Arizona Beer Thread (2020)

In mid to late May i scratched my brewpub food and beer itch at Peoria Artisan and Santan Uptown. In my area i know that Front Pourch, Simple Machine, and Throne are up and running as well.

 

Wren House is still closed and only doing curb side pick up and online orders. Same with Pueblo Vida out of Tucson. Wandering Tortoise and most of the bottle shops are up and running.

 

Was thinking of coming by in a week and a half or so and hoping that some of the tap rooms would be reopened but with covid cases on the rise in AZ it seems like the better play would be to hold off until things settle down

 

I had heard that Shop Beer Co in Tempe had shut down 1-2 weeks ago (not sure if they reopened) and both Santan locations closed temporarily, for deep cleaning, over the weekend of the 12th after 2 employees tested positive.
The 4-5 times Da Boss and i went out to eat after the AZ reopening we found that it was 50/50 with servers wearing masks and deep cleaning procedures being executed (we are 57 and healthy-knock on wood!). Not sure your age and health status but if you are younger and healthy just wear your mask when going to your table/bar stool and when you leave the area; and wash your hands after you are seated. If the venue is not social distancing i would personally not hang out there. Cheers, Tom

 

What are considered the top producers of haze distributing to Arizona bottle shops? I was looking online at some offerings in Tucson, but every hazy ipa I look up on Untappd has a ~4-star rating. It’s almost as if the style alone is getting the 4 stars versus the specific beer within said style. Any suggestions on breweries (local and out-of-state) or specific beers I should look out for would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

 

Pueblo Vida is in Tucson they make some really good Hazy IPA's they dont really distribute to any bottle shops besides Wandering Tortoise.

 

Granted

Granted, I haven’t been there for over a year, but when I moved away, Tombstone and Modern Times were the ones I got most excited about in bottleshops regularly. Looking at my Uptappd, the only others I found in bottleshops there that I rated above 4 were from Almanac and Belching Beaver.

With that said, I also liked the offerings from Helton, Fate, Arizona Wilderness, and Pueblo Vida, but you mostly have to go to their taprooms to get cans, if they have them at all.

 

Tombstone continues to put out great hazy beers. BUT it seems like everyone knows that now, as they seem to be selling out a lot quicker. Further, I've always enjoyed Wren House, and feel their hop game has greatly improved over the years. They are mostly insta-buys for me now, whereas I was far more selective a few years back.
Also, definitely a fan of Wilderness, and frequent their releases often. PV is great, but as mentioned earlier, only Tortoise and I think Sleepy Whale eceive them in Phoenix. Would love to see regular distro.

 

What are anyone's thoughts on Dark Sky up in Flag? I had one beer from them and it was decent. Any feedback on them as a whole, what styles they excel at, etc.

I wanted to toss out Iron John's down in Tucson. https://www.ironjohnsbrewing.com/

I stopped in there and snagged a ton of bottles and really enjoyed his beer. They are not distributing at all (least that I am aware, I spoke with them and they indicated not right now).
If your down south stop by, they have a two large coolers at the front for bottles to go.
Cheers

 

Regarding Dark Sky, I'm a fan of their adjunct BA/Regular stouts (High Country Brunch, Cielo Oscura for example). They tend to only come out yearly at most, so pretty rare to come across.
I have not found much outside of that bucket I have been a fan of. Not saying they don't produce other great products, but I have not found anything to date that would (1) get me to drive to Flag to visit the brewery (2) get me to choose Dark Sky over the many other options we have available.
I think the overall availability of what I've enjoyed from them is so limited that it hasn't led me to be a bigger fan....

 

They make really good BA stouts. They go super quick when they are released thats what they are mostly known for. Their hazy IPA's are okay too, not the best in AZ but not bad either. I really like their brewery / tap house. Its not small and has a pizza place next door so you can eat and drink.

 

given recent shutdowns which breweries in Flagstaff will remain open for month of july? (assuming some offer food) Driving cross country through Sedona via Flagstaff would like to make a beer stop if possible.

 

Not sure since I dont live in Flagstaff, but Hops On Birch is a pretty well known bottle shop / tap house that sells a lot of good stuff from AZ. They usually have all the major players.

 

With everything going on with Covid-19 I think the best advice would be to call ahead for the places you want to visit to see what they are doing. Things are crazy here with the spike.
I am not up in Flag so I cannot help on this one.

 

Anyone know of any Arizona breweries or bottle shops that will ship within the state? Living in Yuma and most of my craft beer options here are from SoCal.

 

None that I know. Join a craft beer trade group on Facebook and you can probably get someone to send you stuff or trade.

 

Give AZ Wilderness a call, see link below. They appear to do distant delivery. Give them a shout and see if they could hook you up, lots of good beer. Being on the way to Cally they may do drops once in awhile when folks travel that way from brewery, etc. Worth asking.
Cheers.
https://www.azwbeershop.com/

 

Dark Sky I like. Favorite of the Flag breweries. Had a really amazing TIPA And barley wine there 18 months ago. I agree with other posters it seems like their bigger, adjunct offerings are the best especially as stouts. They are very experimental doing every style you can think of and using a lot of interesting adjuncts. It’s kind of random when you go there. Sometimes I’ve been blown away and others left unimpressed but it’s always a worth experience.

Hops on Birch is a great little bar. Can’t go wrong there. Mother Road is also very solid but they stick to a couple core beers and don’t do as much variation as most breweries do these days.

For Arizona haze, as mentioned by others Tombstone is killing it. You can find them in bottle shops in Phoenix but they do move quickly. I would also suggest The Shop, Wren House and AZ Wilderness. Those though likely need to go the brewery to get.

 

Hi All...I am moving to Verde Valley and wondering if anyone could offer guidance on the best bottle shops in Cottonwood, Sedona or even Prescott. Thank you!!!

 

Welcome to Arizona! i am curious if it is work bringing you to the area or maybe retirement? Anyway best of luck with the move! Funny, i am semi-retired and i have a trip booked for Smuggler's Notch in mid-September...i am hoping restrictions for the Vermont quarantine ease up as i am really looking forward to the fine New England offerings!
I don't really have a whole lot to offer but will share from my experiences. I have not looked for beer the one time i stayed in Cornville (in the Cottonwood area - brought my own) but can testify that there is a some good quality restaurants on the Cottonwood main drag that carry decent brews. Regarding Sedona, i can only speak to the Whole Foods there and they have a pretty decent selection of beer but again when we stay in Sedona i tend to raid my beer fridge to take with. And Prescott, i am aware of Park Plaza Liquors which by reputation carries high end brews- i recall standing in a Black Friday line for the BCBS variants a handful of years ago and one guy i was chatting with mentioned they were road tripping it up to Park Plaza after they got their haul where i was at...never been there but looking at the web site they carry some high end whiskeys, wines, cigars, etc.
It will be good to have a Beer Advocate in that area as i believe they are far and few between!
Cheers, Tom.