Brewery, Distillery, and Winery Tours.

• Position: TOUR, LEARN, DRINK

Throughout Alaska, local brewers, distillers, and wineries produce exceptional beverages on a daily basis. While their libations are fantastic on their own, many of these drink masters also provide tours, tastings, and lectures to inform the general public about the process of creating quality beer, wine, and spirits, as well as offer insight into the company's history and expertise.

Big Swig Tours offers two brewery tour experiences during the fall months: The Anchorage Brews tour departs at 2:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday from the corner of Fourth Avenue and F Street to explore downtown Anchorage. The tour is four hours long and led by a Big Swig Hoperator. Travel "round town and off the beaten path as you explore Alaska's finest breweries and beer-centric venues," according to the company. The tour includes twelve beer tastings, a selection of appetizers at Midnight Sun Brewing Co., four hours of stories, and roundtrip transportation.

Participants of the Hops on the Rail tour start their adventure in Anchorage by boarding the Alaska Railroad headed toward Talkeetna. Once in Talkeetna, the Hoperator escorts guests to experience a behind-the-scenes look at four breweries. The tour includes rail travel, a minimum of sixteen beer tastings, a box lunch, and local information and insight. bigswigtours.com

HooDoo Brewing Co. is located in Fairbanks and offers free, thirty-minute tours every Saturday at 4 p.m. HooDoo Brewing crafts classic English, German, Belgian, and American brews. According to the HooDoo Brewing website, "You won't find guirky names or labels for our beers. We like to keep it simple-brew quality beers with the best ingredients money can buy, keeping tradition in mind. While we are probably best known for our Kolsch or our American IPA, we have a variety of seasonal releases that just about please any palate." hoodoobrew.com

Denali Brewing Co. in Talkeetna offers guided tours of their brewhouse, cellar, packing lines, winery, and distillery for $10 per person. Their tours take place Thursday through Saturday at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and on Sundays at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Denali Brewing recommends those interested in the tour arrive twenty minutes before the scheduled tour departure and check in with the Top Room bartender, because space is limited and to ensure everyone is kept safe within the production facility. Tours start with an 8 ounce beer and include three 4 ounce tastes through the duration of the tour. Large...