Bringing Craft Beer to Antarctica
Story by:
MyBeer Buzz
From Craftbeer.com:
Before Jason Kirk took the job of beverage and retail manager for the United States Antarctic Program, he spent a lot of time in Colorado and also managed a bar, where he became very familiar with craft beer. In his current position, Kirk is responsible for every bit of food and drink that is sent to the white continent for the U.S. researchers stationed there. When the time came to order beer for a new season—something to help the 1,700 or so Americans stationed throughout three bases—he reached out to Boulder’s Avery Brewing Co. to see what they could do for him.
“He came by the brewery and we talked about what they needed (mostly cans) and what we could do to set them up,” said Avery’s national sales manager Ted Whitney. “We also made Jason try pretty much every beer on tap in the tasting room that day, just to make sure he was selecting the right flavors for his crew.”
After some back and forth, the brewery wound up shipping 20 palates of hoppy Colorado goodness to Antarctica. Kirk reached out to Oskar Blues as well, and they will also be sending beer to the deep freeze. After leaving Colorado, the beer will be boarded onto shipping containers where it will first go to New Zealand, and then make the trip to Antarctica. It’s a process that takes several weeks.
Kirk has imported other craft beers in recent years, including offerings from Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and New Belgium Brewing Co. He said, however, that he wants to focus on bringing canned craft beers to Antarctica to cut down on shipping weight. Since there are no processing facilities on the continent, and because environmental maintenance is paramount, every item that comes into the base, must be returned.
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