Couple opens new brewery in Palmer

PALMER — At first glance, one might mistake the menu of craft beers on tap at Arkose Brewery for an iPod play list.

The music began Oct. 11 when Stephen and June Gerteisen began pouring “Blue Skies Golden Ale.” That was followed by “Bitter Earth,” “Starry Night” and “Wild is the Wind,” which are presently on tap in the brewery’s tasting room, known as the Growler Cache.

“We like putting a little story with it,” June said of the beer’s unique names. “It makes it more fun to drink.”

The last of the 200 gallons of Blue Skies Golden Ale they brewed was set aside for a tasting event Saturday at Rusty’s at Dahlia Street in Palmer.

For now, Rusty’s and the brewery’s Growler Cache are the only two places that sell the beer, Stephen said.

The business took up residence in the Palmer Commercial Center in January, but the two have been working on the idea of opening a brewery for years, June said.

In fact, the brewery idea was conceived in 2006 after Stephen graduated from the University of California Davis Master Brewers Program and the couple was driving home by way of the Alaska Highway.

“The Alaska Highway gives you lots of opportunities for brainstorming,” Stephen said.

Nurturing the idea into reality was no small task and required both federal and state permits, the two said.

“We looked for a couple of years for the right location,” Stephen said.

But in October 2010, the couple was staring down a very different challenge after June was diagnosed with breast cancer and required surgery and radiation to save her life.

“We almost gave this all up,” she said. “But he kept telling me a year from now it won’t be like this.”

Stephen and June say they decided to open the brewery for business this October as their own celebration of breast cancer awareness month.

Looking back across the past year, June said she has an appreciation for the life lessons cancer taught her.

“It changes your life in a better way. You don’t sweat the small stuff,” she said.

“And that’s really helpful when you are starting a small business,” Stephen said.

The brewery is his full-time job, but June works full-time outside the brewery as a web designer and graphic artist and part-time at the brewery.

He has bachelor’s degrees in biology and German and she has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and a master’s in art therapy.

“Working with yeast strains and all that, he loves it,” June said.

She has worked for many years doing marketing communications, graphic design and web development. You can see her work in the brewery’s logo design and in the Growler Cache, where a mountain scene decorates the front counter.

While Arkose Ridge and Arkose Peak may be unfamiliar to some locals, they are well known to others — like the guy who came in and said he named his dog Arkose.

“We wanted something really unique and reflected who we are,” June said.

In the Growler Cache, beer drinkers can purchase a flight of tasters or a pint of the three beers on tap, buy a growler of beer or a 1/6th keg of beer.

They also sell T-shirts and stocking caps emblazoned with the brewery’s logo that June designed.

Stephen has brewed beers in 5- and 10-gallon batches for years, he said. What’s changed is the size of the batches he brews — 200 gallons at a time these days.

“I think everyone who gets into this started as a home brewer,” he said.

To brew a batch of beer and get it ready for fermenting takes eight to 10 hours, he said. Overall, the process takes about a month.

“It takes 30 days from brew to belly,” Stephen said.

He said he plans to brew mostly ales and a few lagers. They aren’t sure yet which recipes they will keep making and which will be one-time brews.

“We’re going to mix it up in the beginning to see what people like best,” Stephen said.

Eventually, the idea is to have Arkose beers available on tap around the Mat-Su Valley, he said. But the beer will still be made in small batches, Stephen said.

They say they don’t want to brew beer for the masses, but for their neighbors in the Mat-Su Valley who also appreciate quality craft beers at affordable prices.

Before prohibition, the two said small breweries were part of the fabric of nearly every small town in the U.S.

“You always had a butcher, a baker and a brewer,” June said.

Community support for the business during its first eight weeks has been amazing, she said. And already the business has developed a group of regulars who come in to refill their growlers.

“We’re just so happy with the support,” she said. “It’s been really, really good.”

The brewery’s winter hours are from 2 to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Brewery tours are offered Tuesdays at 6 p.m., and the brewery is closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays.

For more information, contact Arkose Brewery at 746-2337, or info@arkosebrewery.com. Visit the brewery at 650 E. Steel Loop in Palmer or online at arkosebrewery.com/.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.