Its best-case scenario of opening in November 2012 was admittedly overly optimistic. But little did Arizona Wilderness Brewing – Gilbert’s first microbrewery, located on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Guadalupe Road – expect its doors to be still not open seven months later.
As owner Brett Dettler sat waiting for a gas-line inspector earlier today, he figured (fingers crossed) the end of construction finally was in sight. “The gas inspection is the last major hurdle,” he says. “If we can get the OK on that, we can be brewing beer by the end of this month.”
Since fermentation takes at least two weeks (depending on the type of beer), AZ Wilderness hopes to open in late July with a limited food menu and six beers on tap. When it gets up to full speed, the brewery will have 12-14 beers – all their own – at any given time.
Brewmaster Jon Buford is planning three “session” beers for the opening. A rye IPA dubbed Lil’ Guy Rye, with an ABV of 3.8%, is expected to be the Wilderness flagship. Others will be a berliner weiss (a sour wheat beer) and a pale ale. Pint prices will be in the $4-$4.50 range, Dettler says.
A higher-ABV IPA will occupy a fourth handle, but the other two handles have yet to be finalized. Also, Wilderness’s other brewer, Pat Ware, will be aging a stout in several wood barrels, nicknamed “Dave’s Staves” after Ware’s friend, the late Dave Conz.
Beers will be served into four different styles of glasses. The smallest, a 5-ounce taster, can be ordered with any beer. It also will be used for four-beer sampler flights. The other three glasses – a traditional pint glass, a straight-edged pint glass, and a snifter (pictured) – all are 16 ounces.
Arizona Wilderness eventually will offer a full menu, but probably will debut with just appetizers, burgers and maybe a daily sandwich special, Dettler says.
