Background
Gene and Sandy Minden opened Seward Brewing Company in 2012. Glacier Brewhouse Brewer Kevin Burton, now with Matanuska Brewing Company (see review) was instrumental in getting Seward Brewing up and going.
Erik Slater and Hillary Bean bought the Seward Brewing Company from the Minions in 2014. Erik Slater and Hillary Bean have been in the food and beverage industry for more than a combined 40 years.
The current building was built in 1943. It became Moody’s Mercantile during the mid-1940s, complete with rental rooms upstairs hosting many of Seward’s working ladies of the evening. In the mid 1940s, the Alaska Steamship Company set up office space on the main floor. From the late 1950s until 2005, the space was occupied by the Elks Club who had a thriving business. In 2005, the Elks Club sold the building to an Anchorage resident who opened The Harbor Dinner Club. Abandoned in 2007, the building sat empty until a complete remodel and rebirth as the Seward Brewing Company in 2012, headed by Gene and Sandy Minden.
Brewer Jeff Nye from Glacier Brewhouse has become the head brewer for Seward Brewing Company.
Experience
Downtown Seward is quite small, maybe about four blocks long. This is the only brewery in Seward and the only place to get a decent beer. This is a restaurant/brewery so they are open until 10pm. The rules are the same, each brewery can only serve 36 ounces of beer to each patron.
We arrived at Seward Brewing Company late in the afternoon on a Wednesday. This was a great place to stop by after a helicopter ride. The place was moderately busy with mostly tourists. We took a stool at the U-shaped bar. The wait staff were very friendly and helpful. They offered 4-6 different beers the day we were there. We ordered a flight and all the beer was pretty good. The favorite was probably the Pinbone IPA.
We did not eat here but the food looked good. They offer pizza on the second floor. We ate some very good seafood nearby at The Chattermark Seward.
No nearby lodging noted.
