One of the many things that we love about Fairbanks is its thriving art community. We also love how passionate Fairbanksans are about supporting local. A gorgeous marriage of these two loves comes once a month in the form of First Friday shows. At Black Spruce Brewing Company, we’re so happy to support our local artists, both those with established followings and those just starting out. If you haven’t been by our taproom in a bit, we encourage you to swing by to check our our current featured artist’s works (and to grab a beer, too).

Like many art venues, when showing works at our taproom, we charge a “hanging fee” for works sold through our taproom. We say “hanging fee,” but for us, this is really more of a “supporting-local-even-more fee.” This set percentage of sales is always donated back to a local non-profit, such as Fairbanks Youth Advocates, Fairbanks Arts Association or Bread Line. Artists set their own prices for their works, and beyond the “hanging fee” and a small deduction to cover credit card processing fees, all of the proceeds from works sold go straight to the artists.

Our next First Friday will be this Friday, May 5, and we’re thrilled to welcome returning artist Sarah Clark back to our taproom. Sarah’s original embroidered works, along with DIY embroidery kits featuring her own designs, will be on display and available for sale all month. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on upcoming First Friday shows and pop-ups. Thank you for supporting local!

A Message from the Brewer

Some humans might find this controversial, but bitterness is a key flavor component of beer and provides bitterness to the sweetness of malt. There, I said it. Bitterness is primarily derived from hops added to wort (malt derived sugar-dense and nutrient-rich liquid) during the boiling process. Compounds called alphaacids get isomerized (chemically rearranged) during the boil into iso-alpha acids. These new compounds are more soluble and provide the counterbalance to malt sweetness that we might not know we need and want.

At Black Spruce, we utilize a supercritical liquid CO2 hop extract called
Flex for bittering our beers. This extract is made from 100% hops by pulling out the alpha acids using liquid CO2 as the solvent. This is great for a couple of reasons.

Using less vegetal matter means less wasted beer. Less waste means more beer for the people. We utilized a technique to cool down our wort before adding flavor and aroma hops. Bittering with hop extract removes the likelihood of getting hop material in the crevices of our heat exchange. Flex provides a very smooth and clean bitterness in our final product. Lastly, by concentrating the alpha acids from hops into Flex we reduce the amount of material we need to ship from 44 lbs to 4.4 lbs.

Cheers,

Carey

Fresh This Week

Ready to mix it up? Goblin Market Tart Dry-Hopped Saison featuring this year’s YCH Pink Boots Hop Blend is now available on tap and in 4-packs to-go!

The brainchild of our very own Lia and Aubrie, this beer is full of phenol-driven spice notes and is beautifully refreshing. After all, who doesn’t love a summertime saison? This beer’s label features original artwork by our very own Lia Ferguson, too! Be sure to scan the QR code to get your fix of poetry for the day. Stop by our taproom to enjoy a pint today!

Swag for the Pups

Cute dogs and great beer go together like, well, cute dogs and great beer. Make sure that your pup is stylin’ with some super sharp BSBC swag! We have both collars and leashes available, plus plenty of brewery swag for people, too. Oh! And we have baby onesies and toddler tees (in-taproom only at the moment). Stop by our taproom or cruise our online store for all of the latest merchandise from Black Spruce Brewing Company!

Shop BSBC Dog Leashes

Upcoming Events

Our next First Friday show will take place next Friday, May 5. We’re delighted to welcome Sarah Clark back to our taproom. Sarah’s original embroidered designs, as well as DIY embroidery kits, will be on display and available for sale all month long!

Christine Fik (Affluent Forager) will be at our taproom on Thursday, May 11 for a pop-up from 4PM to 7PM. Christine’s gorgeous earrings and pendants feature

hand-painted designs on cut antler slices. Grab a unique Mother’s Day gift and a fresh brew, all in one stop!

Sew Suzukiya will be at our taproom for a pop-up on Thursday, May 18 from 4PM to 7PM. Come shop an incredible selection of handcrafted bags, wallets and more, all made right here in Fairbanks!

Brewery Brunch is held at our taproom every Saturday from noon until 3PM. Special brunch beer cocktails, like our spicy red beer, will be offered, as well as fresh pastries from local bakeries like Marlo’s and Little Owl Cafe.

Our next round of Anchorage and Mat-Su deliveries is scheduled for May 11-12. We’ll be restocking your favorite bars, restaurants and retailers with BSBC staples and new releases.