Tapping Into The Alaska Craft Beer Scene

Are you a fan of craft beer? How about Alaska craft beer? If so, you’ll want to listen up! During a recent 8-day adventure exploring Alaska’s incredible landscape, my family stayed in four different accommodations throughout the state. Four rental houses… in four different cities… among four beautiful settings… that were home to four local breweries!

That’s right. There were Alaska craft breweries in each of the four towns we stayed in! Even the tiny town of Cooper Landing with a population of 569. What are the chances of that?

Well, my first thought was my husband Ryan secretly planned our trip solely around Alaska craft beer – seeing as he was the master planner of our itinerary and he does love a good beer! But he assures me he was as surprised as anyone to find fun local brews to taste at each destination. Turns out, we never knew about the Alaska craft beer culture.

Alaska’s growing craft beer scene

With 45 craft breweries in the state – more than double what it had just 6 years ago – Alaska ranks 3^rd in the country for gallons produced per capita.

It may not be the main reason you visit Alaska, but sipping on a local craft brew after fishing, boating or exploring some of the best hikes in Alaska, is the perfect way to finish off an adventure-filled day. For us it wasn’t about the specific beers we were drinking (every one we tried seemed to hit the spot), but about the experiences and memories we were making.

Here are highlights of the four breweries we visited.

Denali Brewing Company

Talkeetna, Alaska, was the first town we stayed in on our Alaska adventure. Exploring the quaint downtown, we happened to find the Denali Brewpub. With its large outdoor patio and appetizing menu, we ventured in for a meal and a beer. We’re glad we did. Our entire group was gushing about how tasty everything was. We bought beer to go and were able to build our own 6-pack by mixing and matching cans of their different brews.

Denali Brewing has two locations – the Brewpub on Main St. in downtown Talkeetna, and a taproom at the production brewery at Mile 2 on the Talkeetna Spur Road where you can get a sneak peek of the production process. It’s the second largest brewery in the state, tapping its first beer in 2009.

Girdwood Brewing Company

On our drive from Anchorage to Seward on the scenic Seward Highway, we spent time in the town of Girdwood. We had an exciting first morning. We began by taking the tram up Alyeska Mountain for unbelievable scenic views, then saw a black bear meander around a house in the downtown. Next, we pulled up to the timber-framed Girdwood Brewing Company, beautifully situated with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

We didn’t have time to enjoy the outdoor beer garden, but we did purchase a few growlers of beer to go and some merchandise. Girdwood Brewing has a cool logo that looks great on T-shirts, hoodies and beer glasses.

The Girdwood brewery opened in March of 2017. They don’t serve food, but they have local food trucks on-site every day in the summer and on weekends in the winter. They have a fun ski-themed indoor seating area as well as the outdoor beer garden.

Seward Brewing Company

Seward is a beautiful port city and one of my favorite towns in Alaska. The presence of Seward Brewing Company makes it that much better. I was surprised by how big and busy the place was when we stopped in for some beer during our travels. It was hopping with people enjoying a variety of craft brews and innovative pub-style food. (Wontonachos anyone?)

Seward Brewing Company has been around since 2012, with the current owners buying it in 2014. The brewery is open seasonally, closing down during fall and winter. This allows them to brew longer-fermentation style beers – and also let’s the owners head somewhere warm for part of that time, too. Who can blame them?

If you’re there in season, you should definitely stop in for a cold one (or two!)

(Click to learn about 7 Scenic Stops on the Drive from Anchorage to Seward.)

Cooper Landing Brewing Company

Our timing turned out to be perfect while visiting Alaska. Cooper Landing Brewing Company had just opened a brand new taproom two weeks before we arrived.

Their new building is beautiful and rustic, complete with a wood beam ceiling and a wood-burning stove in the corner. Set right in the mountains, their outdoor space is gorgeous. They have a fire pit and plenty of tables. It’s family-friendly, too, with a sand box and chalkboard outside. We were fortunate to get a table under an umbrella since it had just been raining.

Cooper Landing Brewing Company has been making beer since 2016 in a rented garage, but their new taproom is the perfect place to enjoy their already popular beer varieties. Their beer is so popular, in fact, they weren’t able to keep up with the demand after opening their taproom. They had already sold out of a couple varieties of beer when we arrived. Later that afternoon they ended up selling out completely and had to close up shop for 5 days while they restocked.

Now that you know just how popular it is, you have no excuse not to stop there if your travels take you along Alaska’s Sterling Highway. You won’t be disappointed!

Never far from Alaska craft beer

Wherever you go in Alaska you’re likely not far from a local brewery – as we had fun finding out. From Kodiak and Ketchikan to Homer, Healy, Sitka, and Skagway you can enjoy the Alaska craft beer scene. For a detailed list of all Alaskan breweries check out this link from the U.S. Brewery Guide.

And if you need help planning your entire Alaska itinerary, check out our article, Comparing Two Alaska Road Trip Itineraries.

Are you a fan of craft beer? Where’s the most interesting place you’ve tasted the local brew on your travels? Tell us in the comments. We’d love to hear from you. If you’re heading to Alaska and wondering if you should fit in a trip to Denali National Park – check out our in-depth summary: Denali National Park: Trip It or Skip It? Cheers!

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