Midnight Sun Brewing Company - Sockeye Red IPA

If you’re a fan of dry IPA’s, this one is going to leave you pretty excited. We found it light copper brown in color, with a nose that is very boldly hoppy and striking. Look for multiple hop components on the nose: dry pine needle with a floral citrus hop blast. You’ll notice that the taste is bitter and dry, and the hops are strong enough on the palate that you may pucker up just a bit. As far as IPA’s are concerned, this one’s as dry as sun scorched bones. Notice that this brew is very crisp, and the malt body is detectable only in small amounts as it plays off the aromatic bitter hops enough to help the hop character bounce back and forth across your tongue. This is a brazen and admirable beer that takes risks and delivers a unique flavor. Our panel really enjoyed this tasty Alaskan treat and know you will too!

The Midnight Sun Brewing Company, based in Anchorage, Alaska, is comprised of a small yet energetic group of craft beer enthusiasts who are devoutly dedicated to producing traditional ales and lagers. “Do The Wild Thing” is a message that appears on every bottle of beer they produce. Again folks, minds out of the gutter please, this is nothing more than an innocent reference to their use of the picturesque Alaskan wilderness and incredible indigenous wildlife as inspiration for their beer titles and bottle label graphics. Local graphic artist Dan Miller creates these exceptional beer labels, conveying the spirit of the wildlife chosen to represent each beer. Though as his fellow locals have been known to claim, this source of inspiration has also made it’s way beyond the label and into the beers themselves, as many consider the brewing company’s libations to be all at once rugged and untamed, yet simultaneously regal and majestic. To showcase the diversity of this brewery from the Great Land, we’ve included two beers from their catalogue that are at opposite ends of the beer brewers’ spectrum. The first, a smooth and malty Nut Brown Ale, nicely represents the traditional English Brown Ale style. It’s named after the large brown bear species of the southern coast of Alaska and adjacent islands, in particular, Kodiak Island. In contrast to their brown ale, Humpy’s Sockeye Red IPA is nearly lacking in malt flavor entirely since the predominant flavor is contributed by an almost obscene amount of hops—we’re talking over 70 Initial Bittering Units (IBU’s), which is a level not normally seen even in strong IPA’s (levels this high are typically reserved for imperial stouts)! Alaska: a land known for the harshest weather conditions in the country, but also home to some of the most beautifully spectacular landscapes and majestic wildlife in the world. But certainly not the first place one thinks of when considering Microbrewing hot spots. The artic temperatures keep many people largely restricted to their homes for months on end, leaving them to engage in primarily indoor activities, especially during those cold wintry nights. And what’s a great indoor activity during those frigid and frosty nighttime hours? Get your minds out of the gutter people! We are…of course talking about craft brewing some high quality beer! Sure, it may seem a bit unconventional upon first thought that our coldest, most northern, practically Siberian territory is also a producer of marvelous microbrews, but then again, consider the following facts: 1) plenty of time inside translates to abundant opportunity for crafting the perfect beer 2) plenty of time inside translates to abundant opportunity for drinking the perfect beer 3) ample natural light (as much as 22 hours perday during the summer) means there’s a ton of extra time available for points 1 and 2 above 4) more time available for point 1 above means there’s bound to be more of point 2 going on 5) with so much of point 2 going on, there’s going to have to be a lot of point 1 happening to keep the whole thing going, thus reinforcing both points 1 and 2 6) you get the point… For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (907) 344-1179