Dr.Fermento.Net

I attended the two soft openings of the new FireTap Alehouse on the corner of O’Malley and Old Seward on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  It was requested that I come pull the first draught from the taps.  I orated briefly to the gathered crowd of industry types and guests about the significance of the establishment.  Good beer is pushing its way south in town, one handle at a time.  In this case, 36 new handles tempt patrons, along with reasonably priced, somewhat upscale, very good food.  I’ve had a number of Southsiders call me or email me asking about the opening.  Officially, the venue opened for business on Thursday, June 25^th at 4:00.  As with every new venue, there are some bugs to work out, but my impression is that the glitches that best the establishment are very minor and patrons should expect stellar customer service quickly enough.   

Complaints?  I thought the beer was a bit cold.  Since I sat with Draftmaster Dave Andrews of Specialty Imports on one of the nights, I addressed it with him and he was going to tweak the system, so by now it could be a non issue.  While everyone else was ogling the signature masterpiece Woodstone Oven and the nicely appointed bar, us beer nerds took a tour of the cooler, which is part of the business end of beer.  It’s such a treat to walk into an expansive beer cooler that’s brand new and shiny and with everything humming away like a well tuned engine.   

I got served a Belgian ale in a pint glass.  Small faux pas, considering I got a full pint of something I’d normally only get a goblet of.  No complaints there.  During my two visits, I wanted to address the servers specifically, but I didn’t want to come off as pompous.  I wanted to tell them a number of things as they ventured forth as FireTap’s direct liaisons with the customers.   Here were the points I jotted down rather impromptu: 

What Makes a Good Beer Drinking Experience? 

Remember, you are an alehouse. Act like one.Beer is a feature; you may not be used to this.  Push beer as much as you push wine and hard liquor.Beer and food pair as easily and often better than wine and foodBeer drinkers have different expectations than other imbibers.  A whiskey sour is a whisky sour, but there are many iterations of a pale ale or IPA 

Know your product.    If you worked in an office you’d study your profession.  When you work at FireTap, beer is your profession.  Read and learn about it. At the very least, learn the language of beer.  And, by God, drink the beer you’re serving when you get the chance. Since your product is primarily local, visit local breweries when you can and talk to the brewersDon’t be taken aback if your customers know more about the beer than you do.  Learn from them about asking them their impressions.  As a frequent customer of countless watering holes everywhere I go, I’m flattered when a server asks me about something I order and am more likely to tip bigger and return as a resultConsider learning to homebrew.  Consider at least asking a local brewery if you can participate in making a beer.  Consider taking the Cicerone Server’s Course online 

Be Enthusiastic about What You’re DoingAs you learn, suggest alternative beers with different foods. Don’t be afraid to use works such as “I like” and “My favorite.”  You are a professional and people trust your opinion and will reach for it when they can.  Sell our local beers.  If someone is jazzed about a particular beer, don’t hesitate to suggest that they visit the brewery.   

Look for updates in the blog concerning how FireTap is doing in the days to come. I’ve asked my field correspondents to get back with me after their visits and let me know what they experience.  If you’re reading this, slap your official “Field Beerespondant” badge on and get to work.   

WANTED:  YOUR COVETED BOTTLE OF SAM ADAMS UTOPIAS!!! 

Most serious beer drinkers in Anchorage know of the Brown Jug Liquor Store on 88^th and Old Seward as one that brings in some pretty rare and eclectic stuff on a fairly regular basis.  So, it was proprietor Ed Cowger that reached out to me imploring me to inquire of my millions and millions of readers, looking for a bottle of Samuel Adams Utopias.  It turns out that a regular patron there is having a wedding anniversary on July 10^th and is looking for a bottle for her husband.  Now, if you’re that customer or you’re that customer’s husband, sorry for blowing the gig, but Cowger told me to put it in the blog!  Oh, and if you happen to have an anniversary on July 10^th and aren’t that customer’s husband, don’t come looking for me, okay?   

Anyway, because Ed’s helped so many of us out, I thought I’d get the word out for him.  According to Ed, who has some incredible beer procurement prowess of his own, “…they are still aging and will not be available until the end of the year,” he said, speaking of his own efforts to try to snag some VFR direct from Boston Brewing Company.  So, if you happen to have an errant case or two of this stuff around, get with Cowger via email at ed020690@hotmail.com and let him know.   

Up north, the deadline for entering beer in this year’s E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition is July 8^th, so you’d better start slappin’ caps one some bottles of your best brew for entry in this noteworthy competition.  Entries to go the Silver Gulch Brewing Company in Fox at the brewery where the event will be officially judged on July 11^th.  Judges are needed for this event as well.   The best place to get information on this event (and all Alaska beer events for that matter) is at the event organizer’s site.  The information that Scott Sthiler has posted can be found at http://www.mosquitobytes.com/Den/Beer/Events/Events.html.  This will provide category and entry details.  Most importantly, there are some shipping restrictions and there are some specific shipping instructions on this site.  

Celestial Meads has announced the Second Annual Equinox Mead Competition.  It will be held on Saturday, September 26^th at the meadery.  The event is co-hosted by the meadery and Anchorage’s Great Northern Brewer’s Club.  When most folks think of homebrew they only think of beer, but mead is included in the guidelines (along with cider).  Just the same, for you brewers out there, the competition is open to Category 24:  Traditional Mead Category 25, Melomel and Category 26, Other Mead.  The current Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines cover and explain these categories.  This is an American Homebrewer’s Association sanctioned event, so all rules and paperwork requirements apply.   

If you enter and your mead is deemed supreme, it might get produced as a commercial batch of mead at Celestial Meads, subject to Meadmaster Mike’s blessing.  At a minimum, medals will be awarded to the First, Second and Third Place distinctions in each of the three categories.  There’s nothing like sending a bottle of your commercial mead home and saying “Look Ma! I’m famous”.   

Judges are also needed for this competition.  Mead’s a whole lot different than beer, so some mead tasting/judging experience is appreciated for this event.  Judging’s going to take place between noon and 3 pm on Saturday, September 26^th.  If you are interested in judging or need more information about the event as a whole, contact the event organizer, the Original Berzerker, Breck Tostevin at (907) 248-4062 or at keegan@gci.net.  You can also check out the meadery’s website at www.celestialmeads.com for more information.   

This Friday (6/26) at Midnight Sun Brewing Company look for the triumphant return of the classic Fallen Angel Belgin-style Golden Strong Ale.  This beer caused quite the stir when it was released last year and it’s expected to be just as hot this go-round.  Don’t forget that Saturday, June 27^th is the official grand opening of the brewery in its new location at 8111 Dimond Hook Drive, which is sort of behind and to the right of the Long Branch Saloon.  There won’t be a huge gala affair on Saturday; the brewery’s just too busy this year getting settled in and trying to get everything on line to throw a big bash.  But what you can expect is the first public tours of the actual brewing facility.  Four tours will take place promptly at three, four, five and six in the afternoon.  So, if you want to see an up close look at where the sudz come from; those will be your best chances until the brewery can tolerate the weekly tours again.  The new north-east facing deck is now open in the upstairs pub area, so get out there, grab a beer, and take a leisurely gander across the vast industrial vista before you.  Be sure and congratulate the staff for their success over the past fourteen years and thank them for bringing us some of the beer that truly defines the Alaska ‘tude.   

If you find the recently opened FireTap Alehouse crowded in its early days, don’t forget that the Tap Root Café hasn’t gone anywhere and offers a quieter, more melodious atmosphere with plenty of good food, music and beer to guarantee a good time.  The atmosphere remains open and inviting and there’s always plenty of good beer on tap to whet your liquid appetite.  Here’s what’s on tap as of Friday, June 26^th: 

Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Sockeye Red IPA
Oosik Amber
Anchor Wit
Uranus
Anchor Wit
Kodiak Brown

Fish Tale Mudshark Porter (organic)

Silver GulchPilsner

Delirium Tremens 

Fans of Avery Brewing Company’s big beers, look for Avery Sixteen, a big saison produced in celebration of the brewery’s sixteenth anniversary.  On the big side as well is Avery’s karma Belgian Style Ale.  This should hit shelves toward the end of June.  Bridgeport’s new Hop Czar is also due in toward the end of the month, while Full Sail Brewing Company’s Grandsun of Spot IPA is here now.  And, just for those fans of the funk, a new spate of Dogfish Head Brewing Company beers are in including Reason d’Etra, Midas Touch, Indian Brown and Aprihop.  The incredible Festina Peche is due to roll in around the first of  July.  From across the pond, Black Sheep’s Monty Python’s Holy Grail will show up in July, and Cooper’s Pale Ale is here now, and the brewery’s Sparkling Ale and Lager will show up in July.  Xingu Black Beer is also enroute, as is Kronenbourg’s 1664 Lager and Grimbergen’s Blonde and Dubble.  There’s lots to drink about this summer!   

Here’s the Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse tap lineup effective June 26^th.   

Wheats / Fruits (Local)            Alaskan Fresh Raspberry Wheat Ale(Local)            Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat            Pyramid Apricot Ale            Pyramid Hefeweizen             Lindemans Framboise ####(Local)            Ring of Fire Raspberry Pomegranate Cyser                        $7.50 for an 8 oz Glass            Spire Mt. Dark & Dry Apple Cider #            Widmer Hefeweizen 

Golden Ales / Pilseners / California Common(Local)            Alaskan Summer Kolsch Ale(Local)            Midnight Sun Goldstrike Kolsch            Pike St. Naughty Nellie Golden Ale            Reissdorf Kolsch *** 

Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness) (Local)            Alaskan Pale Ale            Deschutes Mirror Pone Pale Ale(Local)            Moose’s Tooth Pale Ale 

India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness(Local)            Alaskan Icy Bay IPA (55 IBU)            Big Sky I.P.A. (65 IBU)            Deschutes Red Chair IPA (55 IBU)(Local)            Glacier Brewhouse Double IPA # (8.1%) (120 IBU)(Local)            Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun (70 IBU)(Local)            Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A. (64 IBU)            Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere                        Fresh Hop Ale (66 IBU)            Stone’s Double Bastard Ale # (10%) (100+ IBU) 

Belgian Ales (Local)            Alaskan White Belgian White Wheat Ale            Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale            Leffe Bruin Dark Belgian Ale #            Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Red Ale #            Stella Artois **                      St. Bernardus Grotten Brown ### 

Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%)            Chimay Cing Cents Triple ##### (8%)             Delirium Tremens #### (10%)            Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Saison # (7.7%)            Great Divide Belgica Belgian IPA # (7.2%)(Local)            Sleeping Lady Belgian IPA # (7.5%)            St. Feuillien Triple #### (8.5%)            Unibroue Maudite ## (8%) 

Brown Ales(Local)            Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale 

Amber Ales / Bocks / Doppelbocks / Scottish
(Local)            Alaskan Amber Ale(Local)            Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Ale                  Baron  Maibock(Local)            Kenai River Skilak Scottish Ale 

Porters / Stouts             Deschutes Black Butte Porter(Local)            Kassik’s Brew Stop Moose Point Porter(Local)            Moose’s Tooth Prince William Porter            Guinness Stout *** (on Nitro)            Sierra Nevada Stout   

Barley Wine / American Strong Ale            Left Hand Snowbound American                                                Spiced Strong Ale # (8%)(Local)            Midnight Sun Café Amsterdam’s                                    10th Anv. Gruit # (12%) (0 IBU)            “No hops were harmed in the making of this beer”            Pike St. Old Bawdy Barley Wine # (10%) (2007 ed.)            Rogue Double Dead Guy American Strong # (9%) 

The views expressed on the Dr. Fermento blog site are not necessarily those of the drunks he associates with, but rather the exclusive byproduct of his self-inflicted liver degradation and delusional inebriate lifestyle 

Dr Fermento Beer Calendar

06/26/09              Midnight Sun Brewing Company               Fallen Angel Release                                                                                      6 pm                         Free

06/27/09              Midnight Sun Brewing Company               New Facility Grand Opening at the Brewery                                        Noon-8 pm         Free

07/03/09              Midnight Sun Brewing Company               Crew Brew Big Slick release at the Brewery                                          6 pm                         Free

07/08/09              Silver Gulch Brewing                                       Last day of ET Barnette HB Comp Entries                                               Mail                                $5/Entry

07/11/09              Silver Gulch Brewing                                       ET Barnette Homebrew Competition Judging.                                    10 am                          Free

07/18/09              Silver Gulch Brewing Company                  Golden Days 2009 Summer Beer Festival                                               3-10 pm         $20

07/25/09              Moose Run Golf Course                                11^th Annual GNBC/Humpy’s Golf Tournament                                    6:30 am          $100 person

08/07/09              Arctic Brewing Supply                                    Anchortown Homebrew Entries Accepted                                           11 am-Close             No Entry Fee

08/09/09              Café Amsterdam                                              Anchortown Homebrew Competition Judging                                    3 pm                         Free

09/24/09              Denver, Colorado                                            Great American Beer Festival                                                                     ??                                ??

09/25/09              Celestial Meads                                                Entries accepted for the Equinox Mead Competition                       5:30–7:30 pm     No Entry Fee

09/26/09              Celestial Meads                                                Equinox Mead Competition at the Meadery                                        Noon – 3 pm      (Judging)