5 Must Visit Breweries in Alaska

If you are a craft beer lover and planning to visit Alaska in the near future, you’re in luck. Alaska is one of the best places in the United States for breweries. Local and craft breweries can be found all over the 49th state and are staples of the identity if that state and the inhabitants.

During our travel through the “Last Frontier” we were lucky enough to come across and take in some of Alaskas best breweries. Here is al list of the 5 must visit breweries that we came across and we hope that this post will help you in your planning for your upcoming trip.

The Best of the Best Breweries

Girdwood Brewing Company

Address: 2700 Alyeska Hwy, Girdwood, AK 99587

Hours of Operation: 12pm-8pm everyday

Located in the small ski town of Girdwood, located about a 45 minute drive south along the Seward Highway from Anchorage, Girdwood Brewery was by far our favorite in the state. Nestled off of Alyeska Highway at the foot of the mountains, Girdwood is a prime location for a brewery. Girdwood’s tap room is a wood framed design with skis taking up just about every inch of wall space. Patrons can order Girdwood’s craft beer in 4 pack cans, growlers or single glasses in the brewery.

Located right outside the entrance is Girdwood’s Beer Garden. Benches, tables and fire pits make this a very comfortable and cozy location to relax and have a drink no matter what time of year it is. Right around the corner of the bar, are restrooms and merchandise for sale. Turn the corner and you can even watch employees make, design and can the beer right in front of you.

Girdwood Brewing Company does not have food in the brewery but they do have food trucks located just off the Beer Garden on rotating schedule. Daily food trucks include:

Crepes de Paris: Traditional French crepes with delicious and savory fillings

Izakaya: Ramen bowls and light Japanese fares.

Bruceskis: Turkish street foods such as Kabaabs, Falafel, and Hummus plates.

Blue Rista: New Mexican Burgers, Tacos, Burritos, Frito Pies & More…

Mochileros: Authentic Guatemalan inspired dishes with American fusion.

Mountain Pies: Pizza and wings

Our personal favorite beer at the Gyrdwood Brewing Company is “Down The Chute” a 5.3 ABV Kolsch which is incredibly light and refreshing and one of the best beers we’ve honestly ever had.

Denali Brewing Company

Address:  37083 Talkeetna Spur Rd, Talkeetna, AK 99676

Hours of Operation: 12pm-8pm everyday

Located on the Talkeetna Spur Road on the way to Talkeetna is Denali Brewing Company. Located within view of North America’s tallest peak, Mount Denali, the brewery is definitely must visit when traveling through Alaska. Denali Brewing Company features a large tasting room fixed with 2 levels, an outdoor area for enjoying the food and drinks, and a large mech store inside.

Denali Brewing Company serves drafts, growlers, tasters, and spirits in their tasting room with views over the production floor for all the enjoy while you drink your delicious drinks. Dogs are welcome on the patio and the tasting room features a large brick oven pizza menu made right in front of you! Let me tell you, the pizza is amazing.

Outside of the main tasting room, a few mile sup the road on the Main Street in Talkeetna is the Denali Brewpub. This location features a little larger menu and is open from 11am-9pm daily.

Denali Brewing Company is also home to: Alaska Meadery, Alaska Ciderworks, Denali Spirits. These local favorites just show how progressive Denali Brewing is when it comes to expanding their business and opening up different avenues for the company.

Our personal favorite drink at Denali Brewing is the “Twister Creek IPA”. This 6.7 ABV is one of Denalis most popular beers and for a reason.

Seward Brewing Company

Address: 139 4th Ave, Seward, AK 99664

Hours of Operation: 3pm-9pm Thursday-Monday. Closed: Tuesday, Wednesday

Seward is one of Alaskas coolest little towns. This fishing and boating community which is the headquarters for Kenai Fjords National Park and about 2 hours drive south from Anchorage, is home to Seward Brewing Company. Seward Brewing is a locally owned brewery that brews it’s craft beers during the summer months and offers rotating taps daily.

Located at the southern end of town, Seward Brewing is a multi level brewery with takes and a bar downstairs, and bar, tables and an arcade made specifically for the kids upstairs. This wood framed brewery is fixed with snowboards covering the walls and an ambiance of date night and friends night out vibes.

The brewery offers a limited menu fixed with local fares and pizza, all of which are delicious and pretty highly rated. My personal favorites are the Pinbone IPA and the Crusty Whale Pale Ale. As for food, Seward has the best fish tacos that we came across in Alaska. They were so good we got them on multiple nights. The pizza is also incredibly tasty.

Double Shovel Cider Company

Address: 502 W 58th Ave C, Anchorage, AK 99518

Hours of Operation: 12pm-8pm everyday

This next brewery is not your typical one as this is a Cider Company. Double Shovel Cider Company located in Anchorage, offers visitors the ability to create their own cider along with traditional ciders brewed in house. With a multitude of flavors and ciders ranging from sweet to dry, this place is a must visit while in Anchorage. Double Shovel is the first and largest micro-cidery in Alaska. The company uses hand picked local fruits and makes all of their ciders as gluten free.

This warehouse style brewery, Double Shovel has tables with views of the production inside, and a cider garden outside. When you arrive you’ll be immediately greeted by a large selection board of ciders and large variety on tap. The bar tenders did a great job of explaining how it works when picking and even helped us based on our likes.

The cider does not offer food, but they do have food trucks located right beyond the beer garden. The rotating food trucks include:

Mochileros: Authentic Guatemalan inspired dishes with American fusion.

Fromagios: Sammies and artison meats and cheeses

Mountain Pies: Pizza and wings

Alaska Grizzly Dogs: Hot dogs, fries, and chili dogs

Salmon Hookup Truck: locally caught salmon made fresh

49th State Brewing

Address: 717 W 3rd Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

Hours of Operation: 11am-11pm Monday-Saturday, 11am-10pm Sunday

49th State Brewing is easily Alaska’s most popular destination when it comes to food and drink. The Brewery is one of the most highly trafficked breweries in all of the world. Thousands of people flock the brewery daily (or at least during the summer months when tourism is high). 49th State Brewing is a 3 leveled establishment with bar and restaurant setting on the first floor Wirth their own gift shop, a more upscale upstairs setting. An outdoor patio on the second floor gives guests an amazing view of the bay beyond, and a top floor outdoor patio with its own bar offers the best views of sunsets in the city.

49th State brew their own craft beers with locally grown and picked ingredients. The food menu is one of there larger menus we came across in the state. Known for being one ion the only places to sell Yak, this is an incredibly popular item on the menu. Fresh caught fish daily take up al large portion of the menu as well.

49th State brews 5 different beers and 4 craft sodas offering a very unique taste in every product. Our personal favorite of their beers is the “Blonde Eagle Ale”. This 5.2 ABV crisp ale is light and refreshing and goes down smooth with their food.

We hope this post will help you in determining which breweries you decide to visit when you venture to Alaska!