It's a big state! For Phoenix, I think Wren House has the best beer across the board (they have two locations now). Other good Phoenix breweries include Goldwater, Roses by the Stairs, Fatem,Tombstone (based in Tombstone, but have a Phoenix taproom), Arizona Wilderness. For Tucson, the best brewery, IMO, is a new one called Slow Body. Pueblo Vida, Dragoon, and Motosonora are also pretty good. Borderlands is below average. I don't know the Flagstaff breweries well enough to rate them.
in Phoenix area - always Wren House, no one in the valley even comes close. Everything they put out is good and they put out a variety of different not just IPA's. They put out fire lagers, pilsners, stouts, etc.. In Tucson I really like Pueblo Vida except they tend to really focus on IPA's and not much else. Flagstaff - Toss up between Dark Sky & Mother Road both those places are my go to spots.
Here is my take as of when we left PHX in March 2021: Tombstone churned out the best IPA's, and it was cool when they opened a taproom in the PHX area shortly before we left the area. Wren House is very good as well, probably the best lagers. Still grab when back in PHX. Arizona Wilderness got a lot of hype nationally. Their IPAs were very good back in the day- not sure how they have held up to the test of time. Overall, they seemed to be a bit overrated in 2021. Never had Roses By The Stairs, and Front Pourch but hear they are pretty good. Goldwater has some solid westie style IPA's. Huss has the iconic Koffee Kolsch which i always try to grab while back in PHX. They seemed to have a solid but unspectacular lineup. Fate/McFate was pretty good back in the day. Heard the original owner sold out so have no idea how they are now. They had some killer pizza at the Shea location. The Flagstaff Breweries Dark Sky and Historic (other than Mother Road who had a nice Black IPA and Tower Station) and Pueblo Vida from Tucson were hyper local and rarely distributed. They had solid reputations locally. There were some solid beer gas stations up in Flag as well. No disrespect here but after living back east for the last 4 years i can see why Arizona is distributors target! Cheers! Tom
As a born and raised "Zonie" this is pretty accurate.. Wren House is the best at making a little bit of everything . Tombstone makes good IPA's that's about it. Pueblo Vida makes really good IPA's , that's about it. Arizona Wilderness focuses more on their food & atmosphere than beer. Goldwater is ok but they really dont brew anything new.
I didn't see Roses by the Stairs Brewing mentioned. This is their Friday Junior IPA-- Pear in the nose with aromas of mango and evergreens. Delightfully sudsy and lively in the mouth. On the sweet side and really fruity. Not juicy or off the acidity chart, but tangy and sharp. Flavors of peach, with a citrus finish. Moderate bitterness. Really quite delicious. Not dated.
Pedal Haus (Tempe) and Catalyst Ales (Mesa) are worth a visit as well. Pueblo Vida is my favorite here in Tucson.
Following this thread for 2026 Phoenix-area recommendations. Wren House is at the top of the list—who else needs to be on it?
