Little-Known Alaska Breweries May Be The Best In The Country

California, Colorado and different states have a repute for brewing nice beer. America’s largest state often goes unmentioned, however Alaska’s high breweries could also be second to none, says Alaska beer author, creator and lecturer Invoice Howell.

“It’s usually been stated of craft beer in Alaska that now we have one of the best beer that nearly nobody has tasted,” says Howell, who has written 4 books, together with Alaska Beer. “The Final Frontier has a very distinctive beer tradition and produces a few of the best beers on the planet, however, if you happen to haven’t truly visited Alaska, you’ve probably by no means heard of most of them.”

Howell can’t title a single favourite brewery, as a result of he says there 13 co-favorites amongst greater than 50 craft beer producers all through the humungous state. Right here is his baker’s dozen of decisions, together with his feedback.

Anchorage and its environment

Anchorage Brewing Firm. “A brewery with a global repute, proprietor Gabe Fletcher’s creation is a temple to beers fermented and aged within the wooden. The visible attraction alone of the rows and rows of foeders at Anchorage Brewing make it well worth the go to, and that’s earlier than you expertise the really wonderful brews, starting from fresh-brewed IPAs to combined tradition fermented fruit beers. An absolute must-visit for beer-lovers.”

Bleeding Coronary heart Brewery. “Established in 2014 after a extremely profitable Kickstarter marketing campaign, this eccentric brewery was initially positioned on a farm outdoors Palmer, a city about 40 minutes north of Anchorage. As is so usually the case, distinctive beers led to distinctive progress, with the brewery finally relocating into the center of downtown Palmer. The brewery is famend for such choices as Beet IPA (brewed with Alaska Grown beets), Grounds for Divorce Espresso Porter (brewed with regionally roasted espresso) and Valley Trash: Soiled Blonde (an homage to a beloved beer from a defunct native brewery).”

Girdwood Brewing Firm. “A half hour drive south of Anchorage, Girdwood Brewing Firm is positioned within the ski resort city of the identical title. Brewers and an identical twin brothers Rory & Brett Marenco have been brewing award-winning brews in a stunning setting since 2017. Make sure to strive their wonderful No Girl No Cryo New England IPA and Hippy Speedball Oatmeal Espresso Stout.”

King Avenue Brewing Firm. “From its opening in 2011, King Avenue Brewing Firm has been one other instance of remarkable beer fueling distinctive progress. After seven years in its authentic modest location (now occupied by Turnagain Brewing), house owners Shane Kingry and Dana Walukiewicz relocated to a custom-built brewery subsequent to Anchorage Brewing Firm. Canned variations of their widespread brews could be discovered on the market in liquor shops all throughout Alaska.”

Midnight Solar Brewing Firm. “The oldest brewery in Anchorage and the second oldest brewery in Alaska, Midnight Solar has developed a well-deserved repute for excellence, reaching properly past the state borders. Whereas it produces beers in many various kinds, MSBC might be most well-known for its large, barrel-aged brews like Arctic Satan Barley Wine and Berserker Imperial Stout. It additionally provides wonderful meals in The Loft, its upstairs faucet room.”

Fairbanks and the Inside

Black Spruce Brewing Firm. “A relative newcomer to the Alaska beer scene, Black Spruce Brewing has made fairly a splash since opening in 2018. On the 2022 Alaska Craft Brew and Barley Wine Competition, Black Spruce’s Heaven Hill Barrel-Aged Reginald Van Horn Barley Wine took house the gold medal, beating out many better-known and older breweries. Since then, ‘the little brewery that might’ in Fairbanks has solely gotten higher.”

Denali Brewing Firm. “From extraordinarily humble beginnings in 2009 as a tiny brewpub, Denali Brewing Firm has grown into the second-largest brewery in Alaska. Situated within the small city of Talkeetna, about 100 miles north of Anchorage, Denali was one of many first breweries within the state to start canning. Its beers are extensively obtainable, and it additionally operates a meadery and a distillery.”

HooDoo Brewing Firm. “When it opened its doorways on Halloween 2012, HooDoo Brewing turned the primary brewery to function in Fairbanks since World Conflict II. Since then, proprietor Bobby Wilken has led the cost to convey nice craft beer to Alaska’s second-largest metropolis. HooDoo has a distinctly European aptitude: a stunning outside beer backyard, a former German hearth truck that’s used to move beer to festivals and distinctive flagship brews German Kolsch, Bavarian Weissbier and German Helles.”

Kenai Peninsula

St. Elias Brewing Firm. “When it opened in Could 2008, St. Elias Brewing was the one brewpub on the Kenai Peninsula. Its specialty is connoisseur pizzas paired with wonderful brews produced by proprietor/brewer Zach Henry. Henry has proven an admirable willingness to experiment through the years, producing eclectic brews, together with a Inventory Ale (sturdy, extremely hopped and barrel-aged with Brettanomyces for greater than a 12 months) and a Burton Ale (a virtually extinct fashion from Britain). His Czech Pilsner is one of the best within the state.”

Homer Brewing Firm. “When it opened in September 1996, Homer Brewing Firm was the one manufacturing brewery within the state outdoors of Anchorage and Juneau. The imaginative and prescient, in accordance with Karen Berger, one among three founders, was ‘a want to reside in Homer, create an revenue and the love of beer.’ Homer Brewing solely distributes its nation ales to faucets within the native space, guaranteeing that flagship brews like Damaged Birch Bitter and Pink Knot Scottish are all the time completely contemporary.”

Kenai River Brewing Firm. “When it opened in 2006, Kenai River Brewing in Soldotna was one of many first breweries within the state to benefit from a change in state regulation permitting taproom gross sales. Since then, KRBC’s excellent ales have been embraced by the local people and elsewhere within the state, because of a sturdy canning operation. KRBC is positioned in a custom-built facility in downtown close to its namesake, the Kenai River. It has a stunning faucet room, serving scrumptious meals. There are often a dozen or so brews on faucet, together with wonderful Sunken Isle, an English-style IPA, and Skilak Scottish Ale.”

Southeast Alaska

Alaskan Brewing Firm. “The granddaddy of all craft breweries within the state, Juneau’s Alaskan Brewing Firm has led the best way since its founding in 1986 by Geoff and Marcy Larson. Brewing extra beer than all the opposite breweries within the state mixed, Alaskan’s merchandise are bought far past the Final Frontier. Nevertheless, solely locals get the chance to style the beers in Alaskan’s Tough Draft Collection — limited-release beers that the brewery makes use of to check and refine recipes.”

Haines Brewing Firm. “With its brews obtainable virtually completely within the small coastal city of the identical title, Haines Brewing Firm epitomizes the ‘native is greatest’ method of many craft breweries in Alaska. Based in 1999 by Paul Wheeler and Jeanne Kitayanna, Haines Brewing has earned a repute, amongst Alaskan beer aficionados, of a hidden gem. Captain Cook dinner’s Spruce Tip Ale is taken into account by many to be the head of this uniquely Alaskan fashion, whereas Black Fang Imperial Stout is a perennial favourite.”