Take time to apprecitate all that bubbles up at a beer fest.
Published: January 18, 2007
Last Modified: January 19, 2007 at 01:16 PM
A few words for the soulful beer drinker before the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival ...
Ever since the very first beer festival, when the clay pot ran dry before midnight and the brewer had to flee a mob of dirty, enraged relatives with empty beer horns, human beings have recognized the danger of mixing crowds with kegs. Oh, it starts out innocent enough all right, but folks soon start tossing back beer samples like they were downing pints at an English pub after a soccer match.
Security guards begin bracing for brawls and the beer pourers look weary, if not downright beat.
Look, no matter the glory of using every one of those 30 sample tickets, remember that the breweries donate their beer after days, weeks, months and even years of orchestrating each batch. Whatever the promotional benefits of the festival, every brewer takes a hit of some sort, through sweat or the bottom line or just the anguish of pouring beer all night.
Small breweries take the hit in even larger proportions. They come from far and wide -- Haines, Homer, Fairbanks and so on -- and can use just a little respect for their hard work.
So instead of downing everything in sight, spend a little time tasting the beer and appreciating its nuances and eccentricities. Ask questions. Jot some notes about what you like so you can purchase them later.
Above all, drink water, go dancing and eat food before the alcoholic heat catches up to you. The only good beer festival is the one you remember for the beer, not the night in the slammer, hospital bed or ditch.
When: 5 to 10 p.m. today and 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday Where: Egan Convention Center
How much: $30 per person (21-and-up only), includes a glass, program and 30 sample tickets. Tickets sold only at the door.
What’s on tap: Nearly 200 beers from 50 breweries around the world, including most, if not all, of the Alaska breweries.
Music provided by: Kenny Blackwell and Good Company, and The Rockit Rangers on Friday. Snapping Turtle Swing Band, Kenny Blackwell and Good Company, and The Whipsaws on Saturday.
VIPs you might bump into: Beer writer Carol Smagalski of “The Beer Fox” (www.bellaonline.com) and brewer George Reisch from Anheuser Busch in St. Louis.
Who’s putting it on: Aurora Productions (www.auroraproductions.net, 562-9911), which also produces The Great Alaska Sportsman Show, The Alaska Women’s Show, The Anchorage Home Show and The Winter Recreation and Travel Show. Some beer festival proceeds go to the American Diabetes Association.
What to think about ahead of time:
• If you fret over the possibility of some of the best beers running out, head to the festival on Friday. The winners of the barley wine competition are announced around 7:30 p.m., and swarms of people head to the winning booths right after.
• Keep these numbers on hand. No one wants you on the road if you’ve had too much to drink: Alaska Yellow Cab, 222-2222; Checker Cab, 276-1234.
Kind words
Some of the state's big-shot brewers weigh in on 12 years of the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival and what it means to the Alaska brewing industry:
"I think it's become a national draw. It gets us on the map. Everyone in town knows about us now, and most people are familiar with the breweries, but now we're getting known Outside. It's nice getting other breweries up here too, to meet the brewers, exchange ideas and do stupid things together."
-- Kevin Burton, head brewer Glacier BrewHouse
"If we win, we get a little boost in sales, but it's more of a chance to show off our beers. You get people to try things they would balk at buying at a bar or liquor store, and maybe it expands their palate a little bit. They might try it and then buy it next time."
-- Gabe Fletcher, head brewer Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
"Boy, it's obviously added a lot of exposure. The generosity of our colleagues from across the state to come to Anchorage is really appreciated. It's an opportunity to see everybody and try their beers. Anchorage is an educated palate on average, and I think this festival has contributed to it."
-- Clarke Pelz, head brewer Moose's Tooth Brewing Co.
"The festival means seeing dear old friends I only see once a year, heady flavorful brews warming the winter's night and a wonderful camaraderie of commercial and home brewers."
-- Laurence Livingston, former commercial brewer and current mead maker at Ring of Fire Meadery in Homer
"I guess I would equate it to taking a three-month vacation to visit breweries, but being able to do it in three hours. Not that there would be anything wrong with a three-month vacation to visit breweries. I guess not everyone can be that lucky."
-- Jon Blakley, regional sales manager Alaskan Brewing Co. of Juneau
Stacking up
The barley wine competition didn't always include Outside beers, but by the late 1990s, local brewers demanded it. They knew they made good beer and wanted to prove it. Even with 25 or more barley wines in the running every year -- including entries from breweries as tiny as our beloved Homer Brewing Co. and as huge as California's Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. -- Alaska brewers fare pretty darn well. See for yourself in this list of winners from the past five years, tallied here from first to third place with the Alaska breweries in bold:
2001: Arctic Devil (Midnight Sun Brewing Co.); Big Woody (Glacier Brewing Co.); Old Bawdy (Pike Place Brewing)
2002: Old Boardhead (Full Sail Brewing Co.); Big Woody (Glacier); Old Guardian (Stone Brewing Co.)
2006: Arctic Devil (Midnight Sun); Big Foot (Sierra Nevada); Big Woody (Glacier)
12 can't-miss brews
I can't tell you the best festival beers or which you might like best, but I can offer some advice culled from years of experience and interviews with local brewers. First and foremost, drink something different for a change, like an unfamiliar beer from one of your favorite breweries or any beer from an unfamiliar brewery.
Other than that, here's a 12-pack of beers you must try. Hindsight will prove me boneheaded and brilliant at the same time, but that's what beer festivals are all about.
• Midnight Sun's Arctic Devil
• Old Foghorn Barley Wine from Anchor Brewery
• Alaskan Icy Bay IPA, the latest and last version before the release of Icy Bay as a year-round product
• Glacier Brewhouse's Big Woody
• Ring of Fire's Cosmic Mead
• Homer Brewing's Celesiale
• The Moose's Tooth's Darth Delirium
• Stormwatchers Winterfest from Pelican Pub and Brewery
