Brewing up a revival

WASILLA — Buy local has long been a rallying cry to save small businesses in an age of increasing globalization. But now, a local partnership hopes to turn the slogan into a business plan that will cause a microbrewery revolution.

Microbreweries have changed the beer landscape over the last 15 to 20 years, said brewmeister Ray Hodge. Even in the economic downturn, and as the larger beer lines are shrinking, companies making smaller batches of carefully crafted beers are showing signs of growth.

“A fuller flavor, more satisfying beer, in the long-run, turns your drinker into a more conservative drinker,” Hodge said. “It’s turning the market into something different.”

And Alaska is no exception. The once dominate player in the 49th state’s microbrew market — Alaska Brewing Co. — is facing real competition from expanding favorites like Moose’s Tooth and Midnight Sun brewing companies. Even Talkeetna has the Denali Brewing Co.

“I think Alaska is a little different, in that a lot of people like a little more flavorful beer, stronger beer, fresher beer,” Hodge said. “And all that comes from a microbrew.”

Hodge would know. Brewmeister is a self-imposed title he feels he has earned after 11 years in the business. He has built four breweries in Alaska — in addition to the Matanuska Maid Creamery — and said he wrote many of the recipes for the Midnight Sun brand.

Past, future

One of the four facilities he built was the Great Bear Brewing Co. in Wasilla. Once everything was operational, he turned it over the owners and their brew pub.

Great Bear closed its doors in 2008. If you ask Hodge why it failed, he blames the restaurant. If both the food and the beer do well, everything runs smoothly, he said. But if one falters, both die. Ultimately, the overhead on the restaurant dragged the whole operation down.

Since Great Bear closed, the beer-making equipment has sat idle inside the building on Boundary Street.

Randall Martin, who owns the building, decided to buy the equipment. Owning a brewery is something that always appealed to him, and his son Robby soon got on board.

Martin knew Hodge from when he built the brewery, and he knew Hodge’s reputation about brewing great beer. A quick call to Hodge, who is now running a brewery and a 14-acre biodynamic vegetable farm in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the Last Frontier Brewing Co. was born.

Hodge said he will return to Alaska in the middle of March to begin working on the recipes. Asked what philosophy he takes to crafting a new recipe, Hodge paused, then said “an exceptional attention to detail in the process and operations for a superior quality in the product.”

Few microbreweries in Alaska create a really specialized lager beer, so Hodge decided to make two. One will be the traditional light-style lager Americans are familiar with, and the other will be a darker, German-style lager.

This will be in addition to an India pale ale, some type of imperial or double stout and one seasonable beer. The first seasonal beer will be a cold-fermented, American-style wheat beer.

Hodge said he hopes to have the facility and recipes operational by the beginning of May. If everything goes as planned, the beer will start flowing by the first of June.

Last Frontier’s plan

Microbreweries are difficult to start because most try for distribution in liquor stores and restaurants. That requires a high brewery volume, which means a large cash investment.

Hodge said they plan to have a permanent tap at the Wings ‘n Things next door. Some will temporarily be on tap at a few Anchorage restaurants to spread the word. A deal is in the works to distribute the 22-once bottles at the local Knik Kountry Liquor stores. But, as far as wholesale goes, that’s it.

Instead, Hodge said Last Frontier plans to do most of its business through retail out of the brewery itself. They will have a bottling facility on site, and customers can walk away with the 22-once bottles or kegs after trying a few samples in the tasting room.

Without the cost of a huge production level, a distribution contract or a restaurant, Hodge said Last Frontier should be able to sell its beer for less than other microbrews.

“I think the brewery can sell beer cheaper than an Oaken Keg or Fred Meyer. I want to get to the point where people are coming over and buying straight from the brewery,” Hodge said.

With the attention to detail evidenced in the taste, and the price easy on the pockets, Hodge believes he can get people to drive to Wasilla just for the beer.

“If I can do it right, people are going to be talking about this clear down to Seattle. ‘Look at what they are doing. They are not focusing on retail,’” Hodge said. “But that’s the idea. Try something different and see if it works.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.