Name: Alaskan Brewing: ESB
Brewed In/Type: Juneau, AK / Extra Special Bitter
Bought at/Price: Brewery / n/a
Dennis: The thing that bothers me about a bewery that puts out a Pale Ale, an Amber, and an ESB is how close they all are to each other. Especially if you don't use different styles of hops. To me this is really hard to place. It's a good beer, but I don't think it steps out enough from the shadows. Aside from the tang on the swallow, I'd think this was a pale ale.
Jen: This seems to be a slightly better brew. It has a nice light body with tiny bubbles that are quite present. There is a bitterness to it that I can't quite put my finger on, but I think it is a cascade or saaz hop. The mouthfeel makes this fairly easy to swallow, leaving behind a mild bitter hop aftertase on the exhale. I don't find this to be a stand out brew, but a good filler.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Alaskan Brewing: Stout
Brewed In/Type: Juneau, AK / Stout
Bought at/Price: Brewery / n/a
Dennis: This is overall my favorite Alaskan brew, if given a choice I would say this is the one brew to try. There is a delicious chalky burnt backbone to this that really ties together the hops and malts. It's a shame we're never gonna see this locally in IL.
Jen: Well, as usual, I love me some stout. This stout upholds the flavors well, it has a nice chalky malt flavor followed by the taste of roasted/toasted malts edning with a mild almost hoppy flavor backed with a hint of burnt toast. The body is full and the carbonation is moderate. A good smooth stout.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)