I got a real kick out of a news article sent to me by a friend that highlighted some debauchery aboard a 33 foot boat recreationally fishing off the coast of
At one point a pretty strong tug came across a line and the fishermen jumped into action only to haul a very aggressive 6 foot long, 100 pound eel into the boat. The creature was very pissed and out of control and started rearing its head up like a snake and bearing row after row of incredibly sharp teeth. It charged the two men who immediately went into a near panic state.
The eel eventually fell through the hatch and into the sleeping quarters of the two men below. One man brandished a gun and almost shot the charging creature before being warned off by the other fisherman below, reminding him that they were 120 miles from land and a hole in the boat would do more than ruin an already bad situation.
The best part of the article that outlined the mayhem that ensured as the fish was clobbered, held back, ran from, hid from and eventually subdued was their constant solution to each new eel-induced problem: drink more beer. The best line in the story was “The four needed to work up a plan of action, so they drank beer while considering a strategy.” This was followed by “Inside the wheelhouse, they started calming down and decided they would drink a couple more beers.” From there, “It was determined that Steve Jr. would distract the ell because he had drank the most alcohol and believed he was bulletproof.” Eventually, the monster was subdued and the crew returned to land. I hate to say it, but here’s more proof that a few good beers might make the worst of situations if not better, at least more memorable. You can find this article in its entirety and other quite entertaining pieces at http://seabreezenews.com/
I missed the Anchorage Grand Opening of Denali Brewing Company at the Tap Root Café on October 19th. Feedback indicates that the gig was a hit, so that’s a good thing. For the unaware, Denali Brewing Company (DBC) is located in Talkeetna and has been in operation this early this summer, but decided to have a little grand opening here in town where its primary market exists. 
The brewery also participated in this year’s Mighty Matanuska Brewfest which was also a rockin’ event. According to brewer Boe Barnett, the star of both shows turned out to be the brewery’s newer Purple Haze, an American style wheat beer that’s brewed with 10 pounds of handpicked, wild Alaskan lowbush blueberries per barrel of beer. According to Boe, “The great thing about this particular kid of blueberry is its tartness, which, rather than sweetening the beer, lends a subtle, almost dry flavor impact.” His observation of the drinking behavior at both events indicated that “Many dudes were prompted to try some at the insistence of their fruit beer loving lady friends, only to discover a fruit beer they weren’t ashamed to admit they enjoyed.
“Get Hazed” at the Tap Root Café where the beer is on tap now, and if not now, very soon at Humpy’s, SubZero, soon Kinleys, and up north in Talkeetna at the brewery’s attached Twister Creek Restaurant. You can get a growler-ful there to get you back to town.
Other institutions that are supporting the brewery now include McGinley’s Pub downtown, which will have Mother Ale and Chili Stout on board, of course Café Amsterdam that’s serving up Chli Stout right now, and The Spenard 
Roadhouse which is a staunch devotee of Single Engine Red. And, recently the availability of DBC kegs at The Brown Jug Warehouse makes it easy to snag a fiver for upcoming fall festivities. Look for their beer at the FireTap which finally ditched the lackluster Guinness 250 and put on a REAL (local) stout (Chuli, from DBC).
Denali Brewing Company wants to formally thank the Kenai River Brewing Company and Ring of Fire Meadery for their very direct involvement in pushing the brewery toward success. Check out the chalk board in the picture!
I did attend the Firetap – Sleeping Lady Brewing Company beer dinner at Firetap this last Sunday evening. I was not disappointed. First, the particulars. The servings were generous and the pour was liberal. The food was stellar and the presentation enticing. Needless to say, the beer was good. This event provided excellent value for the dollar. The pairings were pretty spot on, with some having more effect than others, but all tastings are that way. The service was quick, personal and friendly despite a very hectic first run at tastings at the venue. Another aspect I appreciated very greatly is that, despite having a challenging set up for the mass and immediate production of large quantities of specialized food that’s not on the day-to-day menu, the food and the beer came out virtually back to back, perfectly timed and in perfect sequence. Even others around me commented that they enjoyed the pace and were glad that a Sunday night dinner didn’t run out until 10:30 or later which is often the case in lesser-organized and orchestrated events.
The only distraction was the placement of the microphone for the speaker. There was broad agreement that the speaker should be more toward the center and more perpendicular to the crowd, but this was a very small defect in the overall stellar performance by chef, brewer, server and the management team at Firetap.
Upcoming tastings will feature Alaskan Brewing Company on Sunday, November 22 at 6 pm, and possibly Midnight Sun Brewing Company in December, unless holiday events get in the way. It’s the objective of the venue to have a tasting every month.
Finally, Red Hot Mama, a specialty red ale brewed exclusively for Firetap by Glacier Brewhouse will debut on November 9th. I’m on touch with both venues to determine if there’s any fanfare associated with the debut or it’s just “come on in and sit your ass down and get you some if you want it” kind of thing. Stay tuned….
The taps are full at Midnight Sun Brewing Company’s upstairs Loft. This place is like a small alehouse featuring a formidable 18 taps to serve even the most discriminating beer lover. Expect treats this week including Oosik Amber, Ale Slayers Pale Ale and the triumphant return of the long anticipated favorite, Full Curl Scotch Ale. Of course the oak-aged version of XXX Specialty Beer, a black double IPA and 3767 Blegian-style IPA, a collaboration beer between Midnight Sun and Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego are also on tap. The number in the name is the number of miles between Midnight Sun and Ballast Point, by the way. This twisted wonder is dosed with plenty of brettanomyces (here, horsey-horsey!) and was aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.
One of my new favorites, Cosmic, a black witbier that’s brewed with ample orange peel, coriander and chamomile, is the latest in the brewery’s Crew Brew Series and was brewed by General Manager Gary Busse. For a full coverage of this new entrant into the “dark/light” styles of beer, reference my 10/27 edition of the Anchorage Press. This is one of the easiest drinking, surly-sweet unusual beers I’ve had in a long time.
Of course, just in time for your spook-night celebration are both Trickster and T.R.E.A.T, two unusual pumpkin ales that will spook your toot, or toot your spook, depending on what happens first. Trickster is a new beer and provides an 
interesting interpretation of the seasonal style. It’s a Belgian-style ale brewed with pumpkin, of course, and all of the right spices. T.R.E.A.T is the recently re-named Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter, another one of my all-time favorite seasonal specialty beers. This one’s dosed with pumpkin, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and delivers a complex, dark pumpkin pie essence that’s perfect for the late fall season. And, before I forget, Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse will feature a vertical line up of Midnight Sun Brewing company’s Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter between 2007 – 2009 vintages starting on Friday 10/30. Nice! Then, in November, just after Obliteration VI is released, Humpy’s will feature vintages 2-6 all at once. Double nice!
Don’t miss the benefit pouring for Alaska Bird TLC an organization dedicated to rehabilitating injured and sick wild birds. On October 31 (Halloween, for the date-challenged) OWLoween will be celebrated at the brewery between 2-6 pm. A very special VIP recovered crow will be on hand to liberate you from your “bills” that you hand to it and it delivers to a special donation jar. Come in costume and have some fun. Bring some extra singles for the bird and cash for the taps. It’ll be a good time and the proceeds go to a worthy cause.
And, this will make it doubly convenient. Celestial Meads is having a Halloween Celebration at the meadery on the same day, Saturday, October 31 between 4-8 pm. No mention of prizes or anything like that, but the treat comes with upwards of 20 different meads to sample and upscale snacks to pair up with them.
One to try is Scheherazade because it’s caught some national attention. The CBS Online Magazine, Chow (dedicated to food) says its one of the top 10 meads you should try.
Alaskan Brewing Company’s XXtra Tuf IPA Fresh Hop is close to town. This 9.3 percent wobbler (a big one for Alaskan) features fresh Pacific Northwest hops right off the bine and air-dropped directly into the brewkettle by one of the four jets or six helicopters in Alaskans’ fleet. Just kidding! Look for a big, in your face fresh hop essence on top of a rich caramel base in this amber-hued beer that kicks with 63 IBUs and plenty of Southeast Alaska attitude. When the distributor rolls the kegs around, look for the draft only version at Firetap Alehouse, Celestial Meads, Sea Galley, The Millenium, Platinum Jaxx, Humpy’s, Bradley House, Mountain High Pizza Pie and Phyliss’s Café.
Here’s what’s on tap at the Glacier Brewhouse, at least as of Thursday 10/29. Don’t forget that you can get to Glacier for your growler fills as well. This is a good time to get after some of the “Drunken Pumpkin” that’s benignly coded as “Pumpkin Ale” below!
Blonde
Amber
IPA
Hefeweizen
Oatmeal Stout
Imperial Blonde
Raspberry Wheat
Export Lager
Pumpkin
Nut Brown
Porter
Black Rye Bock
Cask - Beam Stout
Outside Beers
I just got notification that Widmer Brewing’s Cherry Oak Dopplebock is now in stock at the Brown Jug Liquor Store on 88th and Old Seward. The brewery’s description of the beer says that it’s “…a rich ale, cold fermented with dark, sweet and red tart cherries, then conditioned on new, heavily toasted American oak. The result is a dark, lustrous brew with up-front malty sweetness and cherry fruit notes completed by caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted oak undertones. The complex flavor profile balances the impressive 9% ABV and 40 IBUs.”
Expect an almost dark brown beer in the glass under a dark tan head that’s got some red highlights. The oak comes out in the nose, along with the cherries and some rose notes, and plenty of caramel malt to prop it all up. In the flavor department, dark cherries are defining, along with more of the malt basement and oak overtones. Chocolate, light leather, melanoidins and other expected flavors follow while the hops can be found, but stand firmly in the background letting the other flavors come forth. Another plus is the creamy smooth, medium mouthfeel of the beer and the even, clean finish.
Beers from Ninkasi Brewing Company of Eugene Oregon have been arriving with increasing regularity. Their Tricerhops Double Ipa, and Total Domination IPA have been here for just a little bit, new to town are Oatis Oatmeal Stout and Believer Double Red Ale. Oatis is a 7.5 percent rich, roasty dark brew that drinks creamy and smooth with big hints of oak and plenty of hop background to balance the dark malts. Believer Double Red Ale weighs in at 6.9 percent alcohol, pours ruby red in the glass and features some of the best in the Northwest hop line up. It’s probably available elsewhere, but I know for a fact it’s in at the Brown Jug Liquor Store on 88th and Old Seward and at La Bodega in the University Mall.
Pyramid’s Snowcap is one of the latest winter seasonals to show up in town and is a seasonal favorite for most of us winter beer lovers. This will round out nicely with a flight of seasonals including Deschutes Brewing’s Jubelale, Bridgeport Brewing Company’s Ebeneezer, Full Sail Brewing Company’s Wassail and Fish Brewing Company’s Winterfish. If you want to host a little gig, pick up a collection of these fine Pacific Northwest brews that feature plenty of malt backbone and copious amounts of our favorite U.S. hops and put on a show.
Here’s the Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse lineup for this week. Oh, and for those of you scoring along at home, I think I can let the fish out of the net at this point. It’s official. Humpy’s is opening a second alehouse. Surf’s up; it’s in Hawaii. Anyone interested in heading over for the grand opening, probably in late February or March? I’ll race ya! Note that starting on Friday 10/30 and lasting as long as the suds flow, Humpy’s will feature a vertical line up of Midnight Sun Brewing company’s Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter between 2007 – 2009 vintages. Nice! Then, in November, just after Midnight Sun’s Obliteration VI is released, Humpy’s will feature vintages 2-6 all at once. Wow! Someone’s been doing some stashing!
Wheats / Fruits 
Ayinger Brau-Weisse **
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Wild Country Raspberry Wheat
Pyramid Apricot Ale
(Local) Kassik’s Brew Stop Dunkel
Spaten Munich Dunkel **
Pyramid Hefeweizen
Lindemans Framboise ####
Golden Ales / Pilseners / California Common
Anchor Steam California Common
Kona Longboard Lager
Kostrizer Schwarzbier ** (Black Pilsner)
(Local) Midnight Sun Goldstrike Kolsch
Pale Ales / E.S.B.’s (medium hop bitterness) 
(Local) Alaskan Pale Ale
Deschutes Hop Trip ‘Wet Hop’ Pale Ale
Kona Firerock Pale Ale
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Polar Pale Ale
India Pale Ales (med - high hop bitterness)
(Local) Alaskan Xxtra Tuff Imperial IPA # (8.6) (70 IBU)
Bridgeport I.P.A. (50 IBU)
(Local) Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun (70 IBU)
(Local) Humpy’s Sockeye Red by Midnight Sun * (70 IBU) (On Nitro)
(Local) Moose’s Tooth Fairweather I.P.A. (64 IBU)
Red Hook Long Hammer IPA (44 IBU)
Belgian Ales
(Local) Alaskan White Belgian White Wheat Ale
Shock Top Belgian White Wheat Ale
Stella Artois **
St Bernardus Grotten Brown Ale ###
Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale ###
Strong Belgian Ales (Alcohol by Volume over 7.5%)
Chimay Cing Cents Triple ##### (8%)
Delirium Tremens Triple #### (10%)
La Rulles Triple ##### (8.4%)
Sierra Nevada Belgian Triple # (8.2%)
Unibroue Maudite ## (8%)
Brown Ales
(Local) Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale
Barley Wine / American Strong Ales
Lagunitas Brown Sugga’ American Strong Ale # (9.9%)
Pike St Old Bawdy Barley Wine # (10%) 2007 ed.
Amber Ales / Bocks / Doppelbocks / Scottish
(Local) Alaskan Amber Ale
MacTarnahan’s Amber Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Oosik Amber Ale
(Local) Midnight Sun Rumbah Double Rum Bock ## (10%)
Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock #
Rogue Dead Guy Maibock *
(Local) Denali Single Engine Red Ale
(Local) Homer Red Knot Scottish
(Local) Sleeping Lady Braveheart Scottish Ale *(Cask Conditioned).
Porters / Stouts
Anchor Porter
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Guinness Stout *** (on Nitro)
Rogue Shakespeare Stout *
Seasonal Beers
Aecht Schenkerla Rauch Bier ###
(Local) Alaskan Rauchbier
Widmer Oktoberfest
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
(Local) Sleeping Lady Headless Horseman Pumpkin
(Local) Midnight Sun Vertical Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter
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
11/07/09
Ring of Fire Meadery/The Homestead Restaurant
Dinner at the Vineyard Event
6:30 pm: $75 pp
11/22/09
Firetap Alehouse
Alaskan Brewing Company Beer Dinner
6 pm, Cost TBD
12/04/09
Arctic Brewing Supply
Entries Accepted for BigFish Homebrew Competition
Noon – 6 pm
12/05/09
Humpy’s/GNBC
BigFish Homebrew Competition
12/13/09
Tap Root Café
Celestial Meads Tasting
12/20/09
Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Good Mojo Day
Time and Cost TBD
Entries (RSS)