaine and I were on travel. We decided to visit Denali National Park. This time of year, before the tour buses begin running, the park allows people to drive the Park Road as far as Mile 30. Since we had only ever visited the park in the autumn, during the road lottery, we decided it would be fun to check it out during the spring. Of course we couldn't go all the way to Denali and not check out the breweries up that way.

On the way up, we detoured two miles up the Talkeetna Spur Road to meet Sassan Mossanen at Denali Brewing Company's brewery. The expansion that I saw in progress last fall is now complete and the small brewhouse formerly located at the beer garden in downtown Talkeetna is happily ensconced in its new home at the brewery. That doesn't mean that all construction work is complete; far from it. Denali is in the process of putting in a new outdoor grain silo to hold its 2-row barley malt, and another silo to hold its spent grain until local farmers can pick it up. The brewery also has plans to install three 240-barrel outdoor conical fermenters, and has already added a whirlpool vessel to its brewhouse. Along with the lauter tun, mash tun, and kettle, this fourth vessel effectively means Denali can brew batches of beer 24/7.

Denali Brewing Company. Photo by Elaine Howell.
DBC's tap room. Photo by Elaine Howell.

On the new beer front, Denali also has some interesting stuff coming down the line. Sassan and I sampled a beer currently aging in some Jack Daniels whiskey barrels. The base beer is Twin Engine, an imperialized version of Single Engine Red, and once it has had enough time in the wood, Sassan plans to blend the barrels together for a fall release. Another future beer is One Tree, a Belgian Golden Strong Ale made with locally-produced birch syrup. Finally, Denali will be bottling its classic Louisville Sour, in 12 oz. stubbie bottles. The beer and bottles are ready to go, but there have been problems sourcing decent six-pack carriers. Look for 400 cases to go on sale in Talkeetna in July; I predict they will go fast.

Photo by Elaine Howell

After finishing at Denali Brewing, it was time to head another 150 miles north to Healy and 49th State Brewing Company. The brewery opened for the season on April 25th and the co-owned Prospector's Pizzeria opened on May 9th, while we were in town. Unfortunately, head brewer Jay Bullen was out of town, but brewer Vincent Larochelle, owners David McCarthy and Jason Motyka, and head chef Todd Podborny made us feel extremely welcome. 49th State conducted a significant expansion in the spring of 2014, and this was my first time getting to check out there new 15-barrel, three-vessel brewhouse. Of course, the original 1/2-barrel Sabco Brew Magic system is still tucked away in a corner; it's being used for pilot brewing now. Another new addition is a crowler machine, which was waiting to be installed behind the bar when we were there. Finally, 49th State has plans to eventually install a bottling line to produce 22 oz bombers. No bad for a place that only had one beer on offer when I fist visited in September of 2011. Elaine and I also ate dinner twice at 49th State Brewing and once at Prospector's Pizzeria, and the food was, as always, superb.

49th State's new brewhouse. Photo by Elaine Howell
L-R: Vincent Larochelle, Jason Motyka, David McCarthy, & Todd Podborny. Photo by Elaine Howell 49th State's beer board. Click to enlarge.

I have some reviews of the beers at 49th State Brewing later in the blog, but now let's move on to other beer news. It's just been announced that SABMiller is purchasing Meantime Brewing Company in the United Kingdom; link to the full news story here. I've always been impressed with Meantime's beers, and even used them in my college course as examples of classic British Ale styles. Let's hope Meantime can maintain its quality under its new overlords.

Click to enlarge

Another big piece of news, at least to me, is that my new book, Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun ,  has officially been released. The Alaska distributor, Todd Communications, is still waiting on them to arrive from the publisher, so there are no copies yet in any local stores, but I received a couple of complimentary ones directly from the publisher, and I am well pleased with them. If you are the sort of person who retails books and would like to order some, please contact Kyle Forbush at Todd Communications (907-929-5508 or kyle@toddcom.com). As soon as I receive my pre-ordered copies, I hope to set up several signing events around the state.



Passing through Anchorage on our way home on Sunday, I made it a point to stop at Anchorage Brewing Company and pick up a bottle of the just-released Mosaic Saison. See my review below. Here's what the brewery had on offer then:

Click to enlargeAs I mentioned in my last blog, this week (May 11-17) is American Craft Beer Week . I'd like to tip my cap to HooDoo Brewing Company of Fairbanks for being the only brewery in the state to get its ACBW events listed on the national events calendar on Craftbeer.com, the Brewers Association website. Sounds like you guys did some fun stuff; well done!



Speaking of Fairbanks, next Saturday, May 23, there will be a Beer and Bacon Tasting at Griffin Park, as part of a bigger two-day 1st Annual Fairbanks Bacon Festival . The Beer and Bacon Tasting takes place between noon and 3 pm. Admission of $40 gets you 10 total samples of either beer or bacon, and extra samples cost $2. There will be 30 local chefs offering bacon concoctions and beers from HooDoo Brewing, Alaskan Brewing, and Silver Gulch Brewing on offer, plus a souvenir sampling glass.

Glacier BrewHouse will once again be offering the first Copper River Salmon of the season:

Click to enlarge


Winterlong Brewing Company , the brand-new nano-brewery in Whitehorse, YT, will be having a pre-opening today from noon to 6 pm. Now there will be two places to stop for good beer when you are driving the Al-Can!

Photo courtesy of Winterlong Brewing

Speaking of new breweries, Bearpaw River Brewing's Kickstarter campaign has hit its $25,000 goal to help finish the new brewery's tap room, so now they've added a stretch goal to $35,000. The extra 10 grand will let them buy a forklift for the brewery. If they hit this stretch goal, they will be sending stainless steel cups to everyone who contributed. If you still haven't contributed, there are about 10 days left in the campaign and you can check it out here.

Over at Odd Man Rush Brewing in Eagle River, three new 20-barrel conicals have arrived:

Photo courtesy of Odd Man Rush BrewingFinally, Gold Rush Brewing just outside of Skagway has just taken delivery of a new brewhouse and should be putting it to use very soon.

Photo courtesy of Gold Rush Brewing

At Kenai River Brewing Company, the big news was about their plans to build a new brewery. I reported on it in my last Redoubt Reporter column. Just today Doug Hogue told me that KRBC beers will be gracing the sides of two Specialty Imports delivery trucks, with Homer's Bear Creek Winery on the other side.  Here are some photos, courtesy of KRBC:




That's about it for news this week, so let's do some beer reviews.

49th State Brewing's Golden Dahl Tripel: It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a large white head that left excellent lacing on the glass. The aroma was classic Belgian tripel, with bright, fruity notes and a touch of spicy yeast elements. Carbonation and mouthfeel were both very good. Crisp, fruity flavors are very light on the palate, and the beer conceals its alcohol strength very nicely, before falling away to a pleasant finish. 8.7% ABV, 32 IBUs. Since I last had this beer in 2014, the recipe has been tweaked slightly to reduce its sweetness; I heartily approve, as the beer is even more finely balanced than before.  A truly excellent interpretation of this classic style.


49th State Brewing's Double on Tundra Dubbel: The dark yin to Golden Dahl's yang, this beer poured opaque with a nice off-white head. The nose was full of dark fruit notes, like raisins and plums. Carbonation and mouthfeel were both good. Flavor profile was spot on for a Belgian dubbel, with spiciness and dark fruit elements blending together in harmony before ending in a nice finish. 8% ABV, 22 IBUs.



49th State Brewing's McCarthy's Stout: This was the first beer I ever had at 49th State, back in 2011, so I thought I would taste it again and see how it was tasting these days. Answer: excellent! I poured opaque with the massive, creamy head that you expect from a stout served on nitrogen. Nice roasted barley aroma. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel from the nitro. Very nice classic Irish dry stout, smooth, roasty, and extremely drinkable. Puts the average Guinness to shame. 4.8% ABV, 35 IBUs.


Sierra Nevada Brewing's Scotch on Scotch Ale: I had this beer at Prospector's Pizzeria . Based on how it was listed on the menu, I've had trouble correlating it to anything listed on the Sierra Nevada website, so I'm going with how it was listed on the menu. It was clearly a Wee Heavy that had been aged in used Scotch whisky barrels, but I haven't been able to determine which whisky. It poured a semi-translucent ruby with a small, cream-colored head. The aroma was what you'd expect, sweet malt and a hint of smoke. The flavor profile was full of clean malt flavor, again with just a hint of smoke from the barrel. Another excellent beer from Sierra Nevada, which I doubt you'll find anywhere else in this state, so get it if you can. 9.4% ABV.


Firestone-Walker Brewing's 2015 Parabola Imperial Stout: Looking at the label, I knew this one was going to be one big beer. 14% ABV, 82 IBUs, aged in bourbon barrels. It poured almost opaque, but with some slight ruby highlights, and a small tan head that dissipated to a collar. The nose was rich and complex, with notes of chocolate, coffee, oak, and bourbon. Carbonation was OK and the mouthfeel was quite chewy and thick. The flavor profile was very similar to the nose, with lots of rich and complex flavors entwining with each other to form a delicious whole. The alcohol makes its presence known with some heat on the finish. An excellent beer, best shared in small snifters amongst several friends.


Anchorage Brewing Company's Mosaic Saison: Brewed exclusively with its namesake hops, this beer poured slightly cloudy with a huge white head that left good lacing on the glass. The aroma had lots of the floral, tropical, fruity, & earthy notes that characterize this hop variety. Carbonation was excellent, and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate there was more of the hop flavors, balanced by a nice malt backbone, and the lightest hint of brett funkiness. An excellent farmhouse ale, light and refreshing. I'd expect the brett notes to increase with time and that the beer will become bone dry, so if that's how you like your saisons, try cellaring this one for  6 months to a year. 6.5% ABV, 30 IBUs.

Well, that's it for this week. See you next week with more news and reviews.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Happy 20th Anniversary, Midnight Sun!

You have to hand it to the folks at Midnight Sun Brewing Company. When they first opened for business twenty years ago, they were clever enough to do it on May 5th, so every year they get to celebrate on Cinco de Mayo.  I want to offer my personal congratulations on hitting this huge milestone . Midnight Sun has brewed some phenomenal beers in the past and I'm looking forward to drinking the ones they dream up in the next twenty years!



As this year is the big 2-oh, the celebrations have been appropriately expansive. I've written about several of them in past blogs, so I'm not going to do a big recap here, but I do want to mention a couple of new items. Midnight Sun will be tapping a firkin in The Loft tonight at 5 PM, cask-conditioned Panty Peeler, on tequila-soaked oak chips and lime zest. MSBC has also released a new draft-only beer, The Adult, as part of the celebration.  Here's the info on it:

Click to enlarge
Midnight Sun also took delivery of two new conical fermenters this week, and revamped its retail store.  Here are some photos, all courtesy of the brewery:

The new retail area in the main lobby at MSBC
One of the new tanks arriving via flatbed
Head Brewer Lee Ellis moves the new tank into place.So once again, congratulations to Midnight Sun on a great twenty years!

On Wednesday, April 29th, I attended the K&L Distributors Trade Show in Anchorage. I'd been to other trade shows in the past, but this was my first time making it to K&L 's. They are one of the three major craft beers distributors in the state (along with Odom and Specialty Imports ) and handle several different breweries, though their main cash cow is, of course, AB-InBev. K&L counts Alaskan Brewing, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, and Lagunitas Brewing among its craft offerings, and it has recently been adding more, which was one reason I wanted to attend: to see what new offerings are in store for Alaska.

Part of the K&L Trade Show
Another section of the K&L Trade Show
I stopped first at the Alaskan Brewing booth, where I sampled the brewery's latest Rough Draft, a porter made with graham crackers, cocoa nibs, vanilla, and wild flower honey; very tasty! Next, I stopped at the Sierra Nevada Brewing booth, where I sampled River Ryed Rye IPA. This beer is only being released in cans and only in the Pacific Northwest, so we are lucky to be getting it up here in Alaska. I also learned that Sierra Nevada's delicious Nooner Pilsner (reviewed 3/13/2015) will also soon be available in cans here in Alaska. I also sampled beers from Cascade Lakes Brewing Company from Redmond, Oregon; both its Cyclops IPA and Hopsmack IPA were especially tasty. I had brews from Hopworks Urban Brewery and Iron Horse Brewery; the latter's Quilter's Irish Death was particularly good. I finally finished up at the booth of Lagunitas, where I sampled Waldo's Special, a seasonal beer the brewery releases on 4/20 each year. Very dank and hoppy, I liked it a lot.

On my way of out town, I made a quick pit stop at Anchorage Brewing Company; I had neglected to purchase one of its growlers when I was at the grand opening, so I decided to stop and get one. Plus, I'd seen on Facebook that a new beer had just gone on tap, a Triple IPA.  When I came in, Owner Gabe Fletcher was behind the bar, so I ended up having a beer and chatting before continuing on my way south. See my review of the new Triple IPA below. Gabe also told me that he is going to brew a beer called Expiration IPA. Similar in concept to Stone Brewing's Drink By Date IPAs, Gabe intends for this beer to be consumed extremely fresh, with every bottle have a large "expiration date" sticker on it, hence the name. ABC will be releasing its new Mosiac Saison (see my last blog), this Sunday, May 10.

ABC's tap list on 4/29/2015




The growlers at Anchorage Brewing Company are a steal at $35 each. They are powder-coated stainless, double-walled vacuum insulated, and have a well-designed cap that not only achieves an excellent seal but doubles as a handle.

The brewery has also announced another special event for next weekend.  Here are the details:

Anchorage Brewing Company Presents: An evening with Ron Jeffries from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

            Please come and join us for this epic event! Ron Jeffries, the founder and creator of Jolly Pumpkin beers will be at our brewery on Saturday May 16th  2pm-9pm. We will have 4 of his wild beers from Dexter, Michigan on tap for you to try, as well as 3 of the collaborations that we have been working on for the last year.
Starting at 4pm till closing there will be live Jazz music from the ABC Brett Quintet and delicious Taco’s from Carve Catering!
            Here is the list of beers we will be serving:ClementinaSaison Brewed with clementine, yuzu peel, lime peel, pink Himalayan salt, and coriander.5.5% ABV 11 IBU’s

MI Nugget of MadnessBarrel Aged Tart Pale Ale Brewed and dry hopped with 100% Michigan grown Nugget hops5.9% ABV 40 IBU’s

Biere de MarsFlanders Style Sour7% ABV 30 IBU’sA sustaining beer that is brewed to comfort the gusty ides of March and welcome in a wealth of warmer weather.

Oro de CalabazaArtisan Wild Ale8% ABV 30 IBU’sBrewed in the Franco-Belgian tradition of Golden Strong Ales. Spicy and peppery with a gentle hop bouquet and beguiling influence of wild yeast.

Calabaza BorealSaison7% ABV 40 IBU’sBrewed with grapefruit peel, peppercorns, fresh grapefruit juice, Mosaic and Galaxy Hops. Fermented and aged in Foudres with Saison yeast, brett, and Oro de Calabaza from the barrel.

Ron and Gabe Collaboration #2Saison6% ABV 32 IBU’sBrewed with Experimental Hop 05256. Fermented in French oak barrels with saison yeast and a mix of brettanomyces strains. Dry hopped in the barrel with Citra Hops.

Ron and Gabe Collaboration #3Saison6% ABV 40 IBU’sBrewed with Citra Hops, Coriander, and black peppercorns. Fermented in French oak barrels with saison yeast and a mix of brettanomyces strains and apple juice. Dry hopped in the barrel with Galaxy Hops.  

Sounds like it will be an absolutely fabulous evening!


Seward Brewing Company awoke for its long winter's nap and opened for business last Friday. I haven't made it over there yet, but hope to soon. The brewpub is offering a special Mothers Day Brunch this Sunday.  Here's the menu:


Click to enlargeAlso happening in Seward, the Seward Alehouse will be holding a IPA Blind Tasting event on Thursday, May 7th, at 7 PM.

I recently learned that another new brewery is in the process of opening. While it's not in Alaska, it is in Whitehorse, the the Yukon Territory (which I always think of as sort of honorary Alaska...). Winterlong Brewing Company received its license to brew on April 20, and fired up its kettle the next day. I expect they will be open for business soon. Owned by Meghan & Marko Marjanovic, you should see this new small brewery offering its beers at the Haines Festival on May 23.

The guys at Bearpaw River Brewing Company have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help finish their taproom.  Lots for cool rewards on offer. They have 20 days to go and are only a little over $5k short of their $25k goal, so I think they will likely reach it. If you are interested in tossing in a few bucks, you can find all the details on their Kickstarter page here.



Speaking of Kickstarters, Bleeding Heart Brewery in Palmer continues to make progress toward opening, and has scheduled a party for all its Kickstarter backers for July 12th


Here on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing Company has been making some news. In my column in tomorrow's Redoubt Reporter, you can read all about its exciting new plans. However, last Friday, May 1, the brewery made history, by releasing the first ever commercial beer brewed with Alaska Grown hops! I stopped by and had a glass, but had to leave before they tapped the cask-conditioned version, dry hopped with 2 oz. of Fuggles.  See my review of AK Hop ESB below.


Photo courtesy of KRBC Brewer Devin standing by to tap the cask!
Finally, some personal news. We are moving ever closer to my next book, Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun , being released. While I'm waiting on that, I'm working to finish Volume Three of Beer on the Last Frontier: The Craft Breweries of Alaska . I thought you might like a sneak peak at its cover, created by by lovely and talented wife, Elaine:


I hope to have it done in the next few weeks.

Now let's move on to beer reviews:

Boulevard Brewing Company's The Calling IPA: A new release from this excellent brewery, I picked up a 4-pack at La Bodega . It poured a clear gold with a nice white head that left good lace on the glass. The aroma was of bright, citrusy hops; I reminded me quite a bit of Denali's Twister Creek IPA. Carbonation was good, as was the mouthfeel. On the palate, there was good bitterness, then plenty of nice, clean hop flavors. A well-crafted IPA from Boulevard. 8.5% ABV.



Anchorage Brewing Company's Triple IPA. Gabe Fletcher is
looking for a better name for this brew, so feel free to give him your suggestions! It poured a bright, slightly cloudy gold with a big, pillowy white head. The nose was chock full of bright citrus and tropical fruit hop notes. The carbonation and mouthfeel were both quite good. On the palate, the beer showed amazing balance; Given the 210 IBUs, I was expecting something overly bitter, but not so. This beer exhibits superb hop flavor and aroma, yet remains very drinkable. Anchorage used over 160 ponds of hops to make 22 barrels of beer, including dry hopping it three times in two different tanks, yet there is none of the vegetal notes you often get with highly hopped beers. This is really wonderful beer and only its 9% ABV will keep you from drinking glass after glass...

Kenai River Brewing Company's AK Hop ESB: As mentioned above, what makes this beer unique is the source of the hops used to make it. Given that Doug Hogue and the other brewers involved were pretty much guessing at the alpha acid content, they could have been excused if the beer hadn't turned out very well. However, this beer is actually a rather good ESB. It poured a cloudy, dark honey color, with a small, off-white head that dissipated to a collar but left good lacing. The aroma was about spot on for a classic British ESB, hoppy but not excessively so. The taste profile was also classic ESB, with a nice malt backbone being balanced with good bitterness. Tasting this beer made me think that there might be a bright future ahead for craft beers brewed with AK Grown hops. 5.4% ABV, IBUs ???, but I'd guess 35, give or take.



Midnight Sun Brewing Company's Mudflats Belgian Quad: This beer poured opaque with a huge,persistent tan head. The aroma was rich and complex, with notes of raisins, chocolate, oak, and alcohol - a big beer without a doubt! Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was good, with a slight chewiness that I like in big, dark brews. The flavor profile was classic Belgian quad, with lots of dark fruit notes, chocolate, oak, and a bit of alcohol heat on the finish. I suspect this beer would cellar well, so I plan to pick up a few more bottles to experiment with. 10% ABV, 35 IBUs.

That's it for this blog. Look for a new one next week. Speaking of next week, May 11 thru May 17th is American Craft Beer Week (ACBW). So make it a point to find a local event and celebrate!



Until Next Time, Cheers!

Out of Hibernation & Open for Business

It's not just the bears that have come out of hibernation here in Alaska, it's the breweries as well. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 25th, 49th State Brewing in Healy opens for business. As they have done for the last couple of years, Jay Bullen and his crew will be offering the Hibernation series, a line of big beers which have benefited from a long cold-conditioning while the brewery was closed for winter. I plan to make the trek north myself soon, to see what they've got on offer this year.


Less than a week behind 49th State, Seward Brewing Company will be opening for the season next Friday, May 1. Erik Slater has been busily brewing up beers to pair with his excellent food, all on offer in a beautiful location in downtown Seward. Fingers crossed for nice weather next weekend and an enjoyable road trip to Seward.


The third seasonal brewery in Alaska is Gold Rush Brewing , located a couple of miles north of Skagway on the Klondike Highway. Not sure exactly when it will be opening for the season, but judging by its Facebook page, Gold Rush will be undergoing a major expansion. Two weeks ago, it posted pictures of a new brewhouse, which was expected to be in Skagway before the end of April. I'm beginning to wonder if there is any brewery in Alaska which isn't in the process of expanding in some form or fashion!

New brewhouse. Photo courtesy of Gold Rush Brewing.
Besides these established breweries re-opening for the summer, several of the crop of soon-to-open breweries have announced progress. Bearpaw River Brewing Company has received its Federal Brewer's Notice (TTB), an important milestone. Still lots of hoops to jump through on the state level, but the guys in Wasilla seem to be making excellent progress. Bearpaw River was also visited this week by a film crew from The Alaska Channel.

Photo courtesy of Bearpaw River Brewing
Odd Man Rush Brewing in Eagle River has posted several photos of the progress being made in building out the interior of the brewery. They are currently framing in the bathrooms, cold box, and loft.

Photo courtesy of Odd Man Rush Brewing
In Haines, they are pouring the foundations for the new home of the Haines Brewing Company .

Photo courtesy of Haines Brewing Company
While all that is good news, there was also some bad news: the 6th Annual Skagway Homebrew Festival has been cancelled, as the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board has decided it (and the five previous festivals, which were approved by ABC) is illegal. The ABC Board's position now is that any event at which homebrew is consumed cannot charge an admission fee to the public. This sort of reading of state laws has caused problems elsewhere, most recently in Oregon, where a special law had to be passed by the state legislature to allow long-running (as in decades...) homebrew festivals to continue to be held. Given the near-total dysfunction of the Alaska State Legislature, I wouldn't count on any fixes for us coming out of them anytime soon...

On to happier news. The Biergarten at HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks is now officially open for the year. Here is a photo of owner/brewer Bobby Wilken courageously ensuring it is safe and ready for the public:

Photo courtesy of HooDoo Brewing
The menu for Midnight Sun Brewing Company's 20th Anniversary Dinner at Kinley's , taking place on May 5th at 5 PM, has been released:

Click to enlarge

This one is sure to sell out, so call Kinley's and make your reservations now.

Anchorage Brewing Company has a new beer on offer in the brewery taproom: Improv is a collaboration beer, brewed with Shaun Hill of Hill Farmstead two years ago, during the first Culmination Festival . It's a beautifully balanced sour ale, aged for two years in French oak. Also on offer is fresh Galaxy White IPA. Here is a picture of ABC's current taproom offerings:

Click to enlarge. Photo courtesy of Anchorage Brewing.
Moving on the the Peninsula, a website promoting "The Kenai, Alaska's Playground" had a nice write up on the five breweries/brewpubs on the Peninsula. You can check it out here.

Here are the beers on offer at St. Elias Brewing Company as of Tuesday, April 21:

Click to enlarge
That's it for beer news this week. Let's move on to reviews:


St. Elias Brewing Company's Goat Dope Bock: This beer poured a lovely deep, clear gold color with a small cream-colored head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma was full of clean, sweet malt notes. The mouthfeel was very good and the carbonation was acceptable. The flavor profile was just what you'd expect from a bock: good, clean malt flavors up front, with only enough hops to give balance to the malty goodness, before falling away to a nice finish. An excellent seasonal choice, and another excellent lager from St. Elias.


Kassik's Brewery's Buffalo Head Barley Wine: I first reviewed this beer back on 6/28/2012, when it was just on the cusp of being released in bottles, but I thought that after almost three years, perhaps I should take another look. I am happy to report that this beer is still just as exceptional as it was then. It's everything you look for in an English-style barley wine: rich and warming, with a deep, complex flavor profile that invites you in for some serious contemplation. Truly an outstanding beer.




Well, that's about it for this week. I hope to have some more new beers to review by next blog.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

New Breweries Everywhere You look...

They say spring is the season of new growth, and breweries across Alaska really seem to be taking that to heart. Darn near every day, I read another Facebook post or press release about a new brewery getting ready to open or an existing brewery expanding or building an new facility. It's an exciting time to be writing about craft beer in our great state, let me tell you! So let's move on to the latest news.

First off, Haines Brewing Company has at last broken ground on their new brewery, being built at 4th & Main St. in downtown Haines. Paul Wheeler & Jeanne Kitayama hope to move out of Dalton City in August and open the new brewery for business in September. With a larger brewhouse and expanded fermentation capacity, we can hope to see Haines' beers on tap more frequently in other parts of the state. Speaking of which, The Island Pub in Juneau had four of Haines' beers on tap last weekend; not sure if any are still left.

Photo of ground breaking courtesy of Haines Brewing
Based on their Facebook posts, the Wade brothers at Bearpaw River Brewing are making steady progress towards being open for business. Most recently, they took deliver of their initial complement of kegs. Here's a photo of all the kegs in the new brewery.


Photo courtesy of Bearpaw River BrewingBearpaw River also made this announcement:

Breaking news for the BRBC! We’ll be over at Silvertip Design & Gifts next Saturday, 25 April, for the “Who Let the Girls Out?” event in downtown Palmer. We’ll be there to talk about our project and show off a few toys (though no beer samples, unfortunately). We’ll have Big News to share as well. Stop by and say hello! 

Speaking of Facebook posts, Odd Man Rush Brewing in Eagle River has posted several photos indicating that they have made good progress preparing the future location of the brewery to receive its brewing equipment.

Photo courtesy of Odd Man Rush BrewingRecently opened Resolution Brewing Company has announced expanded hours and days of operation; it is now open until 8 PM and is open on Sundays as well. Resolution just released its long-awaited Cerveza De Los Muertos, coming in at over 9% ABV and brewed with chiles, cinnamon, and cocoa. It's even available on nitro, along with traditional carbonation. Father Dyer is also back on tap, along with Tent City Saison, First Chair Amber, and a new beer, Guttersnipe Golden Strong.

Photo courtesy of Resolution Brewing
Out on The Rock, Ben Millstein of Kodiak Island Brewing Company has purchased three new small conditioning tanks to be used to make, as Ben puts it, "the strong stuff."

Photo courtesy of Kodiak Island BrewingAt Anchorage Brewing Company, they are brewing another batch of Anadromous Black Sour Ale and will be bottling the new Mosaic Saison next week. Owner Gabe Fletcher has also announced the date of this year's The Culmination Beer Festival . Instead of being held in the spring, as in past years, this year's festival will take place on Saturday, August 22, and will be held in the brewery itself. So mark you calendars and start saving your pennies, as Gabe promises that this year's festival will be the best one yet! Anchorage Brewing Company also posted a short video of its bottling operation.



At St. Elias Brewing Company,  the excellent Cross Bo Pilsner has run out, but it has been replaced with another lager, Goat Dope Bock. This is a beer that Zach Henry has brewed before; see my review on 2/8/2013. You really can't beat a good bock as a springtime beer. Look for a review of this newest version of the beer next week.



Midnight Sun Brewing Company has released the next beer in its Alaskana series: Mudflats Belgian Quadrupel. It's available at The Loft now and should be available around the state next Wednesday. At 10% ABV, 35 IBUs, look for lots of dark fruit and chocolate notes from this one, plus plenty of oak. Early reports are that it's pretty exceptional. Midnight Sun has also posted the menu for this Sunday's Beer Brunch (see my last blog for more details):

Click to enlarge
On next Wednesday, April 22, Midnight Sun will be celebrating Earth Day by giving out hop rhizomes. Make a $10 donation to the Alaska Center for the Environment and MSBC will give you your very own hop rhizome to take home and plant!

I wrote last week about the May 1 Taste of Alaska event at The Pub at UAF . Well, the night before that event, on Thursday, April 30th, HooDoo Brewing Company and Midnight Sun Brewing Company will be going head-to-head at a beer dinner at Lavelle's Bistro in downtown Fairbanks. The event is called Paired Up , and here is the flier for it:

Click to enlargeObviously, both of these breweries make great beers, and the last time I was in Fairbanks I had dinner at Lavelle's and was totally blown away by the food, so this has all the makings of a fantastic event.

As long as we are talking about beer dinners, Midnight Sun will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary on Tuesday, May 5th with a beer dinner at Kinley's Restaurant . Chef Brett is working on a menu which will par with all eight of the beers from the Alaskana series, which is no mean feat. I attended a beer dinner at Kinley's a few years ago and it was easily in the top three of all the many such dinners I've attended, so I'd recommend you make this one if you can. Look for a menu soon, but mark your calendar now.

Also on May 5th, Denali Brewing Company will be holding its own five-course beer dinner at Jack Sprat in Girdwood.  Here's the menu for that event:

Click to enlarge
You can make reservations for this one by calling (907) 783-5225.

Denali will also be having an event this Wednesday, April 22, at the Eagle River Alehouse :




Glacier BrewHouse released another new brew yesterday; this one is called simply Red. Here's how they described it:

Red: Red, malty, smooth, and medium bodied with luscious hints of chocolate and caramel. Malt plays a defining role in the profile of this ale. Several color malts were combined with pale malt to form a wonderful malt profile. 
Alcohol: 6.43% by volume.Starting Gravity: 16.50 Plato (1.068 S.G.).

Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseGlacier BrewHouse also announced that its Dinner with the King event last month raised over $3000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation . Great job guys!

Speaking of red beers, I have heard that Alaska will soon be getting a limited distribution of of Sierra Nevada's new River Ryed IPA in 12-packs and on draft. 6% ABV, 50 IBUs, hopped with Chinook, Citra, and Equinox.

Click to enlarge
Finally, on the news front, a word about distilleries. I don't usually write much about distilled spirits or wine, since my main passion is beer, but here are a couple of things I thought worth mentioning.

First, Ursa Major Distilling is moving from Fairbanks to its new facility just outside of town in the historic mining camp of Ester. The distillery is looking for donations to help support this move, to the tune of $25,000. As of this writing, the campaign has only raised $5,775. If you are interested in tossing a few buck in to help out a local Alaskan distillery (particularly if you live in the Fairbanks area), you can do so here.

Second, Port Chilkoot Distillery in Haines won a Double Gold Medal for its 50 Fathoms Gin at the 15th Annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition on March 31st. This is the second gold medal that 50 Fathoms has one this year; it also received a gold medal at the American Craft Spirits Association Awards held in Austin, TX. Elaine and I had a chance to visit Port Chilkoot last May, when we were in town for the Haines Beer Festival , and we were both impressed with what we saw. So congratulations to owners Sean and Heather on the awards. Unfortunately, I won't be sampling any 50 Fathoms; my gin days ended (badly) when I was still in college, and I'm strictly a beer and Scotch whisky man these days...

Photo courtesy of Port Chilkoot DistilleryThat about wraps up the news this week, so lets move on to reviews.

My first review is actually not for a beer but for a new type of plastic cup. A company called Fermented Reality out of Florida has created a new line of high quality plastic cups optimized for drinking IPAs, called B Cups, and asked me if I would be willing to give them a test drive.  As I have a policy never to turn down free beer-related stuff, I agreed and last week I received four of the new cups in the mail. Here's a photo of one of the cups in use:


You can see that the shape is somewhat similar to the IPA glasses being sold by Speiglau. The cup holds 17 oz., so it can easily handle up to a full pint plus a head. The plastic is BPA free and fairly hefty, so it feels pretty good in your hand. You could easily use the same cup multiple times by just hand washing it in between uses (no dishwashers). So far, I have consumed two different IPAs from the cups, and I would say the experience is comparable to drinking the same beers from a Speiglau IPA glass, minus the expense of the glass and the worry about breakage. It seems to me that these B Cups would represent a vast improvement over the typical red cups in which beers are often served at outdoor events, or even the ubiquitous shaker pint glasses seen in so many craft beer bars. The price point is $10 for a pack of 4 cups, so they are not super cheap, but still much cheaper than replacing a broken Speiglau glass. Bottom-line, I think these B Cups lived up to their billing; if you are looking for a good plastic alternative to expensive beer glassware, you should seriously consider them.




I only got around to drinking one truly new beer this week, but it was a good one:

Alaskan Brewing's Imperial Rye IPA:  It poured a clear, deep red-copper color with a big, off-white head that left excellent lacing on the cup. The aroma had notes of citrus, rye, melon, and then some sweet caramel. The carbonation is good, and the mouthfeel is nice. On the palate, there is good balance between sweetness up front and bitterness in that back, plus peppery notes from the rye. A long, fairly dry finish with little evidence of the 8.5% ABV.  A very well-constructed Rye IPA.



My second review is an old beer under a new name:

St. Elias Brewing's H & H Burton Ale: This is beer has been brewed before in December, 2013, and was released as H & H Winter Warmer. It is a Burton Ale, a nearly extinct style which was one of the ancestors of India Pale Ale in Britain. It poured a dark ruby color with a nice, cream-colored head. The nose is not overly hoppy, especially since it was brewed using English rather than American varieties, but the dry-hopping with East Kent Goldings does give it a decent hop nose to balance the Marris Otter barley notes. On the palate the carbonation is good and the mouthfeel is quite nice. There is more balance than is typical in an IPA, with plenty of malt sweetness to go with the nice, earthy bitterness from the Fuggles used as the bittering hops. The finish is long and moreish, with the 6.5% ABV being well-concealed. Dangerously drinkable, this is a style of beer that truly deserves a resurrection.


Well, that's it for this week. Be sure to mark your calendar with all the upcoming beer events and keep drinking the good stuff.

Until Next Week, Cheers!

April Snow Showers

Well, it seems spring is on hold, as we have had snow almost every night this week here on the Kenai. It doesn't last, of course; as soon as the sun comes up, the temperature rises to the the high 40s and everything melts away by noon. Still, it makes it hard to think spring when you get up in the morning and see everything outside the window covered in a blanket of new fallen snow...

The big news on the personal front is that my new book, Alaska Beer: (American Palate), is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. If you'd like to reserve your copy, you can click on the link above. Unlike my Beer on the Last Frontier volumes, this book focuses on the history of brewing in Alaska, from the days of Russian rule right up to present day. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out and eager to hear what folks think of it.

Click to enlarge the cover
Once I receive my copies, I'll be announcing one or more book launch parties, where you can buy a copy and/or get your copy autographed, so stay tuned. Now that the shameless self-promotion is done, let's move on to other beer news around the state.



Tomorrow, Saturday, Arkose Brewery will be holding another of its extremely popular Beer Meets Canvas events, from 2 to 4 pm. The theme for April is "Literary." Think "books and beer." $30 includes one pint and all art supplies. Paint to the theme or what ever your heart desires! 21 yrs and older. Call 746-2337 for reservations.

Here's the latest newsletter from Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady:

Click to enlarge

Anchorage Brewing Company has announced a new beer to be released in a few weeks: Mosaic Saison, brewed and dry-hopped solely with Mosaic hops. Here's what the bottle will look like:


Photos courtesy of Anchorage Brewing CompanyA lot of breweries across Alaska are starting to get revved up for summer. 49th State Brewing Company in Healy is hiring staff and opens  two weeks from tomorrow, on Saturday, April 25th. Its sister operation, Prospectors Pizzeria , opens on Saturday, May 9th. Denali Brewing Company is looking to hire summer staff for its beer garden in downtown Talkeetna. Erik Slater has fired off the kettle at Seward Brewing Company and is brewing up a storm to be ready for his May 1 opening. His latest creation seems to be a chili beer.  Here's the photo he posted of chilies being roasted before being added to the brew:

Photo courtesy of Seward Brewing Company
Midnight Sun Brewing Company will be having a Beer Brunch next Sunday, April 19th, from 11 am to 2 pm. $45 gets you four brunch courses paired with four beers, while $30 gets the designated drivers out there food but no beer.



Looking a little further out, there will be a Taste of Alaska event at the UAF Pub in Fairbanks. Breweries from around the state will be pouring their brews on Saturday, May 1, from  8 pm on. Tickets are $30 in advance, and $35 at the door. HooDoo and Midnight Sun Brewing Companies have announced they will be there, and I'm sure there will be several others.



Alaskan Brewing has announced that, thanks to the completion of its recent brewery expansion, it can now distribute its canned beers to the Lower 48. Alaskan Amber and Freeride APA in 12 ounce cans will be on the shelves soon in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Glacier BrewHouse released another new beer yesterday, Platinum Blonde. Here's its description:

Platinum Blonde: Creamy and refreshing, light body, and brilliant platinum blonde in color. Secret adjuncts were added to the mash to render this summer beauty. Premium two row barley from the Pacific Northwest lets this beer shine.
Alcohol: 5.74% by volume.
Starting gravity: 12.15 Plato (1.044 S.G.).

Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseHere on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing Company posted a photo of its staff hard at work prepping 80 pounds of fresh kumquats to be used in brewing its kolsch and wheat beers for the summer.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing Company
Finally, I received a nice little package from Deschutes Brewery containing two bottles of its new Pinedrops IPA (reviewed below) and an insulated pint mug from Hydro Flask.

A surprise package from Deschutes Brewery
Those of you who have been reading this blog for years might remember that I bought a Hydro Flask growler way back in December of 2011. I used it a few times but ultimately was disappointed in the closure design. While it did an admirable job of maintaining temperature, it did a poor job of maintaining carbonation; many of my friends around town had similar issues. That's obviously not a concern for the True Pint cup pictured above. The pint is stainless on the inside with a double-walled vacuum for insulation, and a nice, non-slip texture on the outside. Easy to keep clean and tough, this would be great on a camping or fishing trip, where you didn't want to bother with fragile glasses but still didn't want to drink your craft beer out of a can.  If you're interested, you can find out more about the True Pint here.

Okay, let's move on to the beer reviews. Three different IPAs this week:

Oskar Blues Brewing's Pinner Throwback IPA: Poured a clear gold from the can, with a big, pillowy white head. The aroma was full of bright hop notes, with lots of citrusy and tropical fruit flavors.Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was good. The initial bitter attack was restrained; this beer is only 35 IBUs, which I suppose is appropriate if it is a "throwback" to the IPAs of a few years ago. Following the initial attack, there was lots of hop aroma and flavor, falling away to a nice finish. At 4.9% ABV, this is an extremely drinkable IPA, inviting you to have more than one.

Anchorage Brewing Company's Rondy Brew 2015 - 80 Year IPA:
I had a glass on this at the new brewery's grand opening, but didn't do a formal evaluation, so I picked up another bottle. It poured a slightly cloudy gold with a big white head that left good lace on the glass. The nose was full of bright citrusy hops. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. The initial bitterness was good without being overwhelming, and the beer had decent balance between the hops and the malt backbone. A very enjoyable IPA. 6% ABV, 50 IBUs.

Deschutes Brewery's Pinedrops IPA: It poured a clear gold with a big white head that left good lace. The description accompanying the beer said to expect pine and citrus hop notes on the nose, but I only picked up the former. The overall mouthfeel was good and the carbonation was nice. The beer claims 70 IBUs, but it did not taste that bitter, at least to me. The initial bitter attack was good but not overpowering; I would have guessed it to be in the 40 to 50 IBU range. I could definitely taste the Chinook hops used, which was a real plus for me, as I love that particular hop variety. The beer also used Equinox hops, which are supposed to deliver tropical fruit notes, but as I said above, I could not detect any. The balance on the beer was good, and it had a nice finish. Overall, not the palate wrecker I was expecting from its advertised specs. I enjoyed it and would certainly drink it again. 6.5% ABV.

Well, that's it for this week.  See you next week with more news and reviews, and hopefully and end to snow.

Until Next Week, Cheers!

Yes, It Was Indeed a Good Friday

This blog post is a day late. I usually try to get it out on Friday, but I was busy yesterday covering the visit of the senior U.S. Senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, to the Kenai River Brewing Company in Soldotna. Politics really isn't my thing, but beer certainly is, and Senator Murkowski is the co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus . While most legislation impacting craft beer usually happens at the state level, the Small Brewers Caucuses (there's one in the House as well) do play a significant role in supporting the ever-increasing craft beer movement across the country.

As an example of how important these caucuses are, currently there are two different acts before Congress to change the amount of federal excise taxes collected from brewers. One is designed to help small brewers (the Small BREW Act) while the other is designed to fatten the wallets of the big multinational brewers (the BEER Act). Here's a side-by-side comparison:

Click to enlarge
Given the deep pockets of the big brewing corporations, it's important to have someone looking out for the small craft brewers, and I commend all the senators and representatives who have joined the Small Brewers Caucuses . I am hopeful that Alaska's junior senator, Dan Sullivan will soon join the caucus as well.

Since taking on her role as co-chair and as a supporter of Alaskan industry, Senator Murkowski has been quite active in visiting and engaging with the various craft brewers around the state. In January, she addressed the annual meeting of the Brewers Guild of Alaska , held each year in Anchorage in conjunction with the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival . She also presented the awards to the winners of the barley wine and winter warmer competitions at that festival. As I said, I'm not much into politics, but I do find it commendable when one of our political representatives goes out of his/her way to actually engage with their constituents. Given our small population base, Alaska is one of the few states left in the country where it's still possible for ordinary citizens to meet and talk to their representative and senators in a meaningful way, as our Founding Fathers intended.

Senator Murkowski arrived at the brewery at about 5 PM and spent an hour there, talking with owners Dogue Hogue and Wendell Dutcher, their wives Amy and Wendi, touring the brewery, and chatting with several of the patrons. Here are some photos of the event, courtesy of my wife, Elaine:

Having a drink in the brewery's taproom.
Doug Hogue explaining the production cycle to the senator.
From L to R: Wendell & Wendi Dutcher, Senator Murkowski, Doug & Amy Hogue

Besides Senator Murkowski's visit, the other big news from Kenai River Brewing is the presence of the Blue Moon Burgers Food Truck in its parking lot. It arrived on Thursday and will be parked there all summer, so if you are in Soldtona and want a delicious burger and fries, washed down by some excellent beer, you know where to go. Just remember, while Blue Moon opens at 11 AM, the brewery doesn't open until noon.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing


Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing Co.
I paid a visit to Kassik's Brewery last Saturday, as part of a tour for the class I'm teaching this semester on The Art & History of Brewing . I picked up a growler of Barrel-aged Caribou Kilt Scotch Ale.  See my review below. Here's what was on tap at the brewery then:

Click to enlarge
As of today, St. Elias Brewing Company has released a new beer, H & H Burton Ale. As with all the H & H (Henry & Howell) beers, I had a hand in making this one. It's actually the same recipe as H & H Winter Warmer, which went on tap in December of 2013. Check out my 2/12/2013 blog for details on the making of this beer. We decided to change the name this time around, since we didn't get the beer finished in time for winter!  Here's the current beers on tap at St. Elias Brewing:

Click to enlarge

I got the following big piece of news from Darcy Kniefel of Midnight Sun:

"Midnight Sun Brewing Co. is excited to announce a Summer camp out like no other as a part of our 20th Anniversary Celebrations. Save the date: August 29th, Midnight Sun Brewing Company will be taking over a riverside campground in gorgeous Cooper Landing, Alaska. The evening will feature a fireside catered beer dinner followed by a session of cigars and stouts by the campfire."

"Pricing will include the use of tent or RV space for Friday and Saturday night as well as the dinner, cigars and stouts. While Friday night will have people on their own, the camp fires will be blazing for anyone who might have a bottle or two they might want to share around. Saturday is a great chance to go enjoy some local activities including hiking, fishing, a corn hole tournament, or whatever Alaskan relaxation you like before the big dinner."

"Tickets will officially be on sale in about two weeks, straight through the brewery. Packages are available for 2 or 4 people per site, so get your team together and get ready for a beer dinner like no other!"

Sounds like a great time, especially since Cooper Landing is only about 40 miles from my front door in Sterling!



La Bodega has a new beer in stock: The Calling IPA from Boulevard Brewing Company's Smokestack Series. Billed as Boulevard's hoppiest beer yet, The Calling weighs in at 8.5% ABV and 75 IBUs. Using a single malt base, eight different hop varietals were used as well as a small addition of lemon peel to add just another punch of citrus flavor. Expect punchy hop aromas and flavors of tropical fruit and pine over a bed of slightly sweet malt that leads to a dry, crisp finish.




King Street Brewing Company has announced that its taproom will now be open on Sundays! New hours are:

Monday thru Friday   2 to 8 PM
Saturday & Sunday    noon to 8 PM



Resolution Brewing's yoga at the brewery event, Brew-Ga , was so popular last Saturday that they have decided to make it a weekly event, every Saturday from 11 AM to noon. Resolution has a new beer on tap, First Chair Amber, along with Tent City Saison, Father Dyer Belgian Abbey-Porter, and Ixelle Tripel. The brewery also had it first "First Friday" art opening, showcasing the work of the late Rob Holt:

Click to enlarge

Alaskan Brewing Company has reopened its taproom/retail store at the brewery following a renovation/expansion; here's a picture of the new space:

Photo courtesy of Alaskan Brewing
The Brewers Association also released its list of the 50 Largest Craft Breweries for 2014, and Alaskan Brewing Company came in at #20. Alaska Airlines is also offering a new beer from Alaskan Brewing this spring: Icy Bay IPA.

Photo courtesy of Alaskan Brewing Company

On Thursday, Glacier BrewHouse released three brand-new brews. Here's the description of each:

Eisbock: Big, malty, slightly fruity, and high in alcohol. The higher alcohol is a result of the icing process where a portion of the water is frozen and removed from the beer. Brilliant dark ruby red in color. Served in a snifter. Three-time Champion Winter Beer at the Great Alaska Beer & Barleywine Festival. Alcohol: 9.00% by volume. Starting gravity: 24.80 Plato (1.104 S.G.

Nitro Oak Bock: Aged one year in American Oak wine barrels. Medium bodied, malty, with velvety smooth flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and toastiness. The color is a brilliant dark ruby. Nitorgenated. Alcohol: 6.67% by volume. Starting gravity: 17.50 Plato (1.072 S.G.)

2014 Razz Infused Beam Imperial Stout: This is the big daddy of stouts. The style was originally brewed in England for Catherine II, Empress of all the Russias over 200 years ago. The high alcohol helped the beer make the journey to Russia. Our whopper was aged one year in a raspberry-infused Jim Beam barrel and boasts flavors malt, chocolate, roast, vanilla, coconut, alcohol, raspberry, and much more. Served in a snifter. A true comrade. Alcohol: 9.25% by volume. Starting gravity: 25.15 Plato (1.105 S.G.)

Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseHaines Brewing Company has announced a new shirt design for its Captain Cook's Spruce Tip Ale. Here it is:

Courtesy of Haines Brewing Company
Denali Brewing Company has released a special beer, Clean Air Pale Ale. It will be on tap at the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge and all proceeds will go to support the American Lung Association in Alaska as part of the Clean Air Challenge . 



Denali Brewing Company and Arkose Brewery are also supporting this year's ExTRAVELganza Auction at Evangelo's Restaurant on Saturday, April 11.  Here's the flier for it:


Click to enlarge
Arkose Brewery will also be hosting another Beer Meets Chocolate event, this Friday, April 10th. Call 476-2337 for reservations.




 That's the news, now let's do some reviews. Only two new ones this week.


Kassik's Brewery's Barrel-aged Caribou Kilt Scotch Ale: I've been a fan of this award-winning wee heavy ever since Kassik's Brewery opened for business almost ten years ago. This version was aged in a wet bourbon barrel, which has given it a lot of strong bourbon notes in the nose and on the palate. It poured a dark, clear honey color, with a small, cream-colored head that dissipated fairly rapidly to a collar. The bourbon elements were dominant on the nose, completely over-shadowing the contribution from the malt. Carbonation was good, as was the mouthfeel. On the palate, the bourbon's contribution was again quite dominant, shadowing the malty notes from the base beer. If you are a huge bourbon fan, you'll probably love this beer, but personally I love Scotch Ales, so I felt that the base beer was being overwhelmed here. I think I'll stick to the straight Caribou Kilt.

Midnight Sun Brewing Company's Sloper Baltic Porter: I had a glass of this at the brewery back in January, but never did a formal review, so I recently picked up a bottle. It poured opaque with a small tan head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma was of malt and roasted coffee notes. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. The flavor profile emphasizes the roasted malt notes a bit more than is typical in Baltic porters, which tend to be smoother, but I liked this approach. The balance between the sweet malt and the bitterness from both the hops and the roasted malt was spot on, and there was a very nice finish. An excellent porter, Baltic or robust, call it what you will. 9% ABV, 50 IBUs.

That's all for this week. I should be back on my normal schedule next week, so expect this blog on Friday, April 10th.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

The End of March

It's the end of March and April is right around the corner. Our early spring here on the Kenai seems to be continuing, which is good news. On the downside, the Alaska Legislature is still in session, which means no man's life, property, or liberty is truly safe. However, on balance, things are looking OK right now.

The grand opening of Anchorage Brewing Company's new brewery at 148 W. 91st Avenue last Saturday was a huge success. I got there right at 2 PM, which was smart, since by 3 PM the line to get a beer was about 100 people long! All the usual suspects attended, and everyone admired the amazing facility that Gabe Fletcher has constructed. It truly is a cathedral of beer. If you weren't able to make it to this event, the brewery taproom is open from 2 to 8 PM, Wednesday thru Sunday.

The serving counter
The beer line at 2 PM.



The barrel room
The brewhouse
Having a drink with Jed from Bearpaw River Brewing
The beer line at 3 PM!
Since I was back in Anchorage, I also stopped by Resolution Brewing Company. While there, I sampled its Ixelle Tripel. See my review below. Resolution has another new event happening tomorrow: yoga.



Today is the start of Talkeetna Beer Trippin' . Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend this year; maybe 2016. I posted the Schedule of Events back on March 6, but here is the menu for tonight's Beer Dinner with Denali Brewing at Twister Creek Restaurant.

Click to enlarge

Broken Tooth Brewing Company has announced that for a limited time it will be offering 5 gallon kegs of its gold medal wining Darth Delirium Imperial Stout. The kegs are $110 each and won't last long, but if you're looking for something special for your kegerator, here's your chance.

Alaskan Brewing Company has announced a couple of pieces of good news, following the completion of its major expansion project. First, its new brewery taproom and retail store will open tomorrow, March 28th. Second, thanks to its newly-expanded packaging space, its Icy Bay IPA will soon be joining its Amber Ale and Freeride APA on store shelves in cans.

Photo courtesy of Alaskan Brewing
La Bodega has a sake event coming up in two weeks, on Saturday, April 11th. Here's what they had to say about it:

We're proud to host sake ambassador Marcus Pakiser for our second annual Sake Expo! This year it will be Saturday April 11th at O'Malley's on the Green. We also have tickets for the Sake at the Movies event, to be held at the Snow Goose Theater. $10 to see Akira Kurosawa's classic "Yojimbo!" Sake flights and food available for purchase, popcorn with seasoning bar included in ticket price.

Midnight Sun Brewing Company is releasing three new beers. The first one is being released today, Double Red Hot Ale. Clocking it at 8%, Double Red Hot Ale is a red  double ale with an addition of cayenne, cinnamon and 50 #'s of red hots.



 The second beer, Spiced Carrot Ale, will be released tomorrow.


 The third beer is a surprise, so we'll just have to wait and see...

Glacier BrewHouse has also  released a beer: Citrus India Pale Ale.

Photo courtesy of Glacier BrewHouseHere's how it's described:

This West Coast style was brewed using orange & lemon peel along with Simcoe & Amarillo hops to render incredible floral & citrus aromas. Unfiltered & tropical. Alcohol: 6.53% by volume Starting Gravity: 15.50 Plato (1.063 S.G.)

Haines Brewing Company is tapping its Captain Cook's Spruce Tip Ale today at the brewery, to celebrate the opening of "Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage" at the Anchorage  Museum. There are even two kegs of the beer at the museum! I reviewed this excellent beer on 6/1/2009.


Finally on the news front, today would have been the late Michael Jackson's 73rd birthday. I had the great honor to meet him on two occasions, and found him to be both a gentleman and a scholar. All of us who read or write about beer owe him a tremendous debt. So please join me today in raising a glass to the Bard of Beer.

Michael Jackson, 1942 - 2007
Moving on to beer reviews, I have six for this week, so that should make up for the last few weeks.


Kenai River Brewing's Frozen River Doppelbock: It poured a deep, clear honey color with a small, cream-colored head that dissipated to a collar. The aroma was full of deep, rich malt notes. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. The flavor profile was classic doppelbock, with deep, rich malt notes predominating. The flavor profile was very clean, and there was a touch of alcohol heat on the finish from the 10.5% ABV. This is the first lager ever produced by this brewery and an excellent example of this classic German style.


Kenai River Brewing's Duck it Down Rye Pale Ale: Brewed in
collaboration with Midnight Sun Brewing, this beer was hopped with Warrior and Sorachi Ace hops and dry-hopped with the latter as well. It poured a deep, clear gold color with a nice white head that left good lace on the glass. The nose was of lemon grass and dill from the Sorachi Ace. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate there was a lot of dill flavor up front, then some nice peppery notes from the rye. After a couple of glasses, the dill flavor became a bit overwhelming, which did reduce its drinkability somewhat. 6.0% ABV, 50 IBUs.


Resolution Brewing's Ixelle Tripel. Brandon Hall wants to focus on brewing Belgian styles, and he nails the tripel right out of the gate. Ixelle poured a slightly cloudy gold, with a nice white head that slowly dissipated to a collar. The aroma had the spicy, earthy, slightly peppery notes you'd expect from Belgian yeast, plus hints from the coriander added. Carbonation and mouthfeel were both very good. The flavor profile was classic Belgian tripel, slightly sweet with lots of interesting fruity notes, before falling away to a nice finish. As I said, this beer nails the style, so if you like tripels, be sure to get some before it's gone. 9.2% ABV.

Sierra Nevada Brewing's 2015 Beer Camp Hoppy Lagers: This hybrid style is becoming more and more popular, as it blends the hoppiness of an IPA with the clean flavors of a lager. This one poured a nice clear gold with a big white head that left good lace on the glass. The aroma was of hops, but not overpoweringly so. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. There was a nice bitter attack up front, followed by good hop flavor. The only flaw I detected was a rather abrupt finish, but overall, a very nice blend of lager and IPA styles. ABV 7.0%, 55 IBUs.


Sierra Nevada Brewing's Hop Hunter IPA: The beer poured a clear gold with a nice white head. The nose had tons of bright floral and citrus hop notes. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. The beer was clean and crisp on the palate, but not overly bitter, with lots of nice hop flavor and aroma. Overall, a nice IPA, but not as good as Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA, IMHO. 6.2% ABV, 60 IBUs.




Oskar Blues Brewing's Deviant Dale's IPA: This beer poured a deep, clear copper color with a big cream-colored head that left good lacing on the glass. The aroma had lots of big, citrusy American hop notes. Carbonation was good, but the mouthfeel was slightly on the thin side. There was good but not overpowering bitterness, nicely balanced by the malt backbone, then falling away to a good finish. Another fine beer from this excellent craft brewery. 8.0% ABV

Well, that's it for this week. Next week's blog may be a bit late, as I have some events to cover next Friday. Meanwhile, let's keep enjoying this nice spring weather by drinking lots of good, local craft beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

The First Day of Spring

It's the first day of spring and for once the weather here on the Kenai actually seems to be matching the calendar. Sure, we might get more snow anytime between now and Memorial Day, but there's little on the ground and it looks like we might get a running start on the growing season this year. Hopefully, this means a long, nice summer for 2015.

On the national beer news front, the Brewers Association has released the stats on craft beer for 2014, and for the first time, craft beer has over 10% of market share.  Here's the graphic will all the info:

Click to enlarge
Good news across the board. Statistics like th ese make it clear why AB-InBev suddenly felt the need to start running commercials against people who drink craft beer.

The big beer news in Alaska is, of course, the grand opening of the new Anchorage Brewing Company brewery tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, at 2 PM. I plan to be there, so I should have a lot to say about it in next week's blog. Gabe Fletcher posted some photos today on Facebook that show just how gorgeous-looking the new brewery is.





All four photos courtesy of Anchorage BrewingI suspect just about every beer-lover in Anchorage is going to try to be there tomorrow; should be a great time.

Resolution Brewing Company's grand opening last Friday was apparently a great success. It was covered on both the local CBS and NBC TV stations in Anchorage. Things were so busy that growler sales were limited to one to a customer. Resolution is open again today and tomorrow, and there is a new beer on tap, Ixelle, a Belgian-style tripel, brewed with coriander and weighing in at 9.2% ABV and 20 IBUs.

Photo courtesy of Resolution Brewing
Kenai River Brewing Company in Soldotna had a very successful St. Patrick's Day Party last Tuesday. I had to teach my college classes that afternoon and evening, so I was only able to stop by for one beer at 2 PM on my way into town. However, that one beer was a glass of Kenai River's superb Russian Imperial Stout from 2013, which beats a stupid green beer all to hell, let me tell you!

Erin go Bragh!
I didn't get to stay for the free food (corned beef, Louisiana gumbo, and more) or to try the keg of Spruce Tip Beer that Doug put on after the Russian Imperial Stout ran out about 4 PM. Maybe next year the party won't be when I have to teach; at least I hope so.

What's currently on tap at Kenai River Brewing
Kenai River has a couple of new beers on tap. Duck It Down Rye Pale Ale is a collaboration beer brewed with Midnight Sun Brewing Company during last month's Frozen River Fest . It's hopped with Warrior and Sorachi Ace hops, which give it elements of lemon grass and dill. 6.0% ABV, 50 IBUs. Frozen River Doppelbock was brewed for the Frozen River Fest but took its sweet time finishing, so it's only going on tap now. This beer is the first lager ever offered by Kenai River Brewing and the strongest beer they have brewed to date, at 10.5%. I'll have reviews of both of these beers in next week's blog.

Frozen River Doppelbock. Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing. In my blog on 1/28/2015, I wrote about plans Doug Hogue and Zach Henry had to brew beers using locally-grown Alaskan hops, produced by Lasse Holmes in Homer. The first beer, an ESB, is being brewed today at Kenai River, and the second, a lager, will be brewed on Sunday at St. Elias Brewing. I will have more details about this experiment in my 1 April Redoubt Reporter column.



At St. Elias Brewing Company, there is a new beer on tap: Chainsaw Lager. I reviewed a previous incarnation of this beer back on 6/13/2014, but the new version has juniper berries added to it.



49th State Brewing Company has announced that it will be opening for the summer on April 25th, 2015. Seward Brewing Company announced previously that it will be opening on May 1, 2015.

Speaking of Seward, Sak Town Liquor Store at 11912 Seward Highway is getting close to having a growler bar.  Look for it to be finished and pouring sometime in April.


When finished, this will be the growler bar.

Bearpaw River Brewing Company in Wasilla seems to be making substantial progress toward opening. The brewery now has a location, at 4605 E. Palmer-Wasilla  Highway, and this week it took delivery of its new 10-barrel brewhouse from Global Stainless. Read all about it in the brewery's blog.




Arkose Brewery in Palmer has changed its taproom hours for the next week. Here are the new times:




Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady has some new brews on to celebrate spring. From left to right: Cask Scottish Ale aged on oak, Vanilla Porter, Irish Red Ale, and Vienna Lager.

Photo courtesy of Snow Goose.
There is apparently a new nano brewery trying to start up in Homer. I know almost nothing about it, but it's called Bishop Brewing and has a Facebook page here. When I get more info, I will pass it on.

Photo courtesy of Bishop Brewing
HooDoo Brewing put a new beer on tap on Thursday: a Belgian Golden Strong Ale.



Photo courtesy of HooDoo BrewingHere's how the brewery describes it:

Originally developed at the Moortgat brewery in the 1940’s as a response to the growing popularity of Pilsner beers, this light-colored Belgian Ale is a complex marriage of fruity, spicy and alcohol flavors over a soft base of pilsner malt, noble hops and Belgian Candi Sugar. Pale and demure with a beckoning sparkle and aroma, its drinkability is unassuming...and sinister. ABV: 8.4% // IBU: 30 // OG: 17.2

Next Wednesday, HooDoo will be releasing another new brew, a Schwarzbier.

Photo courtesy of HooDoo BrewingHere's how the brewery describes that beer:

Pronounced “shvahrts-beer,” this beer is not only fun to say, but it’s tasty too! Schwarzbier is to lager what stout is to ale. This dark lager-style originated in southern Germany and is sometimes referred to as “Black Pils.” Our version of Schwarzbier uses 100% German malt, hops and yeast, along with classic German brewing techniques. The result is a surprisingly drinkable, but complex, lager with hints of chocolate, roast, and sweet and deliciously light finish.
ABV: 5.5% // IBU: 28 // OG: 13.3

Every Saturday at noon, HooDoo Brewing also taps a different cask-conditioned beer. This Saturday, it will be a Kolsch, aged for three weeks on kiwi and mango fruits.

Kodiak Island Brewing Company has released its bourbon-barrel aged Event Horizon Imperial Stout. This beer was the brewery's 1000th batch, and was brewed last July. It's available on draft and in bottles.


On St. Patrick's Day, King Street Brewing released another batch of its bottled Irish Gael Export Stout. I reviewed the first release of this beer on 7/24/2013. This batch was aged for 8 months in used Jack Daniels and white wine barrels.

Photo courtesy of King Street
Finally, I lifted the following from Jim "Dr. Fermento" Roberts' blog this week:

Denali Brewing Company just released Surly Bird, a German-style dark lager that uses traditional Pilsner and Munich malts and a light dusting of noble Euro hops. According to beer ambassador Shawn Standley, “this lager has subtle chocolate and coffee flavors with a crisp, clean lager finish.”

For beer reviews this week, I only have one, but it's a good one.

Anchorage Brewing Company's Anadromous Black Sour Ale (Batch #1, bottled March, 2013). I first reviewed this beer on 6/7/2013. I pulled this little beauty out of my cellar to celebrate the grand opening of the new brewery. It poured opaque with a decent tan head. The nose had notes of sour cherry, and it was oaky and vinous. The carbonation was fair and the mouthfeel was good. After two years in the cellar, the tartness on the palate had increased a bit, and the brett was noticeable on the finish, but I was actually surprised by how little the beer had changed from how it tasted fresh.  It was good then, and its just as good now. 8.5% ABV, 30 IBUs.

Well, that's it for this week. Get out and enjoy this great spring weather and keep drinking good local beer.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Friday the 13th: Seems Pretty Lucky to Me

Well, it's Friday the 13th and a black cat has indeed crossed my trail (since one of our three cats is black). However, I'd say things are actually pretty lucky right now. The weather is beautiful, if a bit on the cold side for March (-6 F this morning), and there's plenty of good news from the beer world.  So let's get to it.



First off, noon today was the grand opening of Resolution Brewing in Anchorage.  I wrote plenty about this last week, but here are some additional tidbits. To celebrate the opening, Resolution Brewing is releasing another 50 memberships to its "The Uprising" Growler Club. $200 gets you two 32 oz growlers, a limited edition t-shirt and $2 off growler refills for life.


That's a damned fine deal, especially if you live near the brewery and can take maximum advantage. The beers currently on tap at Resolution are Peak 3 APA, Tent City Saison, Father Dyer Belgian Abbey, and Rewind IPA. I got to taste all except the APA a couple of weeks ago, so see my blog on 2/27/2015 for my impressions.



The other big beer news for this weekend is that Bobby Wilken from HooDoo Brewing made the long drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage with a load of beer kegs for some of the more discerning beer spots around town. Look for HooDoo's Kolsch and IPA to be on tap (either simultaneously or sequentially) at Rustic Goat, Cafe Amsterdam, La Bodega , and Humpy' s. Unless you're a frequent traveler to Fairbanks, this is a rare chance to sample some of HooDoo's exceptional beers.

Photo courtesy of HooDoo BrewingDarcy Kniefel from Midnight Sun Brewing Company sent me an email with some details about two upcoming releases. Here's what she had to say:

"The first, AK Grown, was pretty much a dare from Gov. Bill Walker. He was discussing innovation and how Alaskans can work to be more innovative and bring more in to our own economy, his side joke was "If only someone would make a carrot beer...". Challenge Accepted! Marko took to the recipes and together he and Lee came up with a spiced carrot beer, containing 200# of locally grown carrots, ginger, cinnamon and cardamon. The beer will premier at the House Skits event in Juneau on Saturday, March 28th and at the brewery the following day. Clocking in at about 6% expect this ale to reminisce of carrot cake."

"The second brew is our Unite 2015 for United Women's Collaboration Brew Day. We had a great number of ladies from the Great Northern Homebrew Club as well as a local student working on a paper on gender roles in brewing and a new local brew fan join the ladies of MSBC for a day of brewing and hanging out. The recipe, which comes to us through the Pink Boots Society, was supposed to be a 4% Red Ale, to which we took note, and then doubled down. Chelsea worked to create a spicy red double ale. Clocking it at 8%, Double Red Hot Ale is a red  double ale with an addition of cayenne, cinnamon and 50 #'s of red hots. This cinnamon sweetheart will be released at the brewery on Friday March 27th!"

Both of those beers sound completely crazy; more out-of-the-box thinking from the crew at Midnight Sun.

Tonight is the second Friday, so it's Stand-Up Comedy Night at the Snow Goose.


I haven't gotten my copy yet, but the word is that the latest issue of BeerAdvocate (#98) has an article in it about 49th State Brewing Company in Healy.


Down here on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing Company put a new beer on tap today: Duck it Down Rye Pale Ale, made in collaboration with Midnight Sun Brewing.  Here's how the new brew is described:

A light, refreshing ale brewed with pale malt, rye and wheat. Hopped with Warrior and Sorachi Ace hops. Earthy spice from the rye that compliments the hints of lemon grass, dill and melon. 6.0% ABV, 50 IBU’s.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing

Sounds pretty tasty, so I'll be stopping by to sample it myself soon.

Speaking of sampling, I only managed to taste one new brew this week, but it was an excellent one.

Sierra Nevada's Nooner Pilsner: I waxed a bit eloquent last week when I was writing about St. Elias Brewing's Cross Bo Pilsner, saying "There's nothing like a fresh, well-made pilsner to remind you why this style of beer took the drinking world by storm in the latter half of the 19th Century." Well, with Sierra Nevada's latest offering, I find myself wanting to say "Ditto." It poured a crystal clear gold, with a wonderful pillowy white head. The aroma was loaded with crisp noble hop aromas from Saphir, Tettnanger, and Strisselspalt hops. Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate, the flavors were crisp and clean, with a nice balance between the hops and the malt. The beer claims to be a German pilsner, but in my opinion, its actually a bit closer to the Czech version. To me, German pilsners often have a bit more bready notes to them than Nooner does, which suits me fine, as I prefer my pilsners light and hoppy. The beer falls away to an excellent, clean finish, leaving you lusting for the next sip. Overall, an excellent beer, pairing well with almost any food, and a superb choice as a session beer. 5.2% ABV, 38 IBUs.

Well, that's about it for this week. Remember that Anchorage Brewing Company will be holding its rescheduled Grand Opening at from 2 to 8 PM on Saturday, March 21st. Hope to see you there!

Until Next Time, Cheers!