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Archives for December 2020

Alaskan Brewing’s Baltic Porter Returns

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Alaskan Baltic PorterJUNEAU, Alaska – Alaskan Baltic Porter is back as the latest brew for Alaskan Brewing’s limited Pilot Series. This rich and warming brew is a deep, dense beer with an intricate array of aromas and flavors that’s perfect for cold and dark winter nights, and for special occasions like the holidays.

“It’s always fun to brew this fan-favorite, and it also takes a lot of attention to detail,” said Alaskan Head Brewer Rob Day. “It has so many elements – with a blend of specialty malts, dark black cherries, brown sugar, gourmet vanilla beans, and finished on oak. And it is definitely a beer you can drink right away, but lots of folks like to age it to enhance the vanilla and cherry.”

First brewed in 2008 and most recently in 2017, fans have aged every vintage of Alaskan Baltic Porter, enjoying this rare beer on special occasions and in vertical tastings. Age enhances the smooth mouthfeel and malt sweetness as well as the fruit flavors.

Day’s tasting notes on Alaskan Baltic Porter emphasize deep maltiness, vanilla and cherry intensity and a warming from the 9.8% ABV. The color is jet-black from the deeply roasted malts, with hints of bourbon and toffee present from start to finish.

“Baltic Porters were originally brewed stronger and more hoppy than many other dark beers to endure the trip to remote communities along the Baltic Sea,” remarked Day. “So, it’s robust, with toasted French oak, and dried fruit notes. Here in Alaska, the warmth is also a very attractive feature especially in winter.”

The name and label of Baltic Porter links this beer to the Russian period of Alaska history, with the copula of a Russian Orthodox church featured prominently. These traditional onion-domed copulas are still present in many communities in Alaska, as well as other settlements along the Baltic Sea.

Day recommends drinking it right away, or aging for up to 10 years. “If anyone is still holding onto a 2008, I would recommend planning a special occasion to enjoy that one. I think after 10 years or so, this beer has probably peaked. An excellent way to taste this beer is to get a new bottle and compare it to the aged beer – you’re really able to pick out the changes in flavor that way.”

Alaskan Baltic Porter will be on shelves in 22-ounce bottles and on draft in select locations beginning in December and will available for approximately three months.

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Niagara College Teaching Brewery finishes year with gold-medal performance at the U.S. Open Beer Championship

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Niagara College Teaching Brewery wins gold medalNiagara on the Lake, Ontario – Staff and students at the Niagara College Teaching Brewery are clinking beer steins this week after three student-made beers medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championships, including winning gold.

The trio of beers that were awarded honours at the competition, which drew 6,000 entries from throughout North America, are:
Gold for Beer 101 Bock in the Bock category;
Silver for Beer 101 Strong in the Old Ale category;
Silver for Beer 101 Bitter in the Bitter category.

Both the Beer 101 Bitter and Strong have consistently medalled at the U.S. Open Beer Championships over the past eight years. This is also the third medal this year for the Beer 101 Bock, which also scored a gold at the Ontario Brewing Awards and silver at the Canadian Brewing Awards earlier this fall.

“This is a significant accomplishment for students and staff at the Niagara College Teaching Brewery,” said Steve Gill, general manager of NC’s Learning Enterprises. “Our beers have performed well at competitions this year attesting to the quality of the applied education we offer at the college and to our students’ abilities to make some of the best beers in North America year after year.”

College Brewmaster Jon Downing noted that students in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations program mastered the key characteristics judges seek when choosing winning beers in a competition.

“Students are learning how to make consistent, high-quality beer and they’re knocking it out of the park,” Downing said. “Quality and consistency are what the judges look for, and these beers have it. And with the Bock, we just nailed the recipe this year.”

The U.S. Open Beer Championships is the second-largest competition in North America and the only one to include suds from both professional and home brewers. Judges from the U.S. and Canada select winners in blind tastings, knowing only the categories, not the names or locations of beers competing.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, judging was held in both the U.S. and Canada.

Competition Director Dow Scoggins said Niagara students don’t just perform well at the competition while enrolled in school. They continue to do so after graduation.

He noted NC alumnus Jared Lewinski, who’s now the head brewer at Listermann Brewing Company in Cincinnati, produced four beers that medalled this year, including a gold in the nut beer category.

Another alumnus, Henriques Soares, who came from Brazil to study in the program, saw two of his beers for Tire Shack Brewing Co. in Moncton, N.B., medal, including a gold in the Gose category.

“One of the important things about Niagara College is the students do well there, but they also medal outside the College,” Scoggins said. “The No. 1 thing is we’re very big on clean beers with no alcohol taste. That speaks to the quality of brewing and the brewery at Niagara College.”

The award-winning beers are sold in 473-millilitre cans, which are available for purchase at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre, located at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Sales of the brews support student education.

 

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