Let’s talk about Alaskan beer

5 glasses of Alaskan beer on the keg. Soon to be zero.

Alaskans love beer, but what constitutes Alaskan beer? There is an Alaskan Brewery in Juneau and they make great beer, but that is not what I’m talking about. One beer is truly Alaskan and it’s one delicious brew that you can’t stop drinking until you run out of money, fall down, or both. Of course, I am talking about Spruce Tip Ale.

Wait a second. Is that beer made out of pine trees?

Pretty much. You see, beer made from spruce needles goes all the way back to the 16^th Century before Alaska was colonized. However, Alaska’s most common spruce tree, the Sitka spruce, creates the best tasting spruce beer in the world. The young spring shoots are called spruce tips, and this is what we use in Alaska to make the most fabulous beer on the planet. Let’s find out more about it while I sip on this mug of frosty ale.

A brief history of spruce ale in Alaska

When Captain Cook made his first voyage into the Pacific, he employed two crew members whose sole job was to brew spruce beer. While you may think that Cook and company were four sheets to the wind (see what I did there?), their Alaskan beer actually essential to the health of the crew. Why? Because of scurvy.

Have you ever heard a fake pirate say, “Avast, ye scurvy dog!” Scurvy is a disease caused by Vitamin C deficiency and it used to be a common ailment for sailors without access to Vitamin C sources for long periods of time. It turns out that spruce needles are chock full of Vitamin C, so for a time sailors made tea out of them to stave off scurvy.

Eventually, someone had the inspired idea to brew beer instead of tea. That man is a great hero. From that day forward, sailors enjoyed the medicinal and inebriating properties of spruce beer. Cook eventually came to Alaska and discovered that Sitka spruce tips make the best beer and that was that. Fun fact: There are more than 40 varieties of spruce worldwide but Sitka spruce is NUMBER ONE!!! Woot!!

You can find spruce tip beer in Alaska

Many local Alaskan breweries create their own version of spruce tip beer. They are also very different from one brewery to the next. Some spruce tip beers have an analgesic flavor and others taste a bit like pine trees, which isn’t really my thing. The good spruce tip beers have citrus and/or sweet flavor, which is what makes the Sitka spruce such a popular source for the brew.

I recommend trying a spruce tip Alaska beer whenever you have the opportunity. In Skagway, you can try a wonderful local craft beer at the Skagway Brewing Co. called Spruce Tip Blonde Ale. Be sure to check it out when you’re in port. If I see you there, you can buy me one for writing this informative article.