Alaskan White Ale

NOTE: This entry contains updated information courtesy of the Alaskan Brew Crew.

The Beerocrat is back after a long absence.

My wife and I just returned from an Alaskan cruise last week, where we marveled at the unparalleled beauty of Alaska'a glaciers, mountains, and wildlife. I also had to make a pit-stop at Juneau's Alaskan Brewery to take the tour (and of course, have some beer). While I was there, I noticed that Alaskan released a new beer, Alaskan White, that looked particularly tasty. Our friend from college, who lives in Juneau and was taking us around the city for the day, said that ever since Alaskan released its version of a Belgian witbier, people in Juneau have been drinking it as if it was water. Since I wasn't sure of its availability in Reno, I had to grab a bottle.

Alaskan White Ale has had a long journey. It was originally brewed by Alaskan brewer Tracy Bird as a part of their Rough Draft program in 2001. Ever since then, Alaskan's Brew Crew has been fine-tuning the recipe, finally making it available to the state of Alaska earlier this year. However, they also made it available in the rest of Alaska's distribution area (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, and WY) in early May. (I also heard on the tour that New Mexico and Minnesota may be next on Alaskan's list, so keep your eyes peeled!) (Alaskan White Ale Press Release)


Here come the stats:

Alaskan White Ale
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK, USA
STYLE: Witbier
FIRST BREWED: 2001
CALORIES/SERVING: ~157 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 15 IBUs
ABV: 5.3%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.63° Plato (1047)
MALTS: Pale malt, malted wheat, and others
HOPS: (proprietary)
SPICES: Coriander, bitter orange peel
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 47 °F (8 °C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Spicy food, lighter fare, fresh summer salads, grilled shrimp, grilled halibut
AWARDS: Bronze in the West Coast Commercial Craft Beer competition (although Alaskan looks forward to entering it into many future competitions, including the GABF, World Beer Cup, and European Beer Star)

All info except the calories, malts, hops, and serving temperature comes from Alaskan's White Ale homepage and press release. The rest comes from the great folks at the Alaskan Brew Crew. Thanks again for the information guys, and keep up the good work!

This beer had a wafting citrus aroma that erupted from the glass during pouring. The beer had a semi-cloudy golden color to it, accompanied by a bright white fluffy head. The taste was a little hoppy but wasn't overpowering; I also could taste a little maltiness and citrus flavor, and it wasn't too carbonated either. The finish was very smooth with no stale aftertaste.

It's easy to see why this beer is a favorite of Alaskans whenever the sun comes out. I would love to have a pint on tap sometime, but I may just have to settle for a 6-pack. Pick one up this summer anywhere west of the Rockies.

Prost!

Alaskan IPA

I got a pleasant surprise last Friday when I came home from work. Back when I was researching my Alaskan Smoked Porter entry, I called up the brewery and talked with some people who worked there. Not to brag, but they were so impressed with the research I was doing and the amount of effort I put into the entry that they felt that I deserved some sort of prize. I was taken aback, not really expecting anything except information and a "Thanks for your interest," what I usually get from most breweries (if they respond at all). It arrived, overnighted from Juneau to Reno, on Friday. Here were the contents:

• An Alaskan IPA hat
• A portfolio filled with reprinted articles and information on every single beer they made
• A thank-you note
• A book, Smoked Beers, that was signed by co-owner Geoff Larson (the co-author of the book)
• Three bottles of Alaskan IPA

I was taken aback again. Alaskan was so kind to provide me information and send me this nice stuff. They clearly didn't have to. Alaskan therefore gets my approval as the coolest brewery I've ever spoken to. They were friendly and laid-back enough to deal with the sometimes-invasive questions from a little blogger from Reno about their beer, and they spoke to me with class and respect. That's enough to get in my good books forever, but the swag didn't hurt either. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

So, naturally, the IPA I received from them is the beer I tried. I would like to let you know, however, that the fact that I received swag will not influence my review in any way, shape, or form. I don't know when this beer was first brewed, but, like all their beers, the water comes from the Juneau Ice Field and rain, which Juneau receives 90 inches of annually. (Alaskan IPA homepage)

Here are the stats:

Alaskan IPA
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska, USA
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: 210 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 55 IBU
ABV: 6.2%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 13.97° Plato (1057)
MALTS: "two-row and specialty"
HOPS: "European and Pacific Northwest"
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "grilled prawns, spicy food and as an aperitif"
AWARDS:

The IBUs, ABV, original gravity, malts, hops, and foods to pair with came from the Alaskan IPA homepage, and the caloric information came from a document I received from Alaskan via e-mail. I hope to get other information soon from another e-mail/phone call.

Now, my first impression of this beer is: "HOPS!" That assessment came from the smell, with the aroma almost being pure hoppiness, and a STRONG hoppiness at that. The beer was an amber color with a half-bubbly, half-foamy head that was emitting the intense hoppy scent. But I was pleasantly surprised by its taste. While there was a lot of hoppiness to it, it wasn't bitter, and in fact, transitioned to a nice buttery beer taste. The only thing I didn't like about the beer was its stale hoppy aftertaste, which seemed to grow with the beer, but eventually faded away.

When I spoke to Alaskan, they told me that this IPA was for people who don't like traditional IPAs, and I have to say that they're right. Most of the hoppiness is in the aroma, but it still has some hoppy taste to it. Not bad, in my opinion. I still have two more bottles to enjoy, and believe me, I will. You will too if you don't like your overly hopped-up IPA.

Prost!

Alaskan Smoked Porter (2006 Vintage)

The fourth-to-last beer in the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is the 2006 vintage of Alaskan Smoked Porter. It is brewed by the Alaskan Brewing Co., which was founded in 1986 in Juneau, Alaska by Geoff and Marcy Larson. They started out brewing their flagship Alaskan Amber beer from a recipe that was popular during Juneau's gold rush days a century earlier. Then, inspired by rumors of gold rush brewers using roasted malts in their brews, they teamed with local Taku Smokeries to roast some malts on some indigenous alder wood in 1988, releasing it Christmas Eve of that year.

Since then, it's been a runaway success, with a new vintage brewed in limited quantity each fall. This beer pretty much introduced smoked beer, known in Germany as rauchbier, to America. It was available only in Alaska until 1997, when it was released to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Northern California (it was brought into Northern Nevada in 2001, hence my pickup in Reno). It even was sold in the UK. The interesting thing about this beer is that the smoke acts as a bottle conditioning agent, which alters the flavor over time like a fine wine. This is similar to Deschutes and Hair of the Dog's bottle conditioning, but Alaskan uses a different catalyst. Because of this, it gains a uniqueness to the flavor that has made it the most award-winning beer at the Great American Beer Festival, which is fitting, considering that the brewery is the most award-winning craft brewery at the GABF. (Alaskan History, Alaskan Smoked Porter Stats and Story, two press releases, and a phone call to the brewery)

There are a lot of interesting facts surrounding this beer that I found out through my correspondence with the brewery. The smoker that they've used for every batch of Smoked Porter since 1988 is now owned by Alaskan so that the brewery can maintain consistent levels of quality. Like Hair of the Dog, Alaskan has a library of all their vintages, used mostly for vertical tastings of two or more vintages. Geoff Larson, co-founder of the brewery, co-wrote a book on smoked beers, appropriately called Smoked Beers: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes (you can find it at Amazon). Speaking of the Larsons, I hear tell that for vintages of a year or two old, they love serving them over vanilla ice cream with raspberries for dessert. (Note to self: try that out.)


Here are the stats:

Alaskan Smoked Porter
BREWERY: Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, Alaska, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1988
CALORIES/SERVING: 225 per 12 oz. serving (or ~413 per 22 oz. bottle)
BITTERNESS: 45 IBU
ABV: 6.5%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 15.8° Plato (1065)
MALTS: "5 types", some of them smoked in small batches (the types are proprietary)
HOPS: "2 varieties" (the varieties are proprietary)
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 54°F (12°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: "Smoked seafood, cheese and other robust foods"
AWARDS: A ton...1991-1995 & 2005 GABF Gold Medal Award Winner, 2007 GABF Silver Medal Award Winner, and 2000 & 2002-2004 GABF Bronze Medal Award Winner (smoked beer category), 2007 GABF Bronze Medal Award Winner (aged beer category - 2004 vintage), 2006 LA County Fair Silver Medal Award Winner (smoked beer category), 2000 & 2007 North American Brewers Association Gold Medal Award Winner and 2001 North American Brewers Association Silver Medal Award Winner and 2004 North American Brewers Association Bronze Medal Award Winner (smoked beer category), 2003 North American Brewers Association Gold Medal Award Winner (flavored herbed spiced beer category), 2000 & 2004 Brewing Industry International Awards Silver Medal Award Winner (international specialty beers 2000, smoked beer category 2004), 2000 World Beer Cup Gold Medal Award Winner and 1996, 1998, & 2002 World Beer Cup Silver Medal Award Winner (smoke flavored beer category), 1999 Great Alaska Winter Brew and Barley Wine Festival People's Choice Award (best winter brew), 2007 European Beer Star Awards Gold Medal Award Winner (smoked beer category), maybe some others

All info but the calories per serving, the serving temperature, and some of the awards came from the Alaskan Smoked Porter website and the Alaskan Smoked Porter story, and the serving temperature came from Beers of the World. Awards came from press releases on their website, found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. (That's a lot of press releases I waded through.) I confirmed during a phone call to Alaskan on September 24th, 2007 that the malts and hops are protected secrets, and the calories per serving came from an e-mail from them the next day.

Like Tuborg Gold, this beer has one powerful aroma; I could smell it back from where I was taking the picture. The nose was a mixture of smoke and chocolate that was pleasing to my nasal passages. When I poured the beer, it poured a dark brown, almost black color with a foamy light chocolate-colored head. The beer's taste was very distinctive, a chocolate-coffee flavor infused with the same smoky flavor that I smelled. The finish left a pleasant taste in my mouth (the aftertaste didn't grow stale), and my throat was warming me up from the inside.

This is a well-crafted beer. At times, I thought the smokiness overpowered the chocolate/coffee flavor a little too much, but that doesn't make it bad. Because of its bottle-conditioning nature, different flavors will emerge over time, so buy a couple of bottles and wait a year between each. It's easy to see why this beer from The Last Frontier has won so many awards. They brew a new vintage every November, so the 2007 should be available in a little over a month.

Prost!

UPDATES: I added some information I picked up from a phone call to the brewery at 4:10 PM PDT on September 24th, 2007. I received additional nutritional and fun factual information from them in an e-mail received the next day. The people I spoke to are very nice for taking the time to talk to a little-known beer blogger out of Reno. Props to Alaskan!