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Alaska
Beer Week 2011
Beer Fest Closes Alaska Beer Week
Article: Tom Dalldorf |
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The 15th edition of the Great
Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival was actually the
grand finale for what is now Alaska Beer Week in Anchorage.
This year, dozens of events tantalized the thirsty palates
of local beer enthusiasts and taxed the capacities of
those wanting to attend more than a few events a day.
The series of beer-themed events incorporated existing
opportunities, like the Big Wood Fest at Glacier BrewHouse
(a shorter version of the now-legendary Twelve Days of
Barleywine held in December), with new beer dinners (five
separate ones being offered the night I arrived!).
I attended the always fabulous Humpy’s SubZero GABBF
Dignitary Beer Dinner, wherein co-owner and beer lover
Billy Opinsky tries to do you in with rare beer, mostly
of the Belgian variety, and extraordinary food. This year’s
edition had an amazing group of pairings, including a
salad with a Hanssens Gueuze vinaigrette served with Hanssens
Oude Gueuze 2003.
| Midnight Sun’s Ben Johnson and his amazing
gang of beer terrorists continue to make some of
the most interesting and innovative beers north
of the Lower 48. |
The Brie and grape bruschetta paired nicely with the Cantillon
Vigneronne 2004, and the grilled chicken coulees with
the amazingly well-preserved Anchor Christmas Ale 1998!
The soup course stole the show: a richly flavored oxtail
soup with root vegetables paired with Gouden Carolus Noël
2003.
Staggering but not down, we focused our epicurean energies
on the pièce de résistance: Duchesse-braised
lamb in Duchesse demi-glace served with (you guessed it!)
Duchesse de Bourgogne — an 11-year-old treasure,
no less! Our finale was a warm banana and Thomas Hardy’s
compote served with Thomas Hardy’s Ale 1996. Samuel
Smith’s Winter Welcome sealed the deal. A tour de
force of beery cuisine.
Thursday was a blur of tours and tastings, the highlight
of which was my second visit to the new facilities of
Midnight Sun Brewing Company to see what the brew crew
was up to. Head Brewer Ben Johnson and his amazing gang
of beer terrorists continue to make some of the most interesting
and innovative beers north of the Lower 48. The new brewing
facility is not quite two years old but already is in
expansion mode. A new dry-storage facility a short forklift
drive away will ease the crush of supplies, kegs and barrels
already clogging the new plant. MSBC did 3,422 barrels
in 2010 and looks to double that this year!
Impressive was the tart Berliner Weisse at 4.5%, which
started my tasting day in style. I was mesmerized by the
Monk’s Mistress, who seduced me with her rich flavors
and dark strength. This Belgian-style dark ale belied
the 11.5% alcohol claimed by the brewery. Served on nitrogen,
it was soft, supple and sublime. We can understand the
monk yielding to her temptation.
The CoHoHo Imperial IPA was a malt and hop wonderland
of pleasure, with a touch of juniper berries for interest.
Mayhem Belgian-Style IPA may be a nod to Hildegard van
Ostaden of the Urthel brewery in the Netherlands, who
visited Midnight Sun during the Alaskan festival in 2005
and returned home to make a very un-Belgian hop blast
called Hop-It. Midnight Sun’s creation is an 8.2%
and 100-IBU mayhem creator sure to please Belgian-style
beer lovers and hop-heads.
Obliteration VII American Imperial Stout is a rich, roasty-toasty
malt monster at 8.5% and 100 IBUs. And if the trend toward
black hoppy ales is your thing, check out XXX Oak Aged
Black Double IPA if you can get past the black pale ale
part. Soft barrel flavors make this one singular.
| I was mesmerized by the Monk’s Mistress,
who seduced me with her rich flavors and dark strength. |
Glacier BrewHouse featured its Big Wood Fest with five
beauties on offer, including the magnificent Eisbock,
aged eight months in Maker’s Mark Bourbon barrels.
A trio of barley wine brews offered a tantalizing preview
of beers to come at the fest. My favorite was the 2009
Big Woody, aged 18 months in a virgin American oak barrel.
In addition to all this, the food at Glacier continues
to be exceptional.
Alaskans not only love beer, they make it too! This is
made manifest in the large turnout at the Great Northern
Brewers Club meeting, held every Thursday before the festival
at Snow Goose/Sleeping Lady restaurant and brewery. The
lower-level theater was packed with club members, industry
reps and visitors up for the fest, all sharing beer and
stories about brewing in Alaska.
This year’s featured guest was Ken Grossman, owner
of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, Calif. His
iconic brewery was celebrating its 30th year in the brewing
business, and Grossman brought along a wonderful PowerPoint
presentation of the history of his brewery, underscoring
the homebrew origins of what has become the preeminent
craft brewer in the country. Grossman was in good company,
as the club’s previous beer luminaries include the
late “Beer Hunter,” Michael Jackson; homebrew
patriarch Charlie Papazian; Dogfish Head owner and media
maven Sam Calagione; and many others.
First- and second-round judging for winter beers and barley
wines took place at the start of the Friday session of
the festival. Following that was an industry gathering
at Café Amsterdam sponsored by Alaskan Brewing.
Great beer, excellent food and brewing-industry camaraderie
prevailed.
On Saturday I helped judge the final round for barley
wine. The Connoisseur Session opened at 2:00 p.m., and
we announced the winners of the judging around 3:30 p.m.
The winner was a clear favorite of the judging panel.
Black Raven Brewing Company’s Old Birdbrain 2009,
from Redmond, Wash., walked away with top honors. Second
was St. Elias Brewing Company, Soldotna, Alaska, and third
was Glacier BrewHouse, Anchorage, Alaska. Glacier BrewHouse
brewer Kevin Burton also picked up the trophy for Best
Winter Beer for his barrel-aged 2010 Eisbock. The Alaskan
version of the Rolling Boil Blues Band (Frozen Boil?)
played at 4:00 p.m. to close out the session.
The final session ran from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., after which
Alaskan livers went into restorative phase. Alaska Beer
Week was an enormous but tasking success (thanks, Barb
Miller and Dr. Fermento!) and undoubtedly will be back
next year. Be sure to put January 20–21 on your
calendar for next year’s fest and reserve the whole
week for a truly memorable, if somewhat chilly, beer experience. |
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The Belgian Beer Dinner at subZero featured parchment-wraped
braised lamb in Duchesse demi glace with white cheddar
potato gratin |
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Humpy’s Alehouse co-owner Billy Opinsky talked
about the various courses to the attendees |
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Bob Brewer, Anchor Brewery, and Ken Grossman, Sierra
Nevada, talked about things during the dinner |
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Chef Tim Farley, sous chef Randy “RP”
Barry and co-owner Billy Opinsky after the superb
Belgian Beer Dinner at subZero |
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Head Brewery Ben Johnson pulls a taste from the
vast selection of barrels at Midnight Sun Brewery
in Anchorage |
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The Brewhouse at Midnight Sun Brewery in Anchorage |
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The Midnight Sun brewers gather around a barrel |
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An exhibit of original beer art (99 in total) displayed
at Midnight Sun’s pub amount to 99 Bottles
of Beer on the Wall |
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Matt Bonny, Brouwer’s Café in Seattle,
Wash., and Kevin Burton, head brewer at Glacier
Brewhouse in Anchorage, check out the cooperage |
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Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf played
some Rolling Boil Blues Band tunes live “unplugged”
on The Beer Show on KOAN 1020 AM radio before the
Alaskan Beer Fest. Also in the studio chatting up
beer are (from left) Jeff Porter, Stone Brewing,
Mitch Klein, Lagunitas Brewing, and Mike Mahns,
Big Sky Brewing |
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Alaskan Brewery and Café Amsterdam sponsored
a hospitality after the first night of the festival
that showed major Alaskan hospitality |
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Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada, and beer writer Christian
DeBenedetti were among the attendees |
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The final round judges at the Barley Wine competition
deliberate for the winners |
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The festival opened to the music of a German Oompha
Band |
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Some of the enthusiastic festival attendees enjoying
the great beer |
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The Crow Creek Pipe and Drum Band performed before
the Rolling Boil Blues Band took the stage |
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| Tom Dalldorf is publisher
and editor of the Celebrator Beer News. |
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