After landslides driven by heavy rains ripped through Haines last December, Juneau’s breweries are banding together to help the capital city’s northern neighbors in their own fashion.
Alaskan Brewing Co., Barnaby Brewing Co., Devil’s Club Brewing Co. and Forbidden Peak Brewery are holding a joint Pour the Love fundraiser to raise money for the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, which is supporting recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haines.
“Haines is a special place in the Southeast to everybody. But they’re especially close to the heart of our brewing community because of the Brewfest,” said Evan Wood, co-owner of Devil’s Club, in a phone interview. “Everyone in Juneau was quite shaken by the disaster there.”
Haines is home to the Southeast Alaska State Fair and its Great Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival, which draws guests from across Alaska and Canada annually. The brewfest is likely cancelled this year due to coronavirus restrictions.
The breweries will be offering a passport for sale at their respective taprooms for the benefit for $30. Those participating will take the passport to each brewery, all of whom are offering special, previously unreleased beers for sale for the event, Wood said. The passports were produced by Capital Copy, and are only available at the four taprooms.
“The passport gives you the access to buy the beers,” Wood said.
Once someone has tried all the beers, they can redeem the passport for a T-shirt bearing an awesome, original design, Wood said.
Haines Brewing Co. will also be contributing beers for a bonus gift, available at the Island Pub or the Hangar on the Wharf, Wood said. Participants who get their passport stamped there will get a bonus sticker with their tshirt upon completing the tour.
All in together now
The collaborative effort is one of the first all-Juneau in-house efforts among the four local breweries, said Skye Stekoll, owner of Forbidden Peak.
“It was all of our ideas. It was a logical way for the four breweries to work together,” Stekoll said. “It’s been really fun. We’ve gotten to know each other a lot better, just not our regular contacts, but a lot of the staff.”
The breweries were able to work with Haines artists to produce the art for the fundraiser.
“Everyone pulled together for this and we were able to bring in Aurora Projekt and two amazing Haines-born artists for the T-shirt design,” said Matt Barnaby of Barnaby Brewing, in a news release.
Scott Baxter at the Aurora Projekt worked with the artists, Celia Bower and Tulsi Zahnow to produce the design and T-shirts, said Andy Kline, marketing manager for Alaskan Brewing in a phone interview. The design is meant to reflect the bond between the communities.
“The design shows beer being poured from the Seven Sisters mountains in Juneau to a thirsty salmon and through fireweed, hops plants and forget-me-nots to become the Chilkat River flowing through Haines,” the news release said. “The artists express a connection of community, nature, and the power of beer to bring people together.”
The Juneau Four worked closely with Haines Brewing Company to organize the fundraising for maximum effectiveness, Wood said
“We used Jeanie and Paul at Haines Brewing as our contacts to make sure we were picking the right org to have the most impact,” Wood said. “I think that it is the first time that all four Juneau breweries have planned an event together.”
This is unlikely to be the last collaboration between the Juneau Four, Kline said.
“We’re all having a great time working together. There’s no reason no to do that sort of thing,” Kline said. “We’re all in the business of elevating brewing in Juneau.”
The fundraiser begins Friday, Feb. 12, and will run through March 13. Passports and T-shirts will be available for out-of-towners on the brewery websites.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
