Publicity On `Northern Exposure' Brews Requests For Alaskan Beer

JUNEAU - Alaska viewers of "Northern Exposure" may quibble with the way the show portrays their state, but one thing's authentic: The characters drink Alaskan Amber and Pale Ale beers.

The beers' exposure on the show apparently is paying off for a Juneau microbrewery.

Marcy Larson, co-owner of Alaskan Brewing Co., said she has received calls from alert viewers across the country who spotted the distinctive label on the show.

The show's production crew contacted the brewery while looking for authentic regional products to use as decorations and props, Larson said.

"Northern Exposure," a quirky show filmed in Roslyn, Wash., about a city slicker who works in a small Alaska town to pay back his medical-school tuition, uses real beer signs and bottles on the set, production designer Woody Crocker said.

Name brands usually are not allowed on TV shows to avoid advertising concerns. But the show's producers got approval from CBS to use regional signs and bottles, Crocker said.

The Brick tavern, the gathering place for many of the show's characters, sports an Alaskan Brewing Co. tap head. The bar's proprietor even occasionally wears an Alaskan apron.

Larson likes the publicity but has never seen the series. She doesn't own a TV set.