Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta in Chandler is celebrating its 20th anniversary in several ways throughout this year. First up: The launch of its first house beer – Wiseguy Pilsner – contract-brewed by SanTan Brewing.
“I approached SanTan with the idea last fall,’’ Floridino’s general manager Jason Stephens says. ‘‘We’ve had a good relationship with them since they opened. I think we were the second restaurant to put their beers on tap.’’
Wiseguy is the first pilsner brewed by SanTan, which opened in 2007. It was a 60-barrel batch – the equivalent of 120 15.5-gallon kegs – and will be sold only at Floridino’s and one of the guest beer handles at SanTan’s downtown Chandler brewpub.
‘‘I wanted a style that everyone would want to try,’’ says Stephens, who recently increased the restaurant’s number of tap handles to nine. ‘‘A pilsner pairs well with pizza, along with a lot of other foods.’’ Floridino’s will sell the beer for $4 a pint, the same price as other craft beers.
A tapping party will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at Floridino’s, which has ordered special 20th anniversary pilsner glasses for Wise Guy. The restaurant also is exploring the possibility of selling growlers if it can secure the proper license, which costs up to $14,000.
