Arizona Wilderness’ challenge: How do you improve the world’s top new brewery?

By any estimation, Arizona Wilderness Brewing‘s first seven months have been an astounding success, culminating in being named the top new brewery in the world by popular website RateBeer.com. But such success can become a problem in its own right.

Last Monday, brewmaster Jonathan Buford showed up to begin the week only to discover the Gilbert brewpub had just two beers left on tap. Unlike many brewpubs, AZ Wilderness does not sell “guest beers” from other breweries, so Buford was forced to tap two barrel-aged barleywines, which the brewery was saving for special occasions.

Satisfying a seemingly never-ending demand for its award-winning beers has left Wilderness constantly playing catch-up for the last month, and it’s been hard to make up ground.

During last month’s Arizona Beer Week, Buford says the brewery filled growlers equivalent to two dozen 16-gallon kegs of beers. Partner Brett Dettler says it’s not uncommon for one customer to fill up to 12 growlers at the same time.

As a result, it’s been hard to keep Wilderness’ beers, which take at least two weeks to brew, on tap. The brewery’s last batch of its flagship Lil Guy Rye, which Buford expected to last two weeks, was drained in just six days. (Another batch is now on tap.)

Part of the problem is self-inflicted, Buford admits. A batch of slow-fermenting Russian imperial stout has tied up one of Wilderness’ five seven-barrel fermenters for nearly a month, effectively reducing the brewery’s capacity by 20 percent.

But Buford and Dettler already have plans in motion to address the challenges.

First, Wilderness is adding another seven-barrel fermenter, possibly as soon as today. The fermenter can be used for slower-fermenting beers, while allowing the other five to keep up with day-to-day demands. The brewery also is adding two more 3.5-barrel wood barrels to its existing two barrels.

Second, after rotating somewhat haphazardly through 37 beer styles in seven months – recipes Buford developed while brewing in his garage – “it’s gonna start to slow down a little bit,” he says. Last week, the brewery decided two beers, Lil Guy Rye and its best-selling Refuge IPA, will be brewed every two weeks in an attempt to have them on tap more consistently.

Third, the brewery is considering a ban on growlers. For now, it’s a beer-by-beer decision. Today, for example, four of the five beers on tap, including Lil Guy Rye and Refuge, aren’t available for growler refills.

Finally, Matt McCormack, a 14-year veteran of Four Peaks Brewing, came aboard this week as Wilderness’ first general manager. McCormack, who describes himself as a “jack of all trades,” started as a doorman at Four Peaks and eventually worked his way up to management.

After opening Four Peaks’ Wilson Street production facility and taproom, McCormack (pictured above on right, with Buford) says, “I saw an opportunity here (at Wilderness) I liked, and I wanted to get on board as fast as I could.”

With McCormack overseeing front-of-the-house operations and marketing, Buford plans to return to his focus solely to brewing, where he’s working on a saguaro fruit witbier for this summer that he says will be “amazing.”

He hopes to brew the beer with Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, the world-famous Danish brewer who will visit Wilderness on June 2 to colloborate on a beer. In the meantime, Buford and brewer Patrick Ware will be taking their beers to the Danish Beer Celebration, sponsored by Mikkeller, May 22-24.

Asked if it’s hard to reconcile Wilderness’ fast-growing national (and international) reputation with his intensely local focus, Buford admits, “Yeah, it’s difficult when Mikkeller is calling you and telling you there are 10,000 people in Copenhagen that want to meet you.”

Buford says “25 to 30” potential investors have offered to fund an immediate expansion of Wilderness, but for now the brewery’s partners are content to grow more slowly on their own. One of their goals is to take ownership of their entire building – currently shared with Bruegger’s Bagels – within a year.

“Just the other day, Andy Ingram (owner and brewmaster at Four Peaks) told me that anytime Four Peaks grew, they just looked at what was best for them at the time,” Buford says. “There wasn’t a master plan. Dave Walker (co-owner of Firestone Walker Brewing) said the same thing almost verbatim.”