Hello Southwest forum! My wife and I will be moving to the Phoenix area in a few weeks (for my work), so I'll be looking to get up to speed on the local beer scene. I have been travelling for work to the area a few times over the last couple of months, so I have a decent idea of the bottle shops and a few bars/restaurants, but I was wondering if there are any upcoming beer events that I should be on the lookout for? Are there any regular tasting groups? Basically, I'm just looking for any and all beer advice in the PHX area. Our house is south near Ahwatukee, so the closer to there the better. I'm also a bourbon fan and am always on the lookout for a good bourbon spot as well!
I'm up on the other side of town so I'm not super familiar with your area, but you are likely only 15-20 minutes from AZ Wilderness, which is probably the best brewery in town. Here in a couple of weeks is the real wild and woody fest which has a bunch of local stuff.
Real Wild and Woody fest is next week but you'll miss that. You'll probably have to wait until the October-November for other events. I would mark on your calender Strong Beer Fest in January and the already mentioned Real Wild and Woody. Being newbies to the area you may want to check out the Scottsdale Culinary Festival, Zoobrew and the Great Arizona Beer Festival, although don't expect anything special at those beer events except a lot of hipster types and good weather.
Agreed with bigbelcher that you should put the Strong Beer fest on your radar (it's in February, usually the second weekend)...I think it's the premier beer fest in the Valley. Tickets usually go on sale in December, and VIP is well worth the extra $.
First of all, Im sorry you're heading here this time of year. Since you are in the southeast valley Arizona Wilderness Brewing would probably be your closest and best spot(I think its the 2nd best brewery in Arizona) Im sure youre aware of it already. Downtown is a great place to drink, there are many bars and a few good breweries (Helton, Wren House, Sun up). There is also a really cool bottle shop with 50 growler stations called "King's Convienience" they have the absolute best prices for growler beer. (Central & Thomas) Cheers
When I first got here (2013) I looked around at Total Wine and the good local bottle shops like Taste of Tops. It gave me a good idea of what was available, then I started hitting the local breweries. There are a decent amount in the valley. The best part of the beer scene out here is only being a 5 hour drive from San Diego.
So I'm in Chandler which isn't to far from you. With you in Ahwatukee your local craft beer wateringhole will probably be Huss. They are on the Ahwatukee/Tempe border. Jeff and Leah Huss are the best and their beers are solid as well. Some other good places in Ahw is Nello's, Hillside Spot, there's a wine place called My Wine Cellar which is a nice for date nights. Other good spots for beer and grub that are 15 min away are AZ Wilderness, Downtown Gilbert, Cornish Pasty, San Tan Brew (not the best, but you'll go once I'm sure), there are a ton more but I'm blanking on it. Then, depending where you are in Ahw, you may be close to the I10 which will get you to PHX and that opens up another HUGE can of worms (in a good way).
Just to piggy back a thread... I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go back home... Any chance I can snag some Dragoon cans before I leave? I've only tried a couple shops but no one has it. Southern Phoenix Ahwatukee area. Thanks!
Late to the thread but I live in Tukee and the closest places to here are San Tan (OK Beer, great food, awesome outdoor patio when it cools off). The Perch is just down the street from there. Again OK beers, but they also have guest taps. Really cool environment. Most of the seating is outdoors amongst big bird cages the owner has rescued birds in. Fun place and the food is pretty good. AZ Wilderness is amazing and grub is good too. Matt, one of the bar tenders is a great guy who knows his stuff and will make sure you get what you like. In the neighborhood is a Mellow Mushroom pizza place with a craft list of 46 taps plus about a 1000 different bottles. Cory, the bar manager is a friend of mine. He keeps the place well stocked and you can always find some good choices on tap. Oh and the pizza is killer too. In Phoenix, Wren House is a new upstart starting to make a name for itself. My son worked there until recently when he decided to go back to school. They do not have food, but they do make some solid beer. Huss Brewing is the same. Good beer and they can as well. The Coffee Kolsch is a winner. North to Scottsdale is McFate Brewing. Steve McFate has two places there. He brews up some great beer and their wood fired oven pizza is outstanding. Papagos is a great place to go for some great beer on tap. Always something interesting, food is good, and they have a large cooler full of bottles you can drink there or purchase to take home. And they do not gouge you on price. OHSO in Scottsdale is another place we like hanging out. They also brew beer and have guest taps. Outdoor area is huge and they are very dog friendly so you can take Fido along. Food is good too. In the west valley is a place called Ground Control. The head beer guy there, Ian, is a true beer connoisseur, and keeps decent stuff on tap as well as some bottles. Food is good too. Lots of other good places to go but this should give you an idea. Also look for Dragoon IPA in cans and on tap from Dragoon Brewing in Tucson, as well as Tower Station IPA on draft and canned from Mother Road Brewing in Flagstaff. Two outstanding IPAs from right here in AZ. Cheers and welcome to the neighborhood!
