Cruise to Alaska - Beer Availability

Are you going to be stopping in anchorage?
If you make it to anchorage, that would be your best bet on getting some good beer. Midnight sun, anchorage, king street, 49th state and Denali brewing companies have bottles available in anchorage as well as their respective breweries. Not sure about availability in the southeast though, where they usually do the cruises.

 

You'll be able to pick plenty of beer up in Seattle. We have a couple breweries.

 

I took an alaskan inside passage cruise 2011 on Norwegian, and the best beer on board then was Alaskan amber.

 

I was able to find decent bars on the 3 stops my ship made, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. Local bars that served Alaskan Brewing Co beers, try the Spruce Tip beer! Even went to a Salmon Roast place that brewed their own.

 

Beers from Phillips should be available. If stopping in Victoria there are plenty of places for good beers. Look on here under places/Alaska

 

I took a carnival cruise about two years ago leaving from Seattle to various ports in Southern Alaska. The Carnival selection is poor- they have some contracted beer that is like a watered down, overpriced amber, otherwise the best offerings were Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Sam Adams Boston lager. Otherwise mostly BMC products. Not very good. I'd be interested to see what other cruise lines offer.

 

Yeah you're right, I think most of the lines go to the southeast. I found a pretty cool local brewery in Skagway Alaska that offered a local spruce tip beer. It was great! Otherwise the cruiseline selections suck.

 

Taking a cruise from Vancouver up to anchorage then gpim through denali to Fairbanks in July. I assume the Royal carribean selection is not good but I will be staying in denali and Fairbanks for a few days. Any good spots in those areas?

 

no, but if you like sushi go to koji's, if it, still there, close to tho dock and hotels and great food!have fun!

 

Depending on how long you're in anchorage you can check out all those breweries previously mentioned. If you're in talkeetna, you can check out Denali brewing company. While you're in Fairbanks you can go to hoodoo brewing company, you can also go to the hot springs in Fairbanks. Denali is just a great area to see too.

 

Check out Prospectors in Denali and 49th State Brewing in Healy, just up the road from Denali.

http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=656d9fa8671d7a18f29168d67&id=e1ae382d40

 

check the Celebrity site for what they offer on board. might be worth buying the Premium Drink Package.
took celebrity summit to Bermuda last year. they had a decent selection on board in their sports bar.

safe travels

 

If you make it to Anchorage be sure to check out Humpy's.

 

I cruised from Anchorage to Vancouver a couple years ago on Princess. Stopped in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Skagway Brewing is solid, nothing spectacular, some of their seasonals are really good and it's walking distance from the dock. Juneau has Alaskan Brewing, obviously. Across the strait in Hoonah is a new brewery called Icy Strait. Ketchikan has a brewery in the works, not sure when it's supposed to open.
Funny story, the best beer on our boat was Alaskan Amber and by the time we got to Ketchikan I was jonesing for something good, so I walked to the closest liquor store and was pumped to find Bitter Monk from Anchorage Brewing. Bringing beer back on the boat wasn't allowed and everything got screened, but wine was allowed?? Someone explain that shit. Anyway, since Anchorage beers are corked and caged, I figured I'd just take the cage off and the international cruise workers are just going to see a cork and assume wine. Well, when the bin came out the other side it had an empty bottle and a lot of beer in the bottom. Shit! In hindsight I should have left the cage on and went with it, I don't think they would've cared. They're probably just watching for cases of macro anyway.

 

I'd second 49th State. Overlook Grill in Denali had a decent beer selection when I was there 5 years ago.

 

If you are in Juneau , stop by Alaskan Brewery and try there Smoked Porter on tap, to die for.
Otherwise there plenty of craft on shore. On the ship, most likely you'll have Alaskan Amber and Summer.

 

Seconded on the Skagway brewery. Cool little place with pretty good beer. The porter and the brown ale are nice, and the spruce tip ale is even better.

 

Silver Gulch Brewing in Fox. I visited there several years ago, when it was a fairly new operation. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about craft beer back then and all I remember was the fabulous burger I had there. ("Best Burgers in Fox!") It's still there, though, and going strong.

http://www.silvergulch.com/about_us.htm

 

If you are visiting Skagway, seek out what I believe is the only beer shop in the tiny town. I found Anchorage Brewing's Tide and Its Takers there, after my wife thought it silly to look in a beer shop when we could have anything we wanted back on the ship. Proved her wrong, drank it with our gourmet kettle corn on a park bench next to the cruise ship. Pretty scene of a running stream, lots of trees, and the mountains up above us. BEST experience on the entire cruise.

 

Not interested in what the ship offers but curious if anyone has done a "Visiting Alaska" or any city within type of post. Looking into a cruise and would like to check out any decent breweries since it might be my only trip I make up there.

 

A couple threads in the regional forum. Otherwise might be worth posting for info there.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/friend-visiting-alaska-for-solstice.577325/
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beer-stores-bars-in-ketchikan-alaska.552815/

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-anchorage.398519/

This is the main thread with regular discussion of Alaska spots. It's mostly Anchorage, but there occasionally are comments about other spots, such as Juneau.

 

When you have more details on your trip just shoot another post and you’ll get plenty of advice. There are breweries in just about every moderately sized town in Alaska now.

 

I guess it's time to start a "visiting alaska" thread...

While now a bit dated, here's a rundown I did for Anchorage a while back:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...-area-in-early-september.528921/#post-5566959

Cruise-wise, however... You'll likely end up coming through Southeast. Here's the things close to ships that you'll wanna check out:

Ketchikan
Bawden Street Brewing - The lone brewery in the first city. opened in 2018, nice little taproom.
The Asylum - Largest selection of handles within walking distance of the ships (maybe in the whole town, too.)
Fat Stan's - Small, but decent draft selection. Good pizza.

Juneau
Alaskan Brewing - the big dog. Two gift shops downtown near the ships, neither with beer. On tap literally everywhere in town. You can grab a cab/uber/lyft/shuttle out to the new taproom near the brewery where they might just have a one-off or something limited on.
Barnaby Brewing - Their new location will be open by cruise season, just across from the main docks. It'll be a step up from their previous basement location. Solid beers.
Devils Club Brewing - The newest spot in town. Beautiful taproom, great beers, great food.
Hangar on the Wharf - largest selection of handles in the city. good food. great view. handles rotate quick during the season. worth a stop.
Alaskan Hotel - Dark hole in the wall. Live music. good selection of handles, and probably something on you won't find anywhere else in town.

Skagway
Skagway Brewing - Great beers, great food, great atmosphere. Be sure to drink the spruce tip.
Klondike Brewing - The new kid in town. Haven't made it to their location yet, but had some really top notch beers from them. Excited to see what's in store.

Haines
Haines Brewing - The only game in town, and there's nothing sad about that, as Paul's beers are top-notch.

Sitka
Baranof Island Brewing - Haven't made it to the taproom yet, but their beers are easy to find around the State and beyond. Expect some taproom-only handles.