Anchorage brewer invests in costly full liquor license

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Anchorage brewer, frustrated by state limits on his beer tasting room, has gotten around the rules by purchasing a full-service license.

The Anchorage Daily News reports Gabe Fletcher’s new license went into effect at Anchorage Brewing Co. last week.

With the new license, Fletcher’s business has fewer restrictions than the much less costly special brewery license that run $1,000 plus fees. The business instead can now keep later hours and serve more than three 12-ounce glasses of beer per person, among other freedoms.

In Alaska, full-service licenses are limited to a finite number linked to population.

Fletcher got his full license from a now-closed Italian restaurant, Romano’s. He declines to say how much he paid, but those licenses can go for as much as $300,000.