moving from san diego to gilbert

Arizona Wilderness Brewing is in Gilbert. I haven't had their beer, but met owner, seemed like real nice dudes.

 

Fate Brewing, Angels Trumpet, The Attic are other good spots.

I also moved to AZ from CA recently and one of my favorite things here is the growler fills. You can get them almost anywhere it seems (gas stations, liquor stores, bars), you can use any growler and it's usually cheap!

 

Arizona Wilderness was my favorite on our Phoenix trip. Went twice. Great food. Fate was awesome too

 

This is most innovative brewery in AZ by a long, long stretch. The made an amazing BA stout, they make solid IPAs, and sours and sasions which are really interesting. They do have some carbonation issues sometimes and the staff is not always friendly but its a must go.

 

The sticker is definitely OHSO haha, that's awesome

 

wilderness is a must. same with ohso and four peaks (tempe). fate is good too. theres another one in chandler (not santan) that is up and coming, but cant think of the name right now.

the hungry monk in chandler is a good spot for tap takeovers. same with a taste of tops in tempe.

as for bottle shops, bevmo and total wine are the main spots. the bevmo in gilbert is pretty good, as its not in a highly populated area. used to find a good amount of htf beers there. wholefoods can also be a good spot too. most people dont think to shop beer there. the one in chandler is really good, as they have a bar inside.

 

Welcome to town. I rarely shop at Bevmo. I'm in Gilbert and I do most of my shopping at Gilbert Convenience Mart, City Wine and Spirits, and Total Wine. There are plenty of other good bottle shops around town as well. Bevmo can be a good spot for special releases though, especially the one in Queen Creek since they get less traffic out that way.

 

Gilbert has become quite a nice bottle shop hotspot....I'm just down the road from Desert Rose Express, a convenience store/gas station that has about 12 taps and a nice, ever-changing bottle selection, and they're good peeps. GCM is definitely great as well, and so is the Quick N' Shine, another convenience store that the owner seems intent on turning into a nothing-but-beer store on the inside (though I don't get quite the same personal feel there as I do the other two).

Beer Research Institute (BRI) is now open, a few blocks North of the Gilbert city limits in Mesa....definitely worth a stop (they're still in the growing-pains mode food wise I think, but I've liked the Belgian-style beers they're doing). And in downtown Chandler, which is close by, both San Tan Brewing and The Perch are worthy places. The Perch in particular does some very interesting beers of their own...the brewer really likes to experiment.

 

the perch. thats the one i was thinking of. definitely worth a visit.

 

A few not mentioned yet, Taste of Tops, Flannys and Sun Up Brewing. If you like Arizona Wilderness funky beers go check out Old World as they were the areas first farmhouse brewery with one of the most unusual ingredients ever added-Rat Feces----Just kidding--avoid it if they are even still open by the time you get here.

 

Welcome to AZ!

I second many of the other suggestions, especially AZ Wilderness, Taste of Tops, Whole Foods Chandler, Flanny's, and also The Perch (for the guest beers). Also look out for Dragoon's beers on tap/growler. Boulders on Southern just opened not long ago and it's on the east side of town too.

 

LOL, That didn't take long after this post. Old World announced today that they are now closed. Good riddance, now the question is who is next? Sleepy Dog, Desert Eagle or North Mountain? My bet is Sleepy Dog although Desert Eagle's beer is worse.

 

Deserves a thread of its own?

 

I see a fair amount of places around the Valley with Sleepy Dog taps....do you think they're in trouble? I've always thought their beer was decent. I haven't been to North Mountain, but I've heard good things about the brewpub. And yeah, DE is a bit disappointing. It's too bad because I think that downtown Mesa location has real potential, esp. with the light rail coming in.

 

North Mountain is good if you like butter but otherwise not very good and Sleepy Dog is very inconsistent and I rarely see them anywhere. They had to close down their pub in Gilbert last year for lack of business.