In 1986, 28-year-olds Marcy and Geoff Larson reignited that tradition when they opened the Alaskan Brewing Company, the 67th independent brewery in the country and the first brewery in Juneau since Prohibition. Alaskan beers reflect many of the same characteristics of beers that were brewed here during the gold rush era. From the historically based Alaskan Amber recipe to alder-smoked malts and Sitka spruce tips, Alaskan beers reflect Juneau’s local brewing history and innovation. Marcy and Geoff were drawn to the beauty and adventure of Alaska, but finding a livelihood that would allow them to stay was a challenge. “Why not start a brewery?” a friend suggested. Other than the extreme financial and logistical challenges of brewing beer in the Last Frontier, they couldn’t think of why not. Maybe the idea wasn’t so far-fetched. After all, Geoff was a chemical engineer and a homebrewer and was married to Marcy, an adventure-seeking accountant and aspiring bush pilot. Together they brought a unique skill set to the task of opening a brewery in Alaska. While researching brewing in Alaska, Marcy unearthed shipping records from Douglas City Brewing Co. that listed ingredients for its popular beers and a newspaper article that described the way it was brewed. Geoff homebrewed a batch of the Gold Rush-era brew and they could see what made it so popular. That beer is now known as Alaskan Amber. In December 1986, Alaskan Brewing Co. officially began operations when Geoff, Marcy and 10 volunteers spent 12 hours hand packaging the first 253 cases of Alaskan Amber for distribution in Juneau, Alaska. From that very humble beginning, Alaskan Brewing Co. has grown to become one of the most award-winning craft breweries in the history of the Great American Beer Festival and expanded distribution into 20 states.
Sustainability
CO2 Recovery System In 1998, Alaskan Brewing became the first craft brewery in the United States to install and operate a carbon dioxide reclamation system. The system captures and cleans carbon dioxide, a natural byproduct of the brewing process. During the fermentation process the yeast creates the byproduct of CO2. Alaskan uses CO2 to package the beer and purge oxygen from holding tanks. This system eliminated the need for Alaskan to ship CO2 tank into Juneau, ultimately being better for the environment. This system lowers emissions of over one million pounds of CO2, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, from being released into the atmosphere each year. That is equivalent to preventing the emissions of using more than 45,000 gallons of gasoline annually. Mash Filter Press In 2008, Alaskan Brewing found a way to balance innovation, quality, and efficiency with the installation of a mash filter press. They are the first craft brewery in the United States to employ this Belgian-based brewing technology, which allows us to reduce the amount of water, malt and hops needed to make their beer, while maintaining high quality and consistency. In one year, the mash filter press used nearly 2 million fewer gallons of water and 6 percent less malt to make the same amount of beer as their traditional brewing process. The unique design of the mash filter press also reduces the moisture content in the spent grains, which further reduces the energy required to convert our spent grain into fuel to make steam in our spent grain boiler. This results in a savings or nearly 65,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. Spent Grain Steam Boiler Many breweries distribute the grain left over from the brewery process, or “spent grain” to nearby farms. But there are no cows in Juneau, so, Alaskan Brewing has been drying and then shipping their spent grain to farmers and ranchers in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 20 years. In 2011, they put their experience to work by developing a first-of-its-kind steam boiler fueled entirely by our spent grain. With the new system, which became operational at the end of 2012, they have a goal of reducing our overall oil use by more than 65 percent. They continue to invest in this technology, that they believe could revolutionize fuel systems used in craft brewing.
Beers
The Alaskan Brewing Company brews eight year-round beers, four seasonal beers, and several limited edition beers. The year-round beers are: Alaskan Amber, Freeride APA, Icy Bay IPA, Alaskan White, Hopothermia, Smash Galaxy, and Husky IPA. The seasonal beersare: Spruce IPA, Kölsch, and Cranberry Tart. The limited edition beers are: Alaskan Smoked Porter and the Alaskan Pilot Series, which consists of beers that go through a rotation of three to four a year, as well as the Boundary Range Hop Pack.
