TALKEETNA, Alaska — Hammers Family Birch has been awarded a $200,000 USDA Value-Added Producer Grant to expand distribution of Birch Brew, its nonalcoholic, wild-fermented Alaska birch sap beverage. The family-owned company will match the award with $200,000 of its own funds, supporting a $400,000 project to bring Birch Brew to more customers across the state.
The award is the maximum working-capital grant available through the program’s 2026 funding round. USDA announced $26.5 million for 194 agricultural projects nationwide in September. The nationally competitive program helps agricultural producers develop markets for products that increase the value of what they grow and harvest.
“Birch is an incredible natural resource growing right in Alaskans’ backyards,” said Ted Hammers, co-founder and Chief Birch Officer of Hammers Family Birch. “We’re proud to help lead Alaska’s birch industry, with a vision for sustainable, regenerative forest use. This grant means more Alaska-made products on Alaska shelves.”
The company taps more than 6,000 birch trees and uses an automated tubing system to collect approximately 100,000 gallons of sap during each spring harvest near Talkeetna. That seasonal resource supplies both its established birch syrup business and Birch Brew. With harvesting operations in Talkeetna and a manufacturing facility in Palmer, Hammers Family Birch is building new markets for a resource rooted in Alaska’s forests.
Brothers Ted and Alex Hammers found inspiration for Birch Brew in their Latvian heritage, where fermented birch sap has long been enjoyed as a spring tonic. Bringing that tradition to Alaska was a primary reason the brothers, along with their childhood friend Chris Sorensen, acquired Kahiltna Birchworks in 2023.
“We wanted to take a tradition from our Latvian roots and share it with people across America,” Hammers said. “Birch Brew is our take on that ancestral tradition and this funding helps us introduce it to more Alaskans.”
Made from certified organic Alaska birch sap, Birch Brew is wild-fermented into a tart, crisp beverage with zero sugar and billions of living probiotic cultures. It offers a fermented beverage experience familiar to kombucha drinkers, with a less vinegary flavor and no residual sugar.
The two-year project will support manufacturing, consumer outreach, retail sampling, marketing, warehousing and distribution across Alaska. Birch Brew is bottled in partnership with Talkeetna’s Denali Brewing Company, connecting its growth to additional local manufacturing activity and keeping more of the economic value of Alaska birch close to where it is harvested.
The company will also participate in the Alaska Food Policy Council annual conference this month. Ted Hammers will present “From Sap to Shelf: Building a Resilient Alaska Food Business from a Seasonal Forest Resource” and the company will contribute Birch Brew and birch syrup for attendees.
About Hammers Family Birch
Hammers Family Birch is a family-owned Alaska business making birch sap beverages and specialty birch products. Through Hammers Family Birch and Kahiltna Birchworks, the company connects Alaska’s birch forests with food, beverages and visitor experiences in Talkeetna, with additional manufacturing operations in Palmer. Learn more at hfbirch.com and alaskabirchsyrup.com.
Press release provided by Hammers Family Birch.
