Saturday 6th of July 2013 06:15:31 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

The 49th State Brewing Co is a breath of fresh air! Traveling through the interior you are usually stuck between pbr at a dive bar or an overpriced draught from a tourist resort. The 49th not only brings a traveler out of this rutt, they hold par with some great micro-breweries! They have 12 beers on tap. Their Blonde, IPA, and Dunkelweizen (I think) are their standards that are always there. They rotate alot of different beers and release a different one every week (I found this out because I stopped in and they were playing 1st Tap Trivia where the trivia players all get to have a sample of the newly tapped beer.)
One Very Important Note: They are closed from November thru mid-April. It's -60 F in the winter.....enough said. However, after talking to their brewer, Jay(?) about how they can afford that, he said they've turned it into an advantage. They brew beer in the winter that takes a long time to make like an imperial stout or saison. Most small breweries can't afford to take a tank out of production for 4 or 5 months to make these styles. They can!
Speaking of Saisons, when I tried their Vagabond Saison I heard angels sing! This beer is dry, balanced, and complex.
The atmosphere is totally unique. They have alot of re-purposed items in the structure and decor. One example is the huge firepit/table in the middle of the dinning room. It's made out a cement mixer! The big community table has 2 HUGE bolders as table legs.
I was lucky to catch the Solstice Brewfest this year and was blown away by the music, beer, and crowd. What a blast!
Service is friendly and knowledgeable since the entire staff is Cicerone Certified! (I kinda quizzed one and when they surprised me with their answers, I had to ask). Sometimes at the beginning of the season there are hiccups with service but considering they have seasonal workers who have to be trained at a break-neck pace, I don't really mind.
Their food is served in gigantor portions so after a 5.5 hour drive from Anchorage I appreciate that. I discovered last visit, that they actually sorce alot of their food in Alaska. Yak, buffalo, pork, and veg. That's unusual and made me happy to order the ribs.
I hope this review is helpful and I'm proud to be the first one to review my favorite brewery.
Cheers!