I started out my blog talking about Sarah Palin. My blog competes with material for the Anchorage Press, a weekly writing commitment that takes precedence over publishing this luxury piece that fills the gap between when I have more creativity than space to write. I felt that what I initially wrote about Palin was timely enough, so I cut it and used it for next week’s piece in the Press. So, for those of you who vacillate between the The Press and my blog, hit www.anchoragepress.com next week to digest my thoughts on Alaska’s newest political sensation that’s on the precipice of international fame. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but just for the record, my blog is the perfect symbiosis for me. I can free associate here and this often launches more disciplined, edited writing. I hope you understand.
Before getting into beer specifics, I want to talk about the weather. Talking about the weather seems trite considering it’s an easy cop-out to start any written dissertation about any subject in Alaska, a land where weather defines so much of our lives. Beer aside, if you’re from anywhere else, weather is more important to the average Alaskan than just about any other subject. I’ve long postulated that in more temperate climes, weather is taken for granted. When someone from Phoenix or San Diego wakes up, the weather is mostly the same. It’s predictable. Here, when I wake up, my first moves are to the window where I look out and see what the day brings. It’s September 10th and when people complain about our uncharacteristically shitty summer (weather wise) I only have one thing to say. Will winter happen before fall? For those of you that live here, think about it. The one thing I hate, beer in hand or not, is getting snow before getting the leaves out of my yard. There’s nothing worse than being anal about a nice lawn but having to wait the long nine months until spring when the snow goes away to reveal last year’s rotted, decomposed leaves. The way I look at it this year, what’s the difference? At least winter will bring on different weather. Sure, it will be colder, but maybe we’ll see the sun more. It remains to be seen.
What I do like about this time of year, however, is the influx of seasonally-oriented beers that tend to be heavier and more satiating now that cooler weather ushers out the pesky bugs and drive off the tourists that keep our local brewers away from what they like to make the most. I professionally know of beers at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse that have been 
kept in abeyance until the more appreciative consumers can thoroughly enjoy them. I know of local brewers that are waiting until they have our full attention to release specialty brews that were produced in anticipation of just this special time. It’s time to rejoice. On Thursday night, I visited Humpy’s to participate in the release of the long anticipated Left Hand Brewing Company beers that showed up a couple of weeks ago and have been available in bottles in the better grog shops around town. So, I sat and first enjoyed Left Hand’s Rye Bock. My repeat experience with this well-balanced, dry beer was predictably enjoyable. The muddy-brown beer didn’t reveal a lot in nose, although rye’s tartness and the brooding 7.6 percent alcohol were hinted at. Fruitiness and just balancing bitterness round out the flavor and offset rye’s spunky contribution. Alcohol rears its noticeable bodice in both flavor and heat. Rye Bock is an easy drinker, so if you chase it, exercise caution.
I also enjoyed the Left Hand Oktoberfest. I found it more well-rounded in tap and a bit crisper and zestier than the bottled version I’d first experienced. O’fest beers are lagers and are designed to be crisp, but snappy with the right combination of medium hops and a clean finish. I got all of that in Left Hand’s offering.
From there, I delved into Left Hand’s Milk Stout. This has been a favorite of mine because it argues with me. Rich, clean, evenly balanced mixtures of dark malt complexity, along with the yeast’s fruity contribution make this slightly drier milk stout very palatable. The argument? Dryness versus sweetness. Left Hand’s version provides some increased acricity and less sweetness, but I’m shying away from being a style Nazi because my own perceived deficiency is more than made up for by the 800-stich count sheet smoothness of this beer and dead-center balance. This beer fared perfectly with my all-too-predictable, forever favorite Blackened Halibut Salad at Humpy’s. The beer’s light sweetness and rich, somewhat roasty character offset the heavy Cajun spices in the salad. My biggest problem is always trying to avoid eating all the halibut first before consuming the greens. If you reap my experience, tell your server to bring out some bread and butter. You’ll find this cutting for both the salad and the beer.
Beyond Left Hand’s delicious beers, I sat with Humpy’s Beer Manager Christoff, who’s been an incredible asset to Humpy’s beer lineup. Humpy’s owner Billy Opinsky is more appropriately in the background now and leaves the day-to-day tapline livers because Christoff has the same aspiration to lay beer down for “future reference.”
Before I got distracted with Left Hand’s beers, I made reference to some upcoming vintage treats. Although dates remain 
understandably uncertain, Christoff’s sitting on a keg of what we can best determine is a 2005 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Bezerker Imperial Stout which will be paired with a new version. Christoff is also sitting on a keg of Alaskan Brewing Company’s Baltic Porter which will also be matched with Alaskan’s new version. Christoff’s got an errant keg of the first batch of Alaskan’s Jalapeno IPA, the version that actually went to last year’s Great American Beer Festival and medaled.
It’s also time to mark your calendar for the annual Humpy’s Oktoberfest events. Every year, there are a lot of O’Fest events to chose from, but if you’re into the party side of things, Humpy’s events are typically the rowdiest. The good food, ample beer and lively atmosphere are enhanced by the forever-famous Alaska Blaskepelle oompah band that’s often a lot louder than the crowded venue can handle, but it all adds to the effect. This year’s gigs are being held on October 12th and October 19th, both Sundays and both at 6:00 pm. The price has yet to be determined, but I’d suggest calling and getting a seat because these events sell out very quickly. Call (907) 279-BEER for your spot.
If you’re a trivia buff, starting on September 23rd, every Tuesday night, Humpy’s features a fun Pub Quiz
When other pubs boastfully featured Deschutes Brewery, Inc’s Black Butte XX, one of their anniversary beers, they eagerly slapped it online and blew through it in a flash. Not Humpy’s. They stashed their precious allotment so, according to Christoff, we can enjoy it unfettered by tourists. “I wanted to save it for the loyal Alaskans that come in here when the tourists are gone,” he said. Good man. I like the way he thinks.
Again, there’s no prediction when these beers will show up on tap at Humpy’s, but watch for them and enjoy.
Another beer I enjoyed at Humpy’s was Rogue Ale Brewery’s Kells Irish Style Lager. I wasn’t as instantly enamored with this beer because I thought I detected some slight oxidation that masked the beer’s more delicate and easily appreciable light grain mix and lager’s cleanliness in the end. My sample was initially severed very cold and I had to wait to discern the nose. This didn’t detract from the Kells’ stellar, medium golden crystal clarity under a thin white head. It was easy to dissolve in this beer once my palate adjusted. I’m not sure if we get it up here just on draft or in 22 ounce bombers (signature for the brewery) as well.
Alaska is increasingly recognized for both noteworthy beers and noteworthy beer establishments and events. For example, Imbibe Magazine voted both Schwabenhof (Wasilla) and Anchorage’s La Bodega Liquor Store as one of the 100 best places to drink beer in America. The La Bodega vote doesn’t surprise me, although it’s a liquor store, but Schwabenhof is 
an odd selection. This is not to discount either the venue or the experience. I’ve been there many times and it’s a fabulous little rathskiller perched atop a hill with sweeping vistas of the Palmer-Wasilla valley area and features the best line-up of imported and primarily German beers. It’s only odd because it’s a little-known destination amidst an ocean of other well-known, more diverse venues in the state. Still, kudos to both establishments and thanks for helping continue to put Alaska on the global beer map with great products and services.
MSN.com recently posted a piece that listed Alaska’s Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival as one of America’s Best Beer Festivals in a posting with the same name. The article seems to have come from Forbes Traveler.com Paul Ruschmann, a beer writer, and who co-runs Beerfestivals.org contributed to the piece and said “Though the frozen state seems like an improbable beer Mecca, ‘Alaska has one of the highest concentrations of microbrewers,’ and goes on to say ‘That’s because there’s nothing else to do during the winter.’ Okay, I wonder if he’s ever been here. Apparently we rub noses in igloos and make a lot of babies during the winter too, which I guess would make equally senseless observations in other publications appropriate to the subject.
Down on the Kenai Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing Company in Soldotna is perking up a traditional old English strong 
ale to be released on October 1st. This single malt, single hop big beer has been aging for over a year, so it should be very interesting when it comes out. Just prior to that, the brewery’s next single-hop beer, Palisade, will be released at the end of September. Prior to that hit the local pubs in the area or visit the brewery to enjoy Honeymoon Hefe, Pillars Pale Ale, Arctic XPA, Resurrection Summer Ale (what’s left of it), Naptown Nut Brown Ale, Skilak Scottish, Pothole Porter, Swiftwater Stout, Sunken Island IPA, and the current single hop IPA, Ahtanum.
Don’t forget about the upcoming Celestial Meads/Great Northern Brewers Equinox Mead Competition slated for September 27th. Entries need to be dropped off at the Meadery at 600 W. 58th Ave (just south of International, off of Arctic Blvd. The meadery has limited open hours so contact them at (907) 250-8362 before heading down there with your entries. Judging will be held on September 27th and you can enter the meads up to that date. Judging runs from 2:30 – 4:30 and if you’re interested in judging contact the meadery or the event organizer, Breck Tostiven at (907 248-4062 or email him at keegan@gci.net for more information. Surf out to www.CelestialMeads.com for additional information.
At the little south side hideaway, The Tap Root Café, enjoy your fill of Midnight Sun Brewing Company’s Sockeye Red IPA, Kodiak Brown, Oosik Amber, Old Whisker’s Wheat and the Belgian style Panty Peeler on tap. More of the Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company beers have showed up down there including Gren Dragon Pale Ale, Braveheart Scottish Ale, Portage Porter and the amazing Hop Bomb with its massive 21 hop additions. From the Peninsula, enjoy Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop’s Beavertail Blonde and Roughnexk Stout and Ring of Fire Meadery’s Pear Agave Cyser. And, from sunny California, the heavy-hitting Stone Brewing Company 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is running.
Just in time for O’fest season is the arrival of Alaskan Brewing Company’s Alaskan Dunkel Ale. This is the latest in the brewery’s Rough Draft Series of beer. Rough Draft beers aren’t necessarily experimental, but aren’t necessarily intended for full, ongoing production either, so they tend to be rare and fleeting. The beers are brewed in part to let typical non-brewing staff members assist in the process and use it as a learning experience. It’s a great program that’s produced some truly noteworthy beers over the years. The brews are produced in the brewery’s original ten-barrel brewhouse and there’s no set schedule so you really have to watch for them when small portions are distributed around the state. Some never even make it out of Juneau.
According to the brewery, “Alaskan Dunkel Ale is brewed with a high percentage of Munich malt, which is kilned longer at higher temperatures yielding a more intense and complex malt character dominant in both the aroma and flavor. A slight portion of pale malt and conservative portions of chocolate and roasted malts were added to provide darkness and 
complexity.” The beer packs a moderate 5.8 percent alcohol, a light 28 international bittering unit (IBU) hop smack and can be found here locally at Café Amsterdam, Humpy’s, and The Millennium Hotel at a minimum when it finally graces a tap handle. It wasn’t on the other day at Humpy’s when I visited.
Tickets are still available for the October 4th Glacier Brewhouse/Alaska Railroad Oktoberfest train from Anchorage to Porter and back. This event’s a ton of fun every year and whisks you by the best of the fall colors on Turnagain Arm during the four hour trip. Hit the Alaska Railroad website and look under the Special Events link for details and to sign up.
If travel puts you in Fairbanks and you’re looking for bottle stock, go the distance out to Gold Hill Imported Beers and Fine Wines for your supplies. Proprietor Susan Osborne got her supply of Left Hand Brewing, Dogfish Head, Port Brewing and Baltika (Eastern Europe) in, so if you’re from those parts, you can still enjoy some of the finest beers in the world without having to travel to Los Anchorage to get them. Gold Hill is in Ester, just south of Fairbanks. Check out www.goldhillalaska.com or call the store at (907) 479-2333 for more information.
Look for a couple of new Full Sail Brewing Company beers to show up soon. First, September marks the brewery’s 21st Anniversary and to celebrate, the brewery cranked out the aptly named “21,” a German-style dopplebock with generous 
alcohol, plenty of malt and just a hint of noble hop character. Also being released is Lupulin Fresh Hop Ale, the latest in the brewery’s Brewmaster Reserve Series of high-end beers. If you can’t figure it out from the name, the beer’s all about hops, and according to Full Sail brewer John Harris, “It’s wet hopped, kettle hopped, hop back hopped, wet hopped in the fermenter, and dry hopped in the fermenter with 135 pounds of hops per 24 barrel batch. That’s 5.62 pounds of hops per barrel,” he said. This stuff’s rare enough that it’s uncertain if we’ll get an allotment of the coveted stuff up here, but let’s hope so.
Deschutes Brewery makes some pretty big, bold and aggressive beers over the years, but this year, even the brewery admits that they’ve produced their “wildest brew yet,” The Dissident, an Oud Bruin, Flanders-style sour brown ale. This is the brewery’s first wild yeast beer and accordingly, this little hummer was kept separate from everything else for the 18 month’s it’s been aging in part in pinot and cabernet barrels. For additional protection, rather than use the brewery’s main 
bottling line, a secondary bottling line was brought in from an outside contractor so that there was no risk of cross contamination in the future. Oh, and over a year ago, a healthy dose of Central Washington cherries were added.
When I poured my sample out of a 22 ounce bomber bottle, I expected a big brett hit in the nose, but instead was rewarded with “significant” brett but also a lovely balancing of cherry essence. Tropical fruit notes also accent the aroma. Hints of the beer’s 11 percent alcohol also wafted to the surface creating an overall alluring scent. The not quite clear amber/brown beer rests under a thin off-white topper and clings to the edge of the glass. The brett is definitely in your face in the sip, but it’s not aggressive and rather contributory to the drinking experience. The cherries manifest themselves mostly in the beer’s sweetness rather than in any overall big cherry flavor. Sweet malt also serves to balance the beer’s intended tartness. The tartness provides a nice cleansing edge to the beer. This is no defect and overall, the beer drinks dangerously easy for it’s booze content.
Here’s the Humpy’s beer list for the week. As stuff runs dry and new stuff comes in, always expect some changes…
Wheats / Fruits
(Local) Kodiak Island Summer Storm Dunkleweizen *
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Hard Apple Ale
Pyramid Apricot
Pyramid Hefeweisen
Widmer Hefeweizen
Lindemans Framboise ####
Lindemans Pomme ####
Ring of Fire Pear Aguava Cyzer
$6.75 an 8 oz glass, $11.00 a 13 oz glass
Golden Ales / Pilseners / California Common
(Local) Alaskan Summer Kolsch
(Local) Kassik’s Brew Stop Beaver Tail Blond Ale
Kona Longboard Lager
(Local) Midnight Sun Goldstrike Kolsch
Rogue Kells Irish Lager *
Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness)
(Local) Alaska Pale Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale * (Cask Conditioned)
(Local) Moose Polar Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada E.S.B.
India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)
(Local) Alaskan Jalapeno Imperial I.P.A. * (8.2%)
Big Sky I.P.A.
Dogfish Head 60 Minute I.P.A. *
Elysian ‘The Immortal’ I.P.A.
Full Sail Prodigal Sun I.P.A.
(Local) Humpy’s Sockeye Red I.P.A. by Midnight Sun
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A.
Belgian Ales
Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale
Hoegaarden Belgian White Wheat Ale **
(Local) Midnight Sun Earth Belgian Chocolate Milk Stout #
St. Bernard Grotten Belgian Brown Ale ###
Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%)
Chimay Cing Cents Triple ##### (8%)
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre # (8%)
Unibroue Trois Pistoles ## (9%)
Harvest Ales
Left Hand Brewing Oktoberfest *
Redhook Late Harvest Ale
Barley Wine
Great Divide Old Ruffian Barley Wine # (10.2%)
Amber Ales / Bocks / Dopplebocks / Scottish
(Local) Alaskan Amber Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Ale
(Local) Kenai River Skilak Scottish
Mac Tarnahan’s Scottish Ale
Brown Ales
Full Sail Nut Brown Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale
Porters / Stouts
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Full Sail Top Sail Bourbon Imperial Porter # (9.85%)
(Local) Midnight Sun Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter
(Local) Alaskan Oatmeal Stout
Full Sail Imperial Stout # (9.9%)
Guinness Stout *** (on Nitro)
Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout *
Pike St. XXXXX Stout (7%)
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
09/20/08 Zymurgist Borealis Septemberfest Chena Pump Campground (Fairbanks) Noon - ?? BYO/Potluck
09/06/08 Widmer Brewing (Portland) Fourth Annual Widmer Octoberfest 3 – 11:30 pm
09/20/08 Kenai Elks Club Oktoberfest Featuring Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop Beer 7:00 pm $12.00 pp
09/26/08 Carlson Center (Fairbanks) 1st Annual Farthest North Import and Craft Beer Fest TBA $25.00
09/26/08 Celestial Meads Entries accepted for Equinox Mead Competition 5:00 -7:00 pm Free
09/27/08 Celestial Meads Equinox Mead Competition Judging 2:30- 4:30 pm Free
10/04/08 Alaska Railroad Glacier Brewhouse Oktoberfest Train 4:00 pm $149.00 pp
10/04/08 Celestial Meads 2nd Anniversary Celebration Noon – 5 pm Pay As You Go
10/14/08 Alaskan Brewing Company Judging for S.E Alaska Autumn Pour Homebrew Comp. 5:00 pm $3 per entry
10/04/08 Kenai Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest featuring Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop beer 6:30 pm $50.00
10/12/08 Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse Oktoberfest Celebration 6:00 pm TBD
10/17/08 Lyon’s Club Eagle River Eagle River Brew Festival TBA Pay As You Go
10/18/08 Mykel’s Restaurant Soldotna Kassiks’ Kenai Brew Stop Beer Tasting 6:30 pm TBA
10/19/08 Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse Oktoberfest Celebration 6:00 pm TBD
10/18/08 Juneau Arts and Culture Center 5th Annual Autumn Festival (think BEER GARDEN) TBA TBA
11/09/08 Café Amsterdam BJCP Program Begins Noon – 3 pm TBD
02/22/09 Café Amsterdam BJCP Exam 10:00 TBD
Entries (RSS)