The Beer: The Lost Viking The Brewery: O.H.S.O., North Scottsdale The Style: Baltic Porter The Stats: 7.6% ABV The Story: O.H.S.O. stands for Outrageous Homebrewer’s Social Outpost. This happening center of activity likes to refer to themselves as a local restaurant and dog-friendly hangout. All this and they make their own beer,…
The Brewery: 8-Bit Aleworks, Avondale The Beer: Hopsassin’s Creed Session IPA ABV: 4.3% Background: Located in Avondale, 8-Bit Aleworks is a craft microbrewery with a retro-gaming theme. The brewery, the first within the Avondale city limits, was founded by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Krystina Whitten, and opened last May as a production-style facility located in…
The Beer: Roggenbier The Brewery: Scottsdale Beer Company The Stats: 5.3% ABV, 15 IBU The Story: “Roggen” is the German word for”‘rye,” and this beer serves as a showcase for this lesser-known brewing grain. In fact, roggenbiers are quite rare to find in the United States. When you search the…
Drive down Indian School Road just east of Highway 51, and you’ll find Helton Brewing Company, an upstart brewery in central Phoenix that’s created and operated by brewmaster Brian Helton. At this new drinking spot, there’s a noticeable emphasis is on beer education — the walls are adorned with beer…
The Beer: Achocolypse Chocolate Porter The Brewery: Prescott Brewing Company (Prescott, AZ) Aroma: Giant chocolate intensity that’s more dark chocolate than milk, though there’s a presence of both, with secondary aromas of toffee, caramel, light rum and brown sugar. Desert beckons with just one whiff of this locally-crafted ale. Appearance: Though…
Thanks to the growing number of craft breweries in metro Phoenix, there are more great beers being brewed in the Valley than ever before. And when it comes to selecting the best, we’re getting pretty technical — judging flavor and aroma, of course, but also appearance, mouthfeel, drinkability, and ability to…
The Beer: Wet Beaver Wit The Brewery: Arizona Wilderness, Gilbert The Stats: 6.3% ABV The Story: When you’ve been in the beer industry for a good portion of your life, nothing seems all that surprising. Then one day you order a beer, if for no other reason than the conversation-starting…
When trying to get the attention of a beer geek, there are a few key words that usually do the trick. “Free beer,” or “rare keg” come to mind. Also the hallowed words “Russian River.” After all, Russian River Brewing Company has long been the source of some of the…
You can find Goldwater Brewing Company at the south end of Old Town Scottsdale, specifically at 3608 North Scottsdale Road, in the heart of the area’s “craft beer” hub between Brat Haus and Sip Coffee House. Goldwater handcrafts more than a dozen of beers of various styles, strengths, and colors…
The Beer: Ebel’s Weiss The Brewery: Two Brothers Brewing Company The Stats: 4.9% ABV, 12 IBU The Story: Edelweiss is both a popular show tune from The Sound of Music as well as a white flower that grows in the high Alps in Europe. Ebel’s Weiss, however, is a hefeweizen-style…
The Beer: Luponic Distortion, Revolution No. 001 The Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA The Stats: 5.9%, 59 IBU Notes: First in a series of new revolving hop beers Firestone Walker has always been a trend-setter in the craft beer industry, and with the introduction of Luponic Distortion,…
The Beer: Marzen lager The Brewery: Gordon Biersch Brewery, SanTan Village, Gilbert, AZ The Stats: 5.7% ABV; 18 IBU History: Marzen is the German word for “March,” named so because it was in March when this style of beer was traditionally brewed before refrigeration. German brewers would brew the beer,…
The Beer: Scottsdale Blonde The Brewery: Huss Brewing Company The Stats: 4.7% ABV; 16 IBU Huss Brewing Company is the brainchild of Jeff Huss and his wife, Leah, both local beer industry veterans. Jeff was formerly head brewer for BJ’s Brewery of Chandler and is a Siebel Institute of Brewing…
If you drink beer, you’ve probably had an IPA. IPA, short for India Pale Ale, dominates sales in the craft beer world. In 2008, IPA was clearly the most popular category of craft beer — and if you fast forward eight years to today, its total sales have increased twenty-fold…
The Beer: Reissdorf Kolsch The Brewery: Reissdorf Brauerei, Koln, Germany The Stats: 4.8% ABV, approximately 25 IBU The History: Back in 1986, 24 of the main brewers of kolsch in Koln, Germany enacted a proclamation known as the Kolsch Konvention, which decrees that only beers produced within the city limits can officially use the…
Porters — as in, the style of beer — originated in the United Kingdom several centuries ago as a way to appease the working class. The beer gets its name from the porters that carried goods around the streets of London, rough and tumble workers who wanted something more substantial…
The Beer: Hatch Chile Gatos The Brewery: Fate Brewing Company, Scottsdale, AZ The Stats: 4.5% ABV; 23 IBU The Style: Cream ales are easy drinking, very refreshing, low alcohol beers typically consumed in quantity during the warm season. They are considered to be “hybrid” beers, meaning they have characteristics of…
The Beer: Sirius Black Russian Imperial Stout The Brewery: Four Peaks Brewing Company, Tempe, AZ The Stats: 9.5% ABV Appearance: Black and opaque with a head that disappears as quickly as a shooting star, this beer conveys intensity as it sits in its tulip glass, almost daring you to take…
The Beer: Westmalle Dubbel The Brewery: Trappist Abbey of Westmalle The Stats: 7.0% ABV; Bottle Conditioned The History: In the year 1098, due to disagreements with the religious status quo, a new abbey was founded in France known as Citeaux (the Latin term was Cistercium). The monks of the abbey became known…
The Beer: Red Seal Amber Ale The Brewery: North Coast Brewing Company, Ft. Bragg, CA The Stats: 5.4% ABV; 42 IBU The Story: American brewers are relatively new to the brewing game. In fact, most beer styles enjoyed in America today originated in other countries and were exported here when…
The Beer: Pataskala Red X IPA The Brewery: Stone Brewing Company, San Diego, Calif. The Stats: 7.3% ABV | 75 IBU What’s a Pataskala, you ask? Well, it’s a small town in central Ohio, almost 30 miles east of Columbus, that happens to be the hometown of Stone Brewing Company co-founder…
Nothing works up more of a thirst than a good hike, and we may have found the perfect place to rejuvenate after an climb at northwest Phoenix’s North Mountain. At North Mountain Brewery, located at 522 East Dunlap Avenue, you’ll find a cool, inviting space with a high ceiling-ed main…
