USA, AK: Alaska’s craft beer consumption up 35% since 2013

Overall beer consumption in Alaska has declined, but Alaskans’ consumption of craft beer increased 35 percent since 2013, according to a new report from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The report also says demand for craft beer has recession-proofed Alaska’s breweries as the amount of craft beer produced annually has doubled between 2007 and 2017, from 454,000 gallons to 919,000 gallons.

HooDoo Brewing Co. owner Bobby Wilken said business has been steady despite the recession.

“A big part of the success of local craft beer is the beer culture that is growing in town, which is bolstered by bars and restaurants that have responded to customer demand and made local craft beer a priority. This is huge for the industry and is one of those perfect situations where everyone wins,” Wilken said in an email.

HooDoo’s beer production has grown since opening on Halloween 2012, Wilken said. Wilken declined to share the production numbers, but he did offer insight into how his business has grown to meet demand.

When it first opened, HooDoo could not be found at any bar in town.

“At first, we were on tap nowhere else in town. We were just focused on our taproom. It was sparsely attended. It’s steadily gotten busier,” Wilken said. “Once it started to warm-up in the spring (of 2013) we put a fence up and created the beer garden. Then, we got on tap at the Curling Club and then the UAF Pub. We took it one at a time. Now, we’re on tap at 14 places. In the summer, we’re on tap at Prospector Pizza in Denali and Black Rapids Lodge.”

Wilken said he has constantly had to adapt to handling “so many people” coming to the brewery. He has revamped the outdoor beer garden twice to accommodate more customers.

“People love to drink beer and socialize,” Wilken said. “One of the great things about winter is relying on people and socializing. I think it’s what makes the Fairbanks culture so great, and a brewery is perfect here.”

Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Co. in Fox is the Interior’s first beer brewery, established in 1998. Owner Brady Glenn has seen a lot of growth in the brewery’s nearly 20 years of business, but he said business has not always been easy while being the farthest north brewery in the U.S. He called the state of business at Silver Gulch “a mixed bag.”

“We’re not the place people are going to stop by on the way home from work,” Brady said. “Not a place you’ll accidentally drive by unless you live in Chatanika or somewhere.”

With its out-of-the-way location, Brady calls Silver Gulch a destination brewery. In 1998, with four beers on tap, Silver Gulch wasn’t allowed to sell draft beers to visitors. It could only offer free tastes and sell packaged beer.

“In 1998, that’s all we could legally do,” Brady said. “Somehow we survived that. Instead of going for the small tasting room license we got fully licensed. We’re technically a brewpub.”

At Silver Gulch, customers can sit down for meals and have a draft beer. It has grown from offering four beers in 1998 to between 12 and 15 on tap depending on seasonal offerings. Brady said the first 15 years of business was “one expansion after another.”

The localization of beer and the ability for beer manufacturers like HooDoo to have a tasting room have changed the business model for brewers, Brady said. Getting tap handles at bars isn’t the only or best option anymore. This prompted Brady to open a second Silver Gulch location inside the Anchorage Airport.

“That’s been a really nice addition,” Brady said. “It’s the only locally owned entity in that airport. So it’s been very well received. There was a rough startup. You can get growlers and bring them on the plane because it’s after the security checkpoint.”

Brady believes the change in beer drinkers’ palettes have given brewers such as himself a strong customer base.

“Growing up in Fairbanks I knew Fairbanks really needed a place like this,” Brady said. “That’s what got the ball rolling. The market was different than. We’re having our 20 year anniversary in a couple months. The consumer palette was very different.”

When Silver Gulch first opened, its next-door neighbor was the Fox Roadhouse where the top selling beers were Olympia and Rainier.

“That was the consumer palette. In 20 years, there’s been a rapid shift in that,” Brady said. “It’s hard to say what the cause and effect is. Is it people were wanting to try something new? Did the producers change the mind of the consumers with lots of new opportunities? It’s probably a little bit of both.”

Eventually, Silver Gulch purchased the Fox Roadhouse property to expand its own operation.

The state report says brewery and brewpub employment in Alaska has grown dramatically in the last decade. Breweries and brewpubs together totaled 1,261 employees in 2017.

At Silver Gulch, the business started with one employee in 1998. Brady said they now employ 120 people.

“I think that’s a pretty stable number unless we decide to expand additional retail space,” Brady said.

At HooDoo, there are four full-time employees and 10 part-time employees, Wilken said.

Fairbanks will likely see a third beer brewery opening soon.

Rick Mensik recently became a part owner of the Midnight Mine and the ownership team hopes to cash in on craft beer. Mensik holds an ownership in six other Fairbanks bars: Arctic Fox, Red Fox, Midnight Mine, Marlin, Boomtown and Kodiak Jacks.

Mensik’s nephew Talon Hobbes will be running the nanobrewery at the Midnight Mine. The bar’s name will likely change to Midnight Mine Brewing Company or a similar variation to reflect the bar’s status as a brewery or brewpub. Mensik said the state will make the its final decision on the bar’s status as a brewpub or brewery.

“It just seemed to fall into place with trying to make the most out of the downtown area with the bar and the tourists,” Mensik said. “We think it’ll be good business move. There’s this whole breed of people who are interested in (craft beer). They care about it. We’ve been looking for a location (for) several years.”

Mensik said the addition of a nanobrewery to the Midnight Mine isn’t only about a business, he wants to give his relative Talon Hobbes a chance and space to brew beer.

“He’s got an incredible talent and business plan, mission statement,” Mensik said. “It’s a single barrel system, so that’s considered a nanobrewery. You can make more experimental types of beer with that.”

Mensik is hoping the liquor license transfer will be completed in December.

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