Phoenix Breweries.. The Best?

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HopSong

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I'm here for a few days...been to SanTan, Four Peaks and another I wasn't impressed with.. Don't remember the place from last year..

Give me a couple great options.. And a few great IPA's and stouts
 
Papago in Scottsdale is really good.

http://www.papagobrewing.com/

The beer is great and the food is great. The service can be a bit slow though, so expect that. It's worth it if you're not in a rush though. I really like their American black ale and if I remember correctly they have a coconut coffee porter or something along those lines. That one is really good too.

Here is a list I found.

http://www.beer100.com/brewpubs_a_to_k/arizona.htm

I've never been to the brewpub, but Sonora makes some great beer. I hope that helps!
 
Hop Knot from Four Peaks is one of the best local brews. Most of their beers very good, although they aren't exactly adventurous. SanTan is kind of meh, although their beers have slowly improved. Papago is a fun place to go. Never much buzz around their beers, but they have like 30 taps, most with other breweries beers. Great selection.

Lumberyard IPA from flagstaff is excellent. It's canned (no idea if they date their cans though.) if you're in the East Valley, check out the Hungry Monk or Flanny's. Both bars have an excellent craft selection.

Oh, and Bells is distributed here. Two hearted ale is in every craft beer shop.
 
Didn't get to Four Peaks or Papago this time. I liked FP last time. This trip we went to Old Town.. it was.. meh.. My son said it was better a couple months ago when he and his girlfriend went. That said, they had a couple of interesting ones. I had an amber I liked as well as another I don't know the name of.. but it was a beer that would be a great intro to sours.. if I had a case of that, I'd maybe get into the sours.. So far, I don't care for them.. even Russian River.. they are too "over the top" for me.

We did, however, get to Phoenix Brewery. The people that own it used to own Pyramid.. sold it and started Phoenix. Gotta say, I liked their beers a lot. We got a GREAT deal from Groupon. Bought two of them. We each got an 8 beer taster along with a pint of our favorite and a beer glass.

Another brewery we went to is a brand new one that was recommended by Phoenix. It's called Fate.. owned by a guy named McFate or MacFate. They also had some great brews. I stuck with the pale ale but finished off my son's girlfriends porter... Lots of good Mmmm's along with a couple of good pizza's.
 
Don't have any new ones to add, but San Tan is good stuff. Lots of variety, great food, some of the best pale ale and IPA in the state.
 
HAHA I was going to mention Fate, but I see you already posted it. I've been GEEKING for it to actually open since Sept. when I first saw their "Open Soon" banner. I DID make it in this past Friday and took home a pie and a growler of their Pale Ale. Tried it tongiht(I was ON-CALL the past week) and it is pretty darned good. I will be making it over there to test some others soon.

If you are going to be here 12-1-12, try and make it by What Ales Ya for their brew day. Free BBQ and testing all day.
 
We were there on Tues nite. Went to see Lincoln at that movie theater where they serve you food.. in the ritzy section of town.. Biltmore??? Then went to Fate. I had their pale ale also. When I was at Phoenix Brewery, I had a bunch of brews also but, because the evening was young, I chose Hoppy Valley pale ale. It was only 4%.. but, boy, it packed a flavor punch.. big time
 
Memory of past years is a bit hazy.. but, I think I'd still consider Four Peaks best.. followed by Phoenix. (Mc)Fear is very new.. but very good beer. San Tan was big and popular.. Had a lot of taps of different brews they brewed and from other companies. Papago had almost nothing that they made when I was there last year.. don't know about now.. but, it was loud and very dirty. Great beer selection in the fridge tho. Not the best experience for me. So far, Old World is at the bottom of my list. The place was dead.. a Monday evening.. but the brewer was tending bar and was a great guy. My son said the beer was better a month ago.. so, does that mean inconsistency? I don't know. I'll try them again. I think they may suffer from not being in a good location. The brewery is nice and definitely has the ability to expand.

Obviously, others experiences may differ. The craft brewing scene is starting to grow in the area. There is a new nano we didn't get a chance to try.. I think it's OSO or something like that.
 
I'll have to checkout Fate. I'll be honest, I've had Phoenix Brewery's beers, and I wasn't impressed, very run of the mill.

Sleepy Dog falls into that same category, very meh. Four Peaks is the only brewery in town that I actually recommend
 
Interesting the differences. Haven't been to SD.. But, one thing appears to be similar to all of them.. They have to build all their water from RO/DI. That could account for some of the differences. I love the beers in my area. Russian River, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, etc. So far, followed by some of the Colorado breweries. We have to make adjustments.. but not build the water. Generally, the Russian River watershed produces pretty good water. Probably not nearly as good as parts of WA state.. "It's the water that makes Olympia Beer" :D
 
The water here is pretty awful for brewing. Bicarbonate is super high, it's very high in sodium, but worst of all, the ion levels vary a ton based on the water source. You could be brewing with 50ppm calcium or 350ppm calcium depending on the time of year, and where they are pulling the water from. Depending on the municipality, there is a boat load of chlorine or chloramines in the water too.

My beers were markedly better when I switched to RO and started building my water. The same might not apply to people across the country, but here in Phoenix, it's an issue. Just taste the tap water here; you'll notice what I'm talking about.
 
scottland said:
The water here is pretty awful for brewing. Bicarbonate is super high, it's very high in sodium, but worst of all, the ion levels vary a ton based on the water source. You could be brewing with 50ppm calcium or 350ppm calcium depending on the time of year, and where they are pulling the water from. Depending on the municipality, there is a boat load of chlorine or chloramines in the water too.

My beers were markedly better when I switched to RO and started building my water. The same might not apply to people across the country, but here in Phoenix, it's an issue. Just taste the tap water here; you'll notice what I'm talking about.

Agree, but it does work for some brews. Four peaks and nimbus in Tucson both brew to fit the water. Nothing, IMHO, beats kilt lifter. At least locally.
 
Agree, but it does work for some brews. Four peaks and nimbus in Tucson both brew to fit the water. Nothing, IMHO, beats kilt lifter. At least locally.

According to a video tour of Four Peaks, they build water from RO to suit the style they're brewing. I think they came to a similar conclusion to scottland, in that the water here is too much of a moving target to bother trying to hit. Same conclusion I came to.

Kiltlifter is indeed delicious, and 8th Street pale ale is great. I need to get back there, haven't been in a year...
 
Went to four peaks today, my favorite brewery in the area, papago is up there as well. four peaks has a seasonal pumpkin porter that is pretty solid but my favorite as the previous poster mentioned is their hop knot. They're supposed to be tapping a cask conditioned dry hopped ale on Tuesday I want to get back in and try
 
dfc said:
I love Sonoran's White Chocolate Ale. Their Russian Imperial Stout is amazing as well.

X2 on the white chocolate ale. Great dessert beer. BTW, no one mentioned it but there's a bar downtown w/ 60 plus beers on tap. Copper room or copper blues, forget the exact name. Lots of craft brews.
 
I'm a big fan of pretty much anything produced by San Tan or Four Peaks. Old World has got to make the worst beer in town IMO.
 
Agree about Old World.. Haven't been to Sonoran.. Do they have a pub or do you have to purchase the brews elsewhere.

Have to try it when I get back to AZ in Feb or Mar.
 
Never even heard of Old World, guess it's not a big loss...
 
What about nimbus? I know they're out of Tucson but they have a location in scottsdale now. I've been there once and have only had a couple of their beers, which were pretty decent
 
HbgBill said:
Agree about Old World.. Haven't been to Sonoran.. Do they have a pub or do you have to purchase the brews elsewhere.

Have to try it when I get back to AZ in Feb or Mar.

They are at the steakhouse I mentioned. They have a $2 pint happy hour I believe.
 
kylelarson said:
What about nimbus? I know they're out of Tucson but they have a location in scottsdale now. I've been there once and have only had a couple of their beers, which were pretty decent

That location is pretty sweet! Awesome food and amazing deep fried zucchini! I like there Oatmeal Stout.
 
Not a brewery, but I was at Angel's Trumpet recently. 30 craft beers on tap, awesome place. Had a Double Bastard there, amazing beer.
 
There's a brand new microbrewery in Mesa called Desert Eagle Brewing. I actually helped them out with some fittings and made a 24"x4' tall hop basket for them. I like the stout.
 
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