The 14th annual Arizona Strong Beer Festival at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix was one for the record books: A record crowd of 6,003 people attended Arizona’s premier beer festival – featuring a record 117 breweries, including a record 36 from Arizona – on a Saturday when temperatures hit a record 86 degrees.
Other than a shortage of parking, the fest seemed to run quite smoothly. When the general-admission gates opened at 1 p.m. – 750 people with VIP tickets got in at noon – there were 2,300 standing in line, but organizer Landon Evans of the HDE Agency says it took just six minutes to shepherd all through the gates.
Once inside, festival-goers encountered an almost endless variety of beers on grounds expanded to the size of two football fields. Most breweries brought two to four beers. Four Peaks from Tempe (pictured below) poured a whopping 20. SanTan from Chandler had nine, two of which came with special food pairings.
One of the things I love about covering the Strong Beer Festival is I get to chat with brewers from all over Arizona, as well as other states, in a single afternoon. Certain trends begin to emerge. This year I spotted three big ones: Sessionable IPAs, spring training beers, and more canned beers.
The longest lines of the day were at Arizona Wilderness (pictured at top), no doubt the result of the first-year Gilbert brewery recently being named “Top New Brewers In The Worldâ€Â by RateBeer.com. The crowd favorite was Oaked & Ordinary, a 4.0% ABV English-style bitter Wilderness labeled as “an extremely boring beer for this fest.”
Brewmster Jonathan Buford says the brewery will be collaborating on a Russian imperial stout in Grand Canyon from Williams this week, a sour brown ale with Sun King from Indianapolis in May, and a undetermined beer with experimental Danish brewer Mikkeller in August. Also expect, in Buford’s words, “more sour love” in coming months.
SanTan debuted the deliciously smooth KGB, its new Russian imperial stout, Saturday. But the highlight was its beer-and-food pairings – Count Hopula Blood Red IPA with a bite of Shropshire blue cheese (pictured), and oak-aged Railslide imperial spiced ale with an Apple Pie Crumble Bite – a festival first.
The Chandler brewery is readying for the release of its hugely popular Mr. Pineapple seasonal at next month’s BBQ & Beer Festival, adding SunSpot Gold to its lineup of canned beers, and preparing to begin distribution in Southern California and Texas.
Four Peaks unveiled Short Hop, a spring training-focused beer that brewmaster Andy Ingram calls an “India session ale.” It has the flavor of a big IPA, but it’s noticeably light and refreshing with an ABV of just 5.0%. Trying to “keep things fresh” in his landmark brewery’s 17th year, Ingram says he’s toying with the idea of a white IPA or a saison.
In the meantime, look for Four Peaks to release four-packs of bottles of some of its most-coveted limited releases, such as Sirius Black imperial stout, later this year. Ingram also is looking for help naming the brewery’s second-year seasonal Vienna lager, which is returning soon.
Scottsdale’s Papago is planning to start canning three of its core beers – Orange Blossom wheat ale, Hopago IPA, and Coconut Joe coffee stout – in May. The canning line is being installed at south Tempe’s Huss, partially owned by Papago and brewer of its core beers.
Meanwhile, Huss brewmaster Jeff Huss (pictured at left in center, with Andy Ingram on left) is releasing his own spring training-inspired Magic in the Ivy (yes, he’s a Wrigley Field fan) on Tuesday. He’s calling it an American strong ale with an ABV around 5%. Huss also says he’s recently acquired a bunch of bourbon barrels he’s “messing with.”
Desert Eagle in downtown Mesa also is joining the world of canning. Look for its Gentleman’s Porter, Red Mountain Ale, and Buzz Bomb IPA on shelves as soon as labels are done.
Cartel Coffee Lab, which began brewing small-batch beers last year on a half-barrel system near its Tempe location, is upgrading to a seven-barrel system to increase its production significantly. Brewmaster Matt Johnson, who also will have five 15-barrel fermenters, is talking about a spicy seasonal grapefruit wit.
Despite the pleadings of local beer drinkers, Fate brewmaster Steve McFate says he intends to keep his award-winning Candy Bar Milk Stout as a seasonal available only from Halloween to January. The Scottsdale brewpub is collaborating on a barrel-aged blend of its imperial stout with Four Peaks’ Sirius Black. McFate also is working on expanding the food menu.
At Uncle Bear’s in Ahwatukee, brewmaster Scott Bickert is using smoked peat moss and yeast from Ireland for a dry Irish stout he’s preparing for St. Patrick’s Day. The relatively new brewery also is releasing its first double IPA on Thursday, and plans a Belgian-style golden ale in May.
Mudshark from Lake Havasu City is joining in the spring training fever with the second-year return of Spring Training Steam Ale, a lager style also known as California Common. The brewery recently did its first sour beer, Shark Funk, and will start bottling Vanilla Caramel Porter this summer.
Down in Tucson, Borderlands is releasing Coffee Cream Ale in the next week or two, to be followed by Horchata Cream Ale. Brewmaster Nigel Knoy says he has an entire list of planned pilot beers – “one per month for the rest of the year.”
Next week, Dragoon is collaborating with fellow Tucson brewery 1055 on a Belgian-style black tea saison. It’s also working on a Belgian-style trippel.
Outside of Arizona, Big Sky from Missoula, Mont., is about to release its new sessionable IPA. Dubbed Pygmy Owl, named for the 3-inch-tall owls which inhabit the brewery.
Firestone Walker from Paso Robles, Calif., which recently brewed its first sour, Agrestic Ale, is coming out with its second, Lil Opal, in the next month or so. The brewery has another four or five in the works.
(Pictured: Firestone Walker’s Dave Walker, left, chats with Hungry Monk owner Jim Lolli.)
