Breweries and Craft Beer Stores in AZ

Retail bottle shops - Scottsdale I recommend Total Wine & BevMo that are in adjacent shopping centers on Scottsdale road, just south of Shea. Shop their inventory online and see selection and prices. Whole Foods on Mayo is good too, just south of the 101 up north there off of Scottsdale Rd.

Some good options listed here:
http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/29

I'm not a fan of AZ breweries, but if you must then hit Four Peaks. Even better hit OHSO in Arcadia area (close to Old Town Scottsdale) because half of their taps are AZ beers so you can see a decent range without having to drive all over town to try AZ beers. For Scottsdale beer bar selections I like Praying Monk & Brat Haus (block apart from each other), Whole Foods on Mayo (30 taps plus hundreds of bottles you can drink in their "bar" area), Skeptical Chymist now that they have lot of craft taps now (same shopping center as Four Peaks Brewpub location in Scottsdale).
http://prayingmonkscottsdale.com/drink-menu
http://brathausaz.com/brat-haus-bru-list.pdf

If you go south I'd recommend Taste of Tops, Flanny's, and Whole Foods in Chandler.

 

1702 in Tucson is a must because of the raw power of 60+ taps with a strong Belgian representation, and the new location for Thunder Canyon Brewing downtown is becoming a really nice place for good beer (lots of guest taps) and food.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/phoenix-bas-your-favorite-places.80464/
Check out YemanMocha's thread on this,

I agree with RockAZ on 1702, they have awesome stuff, stuff Ive only ever heard about, or found in the bottle. I was there 2 weeks ago, I had Hopslam, Smiddy Nitro Stout by oskar blues, Moylans Hopsickles , Port Mongo, Hop Rod Rye by Bear republic, and an amazing RIS I cant remember now

 

1702 needs a Phoenix location

 

Since distance isn't an issue, I would check out the Whole Foods Market in Chandler. Not only do they have an amazing refrigerated bottle selection, but they fill growlers AND they have a beer bar inside the supermarket that is very popular in the evenings. On the aisle the local craft beer section is clearly marked, if you prefer to look for Arizona beers.

Whole Foods Market
2955 W Ray Road
Chandler, AZ 85224

 

You need to have Papago Brewing in Scottsdale on the top of your list. 30 taps and about 500 bottles to choose from and special make your own 6 pack pricing. Then I would add Fate and Four Peaks as breweries to hit. In Tucson, add Plaza liquor and Dragoon to the list.

 

Say - Bring some Surly down with you to trade - lovely beers and none are available here!

 

You can order Surly on france44 website if you need a fix.

 

I am surprised that Surly isn't registered at Americanned. http://www.cannedcraftbeerfest.com/event.html Cigar City will be there so who really cares about Surly.

 

Who really cares about Surly? Lol, yeah they suck terribly.