Tasting Notes from Alaska

with Mistah Rick

Sampling breweries and beers during Rick and Vicky's four-and-a-half-week campervan adventure across Alaska in 2025

July 24: Terminal 1, San Francisco International Airport, California

As a goodbye Oakland beer, I'm having the good fortune to find the wonderful WC IPA from Cooperage Brewing Company (Santa Rosa, California), and finding it properly spelled as "New Griip Tape Smell (for the collaborator, Riip Beer Co)...for the record, I learned it's hopped with Mosaic, Cascade and Erebus. A hop from the underworld!

August 2: Haines, Alaska

After we grabbed a nice pizza in town, we walked over to Haines Brewing for my first good chance to taste an Alaskan beer on the premises. I had barely begun savoring a promising Riwaka IPA in the quiet pub when Vicky noticed an antique Bluebird school bus bearing the name of an epedition company pull into the parking lot and discharge a few dozen older people, who swarmed into the pub and overwhelmed the bar...I never got a chance to chat with brewery staff about their beers.

August 5: McCarthy, Alaska

At the Saloon I had a refreshing, dry Pleasure Town IPA (6.3% ABV, Midnight Sun Brewing, Anchorage), hopped with Chinook, Cascade, and Citra. From a shady spot on a deck illuminated by the Midday Sun, I watched lots of the town's dogs frolicking and running or riding by with their masters, many of whom travel by ATV.

From there I went to the Roadside Potatoehead Pub where I had a decent pint of IPA from Cynosure Brewing in Anchorage. Somewhat like the Kennicott Glacier that lows right in front of our rustic lodge but is unrecognizable under a hundred feet of dirt and debris deposited during its decent from the ice fields above, the true nature of this IPA is concealed: the brewery's website is blank, and the bartender was busy attending to tables for a crowd that had filled the patio after a glacier viewing expedition, and also busy shooing more of the town's dogs back to the threshold, as they couldn't seem to remember they were not allowed inside the bar. Maybe I'll have a chance to learn more about Cynosure Brewing when we stop in Anchorage.

August 8: Valdez, Alaska

My Haul Out Hazy IPA (6.2% ABV), brewed with CryoPOP, Ekuanot, and Mosaic hops by Alaska's lone woman brewer, Rhonda, at Growler Bay Brewing, is not earth shaking, but in these parts you probably just want any steady alternative to Big Beer.

Valdez Brewing is bigger and better. With nothing more than Citra and Mosaic hops, Odessey IPA (6.2% ABV) is wonderfully flavorful and balanced. The Salted Chocolate Porter (9.1% ABV) lives up to its promises: heavy hittig but easy drinking porter, with notes of dark chocolate from Hawaiian cocoa nibs and fresh Tahitian vanilla beans that are balanced by an addition of locally harvested Prince William Sound sea salt.

August 10: Girdwood, Alaska

[From the parking area] we drove to nearby Girdwood Brewing, which had the best offerings I've tasted so far. My pint of No Woman, No Cryo NEIPA (with Citra Cryo, Mosaic Cryo, and El Dorado hops, and London Fog yeast) had a soothing ooze of haze, the nice mouthfeel of that style, but instead of the breakfast-juicy character that often follows, carried through with a tangy hopburst. This brewery is at the top of the game. Meanwhile, visions of fruity thongs had been dancing in my head since the hike over the hill, plus the sight of a cloudy, berry-colored beer on someone's table that caught my eye as I arrived: the perfect beverage to top the day off. Actually, it may have been the Motley Blue Blueberry Pilsner that I saw; but I knew nothing would quench my longing other than Funk Berry Pie Pastry Sour (5.3% ABV). Again the ingredients are happily displayed (Boysenberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Lactose, Graham Cracker, Vanilla, Pilsen malt, Philly Sour Yeast). I'm nearing heaven up in Girdwood, at elevation 2,300 feet.

August 12: Sodoltna, Alaska

On the way to Homer we seemingly passed through Russia, stopping for lunch at St Elias Brewing Company. With our pizza I had a nice Williwaw IPA (6.7% ABV - with Cascade, Crystal, Amarillo, and Columbus hops and English Pale, Munich, and caramel malt). Vicky has also been happy because nearly every brewpub we've visited also serves a house-made root beer.

August 13: Seward, Alaska

Reviews of Seward Brewing seemed a bit lukewarm so I gambled on the Seward Ale House having a wider selection and higher odds of something good. My bet paid off with Dockside West Coast IPA (68% ABV, Susitna Brewing, Big Lake, Alaska), a solid bouquet of Citra and Cascade. Another customer inquired about something called the "Ski Boot"; I did not witness it in action, but the bartender pulled it out to explain the challenge involved in this competitive drinking sports requiring a team of 2 to 4 people.

August 17: Anchorage, Alaska

[Since Trump and Putin's summit in Anchorage was today] I figured Don and Vlad would probably head to one of the big breweries after their meeting, so I steered for the smallest I could find, Onsite Brewing. The owner and brewer is an English born chap with a serious interest in mountain climbing. Before starting the brewery he led expeditions, climbing Kilimanjaro 22 times, Denali 7 times, and Mt Rainier at least 34 times. I enjoyed the Kickturn West Coast IPA (6.5% ABV) and the Arctic Winds Unfiltered German Pilsner (5.5% ABV).

August 17: Palmer, Alaska

After visiting a reindeer farm, where I was able to pet a baby alpaca and feed a moose, we visited Matanuska Brewing, named for the glacier up the canyon that chills the winds drifting down into town. The lacing on my Astro Phuzz Hazy IPA resembled the piglet that was also on hand for petting.

After climbing a 700-foot Butte for a panoramic view of the area I went to the smaller, somewhat hard-to-identify Bleeding Heart Brewery, whose signature Beet IPA (7.5% ABV) is made with Alaska-grown beets. In spite of its rosy color, the beets impart only a slight amount of sweetness, which is still well balanced by the unidentified hops.

August 22: return through Palmer, Alaska

On the days in Talkeetna and Denali the brewing opportunities were scarce. I had an IPA from Denali Brewing that was not noteworthy.

Now we're homeward bound, back in Palmer, and I'm trying the third craft beer venue, Palmer Ale House, which has a rich selection. I'm starting with a Frontiersman IPA (7.0% ABV, Bearpaw River Brewing, Wasilla, which is the Iditarod HQ). With 60 IBU and Citra and Ekuanot hops, it's an appealing hop profile I can't nail down, but it seems unlike anything I've had in a while. Some tropical fruit from the Ekuanot, I suppose, and I'm detecting a dose of melon. It's certainly a refreshing break from the vegetal and animal aromas we ingested for a couple of hours here at the Alaska State Fair, where Vicky had hoped to see the giant pumpkin awards. But we're a week early, and we had to content ourselves with a 75lb kale and a 50lb kohlrabi--plus the usual barnyard animals, children wearing "Jesus Lives" t-shirts, and parents with MAGA hats. Now that I describe the experience I'd better have another round. Yes! The Hazy Angler IPA from Cooper Landing Brewing, which we breezed by last week, is not to juicy but hoppily hazy, a tingling State Fair tilt-a-whirl of dizzying banks and descents through fog-shrouded glacial canyons. This beer recaps our last week of experience.