Anchorage, ALASKA — Someone tipped this newspaper off that Alaska was going to be the first state in the U.S. to get Vailima Lager Beer and Vailima Pure Lager from Samoa. It was Friday and I was dashing out to my mining camp in the woods and had to hit a couple of stores to find it, although I was assured it's widely available. I knew for sure I’d find it at the Brown Jug Warehouse – always a safe bet for new stuff – and I was able to grab a spendy ($10.99) six pack of each before swinging south to the Seward Highway with the goods in my cooler.

The clerk at the warehouse confirmed my suspicions. “Yeah, it’s brand new. I haven’t had it yet. You probably won’t find it at our smaller neighborhood stores, but the bigger outlets all over will carry it.”

According to the May 28 edition of the Samoa Observer, “Vailima will soon be available in the United States. The ‘taste of Samoa’ is the first of many export shipments on the west coast of the U.S.A. and will become available in Hawaii, California and Washington State. We know certainly that there’s a lot of Samoans who used to live here in Samoa and in American Samoa that have moved to the U.S., this is about taking a bit home with you and keeping it there to the U.S. with yourself. Another part of the strategy is to help grow Samoa as well. This initiative also prepares the local brewery for their 40th anniversary as well.”

The Observer either didn’t know about or mention that Alaska was to be the first stop for a beer that’s obviously a source of national and brewery pride in Samoa.

I thought a beer from Samoa would come from a new craft beer wannabe, but I was surprised to learn that Vailima comes from Samoa Breweries Limited of Apia, and it’s well established, celebrating 40 years when the beer entered the U.S. market in May.

The brewery launched in 1978 in cooperation with a German brewery, Hasse Braueri. The brewery was subsequently acquired by Fosters and has been shuffled around in the last 40 years. In addition to the Lager and the Pure, the brewery produces a Special Export and Vailima Natural that uses locally grown breadfruit to supplement the more expensive imported malted barley. Pure is virtually identical to the Lager; it’s just a low carb version. I didn’t think that was important over there, but the beer world continues to surprise me every day.

Read more at Anchorage Press