Made in Alaska: Bare Distillery

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By Kate McPherson
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Story Created: Dec 15, 2012 at 9:28 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 15, 2012 at 9:28 AM AKDT

ANCHORAEG - Yo-Yo Ma and Bach filled the air at the Bare Distillery on Wednesday morning.

It was probably a good sound-track choice for the team, whose nerves were a little high, as they bottled the first batch of Truuli Peak Vodka produced using new million dollar equipment in their South Anchorage facility.

The business has made small, consistent steps since its inception seven years ago and will soon be expanded even further. The goal is to produce 40,000 bottles a month.

“We started off very small with a very small warehouse, and we started to put our equipment together piece by piece,” Kyle Ryan who founded the business with Jeremy Loyer.

It’s the only distillery in Anchorage -- the pair had to cut their way through plenty of municipality red tape to get a permit, and the vodka is produced using only Alaskan ingredients.

“95 percent barley from Delta Junction and 5 percent Chugiak wildflower honey,” said Loyer. The water is from a Eklutna Lake.

Loyer says, from grain to glass, it's a challenge he was destined to take on.

"I was born in a bar and when I watch 'Jeopardy' the only questions I get are the liquor questions,” he said.

It takes around one week to produce 3,000 bottles of vodka,

A team of five -- including Loyer and Ryan -- oversees the numerous stages of production.

Ryan said it all comes down to teamwork and a successful relationship with his business partner Loyer.

"We definitely look at things from two different angles and amazingly enough there’s not a lot of arguments and our discussions end up with forward progress,” said Ryan.

“We want to be able to place this up against anything else that's out there,” said Ryan, who plans to put the product on the world market.

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bobbing for apples said on Sunday, Dec 16 at 12:27 AM

distillery is NOT a micro breweries, you morons. breweries, make beers and distilleries make alcohol. Jeep, she said IN ANCHORAGE! What the heck happened? they let the idiots out, who can't read AND understand english?

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Dave K. said on Saturday, Dec 15 at 6:12 PM

It is the only "distillery" in Anchorage! There are more than one "micro breweries"!

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Kevin S said on Saturday, Dec 15 at 3:45 PM

Are there any others in Anchorage? Because that was the claim. "It’s the only distillery in Anchorage"

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Jeep_hann said on Saturday, Dec 15 at 12:36 PM

Anchorage writer has forgotten that on the Kenai Peninsula are other distillerys with a much better product, but then the writer may have a vested interest,

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