Presented by Peak 2 Peak Events
The largest collection of Alaska-made beverages under one roof will come to the Dena’ina Center on January 31 and February 1 for the annual Alaska Craft Beer and Barley Wine Festival.
Over the course of two days and three four-hour sessions, more than 65 breweries will serve eager craft aficionados sample-sized four-ounce pours of upwards of 250 different beverages.
Don’t let the fete’s name fool you, though. When the festival started in 1996 as a celebration of all things hoppy, there were only eight breweries statewide. Now, however, there are more than 50 — as well as a clutch of outposts making wine, mead, ciders, seltzers and a slew of non-alcoholic beverages. And now in its 29th year, the Alaska Craft Beer and Barley Wine Festival, presented in partnership with the Brewers Guild of Alaska and Peak 2 Peak Events, is growing to reflect those diverse options for imbibing in the 49th state and beyond.
“Our goal is the same as it’s always been: provide folks with delicious beverages,” Lee Ellis, Brewmaster at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. and Brewers Guild of Alaska member, said.
More drinks at the table
One of the non-brewery options this year is the four meads, a type of honey wine, from Hive Mind Meadery from Anchorage. For owner Tristan Bellotti, it’s worth attending because it gives them the opportunity to reach people who wouldn’t normally venture outside their preferred beer category to try something different.
“We like to give people an option other than IPAs — to be a bit of a palate cleanser between beers,” Bellotti said. “We do it because it’s one of the biggest alcohol-related events of the year and gives us great exposure.”
Bellotti added that their presence — and the presence of other non-beer brands, like Double Shovel Cider Company, Zip Kombucha and Alaska Ciderworks, among others — makes the event more accessible and inclusive.
“As the industry has changed and as more people have started looking for non-beer options, we’ve definitely seen more of these alternative options at events like this,” Bellotti said.
For Bellotti, being able to serve his wares at the Beer and Barley Wine Festival is something of a full-circle moment.
“I actually had to go gluten free six or seven years ago and consequently had to stop going to the Beer and Barley Wine Festival for a while because of the lack of options for people like me,” Bellotti said. “Now we get a significant number of people who come up to us every year stating they didn’t realize there were gluten free options available to them, so they planned on not drinking at all. They end up sitting around our booth almost the whole night — not just because they find they love our product, but because they love the fact that they can participate.”
Celebrating the best and the rest
The one element of the festival that Hive Mind and the other non-beer participants aren’t allowed to participate in is the competition — that’s strictly for barley wines and “winter warmer” style beers (typically winter seasonal beers like porters, stouts and Belgian-style quadruple ales).
“The Alaska Craft Beer and Barley Wine Festival continues that tradition by celebrating beers from around the world and the greatest variety of big, bold beers outside of the Great American Beer Festival,” said Ellis.
Each year, brewers are allowed to submit two barley wines and one winter warmer into the competition. On Friday night, beer critics from Alaska, the Lower 48 and occasionally abroad who have at least Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) credentials do the first round of judging. The following morning, judges with higher rankings in the BJCP program, typically those with Grand Master, Master or National judge status, do a final round of blind tasting to choose the Best-of-Show. The results of the top three in each category are announced during the Saturday afternoon sessions, and the winner is awarded a gold pan.
The winners also get some serious bragging rights — there are only a handful of barley wine competitions around the United States, so winning, or even placing in the top three, here is a big deal. In 2024, both the top prize and third place went to different versions of Black Spruce Brewing Company’s Reginald Van Horn Barley Wine, one aged in Willet Bourbon barrels and the other in Heaven Hill Whiskey barrels.
A two-day party
Despite the main focus of the festival competition being big, boozy, rich drafts, breweries of all kinds are encouraged to bring a wide swath of their products for festival-goers to sample during the three sessions. Many participants, like Hive Mind, bring beverages crafted specially for this event.
“We always try to do something that we haven’t done before,” Bellotti said.
In addition to the vast selection of beverages, the festival offers live music, some shopping opportunities and food available. Ellis also mentioned that you can guarantee there will be a slew of revelers and beer pourers donning a range of costumes.
For their part, Bellotti said his team will be dressed up like Harry Potter characters.
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but one of our brewers may or may not be dressed up as a house elf,” Bellotti said, adding, “This event is always a good time, and we like to have fun with it.”
This story was produced by the sponsored content department of the Anchorage Daily News. The ADN newsroom was not involved in its production.