It’s the Great American Beer Festival Time. Who needs Oktoberfest? The gig runs between October 11-13 in Denver. If you’re reading this blog you probably already know about the GABF, but what I want to know is who is going down? I think Alaskans should hang with Alaskans during the event, but that’s up to you. I know of a few people who are headed that way and they’ve asked me to blog out and see who else might be going. If you’re interested in going and knowing, email me at james.roberts@gci.net and let me know and I’ll put you in touch with others. Believe it or not, I’ve never been. Yeah, yeah, yeah, blashphemy, I know, but I’m too busy covering the local goods up here to dash of to Denver and twist my liver into submission on foreign ground, if you get my drift. No, it’s the trappings of a full-time job during a very busy part of the year that ties me down this year. I’m envious of all of you that are making the trek. Slam some sudsies for me, willya????Okay, back to Oktoberfest for a moment. I remember when O’Fest gigs in Anchorage got a lot of Press and were must-attend events. They seem to be met with lukewarm reception any more. I think that’s because people are afraid to go out and kick up their heels and risk a DUI, but with careful planning and alternate transportation, O’Fest gigs can be a lot of fun. There’s always a lot crammed into the typical O’Fest weekend in town, and that happens to be this upcoming weekend, October 5-6. Every year the German Club of Anchorage hosts perhaps the most authentic O’fest celebration at the Egan Center from 7 PM – 1 AM. Look for Drindl dresses and lots of lederhosen, plenty of oompah and authentic grub to go with it. The beer is pay as you go and is the more or less standard O’fest stuff including Pulaner and Spaten products. I’m not even sure what’s available in O’fest beer this year; I’ve been too busy to pay attention to it.
Despite the authenticity of the German Club’s gig, Humpy’s Oktoberfest Celebration is usually a bit more boisterous and the beer is a bit more liberal, although the cost is higher. Humpy’s has two events this year, one on October 14th and one on October 21. Both are $49.95 a person and start at 6:00 PM. My description of the Humpy’s has always been “If you go away hungry or sober, it’s your own damned fault.” I haven’t been to a Humpy’s tasting in a while, but the alehouse has always had the reputation of a liberal pour and heaped plates. Can you imagine that people used to COMPLAIN that they were serving too much food at the tastings?
What will be graphically missing this year is the infused energy of Cyndi Ramirez. You could have disgorged a Greyhound full of bluehairs into the Humpy’s O’fest gig and somehow, Cyndi would have them doing the chicken dance with walkers and canes, but they’d be doing it. I’m not one to twist this lanky body in public, but every year, it was tradition to get up there and do the big C-bomb with Cyndi. It’s safe to say that’s the only dance I do every year.
Last night was my first experience with the Bridge Restaurant in the Ship Creek area. Although more of a fly by than a real sit down, I was there attending a gig hosted by one of our vendors here at work. It was a finger food affair, so I wasn’t able to order off the menu, which looked indeed tempting, if not a bit on the pricey side. I was, however, enamored of the extensive 17-handle tap line featuring mostly local selections. The only real lone-ranger in the bunch was Budweiser, but that’s practically a given in a place that caters to all drinking types. Still, it was a respectable tap line indeed. There was even a Kenai River Brewing Company beer on board, demonstrating that whoever procures the suds is a forward thinker (and probably a craft beer drinker).
The gig was hosted in the back of the establishment, if there is such a thing. Does a bridge have a back or a front? Regardless, for convenience sake, since the bar was in the front of the restaurant, they had decanted Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Pale into metal pitchers and had them on ice in the area we were in. I think that’s some pretty shoddy presentation, but amazingly, the Alaskan Amber was as fresh as I ever tasted it.
There were only two things I took exception to in the experience. First, is it just me, or is there a background smell of creosote, especially in the entry and front of the restaurant? I thought it might have been my own twisted interpretation of a combination of cooking smells or something, and perhaps some sort of chafing dish heating fuel, but I became convinced I was smelling no-kidding creosote. My assistant was with me and I asked her if she smelled it, and she did. Because I plan a re-visit, I’ll make sure I have a well-tuned olfactory bulb before walking in and see if I sense it again.
The second exception was the bartender in the beer section of the bar. He gets a definite thumbs-down. Although I wasn’t ordering beer, I did have a keen interest in the tap line, and because it runs perpendicular to the line of sight, I couldn’t make out all the handles. There was no menu affording a list of the available beers, so I sort of had to lean into the situation at the bar to count the taps and try to make out some of the brands. Ms. Fermento was with me and we were discussing the tap line. The bartender took zero interest in my interest in the tap line and didn’t offer any assistance. He stood there with his arms crossed and faced the other room with a bored stare. When I got his attention (he knew I was there all along), he acted almost distracted and said “Did you want a beer?” I told him that I didn’t but was interested in what beers were on tap and his response was to turn away again and stare into the crowd. I had to get his attention to ask about a handle I didn’t recognize (Great Bear’s Valley Trash Blonde), and with some degree of exasperation, he worked with me to figure out what it was. Humpfh!
Still, all in all, I’ll re-visit, order from the menu and check out some real sit-down service. Maybe I’ll just stop in for a pint; so far, the selections’ the best thing going there.
La Bodega’s got a brand new already used three-door reach in for the store. Pamela Hatzis has designated this baby to be exclusively for Belgian ales. That’s a good girl. The Belgians (and others) at La Bodega need some tender loving care, and heat ain’t their friend, so this is a good thing. In fact, the entire store is fixing to be re-arranged to better feature the products.
New beers at La Bodega this week include some very interesting and very rare beers from a very small microbrewery in Norway. The Nogne-O beers are incredibly rare and throughout Alaska, I believe we got no more than a case of this stuff. The Imperial Stout, Pale Ale and Porter are at LaBodega and the Brown Jug on 88th and Old Seward got the Brown Ale and the incredible Dark Horizon, a coffee beer of stellar quality. Other interesting temptations at La Bodega include the Olfabrikken Porter and Haandbryggeriet Dark Force Stout, (also from Norway), Coniston Brewery Old Man Ale and two beers from De La Senne: Taras Boulba and Zinnebir. Finally, although we’ve seen some of the De Proef products before, more from the Flemish Primitive Series are in, including #1 (Pig Nun), #2 (Spoon Whacker) and #5 (Demon Fish). With names like this, how can you resist?
If you have some beer naysayers in your circle of peers, lay some statistics on them. According to The Beer Institute (BI) and the National Beer Wholesaler’s Association (NBWA), the direct impact of brewing in Alaska is an economic contribution of $197,937,474. Supplier impact, which is the impact that brewing has for such things as agriculture (hops, malt, grain, wheat, etc), construction, manufacturing (cardboard, glass, stainless steel) and other aspects is $77,379,890. Induced impact is another economic driver and brewing in Alaska contributes $72,214,804. All and all, according to the BI and NBWA brewing in Alaska contributes 4,106 jobs, $116,247,572 in wages and a total economic contribution of $347,532,169. The last time I checked, that wasn’t chump change. We could buy all of VECO and then some for that price. Think of the impact if brewing were just magically ripped out of place in Alaska, like some organizations would like to see happen. The next time someone gets snively about your favorite beverage, pop those statistics on them.
This is important since we’re again facing a POTENTIAL ALCOHOL TAX INCREASE OF 10 PERCENT, if 7,000 voters agree that it should go on the ballot. This totally asses me up. The mayor seems to believe that the tax will be used to fund more Community Service Patrol drunk vans and get more cops on the Anchorage streets at night and on the weekends. The potential is that a $6.00 six pack of beer (seen one of those lately?) will jump up as much as between .30 - .50 cents, or likely more. What chaps my ass is that the vast majority of the responsible drinkers are being punished for the indiscretions of the approximately 2 percent of the drinking population that causes problems out there. I hate this “get a bigger stick” approach to solving community problems rather than examining the root issues and coming up with a real fix. If this passes, we’re another mile down the road of pricing ourselves out of a good pint of beer. Read the full story on the cover of the Anchorage Daily News (October 4th, 2007). You can check it out online at http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/9352705p-9266852c.html. If you’re serious about the elixir you love, it’s time to weigh in on this issue. Spread the word.
How fast can a frikin fly? I guess it depends on where it takes off from. If the runway is Café Amsterdam, quick flights are the norm. The September 22nd Midnight Sun Obliteration II firkin floated in an astounding 44 minutes. If you think that’s quick, the Amsterdam record is 32 minutes for a barley wine. Is this important? Hellifino, but it’s sure fun facts in Fermento’s world. The next opportunity to see beer take wings will be at the Saturday October 13 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter firkin event at Café Amsterdam. The punky porter is truly an astounding beer. If complexity is your game, this is your beer.
Remember Ben Love from the Pelican Brewery down in Oregon? He came up to Alaska a couple of times for the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival and made great friends with everyone. He got along especially well with Gabe Fletcher over at Midnight Sun Brewing Company and these two guys got together one afternoon and cranked out a beer together that the called Conspiracy. It was a great beer, and a great T-Shirt was made to commemorate it (that I never bothered to chase down, much to my chagrin later). Anyway, Ben’s moved along from Pelican and is on the cusp of opening another brewpub called the Hopworks Urban Brewery. It’s on Powell Street (2944 SE Powell Blvd). This year’s 7th Annual Fall Classic Homebrew Competition is being held there on Saturday, November 10th and guess what? They need judges. It’s a stretch, but if you happen to be in Oregon during that time, and you’re a certified BJCP judge, or just a beer lover that wants to help out with stewarding the event, I’m sure they’d love to have you. If you want to judge, check out http://www.1000bottlesofbeer.com/fall_classic_judging.asp and if you have questions about the whole thing, contact the Oregon Brew Crew (event organizer) at obc-comp@oregonbrewcrew.com to get your questions answered.How come we can’t be a big beer state like Oregon? Those folks down there definitely have their pooh-pooh kaca together when it comes to infusing beer culture into the communities that surround them. If you’ve ever visited
The beer was all noteworthy for different aspects, but thanks have to go out to the breweries as well for their donations. I drank a lot of it, guilt free, knowing my liver was being sacrificed for a good cause. Consequently, I got drunk and took a lot of pictures. It was a good time and the numbers haven’t been released yet, but Alaskan beer lovers stood up and did their part to commemorate the world’s biggest giant in beer.
The classic quote of the evening came from hombrewer extraordinaire Jason Ditsworth: “We’re drinking double IPA all night long, so we’re going to drink koelsch instead of water.”
Don’t forget that this Friday (October 5th) from 5-9 PM is the latest episode of McGinley’s First Taste Series. This one features German beers including two tap beers: Spaten Maibock and Schneider Weisen. Edelweisse Organic and Schneider Aventinus will be served from the jug.
From Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop this week, expect the Oktoberfest to be on tap. I was sent up with the 1/6 barrel of Kassik’s Amber for the Michael Jackson Toast, but Ken’s only got enough room on his line for one beer from each brewery, so the O’fest beer got pushed back. I’m looking forward to this one; it’s the brewery’s first lager. The second Kassik’s lager is a bock, and it’s still in the fermenter. If you happen to be down in Kenai and bored this Saturday (October 6th), plan on attending the annual Kenai Chamber of Commerce Beer and Wine Festival starting at 6:30 PM. I couldn’t find a lot of detail on the event, other than the theme is the Roaring 1920’s and the 1930’s. The event is held in the old Carr’s store in Kenai and the physical address is 11312 Kenai Spur Highway. The cost is $45 per person and if it seems stiff, hey, it’s a benefit, after all. Call the chamber at (907) 283-7989 for details. On October 27 (Saturday), Kassik’s is co-hosting the Halloween Night at Hooligan’s Saloon (44715 Sterling Highway, Soldotna – 907-262-9388). This posting is a bit premature, but I’ll provide updates in future blogs.
Here’s the Humpy’s lineup for this week as we edge toward the weekend. Note in particular the Christmas Ales. Humpy’s usually does a Christmas in August release, but I guess that slipped by the wayside this year and we’re getting the goods as frost hits the pumpkins. I always hate hearing about Christmas when ads start appearing even before Thanksgiving, but this is the kind of news I can use.
Wheats / Fruits Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat Moose’s Tooth Hard Apple Ale Pyramid Apricot Pyramid Hefeweizen Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen *** (7.1%) Lindemans Framboise ### Golden Ales / Pilseners /
Alaskan Dunkel Ale Midnight Sun Gold Strike Kolsch Anchor Steam
Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness) Alaskan Pale Ale Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale Sleeping Lady Urban Wilderness English Pale Ale
Rogue Dry Hopped St Rogue Red
Alaskan E.S.B.
Alaskan Amber Ale Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Prymaid Broken Rake Amber Ale Homer Red Knot Scottish Mac Tarnahan’s Scottish Ale Brown Ales Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale
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