With 18 breweries and counting in and around Anchorage and more than 40 statewide pouring in here, Anchorage is the place to be for Alaska beer. Ask a brewer, and they'll tell you "it's the water." Glacial water flows to all Anchorage taps. It is the best starting ingredient for brews from pilsners to porters and everything in between.

Top Local Taps

Midnight Sun Brewing Company has been brewing beer since 1995. The flagship Sockeye Red IPA leads a list of more than a dozen seasonal, experimental, and specialty brews in LOFT, the restaurant and tasting room of their south Anchorage location. A great menu of local food stands alongside their winning roster of brews. 

Glacier BrewHouse brews old-world style, featuring cask-conditioned ales and oak-aged beers, rotating seasonal brews, and a barleywine called Big Woody, which has taken home top honors at prestigious festivals. Look up in the restaurant, and the ceiling might remind you of a barrel. Look down and you might imagine the vast, below-ground store room of concoctions that will one day end up in your glass.

Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria is definitely worth the visit. The microbrewery came first, but they are also renowned for their handcrafted pizzas and First Tap Thursday events, which celebrate the release of the latest draft with live music. The annual release of Darth Delirium, a Belgian stout with chocolate, is one of the most anticipated. The house brewery, Broken Tooth, also sells cans and bottles to take home.

49th State Brewing brings beer recipes perfected in the shadow of Denali to their Anchorage brewpub. With one of the larger lists of house-made beers, it’s almost a sure thing to find a style you like. On a clear day you can see Denali from their gorgeous deck, one of the biggest and best in the state.

Sip something with a bit of sweetness at Double Shovel Cider Co., Alaska's first micro-cidery. Sometimes crisp, sometimes surprising and always tasty, each concoction uses hand-picked Alaska apples, berries, or syrups. Just a short walk away, two newcomers, Brewerks and Ship Creek Brewing pour pints as well.

Eagle River's Odd Man Rush Brewing grabs the dual passions of its owners - hockey and beer - and body checks them together. Expect to find favorites like the Wes Goldie Blonde and Enforcer IPA, but anticipate plenty of future draft selections as the brewers tinker with new styles and ingredients. The tasting room's decor includes salvaged wood paneling made from hockey sticks, a full-size scoreboard, and memorabilia from on- and off-ice community greats. Anchorage restaurants often boast and impressive number of local brews.

Humpy's has 52 taps, none from the big domestic guys.

A whole crop of new breweries have opened have opened in recent years, turning an area of south Anchorage pioneered by Midnight Sun into a veritable "Beermuda Triangle." Turnagain Brewing opened their doors in 2018, with a focus on sours and other Belgian style brews. Cynosure Brewing set up operations just off of Dowling Road in midtown, offering a roster including German schwartzbier, a wit, and a saison.

Breweries thrive in industrial buildings - they allow plenty of room for tanks, and easier access for deliveries of pallets stacked with sacks of hops and grains. On Site Brewing's mountaineering-named taproom climbed into the options in Midtown. Raven's Ring and Magnetic North both draw beer lovers to off-the-radar spots. And King Street and Anchorage Brewing Co. both built gorgeous facilities in South Anchorage to produce (and pour their beers).

Enjoy the cozy, laid-back apres ski vibe no matter the season at Girdwood Brewing Company. Down the Chute Koelsch and No Woman No Cryo New England IPA pour inside a timber-framed tasting room, and epic mountains views abound outside in the beer garden.

Not sure how to sip at multiple spots? Check out the brew tours offered by Big Swig Tours. You can even take the taste of Alaska home. Silver Gulch Brewing has an outpost at the airport. Since the shop is inside security, you can fill a growler with Alaska beer or take home select 22-ounce bottles from breweries across the state. Not to be outdone, 49th State also has a full service restaurant and brew outpost in the C Concourse of the Anchorage airport; one more toast to a great trip!

Anchorage Beer Events

There are also special events devoted to beer. January is the prime time to visit for true hop heads and ale aficionados. The Alaska Craft Beer & Barley Wine Festival, held in Anchorage each January. With award-winning ales, barley wines, and seasonal brews, there's sure to be a perfect pint for every connoisseur. Can't make January? Alaska Crafted, the Best of Alaska showcase, and Oktoberfest festivities are great times to enjoy Anchorage's brew scene.

Anchorage Distilleries

Find some spirit - literally - Anchorage has two distilleries. Anchorage Distillery bottles plain, raspberry, blueberry, and ghost pepper vodkas, as well as gin and moonshine-style whiskey. Alaska grown wheat, barley, and rye form the foundation of recipe. Take a tour Thursdays at 6 p.m. and sip the end results in the adjoining tasting room. Alaskan Spirits Distillery focuses on vodkas, with blueberry and fireweed among the offerings mixed into craft cocktails.

Non-Alcoholic Options

Not every glass has a high ABV. Many local breweries craft non-alcoholic brews too. Buzzed Beetle focused on craft sodas and mocktails, carving out a niche as they worked through permitting. Zip Kombucha was well known for their berry, hop, and ginger flavors long before the launch of their first hard offering, Black Label Booch. 49th State Brewing brings Northward NA IPA, as well as hop water and a line of Frontier Sodas packing spruce tip or berry flavors.