DR. FERMENTO: The ‘Taste of Samoa’ available in Alaska

Someone tipped me off that Alaska was going to be the first state in the U.S. to get Vailima Lager Beer and Vailima Pure Lager from Samoa. It was Friday and I was dashing out to my mining camp in the woods and had to hit a couple of stores to find it, although I was assured its widely available. I knew for sure I’d find it at the Brown Jug Warehouse – always a safe bet for new stuff – and I was able to grab a spendy ($10.99) six pack of each before swinging south to the Seward Highway with the goods in my cooler.

The clerk at the warehouse confirmed my suspicions. “Yeah, it’s brand new. I haven’t had it yet. You probably won’t find it at our smaller neighborhood stores, but the bigger outlets all over will carry it.”

I thought a beer from Samoa would come from a new craft beer wannabe, but I was surprised to learn that Vailima comes from Samoa Breweries Limited of Apia, and it’s well established, celebrating 40 years when the beer entered the U.S. market in May.

I don’t know how purposeful Alaska being America’s first touch point for Vialima was; perhaps it was happenstance or had something to do with shipping, but there’s doubt it’s a nod to our significant Samoan and Polynesian population up here. Certainly, getting the beer into the U.S. was by design and a nod so Samoans that have arrived here.

According to the May 28 edition of the Samoa Observer in a badly translated web posting, “Vailima will soon be available in the United States. The ‘taste of Samoa’ is the first of many export shipments on the west coast of the U.S.A. and will become available in Hawaii, California and Washington States. We know certainly that there’s a lot of Samoans who used to live here in Samoa and in American Samoa that have moved to the U.S., this is about taking a bit home with you and keeping it there to the U.S. with yourself. Another part of the strategy is to help grow Samoa as well. This initiative also prepares the local brewery for their 40th anniversary as well.”

The Observer either didn’t know about or mention that Alaska was to be first stop for a beer that’s obviously a source of national and brewery pride in Samoa. The brewery’s website reveals a little bit more. “Alofa Everyone! We are proud to announce that the first containers of Vailima have been packed and shipped and on their way to Alaska and Washington!!!! Vailima will be available around the 2nd week of May in these 2 great States. Hawaii, Utah, Nevada and California coming last week of May – 1st week of June. Check back on our store locator below for locations as we will be updating the info for you… Spread The Word, Spread The Love. Malo Lava.. Fa’afetai Tele Lava,” it reads.

The name comes from a popular Samoan legend. A husband and wife were on a long journey, crossin the Samoan island of Upolu. The wife fared well during the trek, but the husband collapsed, dying of thirst. The wife traveled to a nearby village stream cupped her hands (“lima”) and carried water (“via”) back to her stricken man and revived him. The village and eventually the beer’s name came from the legend.

The information on the six pack holder reveals more interesting information – at least to a beer geek like me. At least up to distribution in the United States, the beer’s distributed to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The Australian nod made me chuckle. For one, the beer’s distributed there by Coca Cola. I didn’t know Coke was in the beer biz, but this is obviously a distribution arrangement, not the soft drink company’s foray into the beer world. In reality, Samoa Breweries bottles Coke and other Coke products under license from the soft drink giant.

A little symbol by Australia’s Drink Wise organization reads “It’s safest not to drink while pregnant.” The use of the word “safest” implies a lot, but I found its use in the symbol amusing.

The brewery launched in 1978 in cooperation with a German brewery, Hasse Braueri. The brewery was subsequently acquired by Fosters and has been shuffled around in the last 40 years. In addition to the Lager and the Pure, the brewery produces a Special Export and Vailima Natural that uses locally grown breadfruit to supplement the more expensive imported malted barley. Pure is virtually identical to the Lager; it’s just a low carb version. I didn’t think that was important over there, but the beer world continues to surprise me every day.

I hauled out my Samoan beer stash and put it in front of my two mining affiliates – Al Johnson and Debbie Grecco – to help me evaluate it. Both beers are identical in color, pouring a clear, very light gold in the glass with minimal head that dissipates quickly to just ring the glass. For whatever reason, the carbonation is higher in the Pure as seen through the glass and evident on the very light mouthfeel which is especially propped up in the Pure.

Aromatically, there’s not much there. Both beers sport a light grain essence with some grassy notes and scant hint at the German Hallertau used in the beer’s production. Pure’s a little sweeter in the nose, and this follows through in the flavor.

The Pure is saltier and a crisper and certainly not as sweet. I couldn’t find the Hallertau hops in the flavor in either beer, but I sort of expected this. The hops are obviously just for balancing bitterness. The grain comes out, along with hints of lager yeast and the same grassiness in the nose. The 4.9 percent alcohol by volume in both beers make them sessionable and the booze isn’t detectable in the flavor at all. I get a mineral water essence in the Pure that surprisingly works well in the flavor and mouthfeel aspects of the beer.

Overall, the Pure is drinkable, and my partners agreed that it’s the better of the two. If you crave a very light, standard imported lager, you might enjoy these beers. I think my samples of the Lager arrived with some significant travel-weariness; the green 11.2 ounce bottles do little to ward off the ravages of light in the beer and it definitely shows in aroma and flavor.

Still, it’s fun to explore beer across continents and I had fun working through these two new beers. I love sharing my new fermented discoveries with my friends. Grab a six pack of the Pure and ice it down on a hot day and you’re in for a treat. I could easily pound a couple of these after working in the woods.