Nearly 100 beer connoisseurs braved the rain and cold Saturday in the parking lot of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex to celebrate the diversity of Alaska-brewed beer. While some patrons stood under tents and chatted with bartenders, others danced to live music in raincoats and 6-ounce beer glasses in hand.
The Soldotna Rotary Club has hosted the festival for years. The local chapter was established in 1979 as a way of providing community service to local people and organizations who need a helping hand. Today, the chapter has more than 60 members.
Proceeds from the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival fund community projects. In the past, the club’s used Beer Festival money to fix up a local dog park and to support the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.
“The funds pretty much stay here, and that’s what we like about it, is that the funds stay local and help other people in our community,” said Soldotna Rotary Club president Brian Erwin.
Most of the money raised this year will go directly to the Kenai Peninsula Peace Crane Garden Trail, a Japanese-inspired community garden and walking path near Soldotna High School. The garden opened in 2022, but is still a work in progress. Erwin says the club plans to donate festival revenue for a new gate.
This year, almost 20 breweries participated, from Anchorage to Juneau and Talkeetna. Most of the companies at the beer festival make, well, beer. But wineries, cideries and meaderies are also represented.
Among them is Anchorage-based Double Shovel Cider Company. The cidery has attended the festival before and offers rotating cider options.
“Sadly, cider has a girly drink kind of vibe of what people see, so it is cool to give people just a view of that’s not what all it is,” said Courtney Kuelper, a Double Shovel bartender. “There’s a lot of things within that specific category, so it’s cool to offer multiple options that can be exciting for new customers.”
A few tables over is Bear Creek Winery, a Homer-based company that brews an assortment of wines from locally sourced fruit. Dorothy Fry founded the company with her husband in 2004 and says events like Soldotna’s beer festival let them share their products with more people.
She says it’s a bonus that it’s all for a good cause.
“It is giving back to the community," Fry said. "Almost every beer fest that happens is a charitable donation to some organization.”
Despite the day’s unfavorable weather conditions, folks danced to the live music while mingling with friends and strangers for their shared love of local beer.
“We had a lady today who came out in the rain, and even though the parking lot is gravel right now because they’re going to pave it, she’s in a wheelchair," Erwin said. "I talked to her and I said ‘Do you want a refund, because I know this is tough to get around?’ She goes ‘No. This is a great event, it’s a great cause, I’m staying and I’m having a lot of fun.’”
This year, the Kenai Peninsula Beer Festival raised more than $20,000 to support local projects.
