Happy Halloween, for whatever it’s worth. Say hello, then goodbye to the perennial line up of pumpkin ales. According to distributors, these products are hot between late September and Halloween, then drop like rocks after that. It doesn’t make them any less good; I love a hearty, full-bodied slice of pumpkin pie in a glass well beyond Halloween
Apparently, I’m not alone. Christoff, the venerable Beer Manager at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse just got back from an extended vacation. After mopping up sudsy indiscretions left in his absence, he set to work tweaking the tap line with this year’s seasonal best. According to Christoff, “I put on line most of the pumpkin beers that I coiuld get. I also pulled out some of last year’s ’07 Midnight Sun Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter to run vertical with this year’s batch.” Okay, save me a stool. Christoff took a look at the ever-improving beer menu (see below) and decided that the hop heads in the bunch needed some teasers. “I am also trying to list the IBUs next to the IPAs to give the hop-head something to talk about,” he said. 
Finally, just to spice up Election Week, Christoff is putting on some special beers. “I will be putting on the Deschutes XX Black Butte Porter and the Midnight Sun Bezerker Imperial Stout ’08 and ’06 next week. With the election I figure everyone could use a stiff one” he said.
If you chance across Christoff, wish him a happy birthday; his birthday is next week and perhaps it’s our turn to buy him a pint.
The Tap Root Café has been open for just a short while and already the little pub is bustin’ at the seams. If you’ve been down there for a pint or a gig, this is no surprise to you. The little place is usually jammed and parking can be a bitch since the establishment shares parking space with a number of other retail venues. It’s not that the owners of Tap Root are unhappy with the location; they’ve developed quite a local following. It seems that the land lord won’t renew the Root’s lease and they have to be out of the establishment by July of 2009. A new location hasn’t been established yet, but according to owner Rebecca Mohlman, “…we’re on the prowl.”
If you head down to the Root this week, with some variation, expect offerings including Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat, Pale Moon Ale and Moose Point Porter from Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop, Fish On! IPA, Cherry Belgian Strong Ale, Green Dragon Pale Ale, Braveheart Scottish Ale, Harvest Rye Ale and Espresso Bock from The Sleeping Lady Brewing Company and Sockeye Red IPA, Oosik Amber, Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter, Goldstrike Kolsch and Berserker from the Midnight Sun Brewing Company. Ring of Fire Meadery’s Pear-Agave Cyser is also on. Other featured beers include Unibroue’s Maudite, Lindemans Pomme Apple Lambic, Lucifer a Belgian golden ale, Elysian’s Night Owl Pumpkin Ale and good old Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer for you retro types that just want to fit in. Local bands are aplenty this week so check out the line up when you visit.
Last week the rumor mill was churning away and some astute, respected sources informed me that Alaskan Brewing Company’s Baltic Porter was again emergent. I went to the source to verify information. Happily, indeed, it’s true! Effective November 1st, the Baltic Porter will be available throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest in 22 ounce bomber bottles. Oh, you just have to LOVE portability in this state. Before, the beer was a Rough Draft Series Beer, available on draught only. This beer earned rave reviews when it showed up last 
year and apparently the brewery listened to clamoring demand for full time availability. According to product descriptions and press releases, “…it was available on draught only in Alaska, but it was so popular among our Brew Crew and those who tasted it in Juneau and Anchorage that we decided to release a limited-edition bottled run of the brew in 2008. Like Alaskan Smoked Porter, our Baltic Porter can be enjoyed fresh or aged like a fine wine. The vanilla characteristics are more apparent in the fresher vintages. The malty and complex dark fruit flavors become more dominant with age.”
So, given this, I would scoop up as much of this brew as you can and enjoy it now and tuck some away. Don’t forget too that you are probably seeing the last of Alaskan’s ESB for a while. According to Christoff at Humpy’s “On tap now I have some of the last Alaskan ESB in draft that we will be getting for a long time. It has been moved to a rough draft beer, if that.” I’ll have to verify with Alaskan, but I still see plenty of bottle stock around.
McGinley’s First Taste event is slated for November 7th between 5-8 pm. November’s taste features beers from the Samuel Smith brewery, specifically Winter Welcome, Imperial Stout and the brewery’s Pale Ale. Walk on in to McGinley’s any time between 5-8 pm, give up a scant $9 bucks and enjoy the three samples. The brewery is interested in feedback on the featured beers, so if you enter your tasting notes on the beers, you’re automatically entered in a drawing for a $30 gift certificate. The little pub with authentic atmosphere and Irish-themed beer and food is on the corner of 7th and G Streets, conveniently located behind Humpy’s and in front of the convention center.
La Bodega’s Anniversary Sale starts on Thursday, November 6th at the University Mall liquor store. Owner Pamela Hatzis concedes that the sale is an effort to clear the shelves to make room for the plethora (I love that word) of winter seasonal beers that are rolling in, but that’s not a bad thing. Buying discounted, albeit high-quality beer in exchange for more varied seasonal variety is always good. Ridgeway 
Brewing’s Bad Elf series of beer are already in place at La Bodega including Pickled Santa, Lump of Coal, Bad Elf, Terribly Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf and more. The astounding Mikkeller Nogne-0 is back, along with temptations like Delirium Noel and Gouden Carolus Noel. Get it while it’s hot….er….cold!
Over at the Glacier Brewhouse, if you can scrabble for parking (not so tough in the winter months), duck in and enjoy the brewery’s Pumpkin Ale or Raspberry Wheat, the two beers currently on draught that are outside the mainstream offerings (if there is such a thing with Glacier’s beers). Brewer Kevin Burton informed me that his Black Rye Bock is on deck, a Nut Brown Ale is in the works, and this year’s big bock is going to be a blueberry tripel bock. Burtons’ also formulating the list for this year’s 12 Days of Barleywine celebration.
Nothing in from Café Amsterdam this week and I’ve been too damned consumed at my Human Resources (adult daycare) job to duck in to surf the menu.
Here’s the Humpy’s line up for this week:
Wheats / Fruits
(Local) Kassik’s Brew Stop Dunkleweisen
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Raspberry Wheat
Pyramid Apricot
Pyramid Hefeweisen
Lindemans Framboise ####
Golden Ales / Pilseners / California Common
Anchor Steam California Common
(Local) Midnight Sun Goldstrike Kolsch
Spaten Premium Lager **
Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness)
(Local) Alaska Pale Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond
Deschutes Mirror Pond (Cask Conditioned) *
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
(Local) Alaskan E.S.B.
India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)
Dogfish Head 60 Minute I.P.A. * (60 IBU)
Full Sail Prodigal Sun I.P.A. (80 IBU)
(Local) Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun (70 IBU)
(Local) Midnight Sun Cohoho Imperial I.P.A. # (8%) (85 IBU)
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A. (64 IBU)
Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale
(IBU Classified: Brewery Will Not Tell!)
Belgian Ales
Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale
Shock Top Belgian White Wheat Ale
St. Bernardus Grotton Brown ###
Stella Artois **
Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%)
Chimay Cing Cents Triple ##### (8%)
Delerium Tremens #### (8.5%)
Deschutes Dissident Oud Bruin Sour Brown # (9%)
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre # (8%)
Gulden Draak Dark Triple Ale ### (10.5%)
Unibroue Trois Pistoles ## (9%)
Harvest Ales
Avery Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest # (9.37%)
Ayinger Oktoberfest #
Paulaner Oktoberfest **
Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale
Spaten Oktoberfest **
Widmer Oktoberfest
Barley Wine
Sierra Nevada Big Foot Barley Wine #
Amber Ales / Bocks / Dopplebocks / Scottish
(Local) Alaskan Amber Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Ale
Mac Tarnahan’s Scottish Ale
Brown Ales
Full Sail Nut Brown Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale
Porters / Stouts 
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
(Local) Silver Gulch Pick Axe Porter
Full Sail Imperial Stout # (9.9%)
Guinness Stout *** (on Nitro)
North Coast Old Rasputin
Imperial Stout # (9%) (on Nitro)
Pumpkin Beers
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
Jacks Pumpkin Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Humpback Jack Pumpkin Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter
(7.8%) ed 2007 ###
(Local) Midnight Sun Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter
(7.8%) ed 2008 #
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
10/31/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Planet Series beer Saturn release at the brewery 6 pm Free
10/31/08 Humpy’s Costume Contest 11 pm Free
11/01/08 Café Amsterdam Planet Series beer Saturn Firkin Release 6 pm Pay As You Go
11/07/08 McGinley’s Pub November First Taste Featuring Samuel Smith’s Beer 5-8 pm $9.00
11/08/08 Celestial Meads Celtic Samhain (Sah’ wen) Observance and Tasting Noon – 5 pm Free Samples
11/09/08 Café Amsterdam BJCP Program Begins Noon – 3 pm TBD
11/14/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Venus Belgian-style Quadrupel Release 6 pm Free
11/19/08 Tap Root Café Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop Beer Tasting TBD TBD
11/21/08 Seward Sea Life Center Alaska Grown Close to Home Wine and Beer Tasting 7-10 pm $30 per person
11/21/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Obliteration IV Double Wheat Release 6 pm Free
11/28/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Arctic Devil 2009 Release 6 pm Free
12/05/08 Arctic Brewing Supply Entries accepted for Bigfish Homebrew Competetion Noon – 6 pm Free
12/05/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Uranus 100% Brett Beer Release 6:00 pm Free
12/06/08 SubZero Microlounge Humpy’s Bigfish Homebrew Competition Judging 10 am Free
12/19/08 Midnight Sun Brewing Company Jupiter Champagne-style Tripel Release 6 pm Free
02/22/09 Café Amsterdam BJCP Exam 10 am TBD
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