The Arizona Strong Beer Festival kicks off the third annual Arizona Beer Week on Saturday. Over the course of eight days, there will be mini-festivals, tap takeovers, food and beer pairings, rare beer tappings, brews cruises … well, hundreds of beer-related events.
The majority will take place in the Valley, but Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott, and other locales will be getting in on the action, too. ArizonaBeerWeek.com has the complete schedule, broken down by day, with each event’s details.
If you feel a little overwhelmed wading through the massive list, though, here are my picks for the XX top events to attend (excluding events already sold out like the popular Sunday Brews Cruise and Manless Monday, both at SanTan Brewing in downtown Chandler):
Arizona Strong Beer Festival
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix
There’s a reason this 13-year-old festival was chosen to kick off Beer Week. Strong beers are the focus, but you’ll find almost every beer style represented. Several of 75-plus participating breweries from all across the country bring special beers just for this event. VIP tickets get you early admittance at noon for first crack at the offerings with no lines, but those tickets sold out quickly.
Boulders on Broadway Beer Festival
Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Boulders on Broadway in Tempe
This mini festival will feature beers from Big Sky, Cismontane, College Street, Coronado, Deschutes, Desert Eagle, Dragoon, Firestone Walker, Four Peaks, Grand Canyon, Great Divide, Green Flash, Lagunitas, Left Hand, Left Coast, Lost Coast, Lumberyard, Marble, New Belgium, Odell, Oskar Blues, Pitcher of Nectar, Sierra Nevada, and Wanderlust. Get a cup and 15 samples for $25.
Odell Tap Takeover
Noon to 11 p.m. Monday at World of Beer in Tempe
This Fort Collins, Colo., brewery always brings some special beers down for Beer Week, and this year they’re blowing out all the stops with a massive 20-beer tap takeover. One of the highlights will be gWOBa IPA, an imperial guava IPA brewed with the WOB staff. Other rarities: Legal Pad, Featherie, Bourbon Barrel Stout, Amuste, Tripel Threat, Wooden Elephant, and Cocoa Joe.
ASH Presents the Brewer’s Cocktail – Hot Scotchy Night
6 to 10 p.m. Monday at The Hungry Monk in Chandler and Moto in Phoenix
The Arizona Society of Homebrewers debuted this event last year, marking the first time this rare beverage – made with hot unfermented concentrated malt sugar of a beer mash (wort) topped off with a few ounces of Scotch – was ever sold in Arizona. Plan to arrive early: I got to the packed Hungry Monk last year about an hour after it started and the drink was long gone.
Stone Vertical Epic 2007-2012
6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale
From 2002 to 2012, Stone released special Belgian beers – on 2/2/02, 3/3/03, 4/4/04, etc. – meant to be aged until all 10 were released on 12/12/12, and then the beers were to be opened and sampled side-by-side. Here’s your chance to try six years of the unique Vertical Epic Series beers on draft and compare.
Oskar Blues ‘You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Bowl’ Chili Cookoff
3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Hungry Monk in Chandler
Chandler firefighters face off against the Hungry Monk and four other competitors to see who can make the best chili with Hops & Heifer’s beef and Dale’s Pale Ale. Sample them or buy a whole bowl of chili to pair with one of the Oskar Blues beers on tap: Barrel Aged Chub, Home Skillet Black IPA, Deviant Dales, IPA, G’Knight, and more.
Celebration of AZ Beer Loving Ladies
5 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale
This women-only event features five beers brewed by women or women-owned breweries – Mudshark Morning Buzz, Four Peaks Wine-Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter, Moylans Hopsickle, Lost Coast Great White, and one beer TBD – with appetizers and a small dessert for $17.
Beer & Cheese Pairing Class
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at World of Beer in Tempe
Six Belgian beers (4-ounce samples) paired with artisan cheeses for $25. Pairings include Wittekerke with Cypress Grove Purple Haze, Piraat with Landaff Tomme, Silly Saison with Vacherin Fribougeois, Gulden Draak with Fenacho, Troubadour Westkust with Barber’s Cheddar, and one TBA. There are 25 seats, and tickets are going fast.
New Belgium Wild Night Tap Takeover
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Boulders on Broadway
New Belgium brewmaster Eric Salazar himself brings four special wild ales – Mo Betta Bretta, Biere de Mars, Peach Porch Lounger, and La Folie – from the Colorado brewery. Also on tap: Coffee Stout, Dig, Shift, Ranger and Fat Tire.
 Ska Brewing Presents: Breezi & the Deviant Dames Burlesque
7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Yucca Tap Room
“Breezi” is Breezi Walton, a bartender at craft beer haven Papago Brewing. The Deviant Dames are a group of “alternative” models. Together with the Colorado brewery, they’re providing the most intriguing event of Beer Week. The Ska promo starts at 7, but the burlesque show doesn’t begin until 9.
Local Extravaganza – Arizona Cask Night
7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Whole Foods Chandler
An Arizona cask extravaganza featuring special beers from SanTan, Sonoran, Papago, and Fate. Besides the opportunity to meet brewers and reps, the evening also will include lots of fun swag from these local breweries.
Colorado Firkin Festival
6:30 p.m. Thursday at Flanny’s in Tempe
Tap takeover will feature casks of 2011 Bourbon Barrel Stout and IPA from Odell, Collette and Titan from Great Divide, Icy Wheat IOA and Mama’s Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues, Agave Wheat and Vanilla Porter from Breckenridge, Smoke Jumper and Beer Week Sauce from Left Hand, Modus Hoperandi and Vinifera Stout from Ska, and Abbey and Dig from New Belgium, plus non-cask beers from all seven breweries.
Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Festival
2 to 10 p.m. Friday at The Hungry Monk in Chandler
The Bell’s event of the year in the Valley, with 21 of the Michigan brewery’s ales on tap, including Hopslam, Le Pianiste, Midwestern Pale, Smitten, Amber, Bourbon Barrel Batch 9000, 2011 Vintage Cherry Stout, Expedition Stout, Harry Magill’s Spiced Stout, Kalamazoo Stout, Kal-Haven Rye, Le Batteur, Le Contrebassiste and special tappings of Black Note (6:30) and Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout (7:30).
Great Divide Yeti Party
4 p.m. Friday at Boulders on Broadway in Tempe
An Arizona-record 15 Great Divide kegs will include two rarities: Peach Grand Cru and Whiskey Barrel Aged Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti. Also on the tap list will be Espresso Yeti, Belgian Yeti, Oak Aged Yeti, Yeti, Old Ruffian 2011, Colette, Nomad, Orabelle, Hoss, Titan, Hercules, Claymore and more.
Fox Cigar, Four Peaks Beers and BBQ Festival
5 to 11 p.m. Friday at Fox CIgar Bar in Gilbert
Wash down barbecue from Righteous BBQ with one of more than a dozen beers from Four Peaks, including Pumpkin Porter, Double Knot, Barrel Aged Rye Wine, Sirius Black, and Black IPA. There will be deals on single cigars, samplers, and full boxes.
Belgian, Big Beer & Barley Wine Class
6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Whole Foods Chandler
The weekly Friday Beer Class moves up an hour to accommodate a huge lineup of huge beers, including St. Bernardus ABT 12, Troubadour Westkust Black IPA, Troubadour Sorachi Ace IPA, Papago Oude Zuipers, Bridgeport Old Knucklhead, and Ballast Point Victory at Sea and Habanero Sculpin. Try them all for just $10.
New Belgium Sour Beer Class
6 to 7 p.m. Friday at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale
Eric Salazar from New Belgium’s sour/wood-barrel-aged beer program conducts a sour beer seminar. Enjoy Clutch draft and Transatlantique Kriek bottles, plus mystery firkin tapped at 7. Space in extremely limited, and seats will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations.
Bikes, Brews, Bloodys & Brats Festival
Noon Saturday, Feb. 23, at Handlebar in Tempe
New Belgium provides the beers – Shift Lager, New Belgium Triple, La Folie, Fat Tire, and Ranger IPA – to go along with a special brats-and-beer pairing menu, Bloody Mary’s, bike maintenance demos, and more. Ride your bike to the event to get $1 off featured beers.
Beers, Blues & BBQ Grand Opening
2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Four Peaks Taproom in Tempe
Four Peaks celebrates the “official” grand opening of its three-month-old tasting room in west Tempe with an afternoon of rare and seasonal beers. There also will be food trucks, live music, brewery tours from 3 to 5 p.m., and more.
