Phoenix Brewery start-up seeking partner

I would go to ASH and BA meetings or post on their websites, you might find a few people interested that have homebrewing experience. Not sure you will find too many people with professional brewing experience and that have money to invest that aren't already in the process of opening up their own place. Not sure what you are bringing to the table since you are looking for both money and experience but you might also contact any of the number of places that are in the start-up process already such as Mischief, AZ Wilderness, Veritas, North Mountain, etc to see if they may be looking for an additional partner. Good luck

 

Siebel Siebel Siebel!!!

 

Do you plan on having a production only facility or developing a place where people can come for food along with the beer?

 

The more the merrier but to say Four Peaks is okay, well not so good. They were close to small brewpub of the year last week, behind Firestone Walker. Tough to say that they aren't doing the right things.

Instead of looking for the right guy, how about being the right guy.

 

I think you're right on the mark, and this has been my complaint for awhile - for a metro that is the size of Phoenix, the brewery quality is very lacking. And even worse, there are several that are in business that are just plain horrible, yet they get supported under the "buy local" movement. Scores & reviews here and on Ratebeer aren't very good for these brewers as well, so this is not just me. I'm also disgusted with some who have an emperor's clothes mentality about the quality of what currently exists in AZ - they'll act as though you have no legitimate complaint in your original post, because... uh... Phoenix is already filled with outstanding breweries. Can't you see that?

On the other hand, I think our distribution for other states' beer and imports is excellent though.

I also think Four Peaks is as good as it gets here, so far. I'm hopeful that someone will come along and put this state on the map. I don't sense the local embracement of Four Peaks like I see other cities embrace their breweries. So maybe there are open minds & hearts among Phoenicians to fall in love with a brewery in the future.

 

McFly, Ever hear of Phoenix Ale Brewery? I think they have your concept down to a tee, owners and brewer from Pyramid and Deschutes, tasting room, no food, production/package only. You are too late to the party.

 

Too late? I highly doubt it. Phoenix Ale Brewery beers are terrible based on what I've sampled. There is certainly room for more breweries in a metroplex that large, and if someone in Arizona starts making awesome beer for once, I think they could be huge. In fact, some higher quality craft beer competition would hopefully push some of these shittier places out of business. I look at a place like Minneapolis where Surly took off and now there are several more great little breweries opening. Someone needs to set an example of what great Arizona craft beer can be, and perhaps we'll get the ball rolling. Until then, mediocrity is all we have, and unfortunately that seems to do well enough, so I'll keep drinking good beer from other states...

 

I think their beers are bad, especially the first two they came out with - that unfiltered ale and the Camelback IPA. I could have sworn the first few batches of the pale ale were infected or something because they tasted like cardboard, or horribly dirty tap lines (in a beer from a bottle). And this isn't just my opinion. There's a rather large negative consensus on their reviews here and on RB. (That beer averages in the 2's in BA, and overall score of 24 on RB). I think they made a good marketing choice by their use of 'Phoenix' in the name though, and.... well I guess nobody makes Watermelon beer locally.

 

Hallelujah! Where have you been all my life?

Do you mean that, well, you might not miss Old World Brewery? Dave's Electric? Grand Canyon? Sleepy Dog? SanTan? What would Arizona beer scene be without them?

 

As for the OP, you should not follow the trend of having the same lineup of beers as most of the others. Some places seem to think you must have an Amber Ale, a Wheat, an IPA, and a Stout/Porter as your main lineup with some rotating stuff in between. I say find a niche. If you can't make an awesome IPA, don't bother. If you can, make 3 of them. If you like Belgian styles, focus on that. How bout some Saisons? It's hot here, but I can get plenty of macro light anywhere, so why try and cater to that crowd by making a boring ass blonde ale? What I would really appreciate is if someone made a tasty Dark Mild, something I could truly session at like 3% ABV.

If I was going to open a place, I would look at Russian River as a model. Maybe the sours/barrel program is a bit too much of a challenge, but why not have a range of tasty IPA's with lots of Belgian options as well. Of course the most important thing you can do is make quality, tasty brew. In Arizona it's easier said than done.

 

My point was they already have his business model in place. Branding and people with plenty of successful brewery experience in a production facility. That you don't like their current beers are secondary, a lot of people don't like Pyramid beers either but they have a history of success.

 

I see what you are saying, but it doesn't mean someone else can't do the same, and do it better.

 

I agree and the Surly example is a good one. If we had just one great brewery here it would be embraced firmly by the beer community, and they would do very well. And 1 great brewery would do far more towards putting us on the map than 7-8 new but mediocre ones. When I hear how many are in the planning stages I'm both hopeful and worried.

 

Why worried? It can only get better, the only question is how long it will take. We certainly do need a good brewer to come along and set the bar high though. The more I think about the current situation, it does stink. Even my favorite watering hole in Tucson (1702) has embraced more local beers, and they make up a good chunk of the draft selections now. Unfortunately I don't care for many of them, and they are just taking up tap space from great breweries like Stone, Ballast Point, AleSmith, Bell's, etc. I'm all for supporting local, but when it's such inferior quality it's hard to justify buying it. I feel your pain.

 

Hey Bennet you checked out Dragoon in Tucson yet? They have the potential to be the first real brewery in Tucson. Their IPA and there Session (a mild) are quite good. They are a couple guys I know pretty well, and I certainly have high hopes for them.

 

We've had Four Peaks, SanTan, Sun Up, Sonoran for quite awhile now. Then late 2000's we got a few new ones... reason to celebrate, right? Dave's Electric came to Tempe, Old World opened up, Sleepy Dog, and Phoenix Ale brewery within a couple years ago. I'm just not seeing a good trend here, in my opinion. And all of this stuff is sold under the sometimes mindless "buy local" mantra that I hear at Whole Foods and elsewhere.

I am optimistic & positive about the beer bar scene. In the 90's Timberwolf had a monopoly (pretty much), another place enjoyed that monopoly status for awhile too, but now there's a lot of choices so if you're disgusted with the service & food at one place - just go to another. Flanny's, Hungry Monk, Boulders on Broadway, Taste of Tops... all reasons to be optimistic I guess. Even Yardhouse is a plus in my book because I can go there with so many mainstream people and they like it. Family friendly too.