Homer, Alaska
Crusin’ Rating: C-
Booze Rating: C-
In our last Alaska post, Seward Brewing, we talked about Seward, a wonderful port city filled to the brim with outdoor activities. This week, we made our way across the Kenai Peninsula, about 3 ½ hours from Seward to Homer, Alaska. Homer is one of my personal favorite spots in Alaska and I recall going there as young as 14 along with my Grandparents. Even then, I became enamored with the natural beauty of the coastline, the vibrant tourist energy, the lovely shops on the sand spit, and, of course, the foreboding ocean that at one both struck awe and a little bit of anxiousness trying to contemplate its vastness. As we entered Homer and stopped along the highway from a vantage point - it all came rushing right back to me like I had been there only last week rather than 20 years ago.
Maybe I will reminisce in another post. What you do need to know is, Homer is alive and abuzz with tourism and wealthy inhabitants. There is money to be spent, money to be made, food to consume, goods to purchase, and drinks to sip on. Homer Brewing Company is tucked away in the very heart of town on the southern side of Beluga Lake - a lake that serves as an outdoor hangar for all of the seaplanes used for the myriad of tours that depart from Homer every day. If you were to picture a brewery that is quintessentially Alaskan in nature, the image in your head probably is not far off from the reality that is Homer Brewing Company. Whether it’s the spruce and cedar trees along the road leading up to the brewery, the chilly lake within eyesight, or the wood cabin facade - Homer Brewing Company is fairly quintessentially Alaskan in appearance.
Inside, Homer Brewing Company is very much a working space. Tables - mainly hightops, are made with kegs as their bases. Kegs abound to your left as you walk in the door along with a veritable wall of milk crates that separate the production floor from the seating area. A large stuffed bear, complete with varying costuming greets you as you walk in along with the cheerful staff. There is a lot going on in the space - the bear, salted nuts for sale in a glass case near the serving bar (our understanding is that the law requires “food” to be served at places that serve alcohol), swag area, Chai tea for sale, and patrons enjoying brews. Started in 1996, Homer Brewing Company is spartan and functional in its decor. Touting “Fresh, Traditional Country Ales” (we were both unclear what that means - maybe in reference to British style beers?), this is a busy, no-frills space that is clearly used for making beer and the sale of it. Although not warmly welcoming - outside of the beertender, the locals seemed like an older, laid back crowd and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
With a chilly night evening of 52 degrees and clouds weighing in on us after a long drive, Hannah and I passed on the outdoor picnic tables and got to reviewing inside, learning that there’s a limit of six samples a person, which oddly enough, required two of us to bring the beer to the table. Samples were $3.00/pour or $27 to try them all. While we, of course, opted to try them all, we have limited the review to the four listed below.
Skyline Spruce Tip (5.8% ABV) - I’m going to go down a deep hole on Spruce Tip beer before too long so I’ll save you most of the details. Just know that Spruce Tip beer and Spruce Tip Jelly are commonplace in Alaska and although I’ve heard of other states (Colorado and Oregon) attempting something similar, I’m not sure if they are going to compare to what Alaska puts out, but I’m always willing to be proven wrong. Anyway, this beer poured cloudy copper with an off-white head and good retention. A fairly sweet aroma of spruce - it’s tough to describe. Spruce has a uniqueness to it that can be similar to new-world hops, red fruit, sugary, citrus, and sweet all rolled into one little package. When I delve farther into the world of spruce I will give a detailed description. What you do need to know is that spruce, to me, rarely tastes or smells offensively pine-like and there are many IPA’s I’ve tried that are exponentially more resinous or piney than most spruce offerings we’ve tried.
The flavor here was borderline cloyingly sweet, almost like spruce-tip caramel, herbal, and then wet, earthy hops in the finish. Hannah and I both enjoy spruce, so this one was alright but there are definitely stronger and better options not so overly sweet that we’ve tried.
Belgian Rye (6.4% ABV) - This beer was the color of dried cornstalks in Fall and had aromas of pollen, pepper, cardamom, lemongrass, and a little fruitiness with some spicey notes when tasting backed by toasted malt and a little raisin bread. I thought this was a decent offering but Hannah was not a fan.
Red Knot Scottish (5.3% ABV) - This beer poured cloudy, copper-orange and featured aroma of toffee, caramel, and toasted sweet grains. We made note that we really had to look for discerning characteristics, though, when tasting. The toasted qualities of the malt were low. We knew what we should be tasting, but finding it within this beer was difficult - just a vague sweetness when tasting. I’d skip this one.
Solitude Imperial Stout (8.2% ABV) - This black beer had instant coffee notes on the nose, chocolate-covered raisins, and some booziness. Tasting of bakers chocolate and dark coffee with that bitter bite of cocoa coming back in the finish. Hannah actually picked this as her favorite, but she wasn’t a huge fan of most of them.
You know, there wasn’t really anything super wrong with the brews that we had here. They were just coming in a little under par for most of the offerings which is always a shame. For being around that length of time I would hope to see some stronger offerings. Still, the beertender was very friendly and the space felt functional and they clearly are doing some decent business. While it wasn’t for us, you’re welcome to give it a try if you ever make it up to Homer. For now, we are looking forward to reviewing the next few places in Homer, along the sandy spit.
Until then, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Homer Brewing Company, please visit their website at: www.homerbrew.com or on Facebook: @HomerBrewingCompany
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