Alaskan Brewing

The Alaskan brewing company is the oldest operating
brewery in Alaska, with their amber beer being
their most popular brand. They produce two other
brands as well, pale ale and Alaskan frontier
amber. If you enjoy fresh amber beer, Alaskan
brewing is what you want.

As you may already know, brewing beer in Alaska is
very hard to do. The coastal community of Juneau
doesn’t have road connections to the lower 48 states,
so everything arrives and leaves by water or air,
with weather always having the final say.

In 1986, the Alaskan brewing company became the
67th brewery to operate in the United States and
the only one to operate in Alaska. Since that time,
Alaskan brewery has received more than 30 major
medals and awards, including the best beer in the
nation award during the 1988 Great American Beer
Festival.

The popularity of their beers has led to a great
amount of efforts to keep up with the demand from
consumers. They also hold the unnofficial record
for the production on a 10 barrel brewing system,
which produces an amazing 42 batches a week.

The Alaskan Brewery offers several different styles
of brew as well, which are listed below:

1. Amber - This is the company’s flagship
beer, based on a turn of the century recipe that
was used to quench the thirst of the miners during
the Gold Rush era. It provides a smooth, malty,
rich taste that goes well with meals - or friends.

2. Pale - Pale is fresh, crips, and
inviting. Alaskan pale is great with crab, pawns,
and salads. The floral aroma of the hops is
derived from dry hopping the tanks during the entire
fermentation process.

3. Stout - The oatmeal style beer of stout
doesn’t have the harshness of other stouts. Great
with chocolate and hearty meals, stout is also
ideal to enjoy while walking in the snow.

4. ESB - If you like hops, the infusion
of hops in this delight will amaze your nose while
the refreshing cascade hops will provide a wonderful
crispness to both the flavor and the finish. This
beer is great with spicy food, wild game, and other
wintery food.

5. Smoked Porter - Very exclusive, Alaskan
smoked porter has a world class reputation for its
excellence. Brewed in the fall, this beer is ideal
for storing in the cellar for later enjoyment.

6. Winter Ale - This tender brew of spruce
trees has been used for brewing in Alaska since
the late 1700s.

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Intro To Microbrews

With their varying flavor intensities and alcohol
contents, microbrews are here because beer
distributors noticed a market demand and took a
gamble on imports like Corona in the 70s. This
type of flavorful beer sold to a limited yet very
enthusiastic crowd.

Beer manufacturers create what sells, therefore
they didn’t believe there would be a significant
maket with those types of beers. Consumer studies
and sales showed that the biggest part of the
American audiences enjoyed watery brew.

Then, out of nowhere, microbrews popped up after
the first successful brew, Samuel Adams, fought
with import distributors to try and convince them
that a flavorful American beer would sell. Now,
we have more microbrews than ever before with more
coming out each and every day.

Microbrews really hit when distributors really
believed that at least some people would buy them.
On the other hand, home brewers and brewpubs had
legal wars. In 1968, home brewing was legalized
and home brewers now had the support and assistance
of supply and advice stores.

Until 1983, brewpubs were illegal in all states.
Late in 1983, California first began to allow
brewpubs to brew and distribute their brands of
beer on site. These charming, yet small batch
breweries experienced high sales, especially in
restaurants.

Around a century ago, the United States had more
than 2,000 breweries making many different styles
and variations. By the 80’s, there were only 40
brewing companies that offered a brand of American
Pilsner.

Today, there are over 500 microbreweries and brewpubs
in the United States. Over the past few years,
brewpubs have been popping up all over th e place,
even in bars that used to only carry the top beers.

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Differences Between Keg And Cask Ale

Over the years, keg beers have gotten a lot better.
If a cask beer is in poor condition, it’s actually
possible for a fresh keg beer to be much better
tasting. Even though this may sound absurd, it’s
very common for someone who’s unfamilar with cask
ale to not be able to taste the difference between
keg and cask beer.

The warm temperature that cask beer is famous for
doesn’t apply in the summer months all that often
these days, as temperature control units in pubs
have beer run through coolers. The fact is, some
pubs will run cask ale lines through lager chillers
in order to get the beer below the maximum temperature
required, so cask ale may very well end up just as
cold as a keg lager.

This isn’t really a good thing, as ale requires a
cool rather than very cold temperature to bring out
all of its flavors. In a well run pub however, the
cask ale will be served at the right temperature -
cool but not too cold.

The smell of cask ale is much fresher and more
wholesome than keg beer. Keep in mind, the aroma of
cask ale doesn’t have the stored up impact of
bottled type beers, as this beer has already been
exposed to the air for a couple of days - meaning
there is no impact when you transfer it to your
beer glass.

Normally, the aroma wil be released into the air when
it has been warmed up, which will probably happen
when you get near the bottom of the glass.

The flavor of cask ale is very similiar to the aroma
in it, which is very fresh and delicate. Unlike
other bottled beers, the flavor of cask ale is
even more noticeable than the aroma. At first,
the aroma is very slight, although the flavor
more than makes up for it.

The intensity of the flavor will depend on the style
of beer. The CO2 bubbles themselves will have
very little flavor, therefore a mass of bursting
bubbles against your tongue will prevent the actual
beer from making contact.

With cask ale, there is little to no carbonation,
so more of the flavor will connect with your taste
buds. You should be able to note the fruity taste
up front, with balance in the middle and bitterness
in the end. The flavor of a cask ale is much more
noticed than keg or even bottled beer.

Bottle conditioned beers will also have this type
of flavor profile, although they’ll need to be
prepared and conditioned well in advance, meaning
that the bottle will need to be opened and allowed
to settle for a while. Cask ales offer the
conditioning being done fro you, so you won’t need
to do it.

The most important aspect of cask ale is how it
feels in your mouth. It shouldn’t be fizzy. If it
is, it’s either a keg beer or a cask ale that’s
been put on too soon. There will be a natural feel
in the beer, a life that makes you want to drink it.

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Discovering Microbrews

Brewed on every continent around the world and
enjoyed in every nation, beer can quench every type
of thirst and go down as easily as spring water
to thick, heady concoctions that resemble that of
the thickest oatmeal.

Just as the gourmet blends have conquered a large
portion of the coffee business, handcrafted brews
continue to keep a firm hold on the most serious
of beer drinkers. There are hundreds of thousands
of brews out there, which are sure to please even
the hardest to please.

When it comes to the gourmet types of microbrews,
there are some things to keep in mind. If you
are new to microbrews and gourmet types, you’ll
find the tips below to be very beneficial.

Start Light
When you go to a pub or just out to drink, you
should start off light with a basic lager, pilsner,
or wheat beer. After that, you can work your way
towards the full flavored beers, such as porters
and Oktoberfest beers. These can be very potent,
especially for those who don’t really drink that
much.

Starting light is also good for your overall
tolerance, as drinking light will prepare you for
the more potent drinks. This way, you can enjoy
plenty of microbrews without having to worry
about stopping too early.

Brewpub
The ideal way to try new types of beer is to pay
a visit to a local brewpub. Many of these small
brewery/restaurants will offer samplers, which
feature small glasses with four to five of their
most popular beers.

This way, you can experience a variety of beer
tastes without having to spend a lot of money.
Once you have tried a couple of the beers, you’ll
know what to order.

Dark Beers
If you are a casual beer drinker or can handle
your tolerance, you shouldn’t be afraid in the
least to try dark beers. The dark color doesn’t
mean that the beer is heavier or contains more
calories, it simply means that the malt in the
beer is roasted longer or roasted to a more darker
color than most.

Small business
Small businesses and small businessmen are yet
another reason to get into microbrewed beer other
than the taste. Local microbrew producers brew
their beers in small batches, so you’ll be helping
to keep the business afloat, rather than supporting
the large giants of the industry.

When you know that your money is going to help the
little people, you’ll normally find the brew to go
down much smoother. Small microbreweries need
all the help they can get to continue brewing,
which is reason enough to support them. You’ll get
a great beer for your money - and you’ll be
supporting those that actually need your help.

Thanks for stopping by! Please share with us your home brewing experiences, ideas and tips.

Microbrews Of The Northwest

The ideal place to sample the best of Northwest
handcrafted ale is a well run brewpub, which will
stimulate the human spirit with warmth, the scent
of malt, pleasant conversation, and hearty food.

Helping to combat the chilly, damp climate of
the region, brewpubs have become great places of
refuge where you can shake off the tears of a
hostile world, order a pint of cask beer, then
savor a complex beer that will caress every one
of your senses.

Microbreweries (companies that produce less than
20,000 kegs a year) can be found everywhere from
Minneapolis to Maui, although it all began in the
Pacific Northwest. On any evening, many dozen
locally brewed beers and ales are available for
your enjoyment in Portland and Seattle.

Most East Coast microbreweries produce German
style lagers, which is the most famous style of
brewing for American palates. The microbreweries
of the Northwest go all out for wildly adventerous
bitters, stouts, and porters.

With all of these amazing beers to choose from,
you may be wondering where to begin. When you
look for a microbrew, you should always be
thinking about variety. At any time in both
Seattle and Portland, you can find several dozen
fresh, locally made brew on tap. They all range
in strength from the standard 3 1/2% to a very
potent 8 1/2%.

As for the flavor, you’ll have to taste it for
yourself. There’s the rich sweetness of malt,
balanced well with good bitter hops. Then, there’s
also the mocha java overtones of roasted barley,
used with stouts and porters, and the spicy kick
of malted wheat.

There are also the sweet ales and tart ales,
mild ales, and ales that are so charged with flavor
that they linger on the tongue. No matter which
type of microbrew you choose, your sure to get
a flavor that will make you come back for more.

Thanks for stopping by! Please share with us your home brewing experiences, ideas and tips.

Beer Gift Baskets

When you don’t know what to get someone for a holiday, wedding, birthday, or other special events, there are few sure bets. If you get them a book, they might not like it. If you get them a piece of clothing, they might not wear it. And if you get them a painting, it my not fit their décor. A gift basket is the one thing that will work for almost everyone. Everyone loves getting treats for a special occasion.

Nevertheless, sometimes getting chocolate gift baskets or flower gift baskets seems a little bit old. A lot of people like getting chocolates and flowers, but it can be nice to stand out from the herd a little bit and get someone a gift that they expect less. That is where beer gift baskets come in. Although they seem like an obvious idea, beer gift baskets appear to be a relatively recent phenomenon. People have been buying each other wine and spirits, sausage, cheese, flowers, and chocolate for decades, but the beer gift basket only dates back just a few years as far as I can tell.

The great thing about beer basket gifts is that you can get them for almost anyone. It is pretty hard to get gift baskets for men, because they are generally seen as a pretty feminine presents. Even if you’re getting a guy all the things he likes best – chocolate, wine, sausage, and other gourmet treats – the ribbons and wrapping might make it look a little bit too girly. A beer gift basket is another thing altogether. Most beer gift baskets are marketed by companies which understand that male customers are a big part of their target demographic. As such, they put together baskets that appeal to men.

Not all beer gift baskets work for all people. If you’re not a big beer drinker, you might not realize how polarized a group beer drinkers are. There are people out there who will only drink one type of beer. If you get someone who is a pale ale fan an amber or a stout, God help you. As such, it is necessary to do a little bit of asking around before you purchase your gift basket beer. Try to take your intended recipient out for drinks once or twice and see what he or she orders. That way, you can get the right kind of beer for him or her when it counts. I guarantee that you will get a good reaction!

Thanks for stopping by! Please share with us your home brewing experiences, ideas and tips.