Bill Howell's Blog

We're still slogging on through another winter here on the Kenai, though with the growing hours of daylight, I think we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The winter weather was very accommodating for this year's Frozen River Fest on Saturday, February 16th. We had temperatures in the twenties and a nice ongoing snowfall during the festival itself. That may not sound appealing, but compared to the first festival in 2015 (single digits and about 25 knots of wind blowing!) it was fantastic! Here's a nice slideshow of the festival.


The producer turnout was excellent, with 18 different breweries, wineries, & cideries on hand and pouring samples. This festival has become very popular among brewers, thanks I think to both its uniqueness and its laid back atmosphere. While I was there, I did interviews for my monthly radio show with most of the brewer attendees, which you can listen to by clicking here. As good as this year's Frozen River Festival was, I'm sure next year's will be even better.


On the same day as the Frozen River Fest in Soldotna, the Fur Rondy Festival was held up in Anchorage. I really wish we could deconflict these two events, as it makes it hard on the brewers to try to be two places at once. Be that as it may, 49th State Brewing Anchorage took home the Best in Show crown (literally) from that event for its The Intrepid Imperial Stout. This particular version was brewed with Sitka spruce tips, birch syrup, & cocoa nibs before being aged in whiskey barrels. I had a sample of this brew at Frozen River Fest and found it to be excellent, so I'm not surprised it took home this award. Well done to Devin and the rest of the team at 49th State!

Photo courtesy of David ShortSome of you may know that I used to write the Alaska column for Northwest Brewing News until the first of the year when my column and the one for British Columbia were axed to reduce the page count. Times are pretty tough for print beer publications: R.I.P. Draft Magazine, The Celebrator, All About Bee r. Even Beer Advocate has shifted from monthly to quarterly. Well, as of a few days ago, Northwest Brewing News has halted publication while it tries to find a new owner/publisher. Bill Metzger, who published all the "Brewing News" papers around the country stepped into controversy with an article he wrote for The Great Lakes Brewing News . If your curious, you can start with this story of Forbes.com, and find lots more info on the internet. In response, on February 19th, NWBN released the following:

"Nearly 20 years ago, Northwest Brewing News, part of Brewing News Publications, began providing the PNW beer community with a news source "of record." Over the years, the paper has covered numerous topics of interest to craft beer drinkers and brewers, profiled brewers and breweries, and reported beer-related news from Alaska to the Bay Area - something no other publication in the region has done.

The Great Lakes Brewing News, another paper under the Brewing News Publications umbrella, recently published an article written by the publisher, Bill Metzger. The article contained unnecessary, offensive misogynist language, and had very little to do with beer. Northwest Brewing News had no knowledge of or involvement in the printing of this article; otherwise, it would never have gotten past the editor's inbox.

People within the beer industry took an immediate, vocal stand against the article and Brewing News Publications on social media. Breweries that advertised in the papers pulled their ads. One of our NW Brewing News writers publicly quit. As in many similar cases recently, the public outcry sparked a reaction in which, rightly, Mr. Metzger resigned from all Brewing News operations.

Northwest Brewing News has operated mostly independently of Metzger since its founding; as publisher, he facilitated printing, shipping, and the annual writers meetings. The editor and writers determine the written content of the paper. The staff includes women as an integral part of the editorial process, and we do our best at balanced coverage of women in the industry. The article in question misrepresents the values and goals of this paper, and other Brewing News papers as well.

Northwest Brewing News is faced with a transition of ownership; that has not yet been determined. It is our hope to continue to provide thorough and informative coverage of our brewing community, and to be conscious of the diverse culture that craft beer has become. We can always be better!

Thank you to our Northwest readers and breweries who have supported us over the years. We will be in touch about changes moving forward."

To date, the Northwest Brewing News has not found a buyer, and I gather it will not be published again until it does. Despite my column getting the ax, this saddens me, as I have always thought that NWBN did a pretty good job of covering the beer scene in its area of responsibility. Let's face it: no other magazine is doing very much to cover our beer scene up here!

My last cover story at NWBN...On Saturday, March 9th, the Brewers Guild of Alaska will be holding a Rare Beer Festival at Williwaw in downtown Anchorage. Here's a poster for it:

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Moving on to reviews, I only have one new beer to write about this time, but I have something else to review: the uKeg from Growlerwerks. I resisted buying one of these for quite some time, but finally decided to give it a try. I got the plainest, cheapest version out there, a 64 oz. plain stainless one. There are also 128 oz models, and both the half and full gallon sizes come in a variety of (more expensive) finishes. The other challenge is obtaining food-grade CO2 cartridges; forget buying them online, since they cannot be shipped to Alaska. They are available at Arctic Brewing Supply in Anchorage and at other places, I'm sure. After playing with it for a couple of months, on the plus side, I'd say that when it works properly, it lives up to its hype. It keeps beer fresh and properly carbonated more or less indefinitely, or at least longer than I can let a half gallon of beer sit around without drinking it. On the downside, there is a definite learning curve associated with filling it properly, operating the pressurization system, and keeping it working right. You have to be scrupulous in following the cleaning instructions and be prepared to disassemble the cap to clean the internals on a regular basis. However, if you're willing to do that, the uKeg makes an excellent addition to your beer tools. Also, if you're a member of the American Homebrewers Association , Growlerwerks offers a pretty sweet discount.




Here's my only new beer review:

Midnight Sun Brewing's Dark Night Winter Warmer: Another in MSBC's series of limited edition canned releases, this beer was aged in port wine barrels. It poured a very dark ruby color with a small, tan head. The port barrel aging was definitely noticeable in the aroma, along with malt notes and hints of spices. The mouthfeel was light, and the carbonation was good. On the tongue, the flavors were smooth and malty, with sweet elements from the raisins and brown sugar used, plus a touch of pepper from the rye. There were distinct notes of port and oakiness, before falling away to a long finish highlighted by the light use of cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest. An excellent choice of style to apply this particular barrel aging regime to, and the end product is a complex but quite delicious beer. 8.7% ABV, 30 IBUs.


Well, that's about it for this time around. Talk to you again in another week or two.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

It's the middle of winter here on the Kenai, with a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures in the teens. That means it's time for Alaska's only outdoor winter beer festival, the Frozen River Fest . The first FRF took place in 2015, meaning that this year's fest will be the 5th iteration. As someone who was part of the group of people who first dreamed up this crazy idea and made it happen the first couple of years, it's very gratifying to see what the Frozen River Fest has become. These days the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce runs the event (so send any compliments or complaints to them), but I still love attending each winter.


The original logo from 2015If you're going to be in Soldotna this Saturday, the fest will run from 4 to 8 pm. Admission for non-drinkers is free, persons under 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and admission for beer drinkers is $20. Breweries, wineries, & cidermakers from as far away as Fairbanks will be in attendance. Buy your tickets in advance online via this link or at the gate.

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As part of gearing up for the fest, local establishments have held beer dinners in the past. This year, Kenai River Brewing Company decided to hold a beer dinner on Saturday, February 2th. Despite choosing not to advertise the event or publish the menu in advance, the 70 seats available still sold out rapidly, which is a testament to the quality of the food and beer regularly on offer at KRBC. Here's a copy of the menu:

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As someone who attended, I can attest to the excellence of all the courses (especially the roasted garlic soup!) and the wonderful way each of the beer choices paired with them. I sincerely hope that Kenai River Brewing can see it way to eventually offering beer dinners like this one once a month over the course of the winter season.

As I mentioned in my last blog, this is the week Skagway Brewing moves to its new location. The brewery has been posting lots of great photos of the new location on its Facebook page; they are well worth checking out. To whet your appetite, here's one of them. Note the new brewhouse visible through the windows in the background.

Photo courtesy of Skagway Brewing
Alaskan Brewing has just released its Spruce IPA again as the spring beer for this year's seasonal rotating releases. This is the second year that Spruce IPA has filled that slot. The beer won regional and international recognition, leading with a World Beer Cup gold medal in its first year as a seasonal product, and another gold in the Pacific Northwest’s Best of Craft Beer Awards. It will be available through April.



Alaskan Brewing also has a new beer in its Rough Draft series on limited release around the state:

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Bearpaw River Brewing has announced that it will be releasing another batch of the iconic Valley Trash Imperial Blonde on March 16th. The brewery first reproduced this famous creation of the defunct Great Bear Brewing Company of Wasilla last August.


That's it for the latest beer news. Let's do some beer reviews.

I've been laying fairly low since my last blog post, so I've only tried three new beers.

Rogue Brewing's 2018 Old Crustacean Barley Wine: I picked this one up at the Costco in Anchorage. It poured a translucent honey color with a nice, cream-colored head. The aroma had a good amount of hop notes. Mouthfeel was medium with great carbonation. On the palate there was decent bitterness up front, followed by the strong malt notes you expect from a big burly barley wine. In keeping with the American barley wine style, the overall hop flavors were excellent. A nice example of an American barley wine, though I still can't help feeling the ceramic bottle with its swing top closure is a bit over the top. 10.75% ABV.


Bearpaw River Brewing Company's Smoked Scottish Ale with Lapsang Souchong Tea: As its name implies, there's an awful lot going on in this beer. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I love both smoke and Scottish ales, so I decided to give it a go. It poured a clear ruby color in the glass with a small cream-colored head that dissipated to a collar. The smoke was definitely evident in the nose. Mouthfeel was light and the carbonation level was okay. The flavor profile had the clean malt elements that you expect from a colder fermenting Scottish ale, plus a strong overlay of the smoky notes. I had a hard time picking up the tea (though perhaps that's because my palate is a bit "tea ignorant"), but I finally thought I picked up some tannic dryness that could well have been the tea's contribution to the overall flavor picture. A very unusual beer, but one I found I liked, a bit to my surprise. 5% ABV.


Sierra Nevada's 2018 Bigfoot Barley Wine: Like most craft beer drinkers my age, this beer and I go way back. I've been drinking Bigfoot for over 30 years. I can remember haunting the one liquor store in Honolulu in the early 90s with a decent beer selection, waiting for the Bigfoot to appear following its annual March release. Over the course of those three-plus decades, I decided that I like it best after it's been cellared for a year. So I'm only now opening the bottles I purchased last year. This batch poured a slightly cloudy honey color with a small but peristent cream-colored head. The nose was chock full of American hops and sweet malt notes. Mouthfeel was medium and the carbonation was excellent. On the tongue it was smooth, with both hop bitterness and hop flavor, attached to the strong malt backbone. The first of the American-style barley wines and still, in many ways, the best. An American classic that is simply not to be missed! 9.6% ABV, 90 IBUs.


Well, that's it for this post. I'll be doing some interviews for my radio show at the start of the Frozen River Fest on Saturday, so if you see me there and would like to be on the radio, don't be shy. Just step up and say hello and you can tell my listeners what you think.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

It's been another warm couple of weeks here on the Kenai, with above freezing temperatures and rain, rather than the snow we all prefer. Looks like we'll finally be getting some more snow over the next couple of days, though I doubt it will replace all that we've lost.

The 2019 Alaska Beer Week seems to have been a great success, at least from my vantage point down here. Sadly, my responsibilities as both a student and a teacher pretty much precluded me from going up to Anchorage again this year, since classes started that same week.



At this year’s festival, winners were chosen in both the winter warmer and barley wine competitions. In the winter warmer category, Cynosure Brewing took third place with its Noe Belgian-style Strong Dark Ale, Oskar Blues took second with its Ten Fiddy Imperial Stout, and first place went to Maui Brewing’s Night Diver. In the barley wine category, local favorite Kassik’s Brewery of Nikiski did not take gold in the barley wine competition for the fourth year in a row.  Instead, its Buffalo Head Barley Wine took home the second-place trophy. Third place went to Fremont Brewing’s Brew 2000 Barley Wine, while First Place went to Anchorage Brewing’s Double-oaked A Deal with the Devil. This beer from Gabe Fletcher’s brewery had already received much national acclaim, including being named one of the best beers of 2018 by Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine . Congratulations to all the winning breweries.

Photo courtesy of Anchorage Brewing

Skagway Brewing has announced that the grand opening of its new location will take place on February 15th and 16th. As I wrote in my last blog post, the new location on Broadway represents a 200% increase in seating and a 400% increase in brewing capacity. The brewery is also having a special Reservation only Valentines Dinner on February 14th.

Click to enlargeThe 2019 Frozen River Fest is less than three weeks away. This year's festival will take place on Saturday, February 16th, from 4 to 8 pm at Soldotna Creek Park. It is hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce and tickets are $20 for beer drinkers, free for non-drinkers. As always, this is a family-friendly event, with live music and food on sale besides the beers on offer. This year's live music will be by  The Mabrey Bros. Band and  Conway Seavey . For more details, look for the Festival on Facebook or contact the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Tickets can be purchased online here.



Some new statistics have been released on the impact of craft brewing on a state-by-state basis. Alaska ranks 6th in breweries per capita of 21+ adults and we are third in pints produced annually per adult (behind only Vermont and Delaware) at 96. The most recent economic impact of craft brewing in Alaska was $511 per person per year, which is 5th overall among the 50 states. There are currently over 7,000 breweries in the US. Now if we just get the Alaska State Legislature to recognize these statistics and work to help our brewing industry instead of hamstringing it...

On last Friday, Kenai River Brewing released its Spruce Tip Double IPA in packs of four cans. The cans feature two different labels designs and cost $11. Profits go to benefit the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing

If you missed the live broadcast on Saturday, I'd encourage you to take a listen to the podcast version of my January radio show on KDLL. In it I interviewed Corey Fristoe from Black Spruce Brewing in Fairbanks, James "Dr. Fermento" Roberts, and Don Stead of Homer's Grace Ridge Brewing. You can find the recording of the show at https://www.kdll.org/post/january-2019-big-future-small-breweries#stream/.




Now let's review some beers. I've got four new ones to tell you about this time.

Fremont Brewing's Barrel-aged Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Sout (2017 ): The dark beauty had spent a year in my cellar prior to my opening it. It poured dark with a decent tan head that dissipated to a collar. The nose spoke strongly of its time in bourbon barrels. Carbonation was on the low side but acceptable, and its mouthfeel was very oily and smooth from the use of oats. On the palate, it was rich and think, with plenty of roasted flavors and additional bourbon notes, falling away to a touch of alcohol heat on the finish.14% ABV, 50 IBUs.



New Belgium Brewing's La Folie Sour Brown Ale (2018): This year's version of this classic sour poured a beer, translucent ruby with a nice tan head. The aroma was tart notes and hints of cherries. Carbonation was good, and its mouthfeel was light. The flavor profile began with a pleasant tart attack, then mellowed into smooth fruit notes, followed by a nice finish. A delicious sour. 7% ABV.



Midnight Sun Brewing's Last Run Porter: This limited-release beer poured dark with a nice tan head. The nose had light and pleasant roasted notes. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate, there nice roasted notes continued very clean tasting, before falling away to a nice finish. While not overly complex, I thought it was a very well executed beer, stylistically more of a brown porter than a robust one. 5.5% ABV, 20 IBUs.



Black Raven Brewing's Grandfather Raven Russian Imperial Stout: Another impressive brew from the award-winning Washington brewery. It poured opaque with a nice mocha-colored head. The aroma was full of coffee notes with hints of chocolate as well. Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was medium plus. The initial flavor profile was smooth roasted flavors, very rich and complex, then more hints of chocolate sweetness followed by a long, lingering finish. A superb Russian Imperial Stout. 9.5% ABV, 70 IBUs.



That's about it for this post. I hope to see you all at the Frozen River Fest in a couple of weeks. I'll be recording some live interviews for my radio show there, so if you'd like to be on the radio, come on up and say hello.

Until next time, Cheers!

So it's a new year and my resolution is to make blog posts here more often than every six months, which has been my rate for the last year or so. I could give you readers a litany of excuses, but what's the point? Let's just move on and talk about craft beer.

If you're one of the folks out there who reads my Alaska column in the Northwest Brewing New s, then I've got some bad news for you. My column (along with the one for British Columbia) has been permanently cut from that publication. The past few months have been very rough for print publications about beer: Celebrator has ceased print publication, All About Beer has folded, and even Beer Advocate has gone from a monthly to a quarterly format. In the case of  Northwest Brewing News , ad revenues are down and pages had to be cut. Apparently, Alaska and B.C. don't produce much ad revenue in the best of times (which these certainly aren't), so ours were the necks to feel the axe. On the plus side, if no one is willing to pay me to write, I guess that means I'll have more time to do it for free in this blog...


The last issue you'll find my Alaska column in...It's a shame that the readers outside Alaska won't be getting news from up here anymore, given how active our craft beer scene has been lately. In the last few months, Cooper Landing Brewing has broken ground on a new brewery, with an eye toward being open in the spring of 2020. Skagway Brewing is in the midst of a massive and long-overdue relocation/expansion, which will give them a 200% increase in seating and a 400% increase in brewing capacity. A new brewery, Black Spruce Brewing Company , opened last month in Fairbanks. Barnaby Brewing in Juneau should be back open almost any day now in its new location. Baleen Brewing and Bawden Street Brewing opened this summer in Ketchikan. Midnight Sun is now operating Williwaw in downtown Anchorage. King Street Brewing moved into its new home and Turnagain Brewing opened in its old one. Many other breweries have added tankage and expanded production capacity. Craft beer in Alaska just continues to grow and improve.

Photo courtesy of Black Spruce Brewing Co.
While 2018 was certainly a positive year for craft beer in Alaska, it certainly wasn't all smooth sailing. In fact, it often seemed that craft breweries were successful in spite of all the roadblocks that the state and federal governments saw fit to build in their path. On the state level, the antics by the Alcohol Beverage Control Board and its "no fun at breweries" policy created lots of angst and uncertainty, none of which was relieved by the fiasco with SB 76 in the state legislature. On the national level, Trump's aluminum tariffs have helped drive up the cost of aluminum cans, and the current partial government shutdown includes the TTB, which means no breweries anywhere can get the labels approved for any new beer! Still, our local craft brewers soldier on, trying to produce good craft beer for us to drink, no matter how much stupidity flows out of Juneau and D.C.

Alaska Beer Week starts this Friday, January 11th, and runs through Sunday, January 20th. There are going to be a ton of events, so the best places to find out about them are the AK Beer Week Facebook page and the AK Beer Week webpage 's Event Calendar.



I've got a few reviews to post as well. These are by no means all of the beers I've had recently, but these are a few from the last six months or so that I particularly enjoyed.

Midnight Sun Brewing's 23 American Barley Wine: Brewed to celebrate the brewery's 23 anniversary and released in cans, this beer poured a deep honey color with a nice cream-colored head. Hop notes were fairly prevalent in the nose, as you'd expect from an American barley wine. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was medium. There was plenty of upfront bitterness, which lingered on through the rich malt notes that followed, all the way to a nice finish. An excellent example of this style. 10% ABV, 100 IBUs.





Bearpaw River Brewing's The Great Bear's Valley Trash Imperial Blonde Ale: The Wade brothers at Bearpaw River went to a great deal of trouble to recreate this iconic Wasilla brew, evn trucking in city water to ensure that this replica beer would be as close to the original as possible. Have never tasted the original, I can't speak to how close they came. It poured a deep clear gold color with a decent off-white head. The aroma was of clean, crisp malt. Mouthfeel was light to medium and carbonation was good. The beer had plenty of malt backbone, okay hop balance, and a touch of alcohol heat on the finish. Overall, I would call it a workman-like blonde ale, but nothing to write home about. Of course, I'm not feeling any nostalgia when I taste it. 10% ABV



Broken Tooth Brewing's Hopbility English IPA: As a lover of good English beer, it almost a certainty that if you put English or Scottish in your beer's name, I will at least try it. Of course, having lived in Britain for three years, I have pretty high standards when it comes to "British" beers, so that might be a double-edged sword. This beer poured a hazy honey color with a nice white head. The nose had the floral hop notes that I always associate with real British ale. Carbonation was good, the mouthfeel was light, and the beer left superb lacing on the side of my glass. On the palate, there was nice but balanced bitterness and more floral hop notes. It certainly displayed the "moreish" quality that British brewers strive for. An excellent brew, and one of the best efforts in this style that I've had on this side of the Atlantic! 7.3% ABV, 65 IBUs.




Anchorage Brewing's Time Waits for No One (Batch #3) Imperial Stout: Gabe Fletcher certainly knows how to brew big, burly beers, and this one was no exception. It poured thick and dark, with little to no head. The nose was rich in malt and bourbon aromas. Its mouthfeel was thick and viscous, like used motor oil, with low to no carbonation. On the palate, it was thick, rich, and oily, with a flavor profile full or sweet and roasted malt, plus chocolate notes. The finish was long and smooth, with no alcohol heat at all, despite the 15% ABV. A truly superb barrel-aged imperial stout marred only by the very high price. I can't say that it's not worth it, but I also can't say that it was a beer I could afford to drink more than once or twice.


St. Elias Brewing's Whipsaw Imperial IPA: This beer is a bit of a throwback; given the current fascination with hop varieties that produce tropical fruit flavors, to find a brew that harkens unashamedly back to the piney Pac Northwest hops is quite a pleasant surprise. It poured a deep copper color with a nice cream-colored head. The aroma is loaded with those resiny, piney PNW hops. Carbonation is good, and the mouthfeel is light. There a nice bitter attack, followed by clean hop flavors, before falling away to a nice finish. Surprisingly drinkable for a 7.8% ABV, 100 IBU beer.




St. Elias Brewing's H & H Oak-aged Pale Ale: Full disclosure: I helped design and brew this beer, so you have to take my review with a grain of salt. This beer was our attempt to recreate an extinct style of beer from Britain, known as a stock pale ale or a "yard" ale. These were strong pale ales that were aged in oak barrels for over a year; they were nicknamed yard ales because they would sit in the brewery's yard and experience the change of seasons. Obviously, doing this in Alaska was a non-starter. however, we did brew the beer in September of 2017, then rack it into oak barrels in January 2018. At that time we dosed it with Brettanomyces claussenii at 200,000 cells per ml and let it rest until mid-December. The final result is quite dry still retains some hop bitterness; it also displays oak notes and plenty of brett funk. It's more than a little reminiscent of a bottle of Orval that's been aged for 12 to 18 months, at least to my palate. All-in-all, it was a fairly unique experiment and one that we're proud of but unlikely to repeat anytime soon. So if you'd like to taste it for yourself, you'd better head into St. Elias Brewing before it's gone.




Well, I think I'll wrap this post up now. However, in closing, I'd like to remind you that I am still doing my monthly radio show about beer on KDLL 91.9 FM. It's broadcast the fourth Saturday of each month and is available via podcast at https://www.kdll.org/programs/drinking-last-frontier.
During the December show, I interviewed Barb Miller of Midnight Sun about the upcoming AK Beer Week and Mike Healy, owner of Skagway Brewing about his relocation and expansion. You can listen to that show here.

Until next time, Cheers!

While I haven't been very active in blogging, that doesn't mean I haven't been visiting breweries. In the last couple of months, I managed to hit four that are either new or which I hadn't had a chance to visit before. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photos that my wife Elaine took during our visits to them.

Matanuska Brewing Company

We were in Palmer the day before Matanuska Brewing's grand opening in May, but Head Brewer Kevin Burton was kind enough to walk us through this amazing new facility.

A whole lot of canning going on!
Four 120-bbl fermenters. There are two more are on order.
A 40-bbl JV Northwest Brewhouse, highly automated.
A ProBrew canning line that can fill 100 cans per minute.
I can remember when beer vending machines used to be common in Navy BOQs...
The tap room.
The brewery is located in the old Mat-Maid Dairy.Bleeding Heart Brewery

I'd been trying to visit Bleeding Heart in Palmer ever since it opened, but something always got in my way. I finally bit the bullet and made a special trip up there to check it out. It's a real farmhouse brewery, as in it's located on an actual farm, not far from the Alaska State Fairgrounds. The brewery was just voted as the Best Place to Have a Drink by the readers of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Newspaper, as part of its annual “Best of the Valley” poll.

Yours truly leaning on the "serving counter" and talking to Stefan
Doing a little business
Bleeding Heart's fermentation area
I also sampled some damn fine beers...
HooDoo Brewing Company

I hadn't been up to Fairbanks in several years, so a trip in June meant a chance to swing by HooDoo Brewing. I heard that its beer garden area had been seriously upgraded and wanted to see it for myself. All I can say is: Wow! The new area is great and has clearly become a major gathering spot in Fairbanks. Having a different food truck there each day certainly doesn't hurt, either.

The beer garden from Fox Street in front of the brewery.
The tap room
The beer garden, looking from the brewery toward Fox Street. Note the twin firetrucks...
The man himself, Bobby Wilken, in his element.King Street Brewing Company

King Street completed its move to its new location on June 2, and I stopped by a month later to check things out. There's still a fair amount of construction being done on the new building, but you can already tell it's going to be amazing when everything is complete. Dana Walukiewicz was kind enough to walk us around.

View from the second story catwalk. Brewhouse on the left, fermenters on the right, & a million empty cans in the background.
Further along the catwalk, looking over the fermenters back at the brewhouse.
Dan and I are standing in what will be the rooftop drinking area, looking at Denali in the distance.
This third story room will eventually be an event space. Check out the view!
The tap room on the ground floor is open for business!So there you have it. A brand-new brewery, a well-established farmhouse brewery, a brand-new beer garden, and a brand-new facility. Craft brewing in Alaska is certainly on the upswing these days.

Be sure to listen to my radio show Drinking on the Last Frontier on Saturday, July 28th, at 11 am on KDLL 91.9 FM. I'll be interviewing Grant Yutrzenka of Resolution Brewing and Jake & James Wade of Bearpaw River Brewing. If you can't listen to it live, you can download the recorded show at http://www.kdll.org/programs/drinking-last-frontier shortly after it's broadcast.

Finally, if you happen to live in the Central Kenia Peninsula, I'll be teaching my beer class again this fall semester at Kenai Peninsula College in Soldotna. We always have a great time, so please consider it.

Click to enlargeUntil Next Time, Cheers!

As I'm sure at least some of you have noticed, this blog has been inactive for over eight months, with my last post being on November 1, 2017. I'm very sorry that I haven't really had the time to do it justice, mainly because I went back to school full-time and also started doing my monthly radio show, Drinking on the Last Frontier , on KDLL FM 91.9. By the way, if you haven't checked my show out yet, I'd really encourage you to do so. You can find the recorded shows at http://kdll.org/programs/drinking-last-frontier. I'm still hoping to get back to this blog on a more regular basis, but that's not happening right now.

All that being said, I couldn't let today pass without comment, as it's the 10th anniversary of my first post on the blog, way back in 2008. At that time I had absolutely no idea what it would lead to, but from that small beginning has come (so far):


Publishing four books on beer (and a fifth in progress)Writing a long-running monthly beer column for The Redoubt Reporter Being named the 2010 Beerdrinker of the YearBecoming the Alaska columnist for Northwest Brewing News Writing articles for several other magazines and websitesMy monthly radio show

Over the last ten years, I've made 367 blog posts (not counting this one). So even taking the last eight months off, I've still averaged better than 3 posts a month for a decade. Take it from me, that's a lot of writing. Some of it was even pretty good if I do say so myself.

Looking back, it also amazes me how much the beer scene in our state has changed since 2008. Just look at the (partial?) list of breweries that have opened in that time:


49th State BrewingHooDoo BrewingLast Frontier BrewingArkose BreweryBleeding Heart BreweryBearpaw River BrewingMatanuska BrewingResolution BrewingAnchorage BrewingKing Street BrewingOdd Man Rush BrewingDenali BrewingGakona BrewingSeward BrewingGrace Ridge BrewingCooper Landing BrewingGirdwood BrewingIcy Straits BrewingDevil's Club BrewingBarnaby BrewingCynosure Brewing

In that same time, we've had only two "close":


Great Bear (now Last Frontier)Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady (now 49th State - Anchorage)

Alaska has more than doubled its number of breweries in a decade, and more are on the way, with Turnagain Brewing set to open in four days and Baleen Brewing not far behind. It's certainly been a great time to be a beer blogger.

The next decade promises to be interesting as well. While there is still room for small breweries to enter the market, the limited amount of retail shelf space and tap handles suggest to me that competition between the mid-size packaging breweries can only intensify. Meanwhile, bar owners are beginning to feel the competitive pressure from brewery taprooms. Their recent attempt to hijack SB 76 to hamstring direct brewery sales is likely just the first salvo in what may become an intense effort to use the power of the state to their business advantage, requiring an organized campaign in response. At the same time, the state's sluggish economy will encourage local and state government to try to find new revenue streams to tap, such as increasing the already high taxes on alcohol.

Put it all together and you definitely have a recipe for "interesting times."

In conclusion, I'd like to thank you, my readers, for hanging around and reading my blog. It's always gratifying we I bump into someone and they tell me "Hey, I read your stuff" or "I heard you on the radio." It makes me feel like the time I spend trying to put all this together is well spent. So thanks again, you folks keep drinking good local craft beer, and I'll do my best to keep writing about it.

Cheers!

So, in spite of my best efforts, it's been over three weeks since my last blog. Oh well, what can I say?Part of the reason is the other Drinking on the Last Frontier , my monthly radio show. If you missed my broadcast on last Saturday, October 28th, you can listen to a recording of it on the KDLL website. Just click on this link.

By the way, my radio show received an Honorable Mention in the Broadcast/Podcast Category of the 2017 North American Guild of Beer Writers Awards . Winners were announced on Friday, October 6th, at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. You can see a complete list of this year's awards here. So if you haven't listened to it yet, you might want to check it out.



There's been a fair amount of beer news since my last blog. Let's hit some highlights.

Denali Brewing Company received a Small Business of the Year Award from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. Here's its press release:

"Denali Brewing is proud to announce that we have won the 2017 Bill Bivin Small Business Award from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce!  This award pays tribute to businesses that exemplify leadership, ethics and organization.  Our brewery’s achievements are directly related to the dedication and passion of our employees. We’d like to express our gratitude to our community, customers, and the Chamber for their constant support, enthusiasm, and love of locally made craft beer."

Owner/Founder Sassan Mossanen has also been busy. In July he traveled to Beijing, China to brew with Jing-A Brewing. Their joint effort was released this month. It's called Mead Me in the Middle (Kingdom), a 9% braggot brewed with chasteberry honey from a nature reserve in the hills west of Beijing. Then in September brewers from Nogne O Brewery in Norway visited Talkeetna and helped brew a Sea Truffle Gose. Sea truffles are a rare delicacy harvested on the southern coast of Norway. Other ingredients included Himalayan sea salt and coriander.

Photo courtesy of Denali Brewing Company
As part of my radio show, I drove over to Cooper Landing to interview Nelz Barnett of Cooper Landing Brewing Company. You can listen to the interview using the link above, but here are some photos that I took.

The exterior of Cooper Landing Brewing Co.
The interior of Cooper Landing Brewing Co.Nelz Barnett and Assitant Brewer Charlie next to his brewing system.Cooper Landing's beers are on sale in crowlers at Wildman's Liquors in Cooper Landing and should be on tap soon at the Sunrise Inn .

HooDoo Brewing Company in Fairbanks celebrated its 5th Anniversary on Halloween. Congratulation to Bobby Wilken and the rest of the crew, and best wishes for the next five years!



Anchorage Brewing Company's Deal With the Devil Day was apparently a big success. It even received covered from KTUU Channel 2. The brewery sold 443 boxed sets at $300 each. People began lining up the evening before, camping out in the brewery's parking lot in 30-degree weather. Gabe Fletcher estimated that over 120 people flew into town just to purchase the six-bottle box set.

Photos courtesy of Anchorage Brewing Co.
QUAKE! Brewing Company has announced that it will be closing for the season Saturday, November 4th. During QUAKE!’s off-season founder Danyelle will travel abroad; honing his skills, studying with various brewmasters, and continuing his education in the fine art of making beer. The Season Closing Party will run from 3 to 8 PM.

Photo courtesy of QUAKE! brewing.
La Bodega's annual Bodega-Fest will be taking place on Saturday, November 11th, from 5 to 9 PM, at the Alaska Aviation Museum. This year, it will feature brews from Kodiak Island Brewing Company; these beers seldom make it off The Rock, so this is a wonderful opportunity to taste them without having to fly to Kodiak! Tickets are available online for $35 each, $45 at the door.


Also on November 11th, Kenai River Brewing Company will be hosting its first Fall Beer Dinner . Tickets cost $70, which includes the gratuity, but if you don't have yours already, you're out of luck, as the event sold out in less than an hour! Menu for it includes Braised Pork Belly over a crispy rice cake, Maple Bacon Salad, Butternut Squash Bisque, 8 oz. Beef Fillet topped with crab compound butter, along with roasted red & purple potatoes and asparagus with a bearnaise sauce, plus dessert. I've got my ticket, so I'll be sure to paste some photos for people to drool over...



Midnight Sun Brewing Company in Anchorage has announced that it has a new head brewer. Sean Jackson has been an assistant brewer at Midnight Sun for several years and is now heading up the brewing team. Former head brewer Lee Ellis has become Midnight Sun’s Chief of Brewing Operations. Ellis became head brewer in 2012, after being an assistant brewer for several years. Midnight Sun has also begun selling its newest flagship beer, Wolf Pack Pilsner, in 6- and 12-packs of 12 oz. cans. It's available here on the Peninsula at Country Liquors ; see below for my review.

Photo courtesy of Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Alaska Brewing Company’s Heritage Coffee Brown Ale was awarded a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. There were 89 entrants in the Coffee Beer category this year. Alaskan has also released its 2017 Smoked Porter; just weeks after the 2016 vintage received a Gold Award for Strong Smoke Beer at the European Beer Star Awards . First brewed by Alaskan in 1988, Smoked Porter is a pioneer of the American smoked beer movement and has won more medals at the Great American Beer Festival than any other beer in history.

Photo courtesy of Alaskan Brewing Co.
So that's it for news, let's do some reviews.

Kenai River Brewing's 2017 Winter Warlock Old Ale: Released on October 1st of each year, this is Kenai River's renowned old ale. It's brewed each October and then cold-conditioned for a year before being released the following 1 October. This year's version poured a slightly cloudy honey color with a nice, cream-colored head. The aroma has lots of clean malt flavor. Carbonation was good, and the mouthfeel was medium. The flavor profile is definitely malt forward and clean, with enough bitterness to balance. It's another excellent batch of the Winter Warlock. 9% ABV.



St. Elias Brewing's 2017 Oktoberfest Lager: This year's version of this traditional lager poured a lovely clear red/copper color with a nice, cream-colored head that dissipated to a collar. The nose had plenty clean malt & caramel notes. Carbonation was good, and mouthfeel was light. The flavor profile was classic marzen - clean malt, caramel notes, and a balanced hoppiness. Another excellent lager from St. Elias Brewing. 6% ABV, 20 IBUs.



Broken Tooth Brewing's Hive Mind Tripel: This limited release poured a clear copper color with a dense, off-white head. The aroma had the spicy, peppery notes you'd expect from a Belgian yeast. Mouthfeel was light thanks to the use of honey, and the carbonation was excellent. On the palate there were nice fruity notes; overall, the flavor was excellent. A delicious tripel from Broken Tooth! 9.5% ABV, 21 IBUs.


Midnight Sun Brewing's Wolf Pack Pilsner: This is the newest flagship beer from Midnight Sun. It pours a clear gold with a small white head that dissipated to a collar. The nose was mainly clean malt notes, with little hop presence. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. The flavor profile was maltier than a typical Czech or Bohemian pilsner. It's hopped with Galaxy and Hersbrocker hops, but just enough for balance. 5% ABV, 34 IBUs.


Well, that's it for this time around. Winter is definitely on its way, which means everyone will be releasing their big winter beers, so keep an eye out for them on the shelves. Soon it will be time to start drinking all those imperial stouts and barley wines!

Until Next Time, Cheers!

Hello! It's been quite some time since I got one of these blog posts up; more than a month, in fact, which is a long time, even for me. For those of you who have been wondering, let me tell you what happened. In early September, I had some minor surgery on my right hand. After several months of going back and forth with the Veterans Administration, I finally got in to see a hand surgeon, who did an MRI and then told me I had a tumor on a tendon in my right forefinger. It was benign (fortunately), but it had to come out. After the surgery, here's what my finger looked like:


As you might imagine, I haven't able to use my right hand very well for several weeks. Since I'm right-handed, this has made it very hard to hold a pen or even type very much. What little typing I was able to do, I had to dedicate to my college courses, as I've gone back to school and am taking 12 credits. Something had to give, and it was this blog. So there, that's my excuse.

The good news is that my finger is pretty close to 100% now, and I'm more or less caught up with everything, so it's time to get this blog out again! Lots of stuff has happened while I was out of action, and I can't begin to cover it all in detail, so let me do my best to hit the high points. Then I'm going to move to beer reviews. While I couldn't use my hand much for anything else, it was still capable of holding a beer glass, so I've got thirteen beer reviews to pass along. But first, let's do some news:

2nd Annual Alaska Day Beer Festival in Sitka: It's on October 18, as part of the Alaska Day celebrations. It will be held in historic Totem Square in Sitka.  All proceeds from this up and coming event will go to support the new Sitka History Museum which plans to open soon.

Quake Brewing Company has finally opened. The Grand Opening at its Wasilla location was on September 8th.

Cooper Landing Brewing is also open. See reviews of two of its beers below. Crowlers are on sale periodically at Wildman's Liquor in Cooper Landing.


HooDoo Brewing opened its new outdoor beer garden on September 16th with a ribbon-cutting by the mayor of Fairbanks.

Photo courtesy of HooDoo Brewing

Kodiak Island Brewing Company has begun offering its beers in 32 oz. crowler cans. The cans come in both single-use and refillable versions.

Photo courtesy of Kodiak Island Brewing

Midnight Sun Brewing released the second beer in its Wild Adventures series on September 16: Sporter, a sour porter brewed with wild yeast and aged in oak barrels. It weighs in at 7.5% ABV. Any day now should see the release of this year’s version of its Belgian-style barley wine, Termination Dust. The brewery has also received its order of cans for Wolf Pack Pilsner and will be releasing the canned version of that brew next Thursday at a http://kdll.org/programs/drinking-last-frontier.

So get out there an enjoy our fall weather will it lasts. It won't be much longer before we all have to start dealing with Old Man Winter.

Until Next Time. Cheers!

With all the rain we've been getting lately here on the Peninsula, it seems more like fall than the end of summer. Things are definitely heading in that direction, with schools starting back up and the fireweed in full bloom. Soon we'll start seeing pumpkin beers on the shelves again, a sure sign of the change of seasons.

The Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival was another big success, with Kenai River Brewing winning the People's Choice Award for Best Brewery (again! This is like 5 or 6 in a row, I think!) and newcomer Girdwood Brewing winning the People's Choice for Best Beer with it No Woman No Cryo New England-style-IPA.

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing Photo courtesy of Girdwood BrewingWell done to Matt Pyhala and the rest of the Soldotna Rotary on a great festival. Looking forward to 2018, when I'm sure it will be even better.

QUAKE! Brewing is open for business at last. The brewery is located at 1540 N. Shoreline Drive, Wasilla, AK 99654. Hours of operation are Wed - Fri = 5 - 8 pm, Sat - Sun = 12 - 8 pm. QUAKE! is also looking to hire a brewer; check out its Facebook page for more information.

Photo courtesy of QUAKE! brewing.
With fall on its way, it won't be long before termination dust appears on the Chugach Mountains. When that happens, it's the signal for Midnight Sun Brewing to release its barrel-aged Belgian-style barley wine, Termination Dust (reviewed 11/10/2014). So keep an eye out for it.

Photo courtesy of Midnight Sun Brewing
With the growing concentration of distilleries, breweries, and a cidery in South Anchorage, a new tourist brochure, a bike trail map connecting all of them, has been published.

Photo courtesy of Double Shovel Anchorage Brewing has announced new beer releases for tomorrow and Saturday. Here's what Gabe Fletcher had to say about it:

This Friday we will be releasing ALIEN CHURCH IPA in CANS! This is a beer that is made by Tired Hands Brewing in Pennsylvania. When Jean and Marty were up for The Culmination Festival we decided to brew an Anchorage version! ALSO, THE MASONRY WILL BE BACK WITH THERE WOOD FIRED OVEN cooking up some killer pizza! THEN on Saturday, we are releasing Cans of COAST2COAST TRIPLE IPA! This is our collaboration with Peter from OTHER HALF BREWING! It's a JUICY BEAST! Matt from THE MASONRY will be there all day Saturday as well! DON'T miss these releases! They are awesome and very limited!

Here's what the can labels will look like.



Alaskan Brewing has expanded its distribution to the state of Illinois; this is the 20th state in which Alaskan sells it beers. Alaskan has also released a new beer in its Pilot Series: Mocha Milk Stout. It's on local store shelves now, but I have not had a chance to review it yet.

Photo courtesy of Alaskan Brewing Drinking on the Last Frontie r, my monthly radio show, will be broadcast this Saturday at 11 am on KDLL 91.9 FM. The show will focus on beer festivals, with extensive interviews from the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival . If you can't listen to the broadcast, the recorded show will be available on the station's website, www.kdll.org.


Don't forget the upcoming Alaska Crafted Festival (September 9), Talkeetna Brewfest (September 16), and Capital Brewfest (September 23). I've written about them in previous blogs, or you can follow these links for more information.

That's it for news. I've got five new beers to review this time.

Black Market Brewing's Aftermath IPA:  It poured a clear gold with a huge white head; very highly carbonated. The nose has tons of citrusy American hops. The mouthfeel was quite light, especially from the high carbonation. The initial bitter attack was not too overwhelming, and it was followed by lots of citrusy hop flavor and aroma. If you really love Citra, this is the IPA for you! 5.8% ABV.


St. Elias Brewing's Cokosesh IPA: In the glass, it was a clear gold color with a nice white head. There was a nice hoppy aroma with only the slightest hint of toasted coconut from the dry hopping. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. There was nice upfront bitterness, followed by good hop flavor and aroma, before falling away to a nice, clean finish. The coconut was essentially undetectable, at least to my palate. A very nice session IPA, perfect for a sunny summer's day.


Stone Brewing's Stone-Farking Wheaton Woot Stout: I reviewed an earlier vintage of this beer on 7/23/2015. This one poured opaque with a small tan head that dissipated rapidly to a collar. The nose was mostly notes of sweet malt and caramel. The mouthfeel was heavy and thick, with okay carbonation. On the palate, the flavors were rich and oily, with roasted coffee notes and caramel predominant. It seemed a bit sweeter than your typical imperial stout. There was some alcohol heat noticeable on the finish. Overall, a pretty tasty RIS. 13% ABV.


Midnight Sun Brewing's Rider Sour Pale Lager: It poured a deep, slightly hazy gold with a wonderful off-white head. The nose had hints of brett funk, as well as a little oak, but nothing overwhelming. The carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was light. The flavor profile began with clean lager notes, followed by some brett tart funk, then oaky notes on the finish. This beer will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it! I applaud Midnight Sun for being willing to try something as different and experimental as this (as opposed to just pumping out another new IPA variant). Great job, and I'm eager to try the next beer in the Wild Adventures series! 8.7% ABV, 25 IBUs.


Crazy Mountain Brewing's Lawyers, Guns, & Money Barley Wine: I stumbled on this at Country Liquors in Kenai. This new brewery from Colorado has just started to distribute here in Alaska, so I picked up a four-pack of cans of this beer. It poured a slightly cloudy honey color with a cream-colored head. There was a fair amount of American hop aroma from dry hopping. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was medium. On the palate, the malt and bitterness were in fairly good balance. Overall, I rate it an okay beer, but not a spectacular example of the American Barley Wine style. 10% ABV, 56 IBUs.


That's it for this blog. Get out and enjoy these last days of summer if you can do so in between the rain showers. The snow will be here before you know it.

Until Next Time, Cheers!

It's late summer here in Alaska, which seems to be just about everyone's favorite time to have a beer festival. There are two great ones coming up this weekend: the 7th Annual Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival and Augtoberfest 2017 . I've written extensively about them both in recent blogs, so if you need any more information about either of them, you can find it there. I'll be taping interviews for my radio show at the Kenai Fest, so be sure to say hello if you see me there.




Besides Augtoberfest , 49th State Brewing will also be taking part in another beer event in August. On Saturday, August 26th, the brewery and Major Marine Tours will be presenting the Blackwater Brew Cruise out of Whittier.



On the subject of festivals, there will be several in September as well. In my last blog, I wrote about the 6th Annual Capital Brewfest on September 23. However, there will be two others earlier in the month. On Saturday, September 9th, the 2nd Annual Alaska Crafted will be taking place from 5 to 9 PM in downtown Anchorage. Held on F St. between Humpy's and Williwaw , this is a reprise of last year's event, which was held on May 21, 2016 (see my 5/30/2016 blog for a report on it). This event is unique in that it features only Alaska-made beer, wine, and spirits.


The other September event will be the Talkeetna Brewfest on Saturday, September 16th. It's held at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar in Talkeetna from 2 to 6 PM. Tickets are $55 each and are limited to 200, so advance purchase is recommended. I was fortunate enough to attend this festival back in 2015, and you can read about my experience here. Also, on the Friday night before the festival, the Denali Brewpub/Twister Creek Restaurant in downtown Talkeetna will be hosting the 6th Annual Collaborative Brewers Dinner , a truly exceptional meal. When I attended it in 2015, this was still just a beer dinner, but it has now grown to encompass Alaska-made wines, ciders, meads, and spirits, as well as beer. Seats are $75 and sell out quickly, so if you want to attend, call 907-733-2537 and make your reservations right away.


At the end of July, I attended The Culmination Festival at Anchorage Brewing Company. This festival is always a wonderful opportunity to taste beers which are not available at all here in Alaska. While the Festival ran for four hours, I could only be there for the first two, during which time I managed to sample 11 beers, or a different beer every 11 minutes or so, which is a pretty good pace, at least for me. The sad thing is that there were 93 different beers on offer, meaning that if I could have maintained that pace, I would have needed just under 17 hours to sample them all! As it was, I made it through less than 12% of what was available. It's the story of my life: So many beers, so little time...

While I only scratched the surface, I was particularly impressed with the beers from Toppling Goliath Brewing Company from Decorah, IA.  Two of its offerings, Assassin (2016 -Purple Wax) and Chain Smoker (2015- Cycle Collaboration) were truly outstanding, with the former being my choice for the best beer I tasted that day.

Anchorage Brewing will also be hosting  Zwanze Day  again this year, on September 23rd, starting at 11 AM.

Photo courtesy of Anchorage Brewing
The Travel Channel's show Food Paradise will be filming at Midnight Sun Brewing on Wednesday, August 16th, from 12:30 to 4:00 pm. If you'd like to be on TV, they ask anyone who hopes to be in the episode to wear bright, solid colors, please no logos of any kind and no white shirts. Midnight Sun has also announced that its Big Stout Campout will be on September 22nd at the Sheep Mountain Lodge. Midnight Sun has also released the first beer in its new Wild Adventures series: Rider, a pale lager, barrel aged with brett! Next up, Sporter, a sour porter.

Photo courtesy of Midnight Sun Brewing

Quake Brewing Company in Wasilla has announced that it is now fully licensed and will be opening soon.



The Brewers Association has published the statistics by state for 2016. Here's how Alaska stacks up:

Click to enlargeThat about covers the news, so let's move on to beer reviews. As I mentioned in my last blog, I pulled a couple of beers out of my cellar, so let's start with them.

Midnight Sun Brewing's Grand Crew Brew (2016): This one has been in the cellar for just under a year. When opened, there was next to no carbonation left; in hindsight, perhaps I should have wax-dipped the cap. It poured a dark caramel to brown color with no head. The nose had mostly sweet malt notes with some hints of alcohol heat. The mouthfeel seemed quite heavy, though some of that was probably from the lack of carbonation. On the palate, it was smooth and silky, with lots of sweet malt notes, almost like drinking a bread pudding. It was still a decent beer, though it would likely have presented much better if there had been any carbonation left. 14% ABV, 59 IBUs.


Deschutes Brewing's Black Butte XXVIII: This beer was bottled on 6/13/2016. It poured completely opaque with a nice, persistent tan head. The nose was of cocoa, oak, and whiskey. Carbonation was good, and the mouthfeel was medium. The flavor profile was rich and thick, almost oily; there were coffee and chocolate notes, hints of molasses, with a bit of alcoholic warmth on the finish. Another excellent beer in this classic annual series. Delicious! 11.5% ABV, 51 IBUs.


Harvey & Son Brewing's Imperial Extra Double Stout: A famous name in the imperial stout world. The beer poured black with a tan head. The aroma tantalized with tart brett notes. The mouthfeel was medium to heavy and the carbonation was good. On the tongue, there were notes of coffee and dark chocolate, rich and strong, before falling away to a long finish with hints of brett funkiness. 9% ABV.


Innis & Gunn's Original Ale: This Scottish ale poured a clear copper color with a small, off-white head. The nose had notes of caramel and hints of oak. Mouthfeel was medium and the carbonation was good. On the palate, I picked up sweet notes of toffee and caramel, but there was enough hop bitterness to balance, followed by hints of oak. A very nice beer made even more complex with the addition of the oak-aging. 6.6% ABV.


Innis & Gunn's Rum-Aged Ale: This beer was aged on rum-soaked oak chips. It poured a red-gold color with a nice off-white head. The aroma had notes of toffee and rum. The mouthfeel was medium and the carbonation was good. Like the Original Ale, this beer had notes of toffee and caramel, with the addition of subtle rum and oak notes. Very nice. 6.8% ABV.



Black Market Brewing's Quadrophenia: A Belgian Quad brewed with coconut palm sugar, this beer poured a deep red-gold in color with a nice cream-colored head. The nose had a subtle fruit odor, difficult to identify; I finally settled on apricot, but your mileage may vary. The mouthfeel was light to medium and the carbonation was excellent. On the palate, there was considerable sweet notes, both of fruit and caramel, followed by alcohol warmth on the finish. Unlike most Belgian quads, which seem to favor dark fruits (plums, figs, raisins) in their flavor profiles, this one seemed to recall lighter fruits (peaches, pears). Overall, I found it to be quite enjoyable. 11% ABV, 29 IBUs.


That's it for this week. Get out and enjoy this late summer weather while it lasts. Pick out a good beer festival or two from those coming up in August and September. Drink beer and be merry!

Until Next Time, Cheers!