DrFermento.Net

Sing me a song and call it “Happy Friday.”

The key that unlocks the chains of oppression of employment is the same key that starts your ride as you blast out of the parking lot on a Friday afternoon. A good armada of beer for the weekend, or a list of destinations where you can get it also helps. In a matter of hours, I’m out of here, and it feels Oh So Good! It’s Hope as usual for me tonight, but a special bonus awaits. My all time favorite local band, the Denali Cooks (breaking up regularly for the last 10 years) is playing tonight at the Seaview Café in downtown Hope. If you ever want to see Fermento unplugged, this is the venue. There’s nothing like leaving the mining camp after a healthy pre-load and riding my wheeler through the woods and popping out in downtown Hope to the sounds of the Cooks and the lure of the decent tap line at the Seaview. I’ll be twisting the night away. Don’t call me TOO early tomorrow morning unless you have something good for what ales me.

Does your gut have a problem with gluten? Translated, that reads, are you gluten intolerant? Okay, one more time: are you one of those rare and unfortunate folks that are allergic to some of the components of malt and wheat? I pray for you nightly. So does Anheuser Bush with Redbridge, a gluten-free beer that seems to have dominated the market of late. Thanks to Marty Compton at Alaska Distributors, there’s a new kid on the block. Green’s Beers hail from Lochristi, Belgium. A Johnny-Come-Lately in a country that’s been brewing for centuries, Green’s specializes in a couple of gluten-free beers. Green’s Discovery Amber Ale, endeavor Dubble Ale and Quest Triple Ale are free of the proteins Gliadin and Glutenin that cause Celiac Disease in those intolerant of the substances. Is anyone getting the significance of this? Gluten-free dubbels and tripels from Belgium? Are you kidding? This has got to be good news for those with the intolerance. Expect this stuff to show up in a couple of weeks.

According to the American Homebrewer’s Association, Mead Day is on August 4^th this year. I haven’t heard if our local Celestial Meads or Homer’s Ring of Fire Meadery are doing anything to celebrate this little known calendar item. Let me know if you hear anything. These guys have been kind of quiet lately.

According to one of my two wheeled sleuths, Kurt Kreid, all’s not well out in the Valley where Great Bear Brewing Company is out of his favorite Beary Berry Strong Ale. Apparently the brewery’s having a hard time getting the fruit syrup for the beer. According to Kreid, “They were out of a few others too, but I didn’t notice which ones since I was drinking Valley Trash.” That’s more like it. What kind of a name is Beary Berry anyway? It sounds like a popsicle or Kool Aid flavor. It seems entirely tame until you realize you’re pounding some 8 percent fruit juice. But, it’s just like Kried to pinch hit with Valley Trash, another 8 percent knee-knocker. How he pilots that two-wheeled scooter home from Wasilla after a couple of pints, I’m afraid to imagine. I can picture him flying down the highway in his leathers, blowing past the blue-hairs and mach speed and trying to avoid the law at the same time. You be cool, fool! We want you around for awhile. I suppose I don’t have much to worry about; this guy’s the only guy I know that can pound two pitchers of Jube at a bowling tournament, lay his ride down in the parking lot, get up, dust off and head to the Goose for another couple of rounds.

Kassik’s Kenai River Brew Stop’s got some competition here in town. According to Rob Weller over at Specialty Imports, Kenai River Brewing Company beers have migrated north and are showing up on select handles. Humpy’s, Phyllis’s Café and The Bridge are in line for the brewery’s Scottish and Summer ales. This is really a treat. These two under-distributed breweries cater to their own first, but like the equally elusive Homer Brewing Company, when they have some extra, they fire some suds in our direction. Show your support and drink it up, and when you’re on the Peninsula, search out these breweries, they’re all worthy of a visit.

Congrats are due to homebrewer Steven Jayich of Anchorage who won this year’s E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition up in Square-Banks (the only town in America where Smokey the Bear says “Ah, fuck it…need a match?”). Jayich took best of show with his O’Fest Marzen. Better still, he took second place with an American IPA. Phil Farrell (the rubber chicken guy) grabbed third. What amazes me is how many out-of-state entries are sent forth to this competition. Alaska submitted 15 entries, but the combined rest of the nation sent an amazing 75 beers to the northern outpost of Silver Gulch Brewing Company where the competition was held. Marty Compton and John Trapp ambled north to support this awesome competition and judged some of the beers. Steve Schmitt would truly appreciate the competition’s Battered Bottle Cap Award that appears to herald the best named brews in the competition. Alan Ruff took the prize this year with an American Amber ale he dubbed Wooden Shark’s Fart. You go Alan, we need more names like this in a future edition of the Great Northern Brewer’s Homebrew Club Recipe Book. Be sure and check out the competition’s website at www.mosquitobytes.com/Den/Beer/Events/ETB2007… Scot and Cheri Stihler are worthy of a ton of praise for organizing and pulling this gig off every year.

I’m not a fan of Mexican beer because as a whole, it sucks. There’s one notable exception and that’s Negra Modelo, a Vienna Lager. This hold out from the influence of German migration in the mid 1800’s is noteworthy, but I’m talking about shitty Mexican beer, not the good stuff, so I digress. Back in the mid-1990’s, while in the Air Force, I was deployed down to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where good beer was tough to find. It was a great trick to rent a car and haul ass down to the border out of El Paso, cross the Bridge of the Americas, and go party in Juarez, Mexico. This was fabulous fun, and it seemed very appropriate to drink tons of .50 cent Coronas and Tecate out of the can. One of my fondest memories was sitting at a sidewalk table, tossing back .50 cent tacos and ordering a “Bucket” which consisted of five bottled beers in big chunks of ice in a stainless steel pail. Talk about convenience! Oh, and at $2.50, we called this the “Bargain Buzz in a Bucket.” If you choked down all five of the nasty beers, the pail could easily double as a hurl bucket in a pinch. Anyway, I’m tooling along 4^th Ave in Anchorage the other day, headed to lunch with Ms. Fermento and I pass by La Cabana on 4^th and a banner outside announces none other than the infamous “Bucket.” Apparently you can get a pail of five bottles of Sol, Tecate or Dos Equis, but inflation’s taken it’s toll because the buzz ain’t no bargain at $20.00.

For fans of Stone Brewing Company, both Stone IPA and Stone Ruination are now available in six packs locally. I’m covering this sassy brewing company in next week’s Press, so I’ll save comment until then.

Lagunitas IPA, Censored, Sirius High Gravity Cream Ale (7.8 percent????), Maximus and Lucky 13 Anniversary Ale are all inbound from Petaluma, California. You’ve got to love their motto “The first sip is for thirst, the second one for pleasure. The third sip is for romance and the fourth for pure madness.” We saw these beers years ago, then they disappeared, and now they’re back. Word on the street is that they’re a finer breed now, more consistent and of stellar quality. These brews roll into town on the 23^rd and with the slow wheels of distribution, we’re probably looking at the first of August before they hit the shelves.

What’s the best beer in America? It depends on who you ask or how you define the concept of “best.” According to Zymurgy, the American Homebrewer’s Association’s journal, it’s Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. The distinction is based on the results of readership surveys. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Stone Arrogant Bastard tied for second and our own Alaskan Smoked Porter got tangled up in a six-way tie for fourth.

On Wednesday night, I visited Tap Root Café because they have the eight remaining bottles of Leipziger Gose in the state, unless someone’s hoarding them and I don’t know about it. This relatively obscure style of beer from Germany almost became extinct and for 30 years, there was only one producer. The beer’s a top-fermented wheat beer that’s dosed with coriander, salt and lactic acid. It’s a strange brew indeed! I wouldn’t quite say that the initial taste is shocking, but it’s so different than a beer drinker’s expectation that it’s real close. I spent a lot of time sniffing around the edges before I sipped. If you chase one down, be sure and ask for service in a wine glass or goblet. They’re a little green at the beer service thingie at the Root yet, but they’re gaining on it. Anyway, pour it and waste no time in smelling it because an initial almost sea-salt air aroma wafts off the top, but disappears in a micromillijiffy, so it’s easy to miss. A dancing coriander essence dominates after, followed by the telltale fruity esters and some reference to hops in the end. The beer comes in a tall, long necked bottle with a round bottom. This is so nifty that rumor has it that people bought the stuff up just for the glass. I love the gloopy noise the beer makes as it’s poured; this is also something you don’t typically associate with beer. It pours hazy and golden with lower than anticipated head that drops off quickly but holds. When you first taste it, things are going to clank around in your mouth until you realize what’s going on. An initial electrifying sourness, along with a no-shit salty sensation is further intensified by the wheat’s tart contribution. The coriander at this point is completely lost in the mix. The wheat and yeast flavors push through harder in the end and all of this zing, along with ample carbonation float the beer on the palate and make it seem watery at first. Once you adjust to your initial unfamiliarity with what you’re drinking, the beer comes across as very light, clean and refreshing. At first, I thought this was a cutting beer designed to be consumed with spicy food, but I backtracked as the stuff got more and more enjoyable through the length of the glass. I remained confused and I still am because I’m not familiar with Gose as a style. It’s obscure, but making a comeback. There’s even a brewery in Minneapolis (Herkimer Pub and Brewery) that’s producing an American version. In the end, although some people find this beer akin to a gueuze, I suddenly thought I was drinking a Berliner Weiss/Belgian Wit hybrid. I’ll certainly be looking into this style more. In Leipzig, there are strange and alluring twists including Gose Hells, and Gose Dunkel’s. I’m fascinated. According to Weller at Specialty, we should be seeing more of this stuff in the fall. Oh, word of warning, my bottle set me back 22 clams.

I forwarded some wrong assumptions in Wednesday’s blog concerning the Moose’s Tooth. The “out” signs on the beer menu at the pizzeria aren’t because of a lack of fermenter space. According to brewer Clarke Pelz, it’s more of a growth and production planning problem. “The secret to getting through summer is building up prior to summer hitting. Pump the cooler full of beer, keep pumping it in at 100 percent while it’s depleted and hope the consumption curve breaks before the cooler is empty.” He admits to struggling with that a bit. “We were late in the game so we’re temporarily out of a few,” he said.

Glacier Brewhouse brewer Kevin Burton has similar laments. “I’m ready for winter,” he said. “It’s a capacity problem. We’re making as much as we can with what we’ve got. The more tank space we get, the more beer we have to make it really has nothing to do with demand changing.” Into the weekend Burton’s got a Beam ESB (ESB conditioned in a Jim Beam barrel) which will be followed by one of my all time favorites, Beam Black Rye Bock. I asked him about the rest of his tap line and he said “All of the usual suspects.” He indicated that the Imperial Blonde has been kicking ass and is hard to keep up with. Oh, he did announce that this fall’s Oktoberfest Beer Train is scheduled for October 6^th. No details on cost are available yet.

Did you know that Rogue Ales out of Newport, Oregon also makes some hard booze? It’s meaningless to me (I’m not a hard liquor fan), but Rogue Spruce Gin and Rogue Dark Rum are in at LaBodega. Anchor Brewing Company also makes distilled spirits, but I haven’t ever seen them up here. La Bodega’s also got Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (2007) in and says that Lagunitis beers will be in next Wednesday.

Over at the Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company, brewer Clay Brackley is adjusting to his new digs and seems to be on top of things so far. Urban Wilderness is back in cans again which is great news for wilderness trekkers and tourists that want to haul some home to their beer loving buddies elsewhere. Here’s what’s on into the weekend:

49er Amber

Fish on IPA

Urban Wilderness Pale Ale

Portage Porter

John Henry Oatmeal Stout

Bravehart Scottish Ale

Summer Wheat ( a clean wheat beer spiced with alaskan chamomile and a touch of coriander)

McFarland’s Irish Red

Vienna Lager

Old Gander Barleywine 2007

Cask Conditioned Oatmeal Stout aged on bourbon soaked oak chips (homebrew style baby)

Also, look for a cask of Goose IPA (Amarillo hops) and a cask of Amber (hopped with Goldings) to show up over at Humpy’s. Look for some subtle changes in the stout recipe at the Goose. Brackley’s tweaking it and also pushing it with nitro at the bar to help differentiate it a bit more from the porter. He’s also working on a Colonial Ale recipe that will feature such obscurities as corn, pumpkin and parsnips. It should debut in October as a seasonal release in lieu of a standard pumpkin ale.

Here’s the Humpy’s line up (as of Wednesday):

Wheats / Fruits

Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat

Pyramid Apricot Ale

Pyramid Hefeweizen

Leavenworth Blind Pig Dunkelweizen

Lindemans Framboise ###

Golden Ales/ Pilseners / California Common

Alaskan Summer Kolsch

Kassik Brew Stop’s Beaver Tail Blonde Ale

Midnight Sun Gold Strike Kolsch

Silver Gulch Fairbanks Lager

Deschutes Twilight Ale

Amstel Light

Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness)

Alaskan Pale Ale

Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Full Sail Nugget Special Red Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Alaskan `Boogie Bitter’ English Best Bitter

Elysian `The Wise’ E.S.B.

India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)

Great Bear Double Trouble I.P.A.

Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun

Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A.

Elysian `Immortal’ I.P.A.

Fish Tale Organic I.P.A.

Great Divide Hercules Double I.P.A. # (9.1%)

Pike St. I.P.A.

Stone I.P.A.

Belgian Ales

Midnight Sun Greed a Belgian Single #

Blue Moon Belgian White Wheat Ale

Brasserie de Silly La Saison ##

Duchesse De Bourgogne Flemish Sour Red ###

St. Bernard Grotten Brown ###

Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%)

Chimay Cing Cents Triple ### (8%)

Delirium Tremens ### (8.5%)

Deschutes 19th Anniversary Belgian Golden #(8.7%)

Gouden Carolus Classic ### (8%)

Liefmans Goudenband Brown ### (8%)

Maredsous 10 Triple Abbey Ale ### (10%)

Unibroue Trois Pistoles ## (9%)

Urthel Hop-It Superior Hoppy Blond Ale### (9.5%)

Amber Ales / Bocks /Dopplebocks/Scottish
Alaskan Amber Ale

Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Ale

Sleeping Lady Forty-Niner Amber Ale

Rogue’s American Amber Ale

Brown Ales

Midnight Sun Kodiak Nut Brown Ale

Porters / Stouts

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Deschutes Black Butte Porter * (Cask Conditioned)

Full Sail top Sail Porter

Alaskan Oatmeal Stout

Guinness Stout *

Pike St. 5X Stout

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Specialties / Seasonal

Avery 14th Anniversary Ale # (9.46%)

Rogue Dad’s Little Helper Malt Liquor # (8%)

Barleywines

Fish Tale Leviathan Barley Wine # (8%)

Finally, I’m trying to set up a research run that will include Juneau and a long overdue visit of Alaskan Brewing Company and Kodiak to visit Kodiak Island Brewing Company. I’ve got to get this done in August so I have time to meet the deadline for the CAMRA publication. Anyone want to tag along? I’m open at this point to dates with a couple of restrictions. I’m also open to suggestions as to what noteworthy grog shops or watering holes to visit in those two places, so if you’ve been there, speak up.

Have a great weekend. I’m off to soak my head.

BNC Fermento