Anchorage, Alaska
Crusin' Rating: B-
Booze Rating: B-
We are on the last leg of our Alaskan Series! These reviews will encompass the spots that we reviewed after returning back to Anchorage having experienced so much on our journeys - climbing 1,000 ft up onto glaciers, kayaking around Fox Island in the emerald waters of Resurrection Bay, whale watching, countless mountains, close encounters with bears, and eating some of the freshest oysters you can find! Our final reviews were the last vestiges of freedom before returning to the real world, back to the grind, and saying goodbye to Alaska for the time being. Before we say goodbye though, we saved some of the best spots for last - proving that Alaska has an unexpectedly competitive craft imbibery scene that gives spots here in Wisconsin a steep run for their money.
The first of these is Double Shovel Cidery - located in an unassuming industrial park that’s tricky to find if you aren’t familiar with the telltale sign of food trucks often meaning imbibements are nearby. On 59℉ sunny day, we revisited this spot after initially checking it out just a day after Christmas.
Double Shovel, at first glance, seems to be a small space. A few parking spots have been sacrificed in favor of a small, fenced off patio. Inside there’s a small swag area, a little L-shaped bar, and a few long, high tables that can fit maybe 30 people. We learned, on our second trip, of an entire second room with higher ceilings and at least double the space, including seating. Local artwork, too large for anything short of a pickup bed, adorns metal plated walls of dark brown. Around the corner, a few large, glass-doored fridges serve as home of 64oz growlers, 23 oz crowlers, and pint four packs to go, hummus plates, and salads to satisfy your hunger. While the salads and hummus aren’t enough to take the edge off a few ciders, it was definitely a first to see such healthy options available to snack on while sipping. Â
The space is Frenchie Friendly and often has food trucks parked outside and can I just say that Alaska takes food trucks very seriously. Like - go find a food truck you like, buy takeout and bring it back home serious. I’ve never seen anyone get to-go-home at a food truck in
Wisconsin but after trying some absolutely loaded nachos, I’m talking a pyramid of not just cheese and meat, but onions, tomatoes, guac, crumbled cheese, and refried beans - it wasn’t hard to understand wanting to bring some home. We also saw a very high amount of people come in and grab cider to go, more so than any other spot we visited in Alaska, but maybe it was just a four-pack kind of day! Overally, the space had a intentionally dinghy (not dirty) artsy feel that we found lovely to sit and talk with family or just the two of us. Â
We snagged a flight of four for $12.60 including tax. I wanted to point out a cool little thing they do. The card you fill out for your flight is a sticker which is creative and a great use of making sure those card’s don’t just get tossed. Additionally, they allow you to fill out a post card which they mail out, at the cidery's expense, which is just awesome. It saves you a few bucks (that you can use to tip your tender) and is just a great little experience to sit around and write something to someone back home.
Crimson + Mint (6.0% ABV) - Featuring high clarity, this cider poured rose-petal pink and featured low aromas of mint and tart red fruit. Tartness up front moves to some light notes of mint - not overpowering at all, and then moves back to a distinctly rhubarb tartness and leaves a refreshing aftertaste. This is balanced much like a sour mojito and isn’t going to leave you thinking you just brushed your teeth. Â
Cranberry - (5.4% ABV) - Pouring reddish-pink blush and having a one-note aroma of cranberry juice, this cider had general tartness and a dry finish but Hannah really wanted the tart level to be even higher than the crimson and mint, but it was not. She also was looking for stronger flavor which could be found in the Spiced Cranberry that we had tried previously, except, you know, without the holiday twist.
Cherry Luau (6.0% ABV) - With high clarity, and orange-peach blush color, this cider featured sour apples and cherry on the nose. The flavor was of underripe, slightly green cherries and raspberries with plenty of sugar to keep you from squinching up your face. This cider was listed as barrel-aged but through multiple tastes from two visits, no one in our group could find anything from the barrel when tasting this one. Hannah thought this was too syrupy and too sweet - I have to agree.
Pepper Peak (6.6% ABV) - This cider pours pale yellow and has an aroma of jalapeno flesh, habanero flesh, light fruity notes and cut pepper ribs (the white part of the pepper, not barbecue ribs) and a little spice. Flavors of fresh pepper flesh, spicy fruitiness, apples, then heat - not overpowering - but real pepper heat and it builds up over time when sipping. It’s quite reminiscent of biting into an actual pepper - initial sweet and fruitiness with a little zest, and then that heat building up over time. Hannah has dubbed this as one of the top three ciders she has had, and as an avid pepper fan myself I also really enjoy this - it doesn’t just taste like pepper flesh, it has that fruitiness, and then the heat - all wrapped up nicely in a cider which is also something we haven’t seen. This is a cider that has made trips back with us to Wisconsin on both visits.Â
Overall, I think the fact that we have visited here twice says a lot. On our first trip with several of my brothers, we all found a cider we enjoyed and ended up taking cider back to enjoy at our AirBNB and brought some back with us to Wisconsin. When we came back a second time it was an easy pick for Hannah and I to follow-up try another set of ciders and go in confident that we would find something we both enjoy. Pepper Peak is easily a top cider that we have tried to date. The staff is always friendly and the postcards sent home are such a nice touch. It’s going on our list of recommended imbiberies to check out while you are in Anchorage, or the Kenai Peninsula as a whole. Â
We are on the last leg of our journey, and there are still more fantastic spots coming up as we round out our Alaska series, Double Shovel Cidery is one we will always be willing to snag a four pack from and Pepper Peak is guarded jealously in the Crusinforbooze beer fridge.
Until next time, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Double Shovel please visit their website at: doubleshovelcider.co or on Facebook: @DoubleShovelCiderCompany or on Instagram: @DoubleShovelCiderCo
Comments