Girdwood, Alaska
Crusin’ Rating: A-
Booze Rating: B+
This week, we are continuing on our Alaska journey with a place that we have, interestingly, visited twice on back-to-back trips to Alaska, about 6 months apart. That’s right, we spent Christmas in Alaska this past year and went back for the summer solstice six months later. On the Christmas trip, we visited Aleyska Resort in Girdwood on Christmas Eve to treat ourselves and a few of the brothers to a much needed day of rest and relaxation at a fantastic spa. While I could go on and on about just how awesome it is to sit in the mountains in Alaska with snow falling around you while outside in a hot tub and skiers zipping down the hill a hundred yards away, we are here for beer!
Hannah managed to snag some very cool pictures about six months apart right outside of Girdwood Brewing Company and the difference is almost literally night and day! On that first trip we stopped at Girdwood out of necessity to grab some affordable grub and a beer before our day at the spa. This time, it was just Hannah and I visiting to snag some of that same beer on our way south to Homer and Seward right at the start of our Alaskan beer journey.
Girdwood is a resort town just under an hour drive south along the Turnagain Arm from Anchorage. Well, I should say as long as there isn’t a blizzard, 4 inches of packed ice, and avalanche warnings - such as on our first journey this past winter - it’s about an hour drive. The vibe in the town is something out of a movie. It’s as if an 80s Christmas rom-com became reality - Girdwood is an eclectic mix filled with lots of money, hippie culture, and some serious surfing-dude attitudes. The polite thing to do here is to Shaka sign (“hang loose”, “right on” hand gesture), rather than wave. Hannah and I are absolutely here for it. In winter we spotted plenty of neon ski suits, big sunglasses, mustaches, and even a perm or two. In summer there was plenty of hiking, biking, dreadlocks, and questionable smoke to be seen.
In any case, Girdwood Brewing was an easy stop after snagging breakfast at spot we really enjoy, Birch and Alder. Not far from the brewery is an absolutely fairy-tale setting, just behind someone’s house after a short 10 minute hike. Seriously, just check out the waterfall and rushing creek that runs through this neighborhood. Just outstanding.
Whether or not it’s covered in six feet of snow or in the middle of summer, Girdwood Brewing Company is all about the ski resort life - a laid back lodge. A gravel parking lot, snow-capped mountains nearby, and ski lift chairs outside its plenty clear that Girdwood Brewing Company has embraced the culture of the town fully. There’s food trucks outside, fire pits, ski’s turned into benches and decorations, and plenty of people there. While the activities these patrons were participating in may vary throughout the year, one thing is certain - outdoor activities pair well with cold beer and we could not agree more.
Inside, Girdwood Brewing Company continues to lean heavily into the resort town theme with skis of all colors serving as decor and used cleverly in furniture. Huge pieces of local art adorn the walls of this decidedly ski-lodge, vaulted ceiling interior. With mountain views from just about every window, garage doors open toward the food trucks, this is a space that’s designed to take advantage of the views and weather - a space to hang out and socialize. It was absolutely packed in summer, with Hannah and I struggling to find a spot to sit, and in winter there were plenty of thirsty patrons as well.
Hannah and I do have to mention that the swag at Girdwood is some of our favorite of any brewery. There’s a huge variety, colorful options and it’s all solidly made. We snagged some funky ski/beer/neon quarter zips in winter and a t-shirt and hoodie in summer and they are some of my favorite brewery gear to wear - besides our own stuff of course!
We snagged a flight of four beers for $12.00 which is pretty fair by Alaska standards from some super chill beertenders and got on with our review!
FunkBerry Pie (5.3% ABV, 0 IBU) - This Pastry Sour had aromas of red berries, vanilla, graham cracker, jammy blackberries and slightly spiced pie filling, pouring a muted magenta color with high carbonation. With black and raspberry jam notes without a ton of sweetness, mixed with some cereal grains, this beer went from sour to jam and back to a tart finish. While we didn’t find a lot of vanilla or pastry when tasting the beer, this was still a great sour that Hannah has enjoyed now - and brought back home to Wisconsin, on both trips! She really liked that it had those jam notes without being overly sweet and compared it to Youngblood back home. I also found that it was sour enough, without being sour sour as to be undrinkable, and agreed that while a little more pastry would have been nice when tasting, it is a really solid sour beer.
Galactic Tornado (8.0% ABV, 22 IBU) - The Double New England IPA uses Motueka, and Citra Incognito ( a hop product) and is dry hopped with Motueka and Galaxy Hops. Pouring a rich shade of yellow with zero clarity this beer had a resinous, green, and pineapple skin aroma. With flavors of melon and pineapple presenting themselves before finishing with soft notes of resin, Hannah stated that this was a tame, drinkable IPA for the amount of hops used in it, probably due to the relatively low bitterness, which was a common theme throughout many of their IPA offerings.
Hold My Beer (5.5% ABV, 20 IBU) - This Helles Lager was brewed in support of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center - an awesome rehabilitation and care facility - not a zoo - located just a few minutes away in Portage, AK. This was an easy pick for us and an easy one to get a pint of - anything that is going to protect the natural beauty of Alaska is simply a must.
This beer poured opaque straw and had good head retention, although in my experience a Helles should be clear in the glass. With aromas of wet hay, grassiness, and low floral notes I thought this one smelled just a bit closer to a Saison than the usual clean notes I get from the style. Tasting this beer, there were grainy notes mixed with floralness and was fairly soft in the finish with noticeable hop presence there, again floral. I think this beer could use a little refining for the style, but wasn’t bad by any means and it goes to a good cause.
Hippy Speedball (7.0% ABV, 24 IBU) - This Oatmeal Coffee Stout, admittedly was a little more welcome in the winter, but we like to get a nice range in our tastings. Dark, dark brown with a nice tan head, this beer uses 20 pounds of coffee in this brew and one thing I can say is that Alaskans are really into their coffee - big time. With an aroma of a sweet latte with oat milk, this stout had tons of medium roast notes, smoothness from the oats, with a barely perceivable bitterness and a touch of sweet cream in there. Hannah actually wanted a richer coffee note in here but overall a smooth, solid example of the style.
I’m going to go so far as to say that Girdwood Brewing Company should be on your stop list if you’re looking for beer in Alaska. We’ve reviewed plenty of breweries on this trip with more still to come, and even more that we had time to try, but no time to review and Girdwood is definitely in our top five. It’s worth the hour drive along the Turnagain Arm for the views alone, but the brewery is simply the cherry on top. Whether you’re looking for scenery, mountain hikes, skiing, food, or just some R&R Girdwood should absolutely be on your list and we’ve made 3 stops in two trips, bringing beer all the way back to Wisconsin on two of them. Winter or Summer, Girdwood is where you can find us hanging loose on an Alaskan afternoon.
Until next time, keep on Crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Girdwood Brewing Company, please visit their website at: girdwoodbrewing.com/welcome or on Facebook: @GirdwoodBrewingCo or on Instagram: @Girdwood_Brewing_Co
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