Dr.Fermento.Net

I read with disdain in the April/May, 2008 Northwest Brewing News in an article in The Business of Beer Section by Rick Lyke that a group of Utah Republican state legislators is considering sponsoring a bill that would prohibit grocery stores from selling cold beer assuming that it would cut down on people walking in, buying a cold six pack, getting into a car and drinking and driving.  Hey, now there’s a thought!  It’s a stupid one, but it’s a thought.  Indeed, it may deter some drinking and driving, but it’s more likely to deter people from shopping for beer at that locale if they want beer they can convey a couple of blocks down the street to their house and enjoy it there, immediately and cold.  What I fear more is the obvious damaging effect that heat has on beer.  It might not matter for mass produced beer, but craft beer is fragile and heat remains a big enemy leading delicate beers to premature degradation. 

I recall arriving in

Anchorage in 1979 and discovering both the Brown Jug Warehouse and to my delight that they stocked my hometown Anchor Steam Beer.  Much to my dismay, this beer was stacked in cases on the floor in the warm building.  Boldly emblazoned on the cases was the statement Perishable:  Keep Refrigerated.  I pointed this out to a clerk and his response was “Not much we can do about that, it won’t all fit in the cooler.  Sadly, he was right.  Few liquor stores properly store beer by keeping it refrigerated, but it’s a matter of cooler space, not so much intent.  The problem persists today and it’s always been my recommendation to pull beer from a cooler whenever possible and to even pull bottles from the back if possible because they’re less damaged by light. 

Not only is daylight harmful, but even the florescent light that bathes the product and highlights often flashy and attractive labeling has degrading effects.  Marketing has also demonstrated that big stacks of beers in a store, out on the floor makes a store look full and vibrant in our thirsty minds’ eyes.  End cap displays add a splash of design and color and often promote impulse buying.  None of this is good for delicate beer, indeed a perishable product, but it’s not likely that much will change anytime soon. 

There are some notable exceptions.  High-end specialty stores that really care about their beer keep it refrigerated and use special lighting that isn’t as damaging as conventional and typical standard fluorescent or incandescent lighting.  It’s an expensive and labor intensive venture.  We don’t have any of those committed stores here in town.  The Bottleworks in

Seattle stocks 850 beers (specializing in hard to get vintages) and all of them are refrigerated.  The store is muted and almost dark, further limiting ambient light’s attack on the beer.  Also in Washington, in

Vancouver, is Beer By The Bottle.  It was the winner of a recent Best Beer Store in Washington award, and some points were obviously earned because all of their beer is refrigerated and bathed on UV safe lighting.  Portland’s Belmont Station stocks it’s 1,000 beers using UV safe lighting, and if I recall from years ago during my single visit, only one bottle of each beer is on display and the clerk takes an order and goes back to retrieve the beer from the cooler.  This is obviously time consuming and labor intensive, but because many of the beers are rare and expensive, I’d buy there if I could because I’d be more assured that my investment wasn’t damaged.  I was genuinely impressed when I discovered and visited the world’s biggest liquor store just outside of

Denver Colorado.  Daveco has an impressive array of local, national and international beers, all in coolers.  Floor space was saved for the massive wall of Anheuser Busch products, although admittedly, there was one or two small displays of local craft beer. 

Things aren’t horrific in

Anchorage when it comes to properly caring for beer, but I still contend that a better job can, and should be done.  The Brown Jug Warehouse and La Bodega have recently purchased additional coolers to store high-end imports, craft beers and notably, delicate Belgian ales.  Gold Rush Liquors does an admirable job of keeping most of the beer in coolers, although lighting is probably suspect.  Here’s a creative solution:

Midnight Sun Brewing Company took matters into its own hands, knowing that leaving the fate of their fine fermented wares up to the retailer is risky business.  Midnight Sun purchased and located its own small coolers, just for its beers, in select locations.

I was a little worried about how the energy situation in

Juneau was affecting Alaskan Brewing Company so I checked in with the brewery’s Communication Manager Ashley Johnston.  For you flatlanders down south, on April 16^th, a massive avalanche tore out over a mile of electrical transmission lines that connect Alaska Electric Light  & Power Company’s hydroelectric generation facility to Juneau, about 40 miles away.  Almost instantaneously, auxiliary generator power kicked in and service interruption was minimal, but that’s just the tip of the shitberg.  Running diesel generators costs money.  No one should be unaware that fuel costs are spiraling off the charts and the diesel that’s powering

Juneau doesn’t come cheap.  Residents and businesses anticipate a five-fold increase in electricity costs.  As an aside, I take exception to this.  It would seem to me that the consumer shouldn’t have to shoulder the burden of the increased cost.  Don’t major electrical outfits have insurance for events like this?  Who was the rocket scientist that decided that above-ground power lines were prudent in a volatile avalanche zone?  Okay, enough of that; back to the brewery. 

Naturally, the brewery is operating as conservatively as possible while struggling to maintain normal output levels while going into a very busy summer tourist season.  Unused lights, fixtures and appliances have all been scuttled.  Beyond that, Alaskan is working with Alaska Electric Light & Power Company to help manage electrical load during peak periods during the day when the rest of the community is also gobbling power.  This has required some re-scheduling at the brewery, but these adjustments aren’t too painful.  Finally, the brewery was recently visited by a senior scientist  from the Energy Analysis Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  This guy is some sort of energy efficiency expert.  He toured the brewery and was impressed at power utilization programs that were already in place before the avalanche, but that should be no surprise at Alaskan. 

The big question is whether or not the cost of Alaskan beer is going to spike.  It’s tough to tell at this point and of course the brewery is doing everything possible to prevent a cost increase, but if you do see the price go up, remember that the price of all beer is on the rise due to the current hop and malt crisis.  Alaskan’s been around for 20 years; no avalanche is going to force them out of town so keep supporting them by purchasing and consuming their fine ales. 

I thought that the Jalapeno Imperial IPA was all gone, but it’s showing up again around town.  For sure, at least, it’s on at Humpy’s and Café Amsterdam.  This is a second batch of beer; the first one was the one that was sent to the World Beer Cup in San Diego, but it’s the same basic beer than took a bronze medal in the fruit and vegetable beer category, so it’s a winner and worthy of your palate.  Although the beer had been up here before, I didn’t get a chance to try it until my recent visit to Café Amsterdam.  It’s actually a lot more subtle and balanced than a pepper-beer aversive beer drinker would expect.  The abundant hop bitterness lends a slight cutting effect.  The pepper essence is evident slightly in the taste and slightly in the heat.  This is no napalm beer and would be good with a variety of foods. 

On the event of my daughter’s wedding, my emergent craft beer-drinking son blew into town.  There was a big fight over who got to go pick him up at the airport, and the future bride won.  That was fitting, I suppose.  But part of the deal was that he was to be immediately delivered to my “care” and I had him dropped off to my waiting arms and taps at Café Amsterdam.  My son Scott actually has a bigger penchant for Belgian ale (specifically, Belgian tripels) than he does craft beer and Café provided a good mix.  Some degree of beer sparing ensued, and although Chimay Cinq Cents ( a triple, one of my son’s favorite styles) was on tap, I talked him into local fare including Alaskan Brewing Company’s Summer Ale to begin with, followed by

Midnight Sun Brewing Company’s Oosik Amber.  Only because Alaskan’s products are available in

Colorado where he lives, he quibbled a little bit about the difference.  I drank Ayinger’s Brau Weisse and an Avery Collaboration, Not Litigation Ale.  As I do with any visitor, I encouraged my son to think globally, but drink locally.  Other beers in the Café line up include Delirium Tremens, Unibroue’s Maudite and Ephemere, Deschutes’ Green Lakes Organic and Cinder Cone Red,

Midnight Sun Brewing Company’s Oosik Amber and Sockeye Red IPA, Pilsner Urquell, Hoegaarden Wit, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s IPA, Alaskan Brewing Company’s Summer Ale and Jalapeño Imperial IPA (both of which were winners in this year’s World Beer Cup in San Diego) and Celestial Meads Marriage (mead).  Fortunately for me, I don’t have to have a visitor in town to find an excuse to duck into Café Amsterdam where there ain’t no crap on tap, the service is great and the location is convenient. 

From there, it was off to The Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria because no trip home would be complete for my son without good local pizza and beer.  May’s First Tap beer  is Rye’d Redjudice, a red rye beer that weighs in at 5.4 percent alcohol.  The beer is somewhat malt forward and caramel-ly sweet in both aroma and flavor with some dusty-edged hop flavor and aroma.  The yeast is also evident in the flavor along with rye’s dry, light tart contribution. I note a touch of diacetyl in the beer that finished clean and dry on the palate.  This is a nice beer as we transition from spring to summer. 

I also sampled the Moonlight Lager at the Tooth.  This 5.7 ABV sports the use of

Munich malt and some smoked grain.  This is also a malt-forward, sweet centered beer.  The some is very subtle, complimentary and unobtrusive in the beer.  The beer is also well-balanced and clean.  I found it very enjoyable, but pounded the sample before the pizza showed up.  I’m sure it would pair especially well with any of the Tooth’s great salads.  Other beers at the Tooth include  Klondike Golden, Spenard Night Light, Northern Lights Amber, Polar Pale Ale, Barleywine 2007, Raspberry Wheat, Hard Apple Ale, Moose’s Tooth Hefeweizen, Pipeline Stout, Prince William Porter, Midtown Brown, Williwaw Porter, Fairweather IPA, Moonflower ESB and Bear Tooth Brown. 

Oh, and word of warning:  It’s summer and the tourists have started to descend on Anchorage, I think few people in the world haven’t heard of the Moose’s Tooth, so the place is undeniably packed most of the hours it’s open.  The season hasn’t hit with full force yet, but it’s coming.  Kudos to the Tooth staff and especially the dedicated and hard working servers who still manage to maintain a welcoming attitude despite a huge amount of adversity and sometimes less than cordial clientele.  Plan ahead and be prepared to wait for a table, and when you finally get seated, understand that it’s not the Tooth’s fault that they’re so popular.   

My son told me that where he lives (

Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs)  there is  a small liquor store on base that features a new “Pick a Pack” program was implemented where, just like at our local La Bodega, you are encouraged to mix and match local beers.  In

Colorado Springs, he’s enjoyed beers from New Belgium Brewing Company, Bristol Brewing Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing Company and selections from Rock Bottom Brewing Company. 

Back to the wedding.  There’s nothing worse than being trapped in a venue that doesn’t understand beer.  My daughter got married at the Marriott and had contracted with the catering folks to provide a bar with beer and mixed drinks.  She stipulated that she would provide each attendee with two drinks and it would be pay as you go after that.  I waited until the day of the wedding to nix that against her wishes and pledged to pay for an open bar.  So far, so good.  But the bar didn’t officially open until after the formal wedding part and I was reduced to going downstairs to the bar on the ground floor.  Ms. Fermento opted for a gin and tonic and I got an Alaskan Summer.  Total cost:  $13.50.  It’s enough to drive a man to drink…water.  When the reception bar opened,  .bBeer selections included your standard schwag, and given the younger crowd in attendance, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Selections included Budweiser, a couple of light selections, Heineken and Alaskan Amber.  Tubs were positioned in the bar area and warm cases of bottled beer were opened and set in the tubs and ice poured on top.  At the rate at which the beer was being consumed, this translated into the coldest beer I got being lukewarm.  There just wasn’t enough time on the ice to chill the beer and new beer kept being mixed in with the stuff that had been bathing for a while.  I was never once offered a glass to drink the beer out of and the bartender had a totally cavalier attitude about the whole thing.  What does one do?  My complaints fell on deaf ears. 

I had lunch with Marty Compton, formerly of Alaska Distributors and now Sales Manager at Bell’s Brewery, Inc in

Michigan.  Marty is a long time beer aficionado and supporter of good beer in our community.  Most of us know him pretty well, so I thought an update was in order.  His recent visit was too short to accommodate a big get together.  He’s doing great in his new position and was positively bubbling over during our engagement at Café Paris earlier this week.  For those keeping score at home,

Bell’s kicks some very serious ass when it comes to east coast beer.  Naturally I asked where Alaska was in line to receive

Bell’s fine fermented products.  He just laughed.  Apparently the brewery’s inundated with requests for their beer and like other notables including New Belgium Brewing Company and Magic Hat, we’re pretty far down the line. 

In fact, Ed Cowger of the Brown Jug Liquor Store on 88^th and Old Seward inquired with Magic Hat recently about getting some beer up here.  He got a great, albeit realistic response:

“Our beer will be in

Alaska sometime within the next 50 years.  I won’t tell you when, just because it’s early and I haven’t yet had coffee, and that makes me a little snippy.  All I have to drink right now is Odwalla Superfood drink.  It’s green and thick and tastes like vegetable and it cost me half a day’s pay.  But at least it’s healthy, I guess.  Sorry for digressing.  It’s the no coffee thing.  My mind wanders.  It might be a while before we get to you so be patient, or just visit the East Coast.” 

I wonder if outside entities asking for our homespun darling

Midnight Sun Brewing Company beers get similar responses? 

How did you celebrate your 21^st birthday?  Can you remember?  I can’t.  It wasn’t that important because I was already an aficionado of fine beers by then (by a number of years, I’ll admit).  If you’re brewery, you do something special.  Full Sail Brewing Company turns 21 this year and to commemorate the event, started a new line called the “The Brewer’s Share.” Small batch brewing defines the line.  The line came about because so many ideas bubbled up that each of the brewers in the plant was given the chance to make their own beer for the event.  Full Sail lead brewer Barney Brennan actually came up with the name of the series.  “There is that mysterious portion that vanishes from a barrel during aging  that brewers refer to as the ‘angels share’ that led me  to ‘Brewer’s Share,” an equally mysterious offering that appears during inspiration,” he said.  Brennan’s beer is called Extra Special Barney and if you couldn’t guess, it’s an ESB.  Each brewer will take his or her turn at the kettle and a new beer will be release approximately once very six weeks.  The fun part is that no one’s going to know what the next one is until it’s released.  This will keep local crowds thirsty.  Unfortunately for us northerners (or anyone else outside of the proximity of

Hood River, Oregon, these specialty beers will only be available at the brewery’s tasting room.  I know where I’d be going if my travel plans included

Oregon. 

While on the subject of birthdays, one of the gifts I received on my 50^th birthday was a bottle of Morimoto Imperial Pilsner from Rogue Brewing Company.  The Morimoto series of beers are part of the brewery’s Signature Ale Series of beers.  The series was launched in September of 2003. 

The beer pours a slightly hazy golden/orange in the glass.  The head rocks up with an alluring white foam that sticks and laces nicely throughout the sample.  The aroma is clean, malty and almost vanilla-like.  Refined, floral hops accent the sniff and just a hint of yeast pushes through in this incredibly clean-smelling beer.  The 8.8 percent alcohol is also evident.  Morimoto is bold in both alcohol and hop bitterness, but it’s not IPA-like.  The 74 IBUs are propped up nicely by the significant malt underpinnings.  Absent is the ale fruitiness which lets the slightly citric, almost background hop flavor emerge.  The beer’s 100 percent French pilsner malt, 100 percent

Sterling hops and Czech pilsner yeast are all evident in the flavor of this beer that finishes dry and clean.  The creamy mouthfeel and easy drinking composure of this beer makes it a treat.  Be careful with the 8.8 percent alcohol in the 750 ml bottle; it’ll make your knees knock if you drink the whole thing. 

Are you interested in a position with a forward-thinking, aggressive, globally positioned brewing company?  And, would it interest you that not all of the positions involve shoveling out a mash tun or actually making beer?  A good friend of mine,

Eric Wager, the Quality Analyst down at Widmer Brewing reminded me that Widmer is expanding and that they have a wide variety of  skilled, semi-skilled and professional positions open in most facets of the company.  If you’re a beer lover with accounting, pricing or financial planning skills but have only dreamed of working in a brewery, this could be your chance.  Oh, and just for the record, there are some brewing positions open as well.  The best thing to do is to check out Widmer’s website at www.widmer.com for more information on how to apply.  Go to the web page, click on “I am 21” and then go to “Brewery” and scroll down to “Jobs.”  Here’s a list of the current positions Widmer is recruiting for:

Corporate Capacity Planning Manager
Posted 05/02/2008

Sales Intern
Posted 05/02/2008

Brewer III
Posted 05/02/2008

Brewer II
Posted 05/02/2008

Director of Financial Planning and Analysis
Posted 04/22/2008

Brewery Rep - Seattle
Posted 04/22/2008

Geographic Marketing Rep - S. CA
Posted 04/14/2008

Lead Packaging Operator
Posted 04/09/2008

Sr. Staff Accountant
Posted 04/02/2008

Sr. Financial Analyst
Posted 04/02/2008

Pricing Manager
Posted 04/02/2008

Packaging Operator
Posted 03/31/2008

Warehouse
Posted 03/31/2008

On-Premise Key Account Manager- Southern California
Posted 03/07/2008

Region Sales Manager- Dallas, TX
Posted 01/22/2008

Here’s the Humpy’s line up earlier in the week.  I’m late in posting this week’s rant by about three days, so expect some inconsistencies here…

Wheats / Fruits

              Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat

              Sleeping Lady Chocolate Cherry Wheat

              Pyramid Apricot

              Pyramid Hefeweisen

              Lindemans Framboise ####

             

Spire Mt. Dark & Dry Apple Cider #

              Celestial Clarity Mead

                           Served in an 8 oz glass for $11.25

Golden Ales / Pilseners /

California Common

              Alaskan Summer Kolsch

              Midnight Sun Goldstrike Kolsch

              Harp Lager *

              Kronenbourg 1664 Lager *

              Stella

Artois **  

Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness)

              Alaskan Pale Ale

              Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale

             

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

              Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale

             

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

             

Sierra Nevada E.S.B.

India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)

              Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun

              Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A.

              Big Sky I.P.A.

              Full Sail Slipknot Imperial  I.P.A. * (7.8%)

              Great Divide Hercules Double I.P.A. # (9.1%)

              Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale

Belgian Ales

              Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale

              Rodenbach Flemish Sour Red Ale ###

Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%

              Midnight Sun Big Fish Winner Triple # (9%)

              Midnight Sun Mars Belgian

                Imperial Red I.P.A. ## (8.7)

              Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux #### (9.5%)

              Chimay Cing Cents Triple ##### (8%)

              Delirium Tremens #### (8.5%)    

              Liefmans Lucifer Belgian Golden ####(8.4%)

              St Feuillien  Belgian Triple ##### (8.5%)

              Unibroue Trois Pistols ## (9%)

Barley Wine

              Sierra Bigfoot Barley Wine # (9.6%)

              Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine ## (11.26)

Amber Ales / Bocks / Dopplebocks / Scottish
              Alaskan Amber Ale

              Midnight Sun Oosik Amber

              Mac Tarnahan’s Scottish Ale

              Pike St. Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

              Baron Liberator Dopplebock # (8.5%)

Brown Ales

              Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale

              Full Sail Nut Brown Ale

Porters / Stouts

              Anchor Steam Porter

              Deschutes Black

Butte Porter

              Rogue Mocha Porter

              Full Sail Imperia Stout * (8%)

             

Deschutes Obsidian Stout

              Guinness Stout ***

Seasonal Ales

              Elysian Bifrost

              Alaskan Jalapeno Imperial I.P.A. * (8.2%)

Rogue Chipotle Ale

Dr Fermento Beer Calendar

 

 

05/16/08         

Midnight Sun Brewing Company           Bag Bad Imperial Stouts Night (Berserker & Sloth)                   6:00 pm       Free

05/16-17/08     Andrew Mellon Auditorium (D.C.)        Savor Craft Food and Beer Event                                             Sessions           $85.00

05/23/08         

Midnight Sun Brewing Company           Old Whisker’s Wheat Release at the Brewery                           6:00 pm       Free

05/23/08          S.E. Alaska State Fairgrounds (Haines) Great

Alaska Craftebeer and Homebrew Festival Judging            10:00 am          Free

05/23/08         

Midnight Sun Brewing Company           Old Whisker’s Wheat official release at the brewery                  6:00 PM      Free

05/23/08         

Haines Senior Center (Haines)              Brewmaster’s Dinner (Haines Brewer’s Festival)                       7:00 pm       $??

05/24/08          SE Alaska Fairgrounds                         Great

Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival)                     1:00 – 5:00 pm         $??

05/24/08          Great Northern Brewers                       Annual GNBC House Crawl                                                     Noon               $30.00

05/25/08          Pelican (

SE Alaska)                              Pelican Boardwalk Boogie                                                        ??                        Pay As You Go

05/30/08         

Midnight Sun Brewing Company           Good MoJo Belgian Style Brown Ale release                            6:00 PM      Free

06/06/08         

Midnight Sun Brewing Company           Planet Series Beer Mercury Release at the Brewery                  Noon – 7 pm    Free

06/13/08          Great Northern Brewers                       Brew Club

Camp Out at

Trail River                                          Noon               Camping Fees Apply

07/12/08          Silver Gulch Brewing Company             E.T. Barnette Homebrew Judging                                              10:00 am          Free