Led by brewmaster Sean Heismann, the brew team works collaboratively to create Bawden’s signature brews. Each beer is brewed locally here in Ketchikan, Alaska using locally-sourced ingredients, inventive recipes, and collaborations with local homebrewers.

Making Bawden Beer

Brewing With Local Flavor

Incorporating local flavor is a challenge we relish. Drawing on local foraging traditions, and the knowledge of the Alaska Native communities that have called Ketchikan home for centuries, Bawden has experimented with many Ketchikan staples: huckleberries and salmon berries — even seaweed. While not every flavor makes the cut, Bawden’s beers are shaped by Alaska, by Alaskans. Spruce tips, the edible fresh growth of spruce trees that grow every spring, have become a signature ingredient in our Spruce Tip Ale, which is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. Blueberries, which grow abundantly in Ketchikan, are the best local fruit for brewing and appear in our beers like the Blueberry Berliner Weisse and Blueberry Baltic Porter.