Alaska State Fair Craft Beer

Is the Alaska State Fair a beer destination? Would I got there to chase craft beer? I’m not an Alaska State Fair kind of guy; I got that out of my system in the early days when I got up here in the late 1970’s. I’m somewhat crowd aversive to begin with, and at 60 years old, I don’t tolerate walking around in the rain very well and there’s an ongoing degree of sameness every year that puts it lower on my priority list. With more and more local craft beer as a feature these days, I’m undergoing a mindset change.

I talked to Alaska State Fair Facility Leasing/Beverage Manager Sheri Musgrove about all of this. She laughed.

“Beer’s still good on a cold day and our tents are heated. That’s been our theme at the Oasis; ‘cold beer, warm tents and hot bartenders.’” I warmed up to the conversation rather quickly.

There's plenty of room at the fair if you know how to leverage it, and there's lots of good beer to be had if you know where to look for it.

"It differs from venue to venue. For example, we have to hustle at the Sluicebox Tavern with lines forming down the sidewalk, so we limit the selection and get the beer out as fast as possible," says Musgrove. That doesn't necessarily limit the selection. "There are 13 different beers in there including selections from Arkose, Bearpaw River Brewing, Denali Brewing and some craft beers from the lower 48 with Deschutes being a notable standout," she says.

The Sluicebox is the high volume watering hole at the fair. Live music baits people in and it's more of a party atmosphere than a place to sit with friends and contemplate your cups.

"The Sluicebox has some craft beer offerings, but it's not the relaxing place to go through and try some beers and talk about them with the servers and talk to friends," says Musgrove. It's not like we'd have three different IPAs because our servers don't have the time to stand and describe them."

Not that they wouldn't. My experience at the Sluicebox was conversational and the servers were plenty willing to tell me what they knew about what they were offering. So, what else is there?

“The Oasis Beer Garden is the place,” says Musgrove. “It’s the big tent on the southwest side of the fair with a beer garden outside. It’s quiet and perfect outside on a nice day. There are 20 different beers featured there, and it’s where we try to feature local craft beer. Yeah, we do have Coor’s Light, but we try to really feature the different local craft beer.”

The Watering Hole is another venue dedicated to a quiet experience for people wanting to explore local suds. “We have 19 beers there. It’s slower there with a lot less volume. So, here’s an opportunity for people to go in there and work through those three different IPAs,” says Musgrove.

This year – among others – in the Oasis, expect the likes of Kenai River Brewing Company’s Grateful Red and Honeymoon Hefe, Bearpaw River’s Mad Maid Milk Stout, Denali Brewing Company’s Agave Gold and Twister Creek IPA, Kassik’s Raspberry Wheat, and from Palmer’s newest brewery, Matanuska Brewing Company, Snowbike White, Packraft Red IPA and Double Shovel Cider’s Pineapple. “A new one I’m particularly excited about is Alaskan Brewing Company’s Cranberry Tart. We’re also looking to get in Arkose’s Bohemian Pilsner; those folks have been super great to work with,” says Musgrove. “The Watering Hole has pretty much the same selection but with the addition of Denali’s Morther Ale, Single Engine Red and King Street’s Hefeweizen.”

Arkose Brewery – Palmer’s first brewery – has been a huge supporter of craft beer at the state fair over the years. “We’re offering a lineup of fair-inspired beers again this year,” says June Gerteisen of Arkose. “It just makes a lot of sense as we are Palmer’s original brewery and the Fairground is practically in our back yard. The fair-themed beers were a brainchild of ours that was launched a few years ago after our High Ridge Double Red won the blue ribbon in the fair’s commercial beer judging event and the Ruben Haus food truck began using our No 5. Boxcar Porter as one of their ingredients,” she says.

Arkose is located right behind the Alaska State Fairgrounds at 640 E. Steel Loop. This makes a great diversional stop before or after attending the fair. “One of our original fair-inspired beers is our Berry-Go-Round series that we now brew year round because it’s so popular. It’s treated as a seasonal because it uses a rotating berry flavor in each release throughout the year. We’re just finishing up with our Strawberry-Rhubarb Blonde and will have the Raspberry Blonde for fair time. Two other fair-inspired beers this year are Big Top Blonde and Sideshow IPA,” says Gerteisen.

What else? “The Borealis Theater serves local craft beer during concerts. The Woodlot, where the lumberjack show features a limited selection and the grandstand where we have the rodeo and monster truck events serves beer when those events are going on. You can’t watch monster trucks without your Coors Light, right?,” asks Musgrove

Craft beer’s become increasingly popular over the 10 years Musgrove’s been the Beverage Manager for the fair. “Oh my god; it’s become tremendously popular. In the last four years, it’s really exploded. I would have to say that if we didn’t have craft beer at the fair, we really wouldn’t be selling very much,” says Musgrove.

She was quick to concede that Miller Genuine Draft is still the top seller with Coors Light right behind it, “but if you added all the craft beers together, they quickly exceed those beers in sales and volume,” says Musgrove.

“I think people expect this. Locally, even Palmer’s smaller bars like the Pioneer have local craft beer as a feature. For us, we have at least some in the Sluicebox because if we didn’t people would go to other venues at the fair to get it. We’ve seen this incase specifically at the Oasis. At first it was kind of hiddent and people didn’t know where it was or understand what it was all about. Now the sales are right up there with the Sluicebox and there isn’t even live music to bait people in,” says Musgrove.

Musgrove supports local craft beer by highlighting it on the various menus. “Instead of categorizing the beers by price and style, I start off with local beers at the top of the menus. I list the rest as ‘Other Fine Beers.’ It’s amazing how people don’t even read past the local beers because that’s what they want. Our local Valley beers are a big feature,” says Musgrove.

During the second week of the fair which runs between August 23 and September 3 this year, plan on participating in Brew Tap, and event hosted by Alaska Farmland Trust, a local organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s farmlands for future generations through land conservation. This event will feature foods and beer made with local ingredients. This event will be on Friday, August 31 and requires separate admission, which is mostly a cover charge for Super Saturated Sugar Strings which will be playing as part of the gig. Expect the Valley’s smaller breweries – those that can’t produce enough to support venues like the Oasis, Sluicebox or Watering Hole – to feature beers they make using local ingredients. This event runs between 7-10 pm.

With my unerring thirst for local craft beer, the Alaska State Fair is back on my must-do event schedule again. I’ll make a day of it and visit all of the Valley’s local breweries at the same time and make sure my designated driver has a good map.