1001 Beers: Smoked Porter

Beer Number 96: Alaskan Smoked Porter

Alaskan Smoked Porter is a one of the very first craft beers I have ever had. I would say it was very advanced for what I was into back then and I really had no idea what I was drinking. I just saw a bottle of it at FredMeyer and decided to pick it up... along with variety packs of everything that the store had... Yes, it was that early in my beer days.

I got this bottle in a trade. I had no idea when I was going to open it up, and after hearing that it ages well for years and years, I figured I might hold onto it for a long time. There have been recent tastings as old as 1993, I want to say. I'd have to find the website or Alaskans official statement on that for a festival not too long ago. But, after hearing that Alaskan Brewing was going to be the Spotlight Interview a few weeks back for Craft Beer Nation, I decided what better time to open it?

To view that Spotlight interview with a few members of Alaskan Brewing, click here.

When U.S. brewers began to experiment with smoked beers in the 1980s, they didn't look to Germany's Rauchbiers for inspiration, but instead to the American past. The most famous reslt is Alaskan Smoke Porter. Brewery founders Geoff and Marcy Larson discovered that Alaskan breweries at the end of the 19th century brewed porter using colored malts that they kilned themselves over wood fires. The wood would surely have been alder, the only true hardwood in southeast Alaska and used for centuries by Native Americans to smoke fish.

I think that last note is very key. I've eaten quite a bit of Smoke Salmon living back in Seattle, so it was a flavor I knew well. And this beer, really had that character. From the nose to the flavor, Smoked Salmon was on my brain. Very heavy on the nose, woody, dry and all of that carried on as well. There was a subtle bitterness, though the overall mouthfeel was smooth and creamy. I kind of thought I was getting a little bit of an oily character, but maybe that was just me thinking about eating the Smoked Salmon... I don't know. For sure a beer to try

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1001 Beers: Kodiak Brown Ale

Beer Number 50: Midnight Sun Kodiak Brown Ale

While I had the IPA from this brewery not too long ago, I was happy to see that their brown ale made it into this book. It is not a style we see much of today. Though, one I really enjoy. When I first got into beer I was not impressed with the big, hoppy, and outrageous IPAs. I fell in love with some of the more passionate and flavorful offerings. So it is nice when I find something that takes me back to the beginning.

The Kodiak Brown Ale was its very first beer and has been the best-selling Midnight Sun beer ever since. It's brewed with the traditional malts of a Norther English Brown: pale and chocolate malt. The hopping rate is also along the lines typical for the style, at 24 IBUs, but with rather more unusual hop varieties: German Perle and American Willamette. These hop varieties gives the brown ale a decidedly nontraditional taste profile, which adds to its very unique character.

I do not think I have ever had a beer named after a bear before, but here it goes. I wonder if it will shred away at me or if I should play dead... hmmm...

Kodiak Brown Ale pours, as you would expect, a nice deep brown with a pretty good looking tan head. Sweet malts on the nose with a bit of caramel and a little bit of a toasted nut character. The initial taste was sweet and a little burnt. This beer carried a medium body and a strong carbonation kick in the back. Toasty, spicy, a solid brown ale.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. A very different beer from what you typically find out there and what is talked about today. I hope there are others in the book that just hang onto the simplicity of what beer really is.

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1001 Beers: Obliteration IX (V)

Beer Number 47: Midnight Sun Obliteration IX (V Substitution)

I am not saying that this beer should NOT be in the book, but I feel that it is really weird the contributors would put so many one off/limited release beers into it. I mean, I am sure the beers are that good and they want you to taste them, but if it was released once what are the odds of tracking it down years later? Copyright 2010, it is already hard enough rounding up beers with some being retired. For this one, they even knew it was part of a series.

Obliteration V is the fifth in a series of experimental beers brewed by Midnight Sun, an award-winning brewery based in Anchorage, Alaska. In each of the Obliteration brews, Midnight Sun uses different hop varieties so that the imbiber can experience the character that each hop variety contributes to the beer.

Now, with all that said. I thought this beer was AMAZING! The hop variety in Obliteration IX, (you can see how many in the series I have missed up to this point), are Citra & Saaz. I love using Saaz in homebrew so I was looking forward to this combination. I thought it was quite interesting.



Obliteration IX poured very thick and visually viscous. Golden with a small white head but it left behind some amazing lacing. Tons of rising carbonation and very resiny and grassy on the nose. A splash of pine and citrus.

The first sip sent a spicy rush over my tongue and then mellowed out and brought out a slightly syrupy texture. Lemon, honey, mango, some other tropical fruits, and a touch of mint. Decently bittered sitting at 80IBUs and 8.0% ABV. Very drinkable.

I got this beer in a trade and I wish I would have asked for a few more bottles or that I lived close enough to grab some myself. I wonder how Obliteration V tasted, but I feel no loss since I got a winner here.

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1001 Beers: Alaskan Amber

Beer Number 7: Alaskan Amber



Tonight we went out for my wifes, her twin sister, and my birthday dinner... Sure you think they are on separate days, but they are not! Weird huh... My wife and I were born on the same day... but anyway, that is not important at this point in time.

I have only had the Alaskan IPA and Smoked Porter but I must revisit both of those since it has been so long, so I have kind of considered the Amber to be my first experience with this brewery. I did not like the Smoked Porter on my first visit but that was like the 10th craft beer I have ever had, so I am not really counting it.



Anyway, Alaskan Amber. This was a very enjoyable trip. I thought the carbonation was pretty high but what really stood out was the sweet fruitiness and I got a hint of underlying chocolate. I thought this was kind of odd being I saw no indication that there was chocolate in this beer but that is what I tasted. It was medium bodied and bready. A very nice beer. A great experience from a new to me brewery. 3.5/5

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