Whitehorse, Yukon (Rural Roots Canada) – Winters are long and supply chains even longer in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada’s most northern city.

Running a brewery here takes passion, resilience, and a little bit of intestinal fortitude, but it’s something the team at Yukon Brewing has in spades.

What started as a campfire conversation between two Ontario transplants on a canoe trip three decades ago has grown into one of the North’s most celebrated brewing operations. Yukon Brewing opened its doors in 1997, then under the name Chilkoot Brewing Co. Ltd. Its mission: brew authentic, progressive products while being active and engaged within the community they serve, respecting the raw, natural beauty of the land they’re on, and maybe have a little fun along the way.

That mission still flows through every can, cask, keg, and bottle they produce because, along with beer, Yukon Brewing also creates a variety of spirits, including whiskey, gin, and brandy. It’s one-stop shopping if you’re willing to make the trek, but therein lies the challenge.

Many of the ingredients needed to make beer and spirits are not found in Canada’s far north. Getting them into Whitehorse means sourcing them from elsewhere, and that can be a bit of a logistical and costly feat, according to Yukon Brewing representative Blair Breaks. “It’s definitely a bit harder to get materials up here,” he says. “We have essentially one road linking to the rest of the country, so transportation costs are a little bit higher.”

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Most malts are sourced from elsewhere in Canada, including Alberta and Saskatchewan. Hops come from British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, and occasionally further afield, like Europe, depending on the type of beer they’re brewing.

The Yukon’s climate also impacts both the brewing and distilling processes, particularly in spirit aging. “We are a drier, colder climate, so our whiskey often evaporates at a higher rate, also called the angel’s share, compared to the normal Scotch-producing countries,” explains Breaks.

Despite the logistical and environmental hurdles, Yukon Brewing has found ways to integrate the local agricultural inputs into its process, including creating a unique birch sap ale. “We source the birch sap from a local birch sap producer in the Yukon,” Breaks points out. Another unique concoction is their Spruce Tip Pale Ale. “We do a spruce tip pale ale every year, and that’s where our brewers actually go out and pick the spruce tips as soon as they’re able to get out there.”

“There’s a lot of other local ingredients we try to use when we can,” Breaks says, echoing the brewery’s founding mission of territorial pride and self-reliance.

In a place where the climate can be unforgiving and the supply chain even more so, Yukon Brewing stays true to its roots by crafting quality beers and spirits with passion, creativity and a deep respect for its rugged and unforgiving surroundings. It may not be the easiest way to run a brewery, but as their slogan suggests, it makes their beer worth freezin’ for.

Rural Roots Canada is on the ground in the Yukon for Nuffield Canada’s 75th anniversary.