Phoenix Beer Scene Inquiry

I was paying $18-20 pretty regularly when I lived there. Last receipts I have from PV show that’s what I paid for 4-packs at the taproom. Only place I know of that’s cheaper in AZ is Tombstone, and you have to drive out to the taproom to get that price. All-in-all I’d say saving the 3+ hour round-trip to Tucson is well worth the extra $2. I bet they could get more if they wanted, since they’re the only place I town you can get it. However, if you have the time, I highly recommend getting out to Tucson and Tombstone. Beautiful country, and a totally different vibe from Phoenix.

I’ve been enjoying the lower beer prices here in Indiana, but missing all my AZ beer!

 

Yeah Wandering marks them up.. When I drive down to Pueblo Vida I pay 15 or 16 bucks per 4 pack.. I think the owners of Wandering Tortoise and Sleepy Whale in Chandler are friends with the owners of Pueblo because those two are the only places that get them.. Pueblo and Wren House did a collab a year or two ago and that shit was awesome. I think I;m going to drive down this weekend for some of those Andromeda cans 100% galaxy

 

By the way, if you make it to Kings Convenience in downtown Phoenix, they've got Moonraker cans that are fantastic if you're into hazies. Some of the best hazies I've had (alongside PV, old school Trillium, etc.)

Kings also has a ton of Bottle Logic stuff on tap right now if that's up your alley.

 

Noted.. Never even heard of moonraker but they sound pretty fucking good.

 

Good info in this thread. I'll be in Peoria (near Glendale Community College) 10/9-10/16. Any good beer store/place near there? I'm going to A state vs W State so I'll hit the usuals in Phoenix at some point, so looking to see if anything worthy north of Phoenix.

Thanks!

 

Hey BA's! I'm going to be out in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area next Thursday. I have a lunch meeting in North Scottsdale (near the airport) that I should be done with by no later than 1pm. I'm taking the late flight home from PHX, so I don't need to be back there until 8pm. Even though I live in SoCal, I rarely get out to Phoenix, so I'm looking to fit in a good selection of breweries while I'm there. After reading through this thread, I'm considering the following:

- Head to the southern Fate location (as they open earlier than the northern location)
- Then head over to Wren House
- Up to Wandering Tortoise
- Walk to Helton
- Then AZ Wilderness DTPHX (will likely grab dinner there)

Depending on how long I'm at Fate, I may try to squeeze in Goldwater when they open at 3pm because that one was recommended quite a few times. Or should I not even bother with the risk of not having time later in the day to make it to AZ Wilderness (a place that I really want to hit)?

I generally prefer to hit breweries, but the recommendations for Wandering Tortoise seem pretty unanimous so I will make sure to visit. Do they do tasting flights or just full pours? I'm assuming that all the breweries do tasting flights.

Any input? Yes, I will be using Uber/Lyft. Is there any thing in the North Scottsdale area that I shouldn't be missing while up there? Thoughts on the order of hitting Wren, WT, Helton? Is the walk from Wren to WT recommended (I don't mind the heat)?

I won't be checking a bag, so to-go bottles/cans isn't a priority (unless WT offers shipping!). I'm pretty much open to all beer styles, but tend to do more IPAs/stouts with just a few sours here and there. Cheers!

 

The west side is a quasi beer desert. There is BevMo bout five miles due north of GCC at 67th Ave and Bell and Total Wine at 75th Ave and Bell. But do not expect to find a lot of fresh beers and most of their beers are not refrigerated. But i suspect you will find items not distributed to New York.
If you are willing to travel a couple of locals are worth the trip - the Craft Beer Hop Stop is at Union Hills and 7th Avenue (about 12 miles) and the Craft Beer Quick Stop is at Union Hills and 7th Street. Both have beer to go and a nice inventory of high quality packaged brews. Quick Stop does Crowlers if you are not bringing growlers. Have fun!

 

All those spots offer small pours 4oz or 5oz. Wren House I think still does small pours, they changed their policy somewhat recently I think but it was just not doing 4 flights anymore (can do 2 tho). Wandering Tortoise definitely does 4oz tasters. Check their Instagram and Untappd, they keep both updated constantly.

Wandering Tortoise assuming you like the tap list and Wren House are the two best that I’d prioritize. I guess you could walk, it’s not the nicest area to be frank though. Not terrible but not exactly a place I’d like to be strolling around.

AZ Wilderness would be next. If you’re looking for an early spot, AZ Wilderness in Gilbert opens at 11am at their brew pub. Bit out of the way though. You could hit Beer Research Institute as well if you do that, they are close by each other. McFate and Goldwater combo is good, would put that neck and neck with AZ Wilderness and Beer Research Institute.

Helton is fine. If you were going to drop anything, I’d drop them. North Phoenix / Scottsdale is not as strong. The North McFate and Scottsdale Beer Company combo is decent (they’re a block from each other) but the ones above are better.

 

Yeah the west side doesnt have as many good breweries or tap houses. State 48 has a brewery / restaurant in Surprise and then there is Ground Control Tap house in Litchfield.. Like the others have said you cant go wrong with Wren House, Wandering tortoise, Gold Water , AZ Wilderness even Kings Beer and Wine is pretty cool.

 

If you're at all into this sort of thing I would for sure go to Cobra Arcade Bar. It's like a block from AZ's DT location, all the games are .25/play and they've got an awesome taplist.

 

You guys have been helpful in the past, any ideas of beer suggestions as I am heading north to the Grand Canyon from the airport?

I'm planning on stopping at Wren House and King's Convenience...but I was hoping there might be some good beer to grab or a brewery to stop at on the way north (Sedona/Flagstaff etc...).

TIA and Cheers!

 

Quick trip, but had a great time. Made it to Fate, Goldwater, Wren House, Wandering Tortoise, and AZ Wilderness DTPHX. My favorite stop was Goldwater. Cool location and great selection of beers. So thanks to @MonkeyBread for steering me here over Helton. Wren House and Wandering Tortoise were also cool. While at WT that put on a keg of Pueblo Vida Mosaic Logistics IPA. Good stuff! Overall, I really enjoyed the Phoenix/Scottsdale beer scene. Looking forward to visiting again.

 

Bufante, Sedona is really nothing I’m aware of worth stopping at. Flagstaff though has a couple decent spots. Dark Sky Brewing is for sure #1 and they fill crowlers. Other options in Flag are Mother Road (six packs of their core beers you can find there or at most Arizona retailers across the state), Historic Brewing and Wanderlust.

McGugh’s I think is the name for a bottle shop in Flagstaff. Haven’t been in a few years. Good selection. Small.

 

Dark Sky in Flagstaff and there is a popular bottle shop close by ( I forgot the name ) but they carry Tombstone and other AZ beers. Dark Sky is a cool place and they do crowler fills too.

 

Wrapping up a weekend in Phoenix. I ended up doing the Wandering Tortoise and Wren House combo. Walked from one to the other. It was a bit of a trek, took 30-35 min but needed to walk some of those calories off. Both places are awesome. Wandering Tortoise continues to get an amazing selection of beers on tap and to go. Burgeon stood out this trip, couple strong beers from them like Trade Bait.

Wren House seems to be focusing on lagers more lately. Could just be their upcoming lager fest. Didn’t find room in the liver to try them. Their IPAs were all solid. Highlight was drinking a Twisted Barrel cannon site. Delicious barrel aged blend of barley wine and stout.

 

Yeah Wren House has backed off the IPA's in 2019, they focused more on lagers and las frescas more than anything this year. I rememeber when they first opened they would do IPA releases and have long lines and sell out that day not so much anymore they would do collabs with Tombstone and Pueblo Vida too, I wish they brewed more IPA's too.

 

What is the deal with Pedal Haus in Tempe? In town for a concert tonight (at Club Red) and thinking of pregaming at a brewery. Having dinner in that Tempe area before hand and Pedal Hause looks like it should be convenient for both dinner and the venue and it has a taplist that should work for me (German Pils, rotating single hop lager, etc).

Most importantly, how is the beer?

 

It’s solid. Especially if you like lagers and German styles. Good location and like their set up.

 

Anyone going to the Pueblo Vida 5th anniversary this weekend? I think I'm going to go, I don't want to miss out on their anniversary beers.

 

This thread is super helpful! I'm landing at Sky Harbor at around 7:30pm on Monday and thinking I'll hit up AZ Wilderness, Wren House, and Wandering Tortoise on my way to my hotel in Old Town Scottsdale to pick up some beers for the golf course Tuesday morning. Will hit up Goldwater after the round with my coworkers who like the hazy IPAs.

I liked McFate the last time I was in Scottsdale a couple years ago for their West coast IPAs - are they still pretty good for hoppy beer?