Denali Brewing with Sassan Mossanen

Shift Drink

During my first visit to Alaska, I had to check off the requisite activities… salmon fishing on the Kenai, Halibut fishing off Kachemak Bay, Denali National Park, and of course, Denali Brewing Company. So, on my way out of Talkeetna, I stopped by to chat with Co-Founder Sassan Mossanen. In a 15 years, Sassan has piloted his brewery through expansion after expansion, the launch of a large production facility, a new distillery, retail sales outlets, and… well, tune in to find out.

This wasn’t his original intention. He’s moved around a lot throughout the United States, but mountaineering and Denali pulled him to Talkeetna, Alaska. Talkeetna is known as a home base for mountain climbers seeking to check Denali off their list. It’s a town whose motto is “A drinking town with a climbing problem”, and that is in no small part due to the fantastic brews and spirits available from Denali Spirits and Denali Brewing Company.

A special shoutout goes to Sassan, too, for inviting me to join a meeting with his team to offer tasting notes for a whisky Denali Spirits bottled for Three Bears grocery. Those notes are for advertising to be used in their stores throughout Alaska. It was a fun project to join.