Devil's Club Brewing Co. finishes 5th in USA Today’s ‘10 best brewpubs’ reader contest
- Mark Sabbatini
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Downtown establishment is third Juneau business in past year to finish among finalists in online surveys
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Juneau now has downtown businesses among USA Today’s "top 10" for stories, spooks and suds.
Devil's Club Brewing Company became the third winner within the past year of the newspaper’s "Readers Choice Awards," finishing fifth in online voting in the "10 best brewpubs in the U.S." results announced Wednesday.
There were 20 nominees that participants voted for and Devil's Club’s was third about a week into the month-long voting period that ended Feb. 23, but dropped a bit during the subsequent weeks as it competed against establishments in mostly larger cities.
"We're just super-stoked and very flattered to have been on the list in any capacity," said Evan Wood, one of the Juneau establishment’s co-founders and owner along with Jake Ridle and Ryan Lindsay. "We're super-stoked with fifth."
Ridle said he’s been voting every day and Devil's Club sent out some social media posts urging people to support the brewpub. Both said there were no special plans for a celebration.
"We're going to make really, really tasty beers, just like we always do," Wood said.
Devil’s Club opened in April 2018 in The Hellenthal Building, which had been vacant for years, with a two-floor brewpub area, a 2,000-square-foot taproom, four-barrel brew house, and frontages on both Front and North Franklin streets. The venue got national attention in 2024 when it was among the first three locations to host live entertainment after a state law banning such performances at breweries and distilleries was amended.
The USA Today description, as with its other top 10 winners, largely focused on the establishment’s beers and food.
"Downtown Juneau offers plenty of promise for craft beer buffs thanks to Devil's Club Brewing Company, a cozy venue that offers refreshing beverages inspired by the pristine beauty of Alaska," the description notes. "Popular options include the flagship Silt Milk Stout and winter-inspired Snow Daze Hazy IPA, while the food menu showcases a diverse range of cuisines with Cuban sandwiches, Italian baguettes, and a rotating selection of Wednesday night pizzas."
The top four brewpubs, in order, were Lua Brewing in Des Moines, Iowa; Dewey Beer Co. of Dewey Beach, Delaware; Strangebird Brewery of Rochester, New York; and Free State Brewing Company of Lawrence, Kansas.
The nomination makes Devil’s Club the third Juneau business during the past year featured in a USA Today Top 10 contest. Hearthside Books finished eighth in the newspaper’s “10 Best Independent Bookstores” vote, while The Alaskan Hotel & Bar finished fifth in the “Best Haunted Hotel” contest.
Juneau has also ranked in previous nationwide "top 10" lists since USA Today began doing the reader surveys more than a decade ago, including finishing second for best state capital and a non-ranked spot in "Best U.S. Destinations For Introverts" in 2015.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
