Hammers Family Birch

Hammers Family Birch is an Alaska-based artisan food and beverage company specializing in certified organic, wild-harvested birch forest products rooted in Latvian and Northern European tradition. Founded by the Hammers brothers and childhood friend Chris Sorensen, the company was established after the founders reconnected with ancestral birch-sap traditions during a family trip to Latvia in 2014. In 2023, they acquired Kahiltna Birchworks — one of the pioneers of commercial birch syrup production in North America, operating since 1990 — along with Alaska Wild Harvest, bringing over three decades of birch craftsmanship under their stewardship.

Operating from the boreal forests outside Talkeetna, Alaska, the company harvests certified organic birch sap each spring from thousands of wild birch trees using low-impact tapping methods designed to preserve long-term forest health. Their product portfolio centers on three core categories: Birch Brew, Alaska Birch Syrup, and Wild Chaga products.

Birch Brew is the company's flagship beverage — a wild-fermented, probiotic, non-alcoholic drink made from raw certified organic Alaska birch sap. Inspired by centuries-old Latvian springtime fermentation traditions, the drink is tart, crisp, and naturally effervescent, containing billions of living probiotic cultures. It is positioned as a functional wellness beverage that bridges traditional Northern European folk practice with modern consumer demand for probiotic-rich, naturally fermented drinks.

Alaska Birch Syrup is a small-batch, certified organic sweetener handcrafted by Kahiltna Birchworks from wild Alaska birch sap. It is considered one of the world's rarest natural sweeteners, requiring more than 100 gallons of sap to produce a single gallon of syrup. The syrup is offered in multiple harvest runs — Reserve, Early, Mid, and Late — each with distinct flavor characteristics reflective of seasonal variation in sap composition. This positions the product alongside other premium single-origin sweeteners in the specialty and gourmet food market.

The company's Wild Chaga line features genuine wild chaga conk harvested from Alaska's boreal birch forests and crafted into small-batch tea and dual-extracted chaga extract. The chaga is sustainably wild-harvested from pristine forests in proximity to the Arctic Circle, appealing to consumers seeking functional mushroom products sourced from traceable, high-integrity origins. Additional products include handcrafted birch sap soap, extending the brand into personal care using forest-derived ingredients.

Across all product categories, the company emphasizes certified organic status, wild harvesting, small-batch craft production, and deep traceability from forest to finished product. The brand's narrative — rooted in a Latvian immigrant family's story of resilience and renewal — provides a strong identity differentiator in the premium natural products space. Target markets include health-conscious consumers, specialty food retailers, natural and organic grocery channels, and buyers seeking functional beverages, rare sweeteners, and medicinal mushroom products with verified provenance.