It’s over. I survived the 2008 Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival. I took my own advice about not drinking and driving, but I didn’t do so well with the “hydrate or die” equation and suffered some physically adverse consequences on some of the mornings following each of the events that started on Wednesday, January 16th and ended on Sunday afternoon after I left the graciously appointed Hangover Buffet at Café Amsterdam from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. I was the first one there other than owners Ken and Shauana Pajak, but I left long before it was over. It was a fitting goodbye to an annual event that I’ll never miss. I had a classic combination of Biscuits and Gravy and Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop’s Holiday Brown Ale.
Perhaps because I provided extensive pre-announcement of the festival and its mechanics, I turned out to be “complaint central” during the fest, and it seems that anyone that knew me and had something adverse to say made it known. Regardless, there was much more positive feedback than negative, and I went away feeling better about the whole thing this year than in years past. There’s no way to get around acknowledging that this is a popular and well-attended event. Except for the Connoisseur’s Session, the regular Friday and Saturday night sessions sold out. In fact, if my sources are correct, the Saturday night session sold out before the doors were even open, giving credence to the value of spending the extra bucks on pre-buying tickets online and guaranteeing a spot. I felt bad for the people standing outside wanting to get in and relish in the pure enjoyment of the fermented riches inside, but as I pointed out two weeks ago, planning is key.
Another concern I heard more than once was the attitude of the security folks at the fest. They seemed more interested in monitoring what the servers were doing than the people at the festival. Our distributors remain genuinely concerned that the festival continues to avoid disgorging intoxicated people en masse on to Anchorage’s streets when the event shuts down like a slammed door precisely at 10:00 PM. The booths quit serving alcohol at 9:45 and everyone gets the boot at the stroke of 10:00. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. I had more than one person point out to me that there were some people walking around severely intoxicated. This was pointed out to security in some cases and I was told that the informant was met with a deer in the headlights look rather than any action to eradicate a potential blemish on the fest.
I was no less amazed this year than in years past at how both passionate and callous people can be about beer. The Connoisseur’s Session provided a relaxed, informative, congenial couple of hours where all brewers were in attendance and attendees seemed genuinely interested in their wares and what they had to say about them. At the same time, by about 7:00 on Saturday night, I think the median age of the male attendee at the festival was twenty one years and five months and the average age of the attached female attendee was twenty one years and three months. Although I’ve been there years before, infantile behavior around beer continues to disgust me today. I left Saturday night by about 7:30 pm.
It would be easy to say that now I’m back to the mundane in beer coverage, but that just ain’t so. There’s nothing mundane about beer in Alaska and because I skipped a week in light of the festival, I’ve got some catching up to do. It feels good to have my fingers on the keyboard again.
Alaska Distributors is suffering a great loss as beer manager Marty Compton is leaving Alaska to help managing the burgeoning Bell’s 
Brewery. Bell’s is a hugely respected artisan brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Some of their beers comprise the commercial examples listed in the Beer Judge Certification Program Style Guidelines. Compton received some information that Bells was looking for someone to help in sales and he thought “what the heck?” It’s closer to where both his and his wife’s family are from, and sometimes it’s just time for a change. Marty will be missed but pledges to return time and time again to swill the good stuff with his beer drinking friends in Alaska.
I almost executed a complete social faux pas when I announced that The Bridge Restaurant was hosting a beer dinner with Alaskan Brewing Company on Wednesday, January 16th, just prior to the festival kick off. There were actually four venues throwing beer dinners that night and I was actually glad that the Bridge was doing a gig. I didn’t get any feedback about the event, but it was probably a good time. Regardless the Bridge Restaurant is closed and will probably soon be up for sale. The quaint, but clean and nicely decorated place has been open since August of 2005. The establishment sat atop a refurbished Alaska Railroad Bridge that spanned the mighty Ship Creek. I guess in 
it’s short heyday, in the summer, it was a great place to go and have lunch or dinner and watch the anglers wade around in the mud below. I only patronized the place once and the food was good, service spot-on and the beer selection very reasonable and varied. The only disconcerting thing to me was that the entryway somewhat reeked of creosote. This is an industrial wood preservative that was in common use years ago and was especially effective in protecting wooden piers from the rotting effect of fresh or salt water. Railroad ties are also saturated in the stuff and the establishment’s foundation being a bridge, I’m not surprised I could detect it. It had no effect on the interior of the restaurant or the dining experience, however, and I left thinking I’d gladly eat there again. It’s a bummer when any establishment closes down, unless they truly deserve it, but I don’t think that was the case with the Bridge. I hope owner Win Fowler sets up shop somewhere else and continues to contribute positively to the cuisine and beer culture of Anchorage.
If you enjoy Kenai Peninsula products, you’ll be happy to know that both Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop and Kenai River Brewing Company beers will be showing up with regularity here in town since Specialty Imports picked up both lines for distribution within their reach. It was great to see both of these breweries standing tall at the Fest this year, along with representation from Homer Brewing Company, Kodiak Island Brewing Company and Haines Brewing Company, beers we don’t get regularly this far north. Homer Brewing Company’s been increasingly gracious in letting some of their fermented jewels hitchhike into town on occasion. Homer’s Broken Birch Bitter should be on tap at Tap Root Café.
If you get down as far as Soldotna on February 2nd, plan on attending the Kenai River Brewing Company Single Hop Day. The brewery’s been quietly brewing single hop beers in a series to feature a single hop’s profile. It’s an educational tool as the brewery continues to strive to educate a beer-curious community about the intricacies of the fermented arts. The series is all but done and on February 2 from noon – 5 PM, for $25.00 you can attend and sample all six IPA’s produced in the 2007 series, get a commemorative T-shirt and pint glass and even get to sample the Conglomeration IPA 2007. This beer was made with all six different hops used in the series including Summit, Amarillo, Columbus, Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade. If you’re a hop head and support local brewing, it’s worth the trek.
Way further south in our state, welcome Easy Hooker Brewing Company to our local fold. Brewers Jamie Steinson and Eric Carter are in the formative stages of getting beer on line by the end of this year. They have noble aspirations and I personally applaud the fact that although they’re not an operating brewery at this point, they showed up at the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival to make their presence known. Right now, they’re tinkering with a pale ale and a wit. Both Eric and Jamie found their respective frau’s in Sitka and although they moved around, ended up settling there and decided that Sitka needed good, locally produced beer just like anyone else. Oh, 
and just for the record, these guys aren’t pimps; the name of the company came from the name of a fishing boat they bought. Their website (www.easyhookerbrewing.com) depicts the logo. Stay tuned for more news on these ambitious cats.
If you’re a mead lover, plan on attending the February 16 Ring of Fire Meadery release at Tap Root Café that’s going to be accompanied by a local Homer band banging out tunes to help liven the occasion. Sooner still, on Saturday January 26th at Café Amsterdam, plan on attending the mead event with Celestial Meads where Meadmaker Mike (Kiker) will debut new batches of Clarity, an 11 percent semi-sweet traditional mead with basswood honey from Iowa as a base; Marriage, a sweet marionberry and raspberry melomel that uses a floral honey blend to float the flavors and Razzery Cyser, a lighter but immensely flavorful 6.5 percent raspberry, apple and sour cherry combo that’s a delight in the glass. If you can’t wait for that, contact Meadmaker Mike at (907) 250-8362 to determine the availability and placement of such mystical delights as Starry Night, Belgique, Southern Heat, Blue Ridge Hottie, Rubyfruit, Burning Sappho, 
Odin’s Gift, Clarity, Desire, Miel Noir, Made Marion, Luz De Sol, Cyser Does Matter, Hot and Pink, Gingerly, Cyser Does Matter, and Gunnlod’s Tears. Some of these are vintage beers and may only be available at the meadery (700 W. 41st Ave, Unit H), but if you ask around at local grog shops and the finer drinking establishments in town, you might find a surprise. Note that Celestial Meads is open to the public on Fridays from 5:15 pm – 8:00 pm, so stop by for a sample and see what’s new.
Over at Café Amsterdam the current tap line is all about local brew this week. Of the 18 taps, 15 are local. That’s 83.3 percent, which is incredibly noteworthy in my book. At least as of Wednesday, January 23, look for Alaskan Brewing Company’s 2006 Barleywine, Winter Ale, IPA, Jalapeno Imperial IPA, Stout and 2007 Smoked Porter. Homer Brewing Company’s Broken Birch Bitter is on tap along with six out of seven of the Midnight Sun Brewing Company 7DS lineup. Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop’s Holiday Nut Brown Ale is on from the Peninsula, along with Ring of Fire Meadery’s Pear/Agave Mead. The only three non-local brews are Unibroue’s Maudite and Ephemere, and Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA. On deck are Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Kassik’s Barleywine, Stone Brewing Company’s Oak Aged Double Bastard and Baron Brewing Company’s Bavarian Pilsner. These beers will replace others as they get sucked down throughout the week.
As you anxiously await the planets to align at Midnight Sun Brewing Company (the emergence of the Planet Series of eclectic beers that will ride the heels of the incredibly successful Seven Deadly Sins beers), Epluche-Culotte (draft and 22 ounce bombers) becomes available on Friday starting with the regularly scheduled Friday night tours at the brewery (7329 Arctic Blvd). Fallen Angel will be released on Friday, February 8th. Midnight Sun’s Oak Aged Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter is now available at La Bodega in the University Mall. As Midnight Sun did last year, they are brewing the official beer of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous celebration and it’s boringly named Rondy Brew 2008. Is that name out of character for the brewery, or WHAT? Anyway, this winter all will be pre-released at MSBC on Thursday, January 31 from 5-7 pm at the brewery. Then, on Saturday, February 23rd, at 6 pm, a firkin release will happen at Café Amsterdam. This is a new Rondy event and it’s good to see Rondy include beer again in the line up. I might be dating myself, but as far back as 1979 or so, there was an event called Iditabud, and I believe it happened at Chilcoot Charlie’s. It may have been in conjunction with the more likely Iditarod, but the gist of the event was that participants had to drink an ounce of Budweiser for every mile their team traveled. I remember bumper stickers, but that’s about it.
La Bodega is also featuring Wells Banana Bread Beer and Bombardier (see the January 24 edition of the Anchorage Press for coverage on the brand). Look for the diverse line of North Coast Brewing Company beers at La Bodega as well, along with the return of Deschutes Abyss and Flying Dog Brewery products.
Mark your calendar for two upcoming events at Tap Root Café. As mentioned above, there’s the February 16 Ring of Fire Meadery special release and on March 3rd Tap Root will host a Flemish/Sour Beer Tasting. The details are emergent, but if you’re new to the style, these are intense beers that typically feature a profound tart and often sour character that may seem inappropriate in a beer until your palate adjusts to them. I may have recounted this before, but my first experience with a Flemish ale was at a Humpy’s tasting years ago. The tasting wasn’t about sour beers, but Rodenbach (Classic Red) was served midway in the tasting as a palate cleanser. Rodenbach is a classic producer of the style. The historic brewery is located in Rosalare, Belgium, and although the brewery has combined forces with larger entities, the historic location remains intact and most of the wooden vats that the beer is fermented in are over 165 years old. When they leak, they’re stuffed with straw and wax. The sourness comes from natural airborne yeast that “infects” the beer as much as ferments it. The result is a sour, but distinctly flavorful beer that has the effect of resetting the palate even after eating the most robust foods are drinking the most palate-twisting beers.
I don’t remember what the dish was that Rodenbach followed, but I remember sitting next to Jason Ditsworth when I took my first tentative sip. I was immediately repulsed and almost spit it out. Once I regained composure, I turned to Jason and tried not to attract attention as I whispered “Jason, there’s something very wrong with this beer; we should probably tell Billy.” This almost caused Jason to spit out his beer, but from laughter, not repulsion. I grew to understand that the unique beer was purposely intense and funky and today, it’s one of my favorite styles. Rodenbach isn’t the only producer and because we have a mature palate here in Alaska, we get numerous examples within the style. So, if you’re style curious and can muster up the courage, this is a no-miss event at Tap Root.
Tap Root just received shipments of Deschutes Brewing Company The Abyss and Dogfish Head Brewing Company’s Chicory Stout, which should be good news to southsiders that don’t want to make the trek to midtown or beyond to sample the wares.
It’s probably too late now, but if you were a raving fan of Samuel Adams Utopia, the strongest beer in the world, six bottles of it showed up in Alaska and quickly disappeared. The brew-kettle shaped bottle was commanding between $150.00 and $400 on Ebay when it first came out. It was divvied out among select retail accounts and I doubt it ever even made it on the market. I haven’t been to a grog shop since before the fest, so I could be wrong.
If you like the cult classics, Genesee Cream Ale might be inbound to Alaska in the weeks to come. It’s available for distribution up here, but never called for, but rumor has it that someone’s taking a shot at it to see what it will do. Classics like Pabst Blue Ribbon and other retro beers connect drinkers with their youthful past and often find a place in the drinker’s heart when they show up again. Coors had a real cult following when it wasn’t distributed too far from the brewery and became the forbidden fruit. It was smuggled over state lines and sold at hugely inflated prices to the select few that had the connections to get it. Look at what happened when Session Premium Lager came out from Full Sail Brewing Company. I remember my exact impressions. I was attending the Seattle International Bierfest a couple of years ago and it vied for my attention on liquor store shelves as I poked around the Emerald City in search of good suds. The bottle was quaint and interesting and definitely reminded me of an Olympia or Fallstaff stubby. It was cute, but I didn’t trust it. Here’s the kicker; it’s hard to tell it’s a Full Sail Brewing Company beer because that’s not prominent on the packaging. You have to look real close to see the Full Sail shield on the bottle. I thought it was something gimmicky and not worthy of my palate. I ended up in one of the historic bars in the older part of Seattle (Pioneer Square) and again saw it. I finally asked the barkeep what it was all about. When she told me it was a Full Sail product, I had one in my hands within seconds. It turned out to be a darling of mine for a long time and sat in my Desert Island Six Pack longer than many others have.
I’ve only had Genesee Cream Ale a couple of times back in the late 70’s when I was in the Air Force stationed at the very top of our continent at Loring Air Force Base, Maine. I remember that a lot of the other airmen used to rave about the beer, just like others raved about Coors. Back then I wasn’t as discerning as I am today and my recollections of the product is that it didn’t jerk me around either way. Still, today, with innate curiosity about beer, I’m anxious to experience the hype again, just to say I did, this time with a more critical palate. Oh, and just for the record, I’ve pounded my fair share of the others. I believe the very first alcoholic beverage to grace my lips was Fallstaff Lager as early as 1964 or 1965 when I was just a kid and my dad offered me a drag. It’s odd, but I’ll never forget the taste. I’m looking forward to a revisit of the Genesse.
Further abroad, it’s not too late to make plans to join me and Ms. Fermento, along with some other wayward Alaskans on our San Francisco 
Sojourn to attend the Toronodo Barley Wine Festival on February 16th. I’m judging the gig, then fighting my way through the cosmic mess that defines the biggest barley wine festival in the world at this point (at least until the powers-to-be make our festival bigger). I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but had never attended the festival until recent years. Like Alaska, the festival is really a celebration of beer around the surrounding communities with beer events that are encapsulated within what’s become known as Beerapalooza. If you plan wisely (re: arrive a week before the barley wine festival), tempting venues including the Double IPA Festival at the Bistro (February 9th) in Hayward, California; the Rogue Ales Public House Beer and Cheese Tasting (February 13th) in San Francisco, and the Celebrator Beer News 20th Anniversary Party (February 17th) will combine to twist your liver into submission. Since I write for the esteemed rag, for sure I’ll be at the Celebrator gig in Oakland. The best way to plan your trip is to surf out to www.celebrator.com/features/beerapalooza/2008/ for details. I’m headed down Friday the 15th through Wednesday the 20th and plan on touring the region extensively during my visit. If you decide to go or are already planning to go, contact me and let’s hook up for a pint of something distinctly NoCal!
Glacier Brewhouse’s lineup this week includes Blonde, Amber,IPA, Bavarian Hefeweizen, Oatmeal Stout, Double IPA, Nitro Pale, Porter, Nut Brown, Imperial Blonde, Bohemian Pilsner, Cask IPA, and the Oak Aged Imperial Stout. Look for a Rye IPA to come out next week, probably by Thursday.
Here’s the Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse lineup as of Wednesday, January 23. Note that of the 54 beers available on draft, 18 of them are local beers. This is a good showing considering that fully a third of the awesome taps are dedicated to our locally fermented wares. This number should go up in the coming days as “festovers” grace the lines.
Wheats / Fruits
Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat
Ring of Fire Black & Blueberry Cyser
Pyramid Apricot
Pyramid Hefeweisen
Lindemans Framboise ###
Golden Ales / Pilseners / California Common
Midnight Sun Gold Strike Kolsch
Baron Pilsner
Bitburger Pilsner *
Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness)
Alaskan Pale Ale
Kenai River Arctic XPA
Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Elysian ‘The Wise’ E.S.B.
India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)
Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun
Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A.
Deschutes Inversion I.P.A.
Dogfish Head 90 Minute I.P.A. # (9%)
Pyramid Thunderhead I.P.A.
Stone Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard * (7.2%)
Belgian Ales
Homer Belgian Bruin (Dark) Ale
Blue Moon Belgian White Ale
Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%
Midnight Sun Gluttony Belgian Triple I.P.A.
Bosteels Triple Karmeliet ### (8%)
Chimay Cing Cents Triple #### (8%)
Delirium Tremens ### (8.5%)
Full Sail Vesuvius Belgian Golden Ale # (8.5%)
Pater Lieven Triple ### (8%)
Unibroue Maudite ## (8%)
Seasonal / Special
Sleeping Lady English Braggot # (8.8%)
Rogue’s Dad’s Little Helper Malt Liquor # (8%)
Brown Ales
Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale
Kassik’s Brew Stop Holiday Nut Brown
Barley Wines
Pyramid Barley Wine
Amber Ales / Bocks / Dopplebocks / Scottish
Alaskan Amber Ale
Midnight Sun Oosik Amber
North Coast Red Seal Ale
Mac Tarnahan’s Scottish Ale
Porters / Stouts
Homer China Poot Porter
Silver Gulch Pick Axe Porter
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Avery ‘The Czar’ Russian Imperial Stout # (11.73%)
Guinness Stout *
Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout (7.9%)
Christmas Special Ales
Alaskan Winter Ale
Midnight Sun Cohoho Imperial I.P.A. # (8%)
Anchor Steam Our Special Ale 2007
Deschutes Jubel Ale
Elysian Bifrost
Fish Tale Winterfish
Full Sail Wreck the Halls
Gouden Carolus Noel ### (10.5%) 2006 ed
Pyramid Snowcap
Val-Dieu Winter Abbey Ale ### (10.5%) 2005 ed
Pints / Pitchers
Micros $4.50/ 14.50
*Imports $4.75 / 15.50
**Spec. Imports $5.00 / 16.50
Small 8 oz / Large 13 oz
# Barley Wine/Local Belgian $4.50 / 5.75
## Belgian /Extra Spec Micro $4.50/ 6.25
### Special Belgian Ales $6.25 / 8.50
#### Special Imports $7.50 / 11.00
Dr Fermento Beer Calendar
01/25/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Epluche-Culotte Release at the Brewery 10:00 AM Varies by size
01/26/08 Café Amsterdam Celestial Meads Event at Café Amsterdam 6:00 PM Pay As You Go
01/31/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Fur Rondy Brew Release at the Brewery 5 – 7 PM Pay As You Go
02/01/08 McGinley’s Pub First Taste Event Featuring North Coast Brewery Beers 5 – 8 PM $7.00
02/02/08 Kenai River Brewing Company Single Hop Day Celebration Noon-5 PM $25.00
02/08/08 Snow Goose Restaurant Fur Rondy Homebrew Comp. Entries Accptd 11:00 AM $$ Per Entry
02/08/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Fallen Angel Release at the Brewery 5 – 7 PM Pay As You Go
02/09/08 Snow Goose Restaurant Fur Rondy Homebrew Competition Judging 10:00 AM Free
02/15/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Envy Imperial Pilsner re-release 5 – 7 PM Pay As You Go
02/16/08 Tap Root Café Ring of Fire Meadery Special Release 8:00 PM Pay As You Go/Cover TBD)
02/16/08 Toronodo Pub (San Francisco) Toronodo Barleywine Festival 10:00 AM Pay As You Go
02/17/08 Marriot Hotel, Oakland, Calif. Celebrator Beer News 20th Anniversary Party 3:00 PM $55.00
02/23/08 Café Amsterdam Rondy Brew Firkin Night 6:00 PM Pay As You Go
03/03/08 Tap Root Café Flemish/Sour Beer Tasting 5:30 PM $$??
05/03/08 Chena Pump Campground (Fbx) Zymurgist Borealis Nat. Homebrew Day/Big Beer Celeb. Noon Free
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