Arizona is on the worldwide map with its craft beers, wines and spirits with the trophies and awards given over the last few years. To showcase all things Arizona there will be the first ever AZ Barrels, Bottles & Brews festival at Salt River Fields on November 3rd.
Photo courtesy of Salt River Fields
The beers, wines and spirits will be made exclusively for the festival and use Arizona yeast, hops, grapes and water.
With a great view of the McDowell Mountains from the concourse of Salt River Fields festival goers will be able to sample from 2-5 p.m.
Over 30 brewers, wineries and distillers are scheduled to participate and the list keeps growing. SanTan Brewing Co., Helton Brewing, Elgin Distillery, Cellar 433 and McFate Brewing are a few of those announced.
Tickets are limited and are $50 for 12 drink samples and access to food trucks to purchase food. V.I.P tickets are available at $65 and allow entry an hour early at 1 p.m. Designated drivers pay only $19 and get a free swag bag. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the festival website.
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is at 7555 N. Pima Rd. Scottsdale, AZ
With Father’s Day just around the corner what better way to celebrate than with beer and with dad in mind Scottsdale Beer Palooza returns on Saturday, June 20th, the day before Father’s Day. Back at Westworld in Scottsdale after a successful 1st year you can buy dad tickets to attend or you can buy dad his favorite suds at the beer store.
This indoor and air conditioned event will include over 30 breweries including Rogue, Odell and New Belgium plus Arizona’s own Mudshark, Nimbus, San Tan and Four Peaks along with Venice Beach Brewing Co. where actor & brewer Kerr Smith(Dawson’s Creek & The Foster’s) will serve his beer and mix & mingle with festival attendees.
M Culinary Concepts will be on hand to sell beer friendly food and The Mustache Pretzel food truck will make an appearance. To burn off your food and beer there will be an adult play area with a life size foosball table along with movie clips with your favorite beer-y movies will be on the big screen for laughs and more entertainment will be available.
The event starts at 1 p.m. with VIP ticket holders access at 12 noon to taste special beers. Tickets for General Admission are $30 in advance ($35 at gate) for 20 4-oz. beer samples and a collectable mug & VIP tickets are $50 for 25 4-oz. samples and early entry. The festival goes until 6 p.m. and tickets are available in advance at www.scottsdalebeerapoolza.com
WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260
It’s been 1 year since World of Beer www.wobusa.com opened on Mill Ave. in Tempe and to celebrate their 1 year Arizonaversary they will offer their customers 4 days to celebrate.
Starting on Wed. August 7th. with a Firestone Walker party where some of their beers including Double Barrel Ale and Wookey Jack will be on tap all day with a few rare beers being tapped from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. that will include Parabola, Sucuba and Sixteen.
On Thursday and Friday August 8th & 9th over 50 rare and allocated beers will be tapped including North Coast Brewing’s Barrel Aged Old Rasputin XV and Odell Brewing’s Wooden Sidecar and Amuste.
Saturday August 10th World of Beer salutes Arizona breweries with “The Arizona Great Fifty Eight” in which 58 beers will be tapped from 26 Arizona breweries including the “Beer of the World” a World of Beer exclusive from San Tan Brewing Co. This beer is brewed using ingredients from around the world including American malt, European roasted barley, South American cacao nibs and African coffee just to name a few. The Grilled Cheese Truck will be on hand from 12 p.m.- 5p.m. then from 5 p.m. -10 p.m. The Hungry Monk’s new food truck The Traveling Monk will be serving pub favorites.
Customers visiting on these days will have a chance to win tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in October.
http://www.facebook.com/wobtempe
World of Beer Tempe is located at 526 S Mill Ave at the corner of 5th Street and Mill Ave and is open Monday-Friday, noon – 2 a.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m. – 2 a.m.
With the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma still fresh in our minds, Chandler’s San Tan Brewing Company www.santanbrewing.com is doing something to help those in need and one of their own. On Tuesday May 28th between 11 a.m. and midnight purchase a can of Epicenter for $3 or take a six-pack home for $5 and San Tan will donate ALL of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Relief Fund.
“One of our own employees, Jennifer Simson, has family that was affected by the devastation. This tragedy hits very close to home for all of us and we are doing what we can to help,” said Anthony Canecchia, owner and head brewer, SanTan Brewing Company.
If you can’t stop by for a beer you can donate to the Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999 and a $10 donation will be made.
SanTan Brewing Company is at 8 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler, AZ.
This past weekend Scottsdale Civic Center Mall welcomed the 3rd Annual AmeriCAN Beer Festival in celebration of American Craft Beer Week. The festival is hosted by Chandler AZ’s San Tan Brewing Company whom packages all their beers in either cans or kegs. You may ask what makes this beer festival different from other beer festivals. This festival featured only beers packaged in cans, and why cans….well for several reasons according to Joe Burns of Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing. Cans protect the beer from UV light, no oxygen in cans, are easier on the environment and are better for using for recreational purposes i.e on boats, around pools and water, especially in Florida.
Now that you know why cans, here is some of the samples of beers I enjoyed from some of the 60 breweries in attendance from all over the United States.
DC Brau www.dcbrau.com from our nations capital opened for business on April 15th 2011 and is DC’s 1st production brewery in almost 60 years. DC Brau makes 10,000 barrels a year and distributes throughout D.C. and northern Virginia. Lead Shift Brewer Christopher Grahm was their 1st employee and tells me they currently can 6 beers including their 3 flagship beers The Citizen, The Public and The Corruption. I tasted the limited release “El Hefe Speaks” Hefeweizen which was crisp, cold and tasted like a German style hefeweizen.
Another D.C. area brewery that came out west for the festival was Lost Rhino Brewing Company www.lostrhino.com/ from Leesburg Virginia. Sampling their Pilsner I found it rich and creamy. A hint of spice made this beer quite the thirst quencher.
Beers are not known to be gluten-free with their use of wheat and barley, but Joseph James Brewing Company www.foxbrews.com in Henderson, Nevada makes the a the only gluten-free canned beer in the world. The Fox Tail Gluten Free Ale uses nectars instead of wheat. This lighter bodied ale also no sorghum (a grain used in making of alcohol) instead using organic rice, nectars and hops. This ale tasted very good and I wouldn’t have known it was gluten -free as tasted good as any ale using wheat. Joseph James Brewing Co.’s Fox Tail Gluten Free Ale
For the cider enthusiast for which I am one, there were a few ciders in cans including Vermont Hard Cider www.woodchuck.com pouring their original Woodchuck Cider which is made from apples and is also gluten-free. Cold, crisp and clear this golden cider goes down very well and could be habit-forming. If you prefer your cider on the dry side then you can find Crispin’s “Brown Lane” Classic English Dry Cider which is one of their imported ciders. www.crispincider.com San Tan Brewing Co.’s “Mr Pineapple” wheat beer
As fruit beers are becoming more popular, a few are being canned and were being poured including Abita Brewing’s Purple Haze which uses raspberries in the brewing process, Redd’s Apple Ale from Tenth & Blake Beer Company, San Tan Brewing Co.’s “Mr. Pineapple” Wheat beer and Maui Brewing Co.’s CoCoNut Porter. All had a hint of fruit used with Redd’s Apple Ale having the strongest fruit flavor.
Grand Canyon Brewing Co. www.grandcanyonbrewery.com/ out of Williams AZ won Gold medal for their Sunset Amber in the “Amber & Brown” beer categories. Making 30,000 barrels a year this beer is distributed in Arizona & Nevada.
Nothing goes better with beer than food and several food trucks were there to provide use with something to wash down with a cold beer including Brat Haus, The Grilled Cheese Truck and Tom’s BBQ. There were several bands playing throughout the afternoon including Good Rust, Pride Through Strife, 80 proof and Boom Shed for you to get your groove on.
Nothing beats a cold beer on warm day in May and although you may have to wait til next years 4th Annual AmeriCAN Beer Festival www.cannedcraftbeerfest.com/ doesn’t mean you can’t wait to find your favorite canned beer. Many retailers including Whole Foods stock an impressive array of canned beers to get you through the summer months and beyond. Cheers!
It’s hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend is only 2 weeks away and San Tan Brewing Company http://www.santanbrewing.com/ is kicking off the unofficial start to summer with canal bike ride on Sunday May 26th. The ride will begin at Kelly’s at Southbridge (7117 E. 5th Ave. Scottsdale 85251) in Scottsdale at 3:00 p.m. where riders will grab a bite to eat and cold beer with the ride to start at 3:30. Once fueled up riders will head down the canal to Lon’s at The Hermosa Inn for cold beer before heading back to O.H.S.O Nano Brewery for more beer and then back to Scottsdale to Dos Gringos for the final stop which concludes with another San Tan beer and time to hang out.
Cost is $25 per person and includes food at Kelly’s along with a San Tan beer at all 4 stops. With the Memorial Day Weekend ride expected to sell out registration is on San tan’s events page http://bit.ly/YNdBbh
