Friday Afternoon in Alaska

In honor of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s visit to Wisconsin (with that other guy whose name I forget) I thought we would take a moment to introduce you to an important employer in her state, the Alaskan Brewery. Located in Juneau, the brewery boasts that it is the first brewery in Alaska since prohibition. Since it didn’t open until 1986, I’m guessing Alaskans were secretly trading with the Commies or the Canadians. Traitors.

The brewery has a virtual tour, an interesting history of brewing in Alaska, and even some interesting links about Juneau. Alaska Brewery distributes to Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, California, Nevada or Arizona, but their product can be shipped.

They have the typical styles of beer of a small brewery, but they also have an experimental lab for making their “Rough Draft” series.

"Our Brew Crew likes to experiment and we also have an interest in the historical influences of brewing during the gold-rush era in Juneau." says Geoff Larson, Alaskan Brewmaster and Co-founder. This interest has led to more than the gold-rush era recipe for the Alaskan Amber and beyond the well-known alder-smoked Porter. The most recent innovation for Alaskan fans led to Alaskan Winter Ale, an Olde Ale brewed with Sitka Spruce tips following the history of Captain Cook using spruce in ale during his exploration of the Alaska Inside Passage.

The Brew Crew can, as part of a research, development and cross-training team, participate in the Rough Draft program. "The Rough Draft program is an opportunity for our crew to design and brew beers for the pure art of brewing" says Brent Kesey, Alaskan Lead Brewer. "Both the Alaskan ESB and the Alaskan Stout had their beginnings in limited edition runs and were test marketed for potential success in the year-round market through programs like this."bb

Perhaps someday their beers might be served in the White House.