Poor Kid Drinks a Good Beer
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The Sleeping Lady Brewery
My partner and I landed late last night in Anchorage, AK. We weren’t looking forward to waking up early and hiking, nor doing anything else that might be strenuous. Both of us were jet lags and feeling quite lazy. So instead of hiking with my Mother and her friends, we opted for tooling around town and price out souvenirs for friends.
After paying $10 to park downtown, my nose caught the unmistakable scent of grains making their magical transformation into my favorite beverage. It was coming from The Snow Goose, a brew pub in the heart of down town with a magical view of Ship Creek. We venture in, just in time to see one of the brewers wheel out a giant tub of spent grain. The aroma is intoxicating and beautiful. I warn my partner that it is Alaska, and everything is expensive but smells are still free. Still we make our way up to the second floor to sit in the brew pub and gawk at the view of the coast.
After asking the server what it is the brewers are working on downstairs, she informs us that it is a new batch of the Golden Ale. Last night they has a mishap, and one of the fermenters sprung a leak costing a catastrophic loss of a very large batch of beer. A tear fell from my eye, but she assured me not to worry. They believe they fixed the problem and are working on recouping their lost beer.
I went on to order a glass of their Imperial Saison and a bowl of salmon corn chowder. My partner ordered himself a glass of the Extra Pale Ale and a sampler of spiced reindeer, elk, and bison sausages. MMmm exotic sausages.
The amber color of the Saison was a bit of a shocker to me. Half awake and not paying attention, all I heard at the time was Saison and didn’t think to expect anything but a light golden color. My nose was a bit confused with the overwhelming aromas coming from the down stairs brew, but I did detect notes of malt reminiscent of a barley wine. The taste was sweet and complemented the salmon chowder quite well. The smooth but slightly carbonated feel accentuated the small yeast after taste. Malty and mild, it went extremely well with the smoky flavors in my meal. I realized I couldn’t have picked a better beer to drink at that moment.
The extra pale ale my partner had chosen, had very strong hop notes. Reasonable, because the beer was dry hopped at the very end, with little time to mellow. Again very well complemented to his spicy sausage sampler meal.
We finished off our meals and our drinks, and with a $31 tab paid, it was time to venture off into the great urban wilderness of downtown Anchorage. Through out the day we scoped out a few more brew pubs that have now made it on my list, and made our way back home for well deserved nap.
