Dr.Fermento.Net

It’s also travel time here in

For example, principal Ty Schommer of Denali Brewing Company fired me off an update about the operations up north in Talkeetna.  The operation is finally brewing beer and a batch of Mother Ale is done and Twister Creek IPA was brewed on Friday, 6/26.  By the time this blog is posted, beer should be flowing next door at the Twister Creek Restaurant so maybe it’s time to plan a trip up and check out the new digs.  It’s a slow start, but they’re working quickly to get the fermenters and conditioning tanks full, so all is well in the grand scheme of things.  According to Ty Schommer, the only thing that came up short for the inaugural brew was a mask rake, so brewer Boe ripped down the street and commandeered a kayak paddle to do the deed.  That’s sort of fitting, I guess.  I hope they kept the paddle and have it hanging somewhere obvious in the brewery.   

Talkeetna is embracing the new venue because it provides an alternative to the more boisterous venues that are nearby.  No one sees the brewery/restaurant as a threat either; it’s one small community up there and more beer is always good beer.  The rest of the designed and projected beers should follow as time and fermenter space permits.  Excuse my robbing shamelessly, but here’s the brewery’s line up from their product information sheets: 

Mother Ale 5.2% ABV  

Mother Ale pays homage to the best in all of us.  This light bodied ale is smooth and satisfying.  Brewed using American grown barley and wheat malts, and topped off with European noble hops, Mother Ale is a reminder that mother knows what’s best.  After a day of fishing, rafting, or just marveling at the bounty of mother earth, no beer knows what “ales” you better. 

Chuli Stout 5.5% ABV 

Over its long history, stout has served many purposes, from a doctor-recommended cure-all to an aperitif for Russian royalty.  Somewhere in the middle is Chuli Stout, which takes its name from the mighty

Twister Creek IPA 6.5% ABV  

When it was discovered that hops not only added bitterness and aroma to beer, but made it last longer too, British brewers created the IPA style to survive the long voyage to

Single Engine Red Ale 5.9% ABV 

For years local air taxis have ferried mountain climbers to the base camp on the south side of

Three Rivers Porter 

We make our porter the old fashioned way, by blending (or “threading”) three beers right before your eyes at the tap.  This style was created by English bartenders to suit the individual tastes of their patrons, many of whom just happened to make their living as porters.  We continue the tradition of catering to taste by offering our hard working and hard playing customers Three Rivers Porter.  The “threads” that make up Three Rivers include Chuli Stout, Single Engine Red, and, depending on how you take your hops, either Twister Creek IPA or Mother Ale.  Available exclusively at Twister Creek Restaurant. 

Further up north, in Fairbanks, the Gold Rush Liquor Store has set the date for their annual imported beer cruise on the sternwheeler in the river.  The date has been set for July 31s, and although a price and time has not been determined, good food, obviously great beer and live music will round out the venue.  Call (907) 479-2333 for additional details and to make a reservation.   

If you like a quieter venue for a beer tasting, consider the Midnight Sun Brewing Company Crew Brew Beer Tasting  at the Whale’s Tale in the Hotel Captain Cook on Wednesday, July 29^th from 5-9 pm.  The cost is $25 per person and will score you four great Midnight Sun Crew Brew beers paired with the venues tasty appetizers, all served meet and greet style, so you can duck in and out when it’s most convenient for you.  The big, bold, employee inspired, designed and named beers include Anchor, a witbier that’s dosed with brettanomyces, Descent, an imperial abbey ale, Fahrwasser, a German-style pilsner, and Big Slick, an American-style barley wine ale.  These are the first four in the popular series, so if you haven’t had a chance to get out and check them all out, here’s a great opportunity.  I’ve emceed a couple of gigs at the Tale before and it affords a quiet spot with people that tend to be genuinely interested in what they’re being served.  It’s primarily a gourmet coffee, martini and wine bar, but always steps up to the plate when good beer is at hand.  The food is generally top notch as well.  No need for reservations for this one; just walk in and get your share.   

On Friday, July 3, the next beer in the Crew Brew Series of Beer, Big Slick American Barley Wine will be released at the brewery.  This 12 percent, 100 IBU wobbler is bound to please.  Featured are loads of Nugget, Chinook, Simcoe and Centennial hops.  This beer will be featured in the brewery’s By The Glass (BTG) line up this week.  Bottles are also available for sale at the brewery.  Grant brewed the beer and apparently the name comes from the Texas Hold’em poker game and referes to a non-paired hand including an ace and a king.  I’m not a poker player, so maybe someone else can explain that better than I can.   

Other dates to jot down concerning Midnight Sun include the re-release of Panty Peeler Tripel on July 10^th, the debut of Obliteration V Double IPA on July 24^th, another round of Berserker Imperial Stout on July 31^st and another Good Mojo Day on August 13^th.   

I can’t travel as extensively across this great state and explore all of the little beer nooks and crannies that take the form of small bars and other venues that serve decent beer and crop up unexpectedly here and there.  So, I depend on you, my fine readership, to clue me and the others that take interest in your findings.  Always send your discoveries along to me and tell me I have permission to post them here and I’ll do my best to get them in.  Remember, you are all ambassadors of good beer and if a fellow reader can visit a place that you did and provide feedback to the publican, this reinforces good behavior.  Conversely, if you can spare a fellow beer lover the grief you’ve experienced due to poor service, crappy beer or other horror situations, you’re also doing a good service.  Anyway, Field Beeraspondent Bill Murray had this to say of his recent visit to the Edgewater Bar and Grill in

“We visited the Edgewater Bar & Grill, which is really just a diner with a few (six) taps. No swill in the lot. Along with Deschutes Brewing’s Black Butte Porter, they had one from Silver Gulch and four Glacier Brewhouse brews. I believe those were the Blond, Amber, IPA and Hefeweizen. The server didn’t seem to know a lot about beer, but tried to tell me about each one anyway. After a couple I had to tell her I was a beer geek and familiar with all of those beers, thank you very much. I did take the time to thank her for serving Alaska-made beers. The Edgewater is owned by the chef at the Best Western’s Bistro Bar and Grill.”  Bill had this bit of advice for the staff there:  “The next time you’re giving serving tips to pub employees, you might also tell them to at least make an attempt to determine the patron’s degree of beer knowledge before they start rambling on. I personally find most servers’ attempts to enlighten me rather annoying, particularly when they don’t know what they’re talking about. That’s probably just a personality flaw on my part”.  

Thanks, Bill.  I replied to his email and offered my opinion that I’d rather encounter a server that knew TOO much than one that knew too little.  But, I’m well aware of the “Cocky Server” syndrome and although it can be irritating at least the server was passionate about the beer.  That’s what counts.  Keep the feedback coming! 

At St. Elias Brewing Company in Soldotna, according to beersurfer and blogger Bill Howell (www.alaskanbeer.blogspot.com), the incredible Baltic Porter Jack and the Beanstalk Porter is all slurped up.  This beer was aged in a Jack Daniels whisky cask into which Tahitian vanilla beans were tossed in for some additional flavor.  The stuff peddled for $19 a growler and still ripped out of the brewery with abandon.  There may or may not be more in the future, but you can expect additional specialty beers from the oak at St. Elias in the come days.  Rumors of an imperial stout and a blended old ale are circulating… 

Beer is lively at the Spenard Roadhouse these days.  The place has been busy enough that updates are scarce and it’s tough for me to get over there despite the fact it’s just a couple of blocks away from where I work in Midtown Anchorage.  The restaurant has re-vamped their draught line up to represent 100 percent Alaska beers.  This is a beautiful thing and I applaud the venue for this move.  Don’t wail too loudly, but in order to do that, they had to pull Pabst Blue Ribbon off line, but have made up for it by offering the schwag in 24 ounce cans.  So, you can still dine upscale and be as retro downscale as you wish.  Here’s the draft line up for this week: 

Alaskan Amber                                                       Alaskan Rough Draft  Rasp. Wheat                Midnight Sun Kolsch                                            Moose’s Tooth Fairweather IPA                      Midnight Sun Kodiak Nut Brown                    Kenai Swiftwater Stout                                     Kassik Brewing  Golden Nugget Hefeweizen    

The bottled beer line up at the Roadhouse is getting better and better as well.  For one, a gluten-free beer has been added, so if you’re gluten intolerant, get in there for a serving of Green’s Discovery Amber Ale.  This is a top notch selection and a good alternative to the more widely available Redbridge gluten-free from Budweiser.   

The patio outside at the Roadhouse is now open, and on these glorious Alaska summer days, sitting outside with the likes of Midnight Sun Koelsch or Kassik’s Gold Nugget Hef is appropriate.   

There are some new, tempting selections in at the La Bodega Liquor Store in the University Mall.  Get some of the new (to Alaska) Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Stone’s Levitaton Ale, Full Sail’s Grandson of Spot IPA, and Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin.  Also, a rare allotment of Sam Adams LongShot is in.  Look for a combo back featuring Blackberry Wit, Imperial White, Double Bock and Imperial Stout.  And, I’m not sure if it’s in at La Bodega yet, but a recent arrival to Alaska is North Coast Brewing’s Old Rasputin XII, an oak aged, blended knee-knocker at 11.6 percent.  This won’t stick around long, so get some if you’re an imperial stout lover.  If you want something to compare side by side, reach for Left Hand Brewing Company’s Oak Aged Imperial Stout that’s also new in town.  Oh, gosh, it’s just a bit tamer at 10.2 percent alcohol.  Ah, what the heck. It’s a big weekend; drink ‘em both all at once!   

I’ve long been a fan of Full Sail Brewing Company’s Session Lager.  When this stuff first came out, I had no idea what it was and even passed it up on store shelves when I discovered it in

In commemoration of the brewery’s 10^th year of employee ownership, expect the release of Session Black Premium Dark Lager in “early July” according to the brewery.  Okay, translate that to mid July because that same beer has to cross this little, tiny continent called

Another L48 beer that’s wandered north this year is Stone Brewing Company’s Levitation Ale.  We got a limited amount of this 4.4 percent alcohol, deep amber, hop-forward ale that’s going to float away quickly once people discover it.

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

07/03/09          Midnight Sun Brewing Company       Crew Brew Big Slick release at the Brewery                         6 pm                   Free07/08/09          Silver Gulch Brewing                         Last day of ET Barnette HB Comp Entries                           Mail                 $5/Entry07/11/09          Silver Gulch Brewing                         ET Barnette Homebrew Competition Judging.                      10 am                   Free07/18/09          Silver Gulch Brewing Company         Golden Days 2009 Summer Beer Festival                              3-10 pm  $2007/25/09          Moose Run Golf Course                     11^th Annual GNBC/Humpy’s Golf Tournament                    6:30 am       $100 person07/29/09          Whale’s Tail (Captain Cook)              Midnight Sun Crew Brew Beer Tasting                                 5-9 pm                   $2507/31/09          Gold Hill Liquors                                Gold Hill Imported Beer Cruise (Riverboat Cruise)               ??                        ??08/07/09          Arctic Brewing Supply                       Anchortown Homebrew Entries Accepted                            11 am-Close         No Entry Fee08/09/09          Café Amsterdam                                 Anchortown Homebrew Competition Judging                      3 pm                   Free09/24/09          Denver, Colorado                               Great American Beer Festival                                                 ??                        ??09/25/09          Celestial Meads                                   Entries accepted for the Equinox Mead Competition            5:30–7:30 pm  No Entry Fee09/26/09          Celestial Meads                                   Equinox Mead Competition at the Meadery                          Noon – 3 pm   (Judging)