DrFermento.Net

Hey Gang~

Welcome to Friday. Beer consumption in Alaska’s definitely going to go up through Sunday because the weather’s supposed to be nicer and, well, I’m thirsty. There’s lots to choose from out there to match all of your life’s activities, so there’s no excuse to be drinking shitty beer. As the old adage goes, life’s just too short.

But allow me to digress for a minute. “Shitty beer” isn’t really a fair statement because people might automatically conclude that I’m talking about major, mass-produced brands that I so freely pick on all the time. Column space hardly permits it, but I do have a lot of respect for the larger breweries in terms of their product, not so much how the market it or try to dominate the world with it. I’ve always said that if you have disdain for Bud, Miller, Coors or that bunch, try to make a beer like theirs. Then, once you figure that out, try to make a similar batch. For what those breweries lack in flavor, they make up for in consistency, which is tough to do in smaller breweries without extensive quality control structures.

Anyone who attended this year’s Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine Festival presentation by George Reich, a brewmaster from Budweiser, gained some heretofore unknown and somewhat damming information on Fermento’s formative years. I used to drink Budweiser with abandon. It was bad enough that I had a Budweiser embossed credit card and even wore Budweiser tennis shoes that left the Budweiser logo imprinted wherever I walked. The point is that in America, especially because of big brewery mass marketing, craft beer is usually an acquired taste. Most of us are born sucking big corporate beer’s nipple and the more fortunate of us are weaned away to craft beer and beyond by some nurturing counterpart or friend. That was a long time ago for me, so I’m lucky. Forgive me, Gambrinus, for I have sinned…. Now that’s confession’s over, it’s back to the Friday mood.

Samichlaus used to be the strongest beer in the world. This dark horse (14 percent) hails from Switzerland where the name means Santa Claus. The beer is most typically released on December 6 of each year which is Saint Nicholas’ Eve. I think they’re a lot more serious over there about Christmas than we are, but I digress. This stuff has come and gone from Anchorage, and I do have an extensive collection of the vintage stuff, but the point is that it’s back and available again, and I was just informed by Rob Weller over at Specialty Imports that not only will the traditional Samichlaus be released in 750 ml painted bottles, Samichlaus Helles will aso be made available for the first time in 21 years. Not many people recall that Samichlaus brewed lighter beers. But, a 14 percent Helles??? I’m in line.

I can’t wait until next Thursday, when my Press column comes out, to announce the arrival of the fine lineup of beers from Lagunitas (Petaluma, California). Suffice to say that these boys brew beer with real attitude. If you’re into fun marketing, theirs is quite happenstance and their total disdain for the conventional is so obvious, it’s entertaining. Oh, and did I mention that their beer is truly killer stuff? Most of it’s over the top, and although it’s big in the hop department, the stuff’s real malt-forward in most cases which strikes a good balance. We’re getting their standard (if there is such a thing) IPA and Censored Copper Ale from the flagship line, and IPA Maximus, Sirius (a 7.6 percent cream ale, if that doesn’t tell you something) and Lucky 13 from the specialty line. I got mine at LaBodega where according to Pamela Hatzis, I was the first Lagunitas customer in Alaska (she doesn’t know the beer’s been up here before). It’s also available over at Brown Jug Warehouse and a bunch of other joints, and the IPA and Censored are on tap at both Humpy’s and Café Amsterdam. If you’re a Stone Brewing Company fan, try some Lagunitas; you’ll find some real similarities in terms of brewery attitude and flavor profile, although Stone’s products are more hop forward. I’m hoping even more of Lagunitas’ eclectic brews show up including such anomalies as Hairy Eyeball, Eye of the Hairball Ale, Freak Out Ale, Hop Stoopid and of course the Sneak Release Undercover Investigation Shut Down Ale. If the name has you curious, it should. This beer commemorates the drug bust that shut the brewery down for 20 days. You’ve got to love their label tag line that rubs it in the face of the feds: “So what, we’re still here.”

Speaking of LaBodega, Unibroue’s on sale. All of the 750’s are 20 percent off. Green’s Gluten Free Amber Ale is also now in stock.

I’ve got this really nasty habit that surrounds my disdain for receiving any type of medical care. As Ms. Fermento can tell you, it takes a 911 call to get me to see a doctor. Whenever I go in for any type of medical procedure, I wash the entire experience out of my mouth by immediately heading out and getting beer afterwards. I had a hernia operation, and to wash the taste of that damned tube out of my throat, as soon as I wasn’t wobbling and was released, I want to a Midnight Sun beer tasting at Humpy’s. On the occasion that I got my man-cord tied, I woke up and went home and drank homebrew. On Wednesday, July 25^th, I had to get knocked out for some oral surgery. As soon as I got out of the chair, Ms. Fermento steered me into LaBodega (where I got the first bottles of the returning Lagunitas) and then we were off to Café Amsterdam.

At Café Amsterdam that evening, I enjoyed Mestreechs Aajt, a Flemish sour red ale. There’s nothing like Flemish sour red to scour dentistry remnants out of your mouth. I’m not sure, but I think this stuff might etch glass as well. What a treat. It’s sour, tart and nummy for the tummy. Warmed up, I moved on to Collaboration, not Litigation, a beer brewed together by Russian River Brewing Company and Avery Brewing Company. Will at Café A and I collaborated that this might best be described as a cross between a Belgian quad and a Belgian Golden Strong Ale. No matter, it’s plenty good and has plenty of potency.

Tomorrow night at the Café, experience Midnight Sun Brewing Company’s Firkin Saturday. They’ll be releasing their Double Wheat Ale at the gig. It’s pay as you go, but always a good time. Someone pound my share, I’ll be in Hope making muddy water. Up and coming at the Café is Hublon Chouffe. Hops are making a comeback in Belgium. I love Ken Pajak’s description of this one: “Another Belgian rendition of the American interpretation of the English IPA.” Classic. Oh, Vuuve and Wostyntje are back as well.

Not to wear it out, but here’s yet another Great Northern Brewers/Humpy’s Golf Tournament update. The Miller Girls are in. They’ll be pouring Miller’s new Miller Chill (ahem). K&L Distributors is sponsoring a hole and asked if beer could be served on the hole. Alaska Distributors and Absolut Vodka are sponsoring a Bloody Mary Hole. Celestial Meads is also sort of sponsoring a hole and mead may be poured somewhere on the green. I think it would make a great beer cart special pour. You gotta love these distributor turf wars. You ain’t signed up yet? Call Ms. Fermento at (907) 337-9360 or at (907) 227-5287 and she’ll get you set up either individually or as a team. There’s still time.

Down at Kassik’s Kenai Brew Stop, new tankage is on the way in which will enable the crew to get more good suds into the happy little hamlet of Nikiski and beyond. The brewery’s first lager is soon to be produced and hopefully brewer Frank Kassik can realize his dream of getting a dopplebock produced.

No word on what’s on tap at the local holes, but it’s all too easy to get transportation downtown and crawl the likes of the Snow Goose, Glacier, Humpy’s, Platinum Jaxx, Winter Thyme and the rest.

My plans for a Juneau visit are firming up for August 24-26. In 10 years of beer writing, I’ve never visited Alaskan Brewing Company and I’m on the cusp of changing all that. While I’m down there, I’ll be checking out the likes of :

The Imperial Saloon

The Alaska Hotel

The Hangar

The Island Pub (Douglas)

PP’s Douglas Inn (Douglas)

Red Dog Saloon (Douglas)

And possibly……Rosie’s Bar in Pelican…via the Ferry

Pray for my liver.