Published: December 26th, 2007 10:02 PM
Last Modified: December 27th, 2007 05:35 AM
I've been to a lot of beer dinners in my day, from rowdy, formal, classy and rural to outrageous and frightful. I've seen dignified men lose their cool when given a giant boot-shaped cauldron of beer; I've seen mild-mannered old ladies transform into bacchanalian crones before midnight.
I know how these malted meals end up, no matter how organized, ritualized or mythologized we make them out to be; every sit-down beer dinner devolves into a raucous display of chummy revelry, gluttony, hilarity and bare-bones good fun.
After playing with the beer dinner concept, Tap Root Cafe quickly learned to skip the front end and go straight to the bare-bones good fun. When they feature the 7 Deadly Sin beers by Midnight Sun Brewing Co. (www.midnight sunbrewing.com) on Saturday, they won't trouble themselves with a five-course meal and $60 tickets.
"Beer dinners don't work for us," said Rebecca Mohlman, owner and founder of Tap Root. "We're not set up for it. We focus more on having beer and having appetizers on the menu, a more party-style scene."
By which she means folks can pay $7 to enjoy music and then decide their own expenses in appetizers and beer. At Saturday's event, for example, the Pilot Cracker Playboys will crackle through some foot-stomping bluegrass. The event will also feature a costume contest in which "best dressed sin" will go home with a coveted case of Midnight Sun's seven sin beers -- a $70 value. (The brewery sold out and will stock 50 more cases after the New Year).
The Midnight Sun 7 Deadly Sins party starts at 7 p.m. at Tap Root (1330 E Huffman Road, 345-0282). Beer prices will vary because the sin beers are bold, powerful, exquisitely designed and expensive to make. Note to people who like to play dress-up. Barb Miller of Midnight Sun insists on role playing: "I don't think you can just look the sin -- you must BE the sin."
Tap Root takes on all kinds of thoughtful and fun-minded events from beer tasting and release parties to the No Pebble Mine bash that sold out earlier in the month. The cafe also works closely on events with other businesses like Midnight Sun, Specialty Imports and La Bodega liquor store.
Pamela Hatzis of La Bodega in the University mall likes dealing with Tap Root because the two businesses are complementary.
"Both are independently owned and focus on small-batch production and craft for our beer and wine lists, as well as organic," she said. "Doing beer tastings monthly is wonderful because doing it gives everyone a regular chance to try these products that maybe they wouldn't normally order or buy in a store due to unfamiliarity."
Mohlman agrees.
"The more associations you have with people you're connected to, the better," she said. "A lot of our clientele is the same, and doing these things makes those connections stronger in people's heads."
When head brewer Clay Brackley of the Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. talks about various beer styles at the Tap Root, for example, everyone senses the shared passion of both companies toward their products.
Honestly, Tap Root puts on so many music, beer, mead and community events that I can't possibly list them here. Ask for its newsletter instead (AlaskaTapRootCafe@ yahoo.com).
The cozy little watering, eating, communicating, cavorting hole on Huffman Drive doesn't have an online presence, but it will soon enough. In the meantime, try a bare-bones good time in real time.
Voluteer for beer festival
Several changes to the upcoming Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival (Jan. 18-19) will make life easier for everyone and possibly get rid of those nasty lines. I'll let you know more about the event in my next column, but if you want to get into the festival for free and see it from the other side, volunteer to pour beer, hand out wristbands, help with the event program and so on. You will need Techniques of Alcohol or Training (TAM) for Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS) certification to pour beer, but several classes are available in the first few weeks of January. Go to www.auroraproductions. net or contact Annie Chavez at showpros@alaska.net for information.
?• Find Daily News reporter Dawnell Smith at adn.com/contactdsmith or call 257-4587.
Midnmight Sun 7 Deadly Sins party
•
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Tap Root Cafe, 1330 E. Huffman Road
Price: $7
Phone: 345-0282
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