I find the Alskan Amber disapointing. The White was OK but I really don't like wheat in my beer. The IPA isn't anything to write home about. The stout is a very good basic stout.
The smoked porter kicks butt, and scrubs the floor with competitors scalps. If you do a lot of beer/ food stuff go ahead and pull the trigger on a sixer, the last four will hang out in the fridge with aplomb while you figure it out.
The Kolsch style summer is the only Kolsch I like. Iahve tried wevery commercial Kolsch brew commonly available in the US, brewed with Kolsch yeast twice, not my favorite style. The Alaskan Summer is drinkable, a compliment form me.
The Pale I rave about. You can cook Salmon any way you want and Alaskan Pale will pair up well. From sushi to cajun blackened, poached, grilled, fried, croquettes, doesn't matter. Planked, steamed, just bring it. Dill and shallots, mayo and cheddar, white wine reduction with escargot, come on. No matter how much salmon you have eaten, try any recipe swith a pint of Alaskan Pale beside it and prepare for a new dimension.
Plus it is quaffable alone. I lived in Oregon for a year, SoCal for two, I have probably tried 50 different Pale Ales over the years and the Alaskan, it just clicks.
I'll put in a plug for the winter ale with the spruce tips too. It isn't a session beer. It is probably a love it or hate it thing, maybe split a sixer with a bud. On really cold nights when you got a hard day tommorrow and you really should only have one or two in front of the fire tonight it's lighter than a brandywine or a heavy stout, but it has some zing to it that basic pale ales don't offer. I'll probably bring in two cases this fall when it is released.
I expect the White will outsell the ESB that no one really laments. With the Summer. Pale and Smoked Porter in the lineup the IPA will probably go next. I would also like to see them drop the stout and go with a lineup of seasonals. Midnight Sun is kinda doing that already, but I would love to see an export stout, a farm stout and maybe an Imperial come out of Juneau.
The Baltic Porter absolutely kicks butt. da*n, that stuff is awesome. The barleywine is pretty good for being a US style girly-man syrupy-sweet barleywine. I prefer the grainy Euro styles like Traquir House.
Maybe they could come up with a winter stout. The smoked porter and the winter ale are both very good, but I wonder what they can really come up with for cold dark winter nights, something both accessible and sophisticated. Then run a dry stout in the summer...
Midnight Sun makes some stuff I really like and some stuff I really don't, but when they release something new I will at least try it. I liked the Arctic Rhino, but I usually have to work in the morning.
