It's a typical Friday night. The bars and taverns are filling up with patrons. The music gets going, and the liquor starts flowing. Somewhere, someone slides up to the counter and orders a pint of Alaskan Amber.

Down on the counter goes $3.50.

In Frazier Park, Calif., this happens quite a lot, but in Juneau, where the bars are often less than a few miles from the Alaskan Brewing Co., the cost is almost $1.50 more.

Why does the cost of drinking seem so high in Alaska? Is $5 for a pint of Alaskan too much to ask for in the brewer's hometown?

The cost of doing business

"Pricing in the beer industry is a puzzle," said Linda Thomas, general manager of Alaskan Brewing.

This puzzle is made all the more difficult by the cost of doing business in a place such as Juneau.

Thomas said transportation costs for everything from hops to CO2 are higher here. On top of that, Alaskan Brewing has to deal with expenses most brewers in the Lower 48 never have to consider. For example, because there aren't any grain farms in Southeast Alaska, Alaskan Brewing has to run and maintain its own grain dryer.

These in-state expenses are exacerbated by industrywide cost increases, according to Thomas. The drive for alternative energy solutions, namely ethanol fuel created from corn, has caused a rise in beer prices. Farmers are finding it more profitable to plant corn on their land instead of hops or barley, the cornerstones of beer production.

Thomas said malt is her company's largest expense, followed by fuel and energy costs.

"Craft beer prices have gone up about $1 a six pack (nationally) over the last eight years," Thomas said. "Costs across the board are going up."

Despite economic crunches felt by the brewing industry most drinkers are going to appreciate what's cheap and what tastes good, usually in that order.

"Five dollars is really too much (for Alaskan)," said Kent Scheler, an environmental scientist, on a Friday night at the Hangar on the Wharf. "Three bucks is a good price for a pint."

While traveling around the state for his work, Scheler said he's sampled his fair share of beers. Alaskan is OK, he said, but there are other craft beers he believes are better and cheaper.

"I think it's kind of bland actually," he said. "There are so many other beers that taste better."

Market forces affect prices

Luckily for Thomas and Alaskan Brewing, in-staters such as Scheler aren't their primary buyers. Thomas said 95 percent of Alaskan's product is sold out of Juneau, with Washington state being its largest market.

For a variety of reasons, Alaskan Beer sells better in Washington, even though the price of a pint is about the same as it is in Juneau.

"Washington state is helping support us, to be able to live and work and do business in Juneau," she said.

Market forces are another part of the beer puzzle.

In Juneau, Alaskan beer runs on average $7 to $8 per six pack of longnecks. This is about even with other craft beers sold in Juneau, and a pint runs between $3.50 to $5.

At Seattle's George & Dragon Inn, a pint of Amber runs $4.75, about even with Juneau prices. Back in Frazier Park Calif. the $3.50 pint of Alaskan Amber at The Clubhouse Bar runs at the same price as the area's other craft beers.

Deb Barry, co-owner of Rendezvous bar in Juneau, said the wholesale price she pays for Alaskan is in line with other specialty beers, and the price she sells the beer to patrons also is about the same as the price of other specialty beers she offers. The George & Dragon Inn also sells its other craft beers for $4.75.

Beer sellers will sell their beer for what they feel they can make a profit on, Thomas said. Alaskan Brewing has no control over what retailers sell the beer for after they buy it at wholesale, which is a company secret.

Thomas said she's even seen the beer sold for a loss. If a pint costs $3.50 out of state and $5 in state it's not a rip-off, just an alignment of supply and demand.

Feeling the pinch from the state

But some in Juneau are feeling slighted when compared to Outside drinkers.

"Absolutely we can't drink as much as the next guy," said Troy Cunningham, the owner of Squires Rest.

"For the everyday drinker, they drink the cheapest beer they can get," Cunningham said. The cheap beer in Alaska is in short supply, he added, pointing to the biggest piece of the beer puzzle - taxation.

"Alaska has the highest tax rate per gallon on alcohol," said Johanna Bales, the deputy director of the Tax Division at the Alaska Department of Revenue.

For beer, Alaska's alcohol excise tax per gallon is $1.07. Wine is $2.50 per gallon and spirits are $12.80 per gallon. These figures are three to four times higher than the national average, according to the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant & Retailer's Association's 2008 Legislative Priorities pamphlet.

Because Alaskan Brewing produces less than 2 million barrels of beer per year, the company is given a reduced tax rate of 35 cents per gallon. Nevertheless, this is still 10 cents higher than the national average of 25 cents, the lowest being Wyoming's 2-cent rate.

Thomas said the tax rate "absolutely plays a part" in the cost of Alaskan beer.

The costs of drinking

But if the Alaskan drinker is the most penny-pinched drinker, they're also the worst drinkers.

Bales said the reason for the high alcohol tax are the effects of the alcohol on Alaska drinkers.

The Alaska Office of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome's Web site (vitalrecords.alaska.gov/fas/AKfiveyrgoal/challange.htm) illustrates the problem:

• Alaska's alcohol consumption levels are 30 percent higher than the national average.

• Alaska has the highest rate of alcohol-related hospitalizations in the country.

• Alaska is among the top five states in the country for the highest prevalence of binge drinking among women of reproductive age.

These factors lead to increased rates of fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol-related injuries and deaths. According to the Web site, it is estimated that the lifetime cost of one individual diagnosed with FAS is $1.4 million, and 65 percent of Alaska children with FAS have once been in or are in state custody.

"The tax is a way to get people to quit drinking and to recoup expenses," Bales said. "Fifty percent of the revenue goes to alcohol recovery services."

If Alaska drinkers don't become responsible drinkers, they will have to remain frugal ones.