My good friend Marla rode the train up from Portland and met
me at the airport. From there we headed north to the border.
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| Everyone must be going to Canada to get beer too! Canadian border crossing outside Surrey, BC. |
During my travels
by motorcycle in Canada the last few years, I’ve discovered a beer I
absolutely love, Black Death, a porter from British Columbia. Problem is I can’t get the beer in Alaska. Russell Brewery, with several locations across Canada,
produces the beer with limited distribution to the U.S. They are small, which
is good! This means they care about the quality and taste. If you live in a
couple of states, Idaho is one, you can get the beer from King Beverage
(Distributer), or if you live near Bellingham, you might be able to get it at
Elizabeth Station stores.
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| Black Death and Angry Scotch awaiting their transport to Alaska. |
I came across the beer when after riding across the Top of
the World Highway (not really a highway, but rather a dusty road riddled with
potholes) we ferried across the Yukon River into Dawson. It had been such a
long day on account of the condition of the road, that when we took sips of
Black Death at Klondike Kate’s it was amazing. Black Death has now become a
destination for me over the years. I have bubble wrapped and carried it in my
saddle bags many times. This year when I take on Inuvik, it will be in the
bags.
Naturally, when I learned Russell Brewery was only 2.5 hours
north of Seattle… an idea was born – beer run to British Columbia!
Marla drove north from Seattle on account that I was running
on little sleep from flying the red eye out of Anchorage. We crossed the border
in no time and rolled into the brewery. The idea was to figure out exactly how
much I could bring back without getting into trouble at the border. Not an easy
thing to figure out… on account that I was in “transit.” How many hours you are
in Canada matter, how much you can bring into the country duty free is set, but
also how much total you can bring in is regulated. There doesn’t seem to be
Federal regulations guiding this, so – since you are in transit – it bumps to
your state of residency laws. Alaska has complicated laws based on wet and dry
villages; I’m from the Municipality of Anchorage, so all this means I follow
regulations for the muni on the State Board website. Clear as mud? Then let’s
not forget that airline rules for transporting, and also the liter to oz.
metric conversion on the liquid. Suffice to say, I had a guestimate in my head,
but I wasn’t entirely sure!
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| I didn't know how much beer I was going to be able to take back with me... barrels o' brew just awaiting for a loving home. |
We walked in and Katie took care of us! We told her what we
wanted, and she gathered the beer up for us. Steve the operations manager came
out and chatted with us. When he found out how far we had traveled to sample
their beer, he warmly offered to give us a tour and meet the staff. We wandered
out and learned all about their process and operation. These guys love beer. It
is very much their passion. We met Jack, who was in the process of making a
batch of Angry Scotch Ale. We chatted about how he got into making beer making…
he was a high school math and physics teacher turned brew master. Jack took us
all around and hooked us up with a few samples. Jay, another employee, also
shared how much he enjoyed the craft. The smell of beer and the sounds of
rubber boots squeaking on the floor were wonderful.
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| What does fishing for salmon in Alaska and beer brewing have in common? A good set o' boots! |
The folks at Russell
Brewery sent us out the door with complimentary tee shirts; and Katie figured
out the exact amount of beer I could take back while we were touring the shop.
We bought just a little bit over the limit to enjoy while touring Vancouver
Island.
We spent so much time at the brewery, we lost track of time
and needed to head to the ferry. Marla had forgotten to print the ferry
tickets, so we asked were we could print them out. We were directed to the
library. Apparently Surrey (not that big) had 3 LIBRARIES. We got there and the
parking lot was packed… a ton of people were hanging out in the LIBRARY! Wow…
what do the Canadians know that we don’t?
I was amazed… the library… wow… I’m still amazed even a day
later… they actually use their libraries… think about that. Wow.
