Hi everyone, I just moved out here from Boston a few weeks ago. Im slowly starting to get used to the area but am still trying to find good spots for beer. I live in Chandler and so far I've been going to bevmo and total wine for my beer runs. I've also been going to The Hungry Monk, BJ's snd SanTan for stuff on tap. I'd really appreciate it if you guys can suggest some other places that i might be missing out on. Also, did i miss out on all the hopslam? I have been wanting to try it for about 4 years now and would be bummed if im too late (especially now that i have just moved from nugget nectar, lunch ipa, heady topper, hoponious union, be hoppy, etc etc) Thanks in advance!
Just saw Hopslam today at Total Wine. Whole Foods Chandler is a great place to hit in your area - 31 taps!. Just a few minutes away from Hungry Monk. Flanny's isn't far either and is probably my favorite beer bar in your area. If you go further into Tempe I recommend Taste of Tops or Boulders on Broadway. We don't have the bar & brewery scene of Boston but look there's a lot of great beers brought into the state so you can still drink well here whether at home or at beer bars with top notch selections.
Go to Four Peaks and Papago too. If you dont find Hopslam I still have more then a 6 pack I could help you out but there should still be some at TW.
Thanks for the responses guys i appreciate it. I have to admit that i have enjoyed what ive seen so far in AZ. I was expecting a much worse beer situation over here.
Welcome to AZ! Came from Boston huh? I lived in Boston for a while (a long long time ago) and i do miss it. I think you'll find our beer culture is not as developed as that of Boston but it is growing all the time is but i think we get as good or better distribution (albeit different) of out of state breweries. AZ tends to still be IPA centric and lots of places (especially downtown PHX) still think classic Belgian dubbels and tripels are the best beers in the world and aren't as aware of some other crazy things going on in American craft brewing. But there are many place that are much more hip to what's happening (these are mostly in Tempe). These are some places in PHX not to miss: Papago Brewing - the legendary brewery beer/bottle shop that is the cornerstone of craft brewing in AZ http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2240 Flanny's Bar and Grill - a new awesome grill dedicated to craft with low prices and great special events http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24222 Top Liquors and the physically attached Taste of Tops beer bar - the place most likley to have the best beer in the Phoenix area (for a very short period of time) http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2342 Sun Devil Liquors - sister store to Tops and the place mostly likely to find a gem that sold out everywhere else long ago and with a very nice tiny bar in the cellar http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2341 Also in Tempe is the very chill Boulders on Broadway - hoke to 20 great handles lots of beer dinners and special beer events 400 or so bottles beer knowledgeable staff and essentially zero beer snobbishness http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16685 It's a mile away from: Yucaa Tap Room - still one of the better kept secrets for craft beer in AZ as everybody associates it with the live music and dive bar antics that made it famous (also never a cover), but it has 25 handles and lots of great bottles (also to go!) and many linger much longer than elsewhere in PHX http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22956 In downtown phoenix you'll find: Sun Up Brewing - a very nic elocal brewing with a unique architectural set up and lots of cool beer events http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2513 The Lost Leaf - a tiny live music venue (never a cover) showcasing local music in a formerly occupied residence (yep it s one of those " I used to be a house now I'm a business!" places) with a few handles and a decent bottle list http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17871 O.H.S.O. - a nano brewery restaurant with good food an often a nice draft list http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27354 Around the block is: The Roosevelt - a hipster bar/bistro with a house beer and about 20 handles http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16387 two blocks from: Angel's Trumpet Ale House - a great attempt at craft beer meets hip/haute cusine with alot of intersting taps http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29741/?view=beerfly and it's across the street from the awesome: FilmBar - a theater showing cult films, foreign films, documentaries indie and art hosue flicks with a nice beer bar http://www.thefilmbarphx.com/ As for Chandler: Whole Foods Chandler - is unlike any other Whole Foods I've ever seen with regard to beer. 30 taps, a hard core beer geek as the beer guy, and thousands of bottles. They get 3rd pick in the state from many of the distributors and so they usually have lots of good stuff there all the time. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16618 San Tan Brewing - is in Chandler and they have a very nice bar (indoor/outdoor set up) some fun events (movie nights, pub crawls) and they make good beers (mostly seasonals) http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16357 The Hungry Monk - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20894 is very beer centric and host lots of events and sometimes has a great taplist. There's still Hopslam around. I'd try Whole Foods or even Bevmo. I don't think you'll find much left in the smaller (but generally better) stores. We also get Ska: Modus Hoperandi (i got to have a treatment dry hopped with Simcoe and and Amarillo last week); Squatters: Hop Rising; Port: Mongo; Epic: Hopulent all of which i think stand as really great beers for the hop fix. Four Peaks Double Knot is a pretty nice hoppy beer too. And Papago does an IPA party with treatments of their too. And if you ware willing to drive to CA or get to know somebody Alpine's insanely awesome IPAs and Pliny are not that hard to get) It should be said that you are just in time for: http://arizonabeerweek.com/ I strongly recommend you buy tkts asap for the http://arizonabeerweek.com/13th-annual-arizona-strong-beer-festival And check out some of the others events during the week And please consider searching the forum ...there's lots of threads about places to go bars/bottle shops etc... Cheers! and hope to see you around somewhere.
Around the block is: The Roosevelt - a hipster bar/bistro with a house beer and about 20 handles http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16387 The Roosevelt shut down which is a sad thing.
Just moved here too. Are there any decent stores in Central Phoenix? I have just been going to the Total Wine off Camelback which suits my needs just fine at the moment but it would be nice to find some other places to go outside of the big box stores. Will have to check out some of the places mentioned above when down in Tempe or Chandler.
AJ's 44th & Camelback is a local grocer and they have a large selection too. Not much bottle shop wise in your area. Most local places are east valley, or southeast valley. Even Whole Foods is a chain.
Thanks a million for this reply. It's extremely helpful. Can't wait for payday so I can start checking these places out!
