Panty Peeler, by Midnight Sun, is a fantastically drinkable beer.

One of the best things about living in Anchorage, Alaska is the beer. Seriously, what else are you gonna do when the temperature hovers around 0 degrees and the snow piles up around your porch? Go skiing? Pfeh, I say.

Drink beer.

With six breweries in Anchorage alone and almost 30 breweries across the 49th state, the opportunities for locally brewed beer are excessive. Er, I mean impressive.

It was with great joy that I sat down with one of my favorites this evening, as I prepared a spinach frittata for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Founded in 1995, Midnight Sun Brewing Co. is located in Anchorage, AK. I was introduced to their Belgian-style tripel beer, Panty Peeler, by a beer-loving friend at least a decade ago, and it’s a go-to for both my social and gastronomical drinking.

Panty Peeler, then, is a delightfully accessible beer with a hidden force behind its sweet exterior. My first swallow tonight made me think of thick honey, reminiscent of a mead-like taste. It’s a luxurious swallow that goes down exceptionally smooth. The follow-up is as complex as the first taste is simple. There are notes of citrus, and even a bit of anise and coriander in there. Everyone I asked to try it tonight had a different sense of the flavors in there.

At 8.5% alcohol by volume and 15 IBU’s, this isn’t a light beer you’ll want to sip with your basic BBQ foods. However, Panty Peeler goes really well with a variety of dishes, as far as I’ve seen, making it as versatile a boozy brew as I’ve met. Fish, chicken, beef, or even a frittata — it works with almost everything that has a nice savory bent to it.

You can grab a bottle of a few of the more popular Midnight Sun brews in local Safeway (Carrs) grocery stores here, though you’ll have to go to the attached, separate-register store The Oaken Keg to purchase them. These days, you can head to Midnight Sun brewery’s attached restaurant, The Loft in South Anchorage (review coming soon) and grab some delightful brews directly from the place that makes ’em.

Midnight Sun sells their beers in most Alaskan cities, including Dutch Harbor, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and Anchorage. You might also find their tasty brews in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and even New York City.

Ultimately, Panty Peeler is an eminently drinkable tripel that won’t bore you. It comes in both cans and 22-ounce bottles as well as at the delightful attached restaurant in South Anchorage, and you really ought to try it at least once. For science!