6 Best Bars in Fairbanks, the Yukon, and the Interior, Alaska

Since opening in 2018, this fun and inviting brewery has become a local favorite for its creative brews (blueberry mango sours, anyone?). Don't be put off by the industrial setting—the brewery hosts live music on an expansive patio, art shows, and rotating food trucks. It also brews its own cider. 

A go-to spot for well-crafted beer, HooDoo sells growlers to go, but its beer is best enjoyed outdoors on a sunny afternoon around the brewery's spool tables—or if the weather isn't welcoming, inside the airy taproom. The brewery, which is open till 9, regularly hosts food trucks, and free tours take place on Thursday at 4 pm.

Housed in the former 1930s city hall, this family-staffed distillery is a labor of love for owner Patrick Levy. He provides tours by appointment; downstairs, the whiskey ages in a former Fairbanks Police Department holding cell. Visit any night and you'll likely find him behind the hand-built copper bar, radiating Fairbanks pride while pouring drinks made from local Fox Spring water and locally grown potatoes. Try the award-winning E.T. Barnette's Tanana River Naval Strength Golden Rum, made with a touch of birch tree syrup that gives it a dark-amber color, or Kate's Showgirl Gin, crafted with Alaskan juniper.

Operating out of a former firehouse, Goldie's swings open its double garage doors to host events like live music, open mic nights, and the occasional drag show. The bar—housed in a converted 1956 Airstream trailer—serves up beer, cocktails, and slushies, with rotating food trucks pulling up to the colorful patio.

A local institution, the Howling Dog specializes in live blues and rock and roll. A party crowd of college students, airline pilots, tourists, miners, and bikers assembles for the cocktails, bar food, and music. Shows are played on a red-carpet stage acquired after Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II's visit to Fairbanks in 1984.

This hip downtown bar boasts 36 taps that highlight a range of Alaska breweries, while the walls feature black-and-white images of Fairbanks history. The small space attracts a younger crowd and fills up quickly with seating spilling out on the sidewalk. TV monitors show sports games, and food trucks park outside in summer.