On a Thursday evening in September, the taproom at Zip Kombucha in South Anchorage will transform into something unusual: a library branch with a fermentation tank as its centerpiece. Patrons will sidle up to the bar, order a glass of something fizzy and probiotic, and then — instead of a cocktail napkin — receive a book recommendation tailored to the flavor they've chosen. It's called Booch for Books, and it's the Anchorage Public Library's most delicious argument for getting a library card.
The event, scheduled for September 10, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Zip Kombucha's Schoon Street facility, is the latest iteration of a partnership that began in 2023. The premise is simple: drink a kombucha, get a book pairing from a librarian, and if the match resonates, check the book out on the spot to finish at home. The 2026 edition adds a new wrinkle — a Library Champion table staffed by the Anchorage Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library, where patrons can learn about supporting the library system through donations and membership.
The event is the centerpiece of the library's celebration of Library Card Sign-Up Month, a national campaign held every September to remind Americans that a library card is the most versatile card in their wallet. For the Anchorage Public Library, the month has become an opportunity to reach a demographic that libraries often struggle to connect with: adults in their twenties and thirties who might not otherwise wander into a branch.
"The most important thing for us was drawing it back to our collection and drawing it back to the library," Misty Rose Nesvick, the library's communications coordinator, told American Libraries magazine in 2025. "So not just, 'Hey, it's fun and it's a kitschy flavor,' but rather offer an event that allowed people to connect with the library whether they ordered the drink or not."
The partnership's signature creation is a kombucha flavor called "To Chai For" — a vanilla-spiced fermented tea whose name is a pun on "to die for," a nod to the mystery novels that inspired it. The library and Zip Kombucha collaborated on the recipe, and the drink has been sold on tap, in cans, and in growlers throughout September in past years, with a portion of proceeds going to support the library. In 2024, the flavor was paired with the mystery novel "Death by Intermission" by Alexis Morgan, a book whose title echoes the drink's playful, slightly sinister name.
The choice of kombucha rather than beer was deliberate. Alaska has one of the highest rates of binge drinking in the country, and drug overdose deaths hit a record high in 2023, according to state health data. The library wanted to create a partnership that celebrated community without centering alcohol. Kombucha, which contains only trace amounts of alcohol from the fermentation process, offered a sober-friendly alternative that still felt like a craft beverage experience.
Zip Kombucha itself has a story worth raising a glass to. Founded in 2016, the company was the first Alaska-made commercially available kombucha in Anchorage. It is veteran-owned, with a mission to create "delicious, affordable kombucha that everyone can enjoy, on tap." The company offers a variety of flavors, including Joyful Jane (passionfruit), Blueberry Mary (wild blueberry), and Ginger Rogers (ginger).
Zip Kombucha sells its fermented tea at a local taproom and in stores across the state.
Zip Kombucha's taproom on Schoon Street in South Anchorage will host Booch for Books this September, with brewing tanks visible behind the bar as librarians hand out reading suggestions.
The impact of the partnership has been measurable. Each year, the library has reached its goal of 1,000 new library card sign-ups during September, and the collaboration has raised more than $1,000 annually for two organizations: the Anchorage Library Foundation, which supports library infrastructure and long-term projects, and the Friends of the Library, which helps purchase books and fund programs like summer reading and author visits.
The Booch for Books concept is part of a broader national trend of libraries partnering with breweries to reach adult patrons. The Johnson City Public Library in Tennessee worked with a local brewery to create a pre-Prohibition-style lager called 1895, named for the library's founding year. The Columbus Metropolitan Library in Ohio partnered with two breweries for its 150th anniversary, creating a nonalcoholic hazy IPA and a fruit-tinged red ale. These partnerships, as one library marketing director put it, are "an absolute win-win" — breweries attract the 21-to-35 demographic that libraries often miss, and libraries offer breweries a built-in community of engaged, curious patrons.
For Anchorage, the partnership has become a September tradition. The 2026 event promises the same format that has made it a hit: order a kombucha, get a book recommendation, and tell the librarians what you think of the match. Love the book? Check it out and take it home. The event is open to anyone 21 and older, or to younger patrons accompanied by an adult — a nod to the fact that kombucha, while nonalcoholic, is still a fermented beverage served in a taproom.
As the sun begins to set over the Chugach Mountains on September 10, the taproom at 8121 Schoon Street will fill with the low hum of conversation, the clink of glasses, and the rustle of pages. Librarians will be on hand, not behind a desk but beside a bar, ready to match a passionfruit kombucha with a literary thriller or a ginger brew with a memoir. It's a scene that would have been unthinkable a decade ago — a library event where the main attraction is a fermented tea and the checkout desk is a taproom counter. But in Anchorage, it's become one of the most anticipated events of the library's calendar, proof that the path to a good book can run through a very good drink.