Shades of returning sunbeams start to color beer palette
Down the Hatch
Published: March 23, 2006
Last Modified: March 23, 2006 at 12:54 AM
When the light comes back, when we finally see the sun in the morning and go to bed in sunlight at night, the beer selections at bars and pubs turns airy and light. The colors of sun return, as do the flavors of fruit.
At the Moose's Tooth recently, the menu board highlighted Shakedown Brown, March's first-tap beer, but the other beer choices hovered on the light side: Spenard Nite Life, Moose's Tooth Hefeweizen, Valdez Lager, Raspberry Wheat, Klondike Golden and Alpenglow Amber. The bock and barley wine on the menu seemed more like placeholders than options, and not many people ordered them.
Simply said, our palates want summer as much as we do; our palates pine for the same excess and respite. Think of it as feeding season when there is no rest for the beery.
Already, brew crews throughout the state have pumped up production of their light and quenching beers. Already, they have secured sources of berries and fruit. They have put slash marks through the summer months. They have accepted the improbability of getting long weekends off.
Take Glacier Brewhouse, for example, which produces as much beer as the Moose's Tooth but has a much smaller brewing system and can only make small batches at a time. To prepare for summer, the brewers have to fill the brewing tanks and all 1,200 kegs ahead of time.
"Summer's here," said Kevin Burton, head brewer at Glacier.
People may still bundle up in coats and stocking caps, but the brewing summer has already begun. March and April are months for stocking up on beer to fend off shortages. Burton hopes to stay on top of demand until at least mid-July. By then he'll feel burnt out, maybe want a vacation, but will have to muscle through August too.
Fortunately, brewers are as self-serving as self-deserving, so they salvage portions of their favorite winter beers for these sunny days spent at the brew kettle. Two years ago, Burton brewed six lambic-style beers using different blends of bacteria and wild yeast. He will blend them with other beers and put them on tap throughout the summer. Don't look for a release schedule though. These ales will show when they show and run out when they run out.
In the meantime, look for all the usual suspects, like Glacier's blonde, IPA, hefeweizen and Imperial blond, or Midnight Sun Brewing Company's popular Kolsch, Kodiak Brown and Sockeye Red.
Look for other breweries and beers too, like those at the Great Bear Brewing Company in Wasilla. I admit that I stopped going to the Great Bear many months ago due to the baggage of previous experiences. I once went to the Great Bear with a companion who had the flu, but didn't quite know it yet. We ordered two beers and never drank them because I had to load her in the car and drive her home.
But I paid the $10 anyway. The bartender took my cash and dumped the beer without blinking an eye. I don't blame her, but I know the cost of making beer and it's far less than losing a customer.
Last week, I decided to get over that earlier annoyance by stopping by the Great Bear again. I found my beloved Old Town Brown on the menu, plus a bevy of light beers like Wasilla Wheat, Double Trouble IPA and Settler's Bay Hefeweizen.
Better yet, the brewery served burlier summertime fare like the frothy Hauser Lake Huckleberry, an effervescent beer loaded with enough hops to temper the huckleberries. The berry flavor is an undercurrent here, not a single note, and the strength of the beer -- over 8 percent by volume -- builds enough body to hold the fruit in check.
So I'm a fan of Great Bear again. And why not? A pub that makes Valley Trash Blonde Ale is right up my alley.
• Daily News reporter Dawnell Smith can be reached at dsmith@adn.com.
Drink up
Great Bear Brewing in Wasilla has several big beers suitable for summer. You can try a pint of Hauser Lake Huckleberry, Valley Trash Blonde, Beary Berry Strong Ale and all the rest for $4.50 a pint.
