Brewer Charlie has visited 47 states, followed the Grateful Dead for five years and snowshoed the Juneau Icefields. Charlie boasts he has spent much of his life avoiding excessive structure. Now Charlie finds himself settled in Juneau and spending off-hours fishing or enjoying the winter snowfall.
 Brewer Charlie has visited 47 states, followed the Grateful Dead for five years and snowshoed the Juneau Icefields. Charlie boasts he has spent much of his life avoiding excessive structure. Now Charlie finds himself settled in Juneau and spending off-hours fishing or enjoying the winter snowfall.
"I love being able to spend time in the wilderness," explains Charlie. "You have to be smart about where you are going and know how to store your food and gear properly. In Alaska you might pay very dearly for making mistakes, so it's always good to have local insight."
That local insight came in handy a few days ago when he encountered a 700-pound brown bear about to enter the brewery property. "It was dark and I was about to pull in the back gate when I saw this enormous brown bear. He looked at me and his hair stood on end. I gave a series of honks and he loped off down the road. I was prepared to back up but luckily he took off. I guess he smelled the grain or the aroma wafting from the brewhouse," Charlie speculates.
Brewery excitement isn't always on four legs. Charlie represented Alaskan Brewing at the Great American Beer Festival in October. "I met lots of really great people and tasted some awesome beers," says Charlie. "Being able to go up and receive one of two medals that Alaskan Brewing Company won was a rush. To be judged among the best by your peers and other industry experts is a great feeling. Being a part of a brewery that is a perennial winner is an amazing experience."
Charlie puts his experience to work daily at Alaskan Brewing but spends his off-hours in the great outdoors. He is an avid fly fisherman, hiking into streams to fish for trout and salmon. "There is something very primal about being in the water with the fish," he says. With all the fishing, wakeboarding, snowshoeing and snowboarding, Charlie is definitely livin' life Alaskan! |
