Craft 64 brews its 1st beer – Smoooove Hoperator IPA

Three weeks ago, MXSW broke the news about Craft 64 and SunUp Brewing reaching an agreement to contract-brew three beers for the Old Town Scottsdale pizzeria and bar.

Monday, it became a reality when a crew from Craft 64 showed up at the Phoenix brewery to create Smoooove Hoperator IPA, the first of the beers.

The IPA is a collaboration between Craft 64 founding partner James Swann (pictured above adding hops under the supervision of SunUp brewer Ross Perz) and SunUp brewmaster Uwe Boer.

‘‘I came in with sketches of the exact beers I wanted, using Uwe’s materials list, and he helped me refine them,’’ Swann says. ‘‘And here we are on Day No. 1.’’

Collaborations are nothing new for Swann. Before helping to launch Craft 64, he brewed collaborations with College Street, Mudshark, and Grand Canyon.

His College Street beer, Brother Dewey’s Date Night, won a bronze medal at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival.

Monday’s Craft 64 participants (pictured below from left) were Swann, co-founding partner Scott Hagen, Andres Lucio, and Stefan Mladenovic.

The Craft 64 beers are being brewed on SunUp’s older seven-barrel system (as opposed to its recently installed 15-barrel system), meaning there will be about 12 kegs of each made at one time.

The IPA (7.0% ABV, 70 IBUs) is meant to be sold at the pizzeria – which features only Arizona beers on its 36 tap – but Swann says one or two kegs may be shared with other craft beer bars.

The second beer, Crafty Blonde, will be brewed next week and be released with Smoooove Hoperator during Arizona Beer Week in February.

The third beer will be Bonkers Double IPA. It is expected to be brewed later this month and released in late February or March.

SunUp’s Boer says his brewery has been approached many times to contract-brew, but hasn’t been able to provide all the services (such as beer storage) requested.

‘‘With Craft 64, I don’t have to do anything but brew,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a perfect match.’’