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Now that he’s finally given notice at his current job, we can report Andrew Bauman (pictured in green shirt) has been hired as brewer at The Perch, the much-anticipated restaurant and nanobrewery coming to downtown Chandler. Bauman has been a prolific home
The new Gilbert location of World of Beer, scheduled to open late this year at SanTan Village, already has scheduled its first event – and it’s a doozy. A Sierra Nevada tap takeover will take place Saturday, Jan. 18, and WOB will
BJ’s Brewhouse taps its limited-release Field Day Fresh-Hop IPA today at all locations, including the ones in Chandler and Mesa. Last month, the chain’s brewers handpicked 70 pounds of Columbus and Chinook hops near Clearlake, Calif., then drove them to BJ’s
Dieter Foerstner, the brewmaster who left Tempe’s Gordon Biersch last year to join little-known Angel City, has been drawing a lot of attention at the downtown Los Angeles brewery. The latest to notice: The Los Angeles Times, which ran a nice piece over
Today, Four Peaks Brewing (all three locations) and Fate Brewing become the latest to tap kegs of Heroes 19, the collaboration beer that’s raising money for the 19 fallen Granite Mountain firefighters. Pints are $5, all of which goes to the firefighters’
Arizona’s newest brewery, Huss Brewing Company, will open it doors at noon Friday in south Tempe. It’ll be a soft opening – owner Jeff Huss won’t start brewing until next week – but there will be 16 “guest” craft beers
The Heroes 19 tribute beer is steadily arriving in the Valley. BJ’s in Chandler and Papago Brewing in Scottsdale both are tap kegs today. And, as we told you earlier this week, four bars in downtown Chandler will be tapping
SanTan Brewing has released the first photo of its new canned seasonal, a Belgian-style IPA called SuperMonk. Local craft beer fans may remember last year’s experimental prototype, which went by the name HopFarm. The newcomer, which owner and brewmaster Anthony
Funkwerks, a Fort Collins, Colo., brewery that focuses on saisons, is holding a trio of launch parties Thursday to celebrate its arrival in the Arizona market. Funkwerks Launch Parties 6-8 p.m. Thursday at World of Beer in Tempe 6-8 p.m.
Tempe craft beer bar Flanny’s hosts one of the most unusual breweries in the world – Mikkeller – for its monthly tap takeover Thursday. The Danish “gypsy” brewery makes its beers at breweries throughout Europe and the United States. Founded
Four downtown Chandler bars – SanTan Brewing, Irish Republic, Bourbon Jacks, and Coach & Willie’s – will tap Heroes 19, the collaboration beer raising money for the families of the 19 fallen Granite Mountain firefighters. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m., you’ll
Uncle Bear’s will open its fifth Valley bar and grill next month in Ahwatukee, but it’ll be very different from the others partners Todd Carey, Josh Allison, and David Thompson have opened in Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek, and Surprise. At
Ever wonder what it would be like to start a brewery in the Mormon capital of the world? Find out from Kevin Crompton (pictured on left) and David Cole (right) on Tuesday when Epic Brewing’s head brewer and co-owner, respectively, will be
Tonight is James Swann’s swan song – his last Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler. The big question is whether the popular weekly tastings, which he launched a couple years ago, will continue at The Watering Hole, the grocery
Earlier this week, I told you Flanny’s would be tapping a pair of special kegs for Sunday’s return of “Breaking Bad.” The beers – dubbed Heisenberg Dark and Walt’s White Lie – were creaed by Marble Brewery in Albuquerque, where
Prescott Brewing will debut the Heroes 19 ale at 5 p.m. Monday, followed by a moment of silence at 5:30. The collaboration beer was created at the brewery last month to honor the 19 fallen Granite Mountain firefighters. Heroes 19
Last week, I reported James Swann (pictured) had given notice at Whole Foods Chandler and intended to open a craft beer bar and nanobrewery in Chandler. Now I can reveal some of the details. The place will be called The
Tonight, The Hungry Monk in Chandler combines two of my favorite things – beer and bacon – in a fundraiser for the Children’s Home Project. A special menu will offer pork belly sliders with jalapeno slaw and siracha mayo (three for
Acclaimed TV drama “Breaking Bad” returns Sunday night to begin airing its final eight episodes, and Marble Brewery is giving the AMC hit a proper sendoff. The brewery from Albuquerque – where “Breaking Bad” is filmed – has created two
It’s been a year since World of Beer tapped its first keg in the Arizona, and the Mill Avenue bar is celebrating its anniversary this week with four days of fun. Today, a Firestone Walker Party will feature Union Jack,
We finally have a date: Arizona Wilderness Brewing, Gilbert’s first brewery, is scheduled to open Monday, Sept. 2. The announcement was made at the end of last night’s premiere of “The American Dream in a Pint Glass,” a documentary about
The bad news: James Swann, the beer guru at Whole Foods Chandler and the creator of its popular Friday Beer Class series, has given his two-week notice. The good news: Swann is leaving to launch a new craft beer bar
When SanTan Brewing opened its new state-of-the-art production facility a couple months ago, it promised to use the suddenly available equipment at its downtown Chandler pub to experiment with pilot beers. Now we’re starting to see the results of that
Woody, Deschutes’ beer barrel-shaped traveling pub, will be at Flanny’s Thursday when the Oregon brewery is spotlighted in the Tempe craft beer bar’s monthly tap takeover. The tap list will include the 2011 and 2012 versions of Abyss, Deschutes’ American
Some of Arizona’s top chefs will compete in The Beer for Brains Foundation’s third annual Epicuriad – a unique food, beer, and wine competition/festival – Friday night at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak in Phoenix. Participating chefs will include Kenneth
Every March and April, Flancer’s hosts a series of events to raise money for Warfighter Sports, a most-worthy organization that helps rehabilitate wounded U.S. soldiers through sports. First up this year is a Rogue beer dinner Wednesday, the first beer
Swing into spring training with the second annual Spring Swing Bash beer festival Saturday in Mesa. More than 20 breweries will participate, including Firestone Walker, Left Hand, Mission, and the Valley’s own Phoenix Ale Brewery. Enjoy 20 beer samples for
Cartel Coffee Lab will tap its new in-house craft beers Friday at the coffee roaster and espresso bar’s University and Ash location in Tempe. The two beers – Desert Pale Ale and Coffee Brown – were brewed by Matt Johnson, who also
Just two weeks after the Arizona Strong Beer Festival, beer lovers are gearing up for The Great Arizona Beer Festival from 2-6 p.m. Saturday at Tempe Beach Park. Beer: 50 breweries will be pouring samples of more than 200 craft
Arizona Beer Week is more than half over, but plenty of great events remain. Topping the list is the second annual Eccentric Cafe Friday at The Hungry Monk. The event traces its origins to Kalamazoo, Mich., where Bell’s Brewing has a
Arizona’s premier beer event lived up to its reputation Saturday as a sold-out crowd enjoyed a picture-perfect day at the Arizona Strong Beer Festival at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix. Seventy-five breweries, approximately 200 beers. Where do I begin?
The Arizona Strong Beer Festival kicks off the third annual Arizona Beer Week on Saturday. Over the course of eight days, there will be mini-festivals, tap takeovers, food and beer pairings, rare beer tappings, brews cruises … well, hundreds of beer-related
Just two days until the opening of Sleepy Dog Bistro in Gilbert, and we finally have a menu to peruse. The fare will seem familiar to patrons of D’Vine Bistro, the Tempe brewery’s partners in the new location. Appetizers are dominated
In one of the fastest restaurant space turnarounds in memory, recently closed House of Brews already has reopened as Jersey D’s House of Brews. If the name sounds familiar, it might be because owner Dennis Delaney has been operating his
Inspired by the growing popularity of the Arizona craft brewing industry, a Chandler family has launched Arizona Brewery Tours, offering tours four days a week. “The idea came to me when my son and I were in San Diego at
Earlier today I posted about SanTan Brewing announcing a second Chandler facility (see post). I just got some additional details from brewmaster Anthony Canecchia (pictured). Among the highlights: • The brewing equipment and the canning line are scheduled to arrive the last week
Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in town, SanTan Brewing has officially announced it is opening a second production facility in Chandler. The 35,000-square-foot warehouse and brewing center on Warner Road just east of Arizona Avenue will allow SanTan to
As a young boy growing up in North Dakota, long before I became interested in beer I was a fan of beer cans. Schmidt cans, specifically. The Minneapolis brewery targeted outdoorsmen with a series of cans featuring wildlife scenes –
El Palacio has rescheduled its four-course tacos and beer dinner for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Chandler restaurant. The dinner originally was set for December, but was canceled at the last minute. Cost is $30 per person. RSVP: 480-802-5770.
From 6-8 tonight, Taste of Tops in Tempe will host a kickoff rally for Phoenix Ale Brewery co-owner Greg Fretz, who’s battling cancer. There’ll be a Kegerator raffle ($10 tickets), T-shirts for sale, and pint specials on small-batch beers from Lumberyard and Four
At 6:30 tonight, Flanny’s hosts a Rogue Ales tap takeover. The Newport, Ore., brewery will have six beers on tap: Good Chit Pilsner, OREgasmic Ale, Single Malt, Double Dry Hopped Red, Roguenbier Rye, and Rogue 15K Brew. The first three are part of
Attention, carnivores: DownUnder Winebar is hosting a Gourmet Exotic Meat Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 31. The six-course menu will feature crocodile, kangaroo, lion, giraffe, zebra, and python. Course will be paired with Sierra Nevada beers. Cost is $75. RSVP: 480-545-4900
Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Sex Panther, a seasonal double chocolate porter from SanTan Brewing, begins hitting taps across the Valley today. The ale, which debuted a couple years ago as a barley wine before being toned down last year to a
Sleepy Dog Brewery is the latest craft beer purveyor to set its sights on Gilbert. The Tempe brewery is opening a spinoff, Sleepy Dog Pub & Bistro, on Feb. 15. The new venture, a partnership with the owners of D’Vine Bistro
One of the most uncomfortable – and, thankfully, rare – things reporters have to write about is themselves. But this is one of those occasions. Some of you may know I spent a week in the hospital just before Christmas.
Whole Foods Chandler‘s Friday Beer Class bids adieu to Kristine Bradley, better known to many in the local craft beer community simply as “Beer Kristine” (pictured above with Whole Foods’ James Swann), at 7 tonight. As a “fine beer ambassador” for
Papago Brewing is starting 2013 with a makeover. The 30-tap craft beer bar and restaurant, which contracts its own line of beers, has a new logo and a redesigned website.
Rare beers will be the subject of tonight’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Food Chandler. Beers on tap (partial list): Oskar Blues Smidy #3, a raspberry-infused porter (5.8% ABV) Oskar Blues-Ska collaboration oSKAr the G’Rauch, a smoked IPA (8.5%) Left
• Sample the world’s finest tequilas this weekend at the Phoenix Tequila Fest, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. There also will be Mexican food, a margarita competition, and live entertainment. • This
The third annual Jewish Christmas party, a holiday hybrid also known as “Jewmas,” will start at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Hungry Monk in Chandler. Dinner specials: Chicken noodle soup Latke balls: Traditional potato pancakes rolled into balls and deep-fried,
• It’s Craft Beer Thursday! • The Hungry Monk in Chandler will be tapping “big boy” beers today, starting with a firkin of Firestone Walker Pale 31 at 3 p.m., followed by North Coast Grand Cru (12.9% ABV, pictured) at 4, 2011
• Today is the last day of 2012 for homemade pierogi at Pittsburgh Willy’s. The Chandler hot dog eatery usually serves the cheese-and-potato-stuffed dumplings (pictured above with kielbasa) every Wednesday, but will not do so over the holidays. And Saturday
Huge news today for the Valley’s craft beer industry: The long-defunct Rio Salado Brewing site in south Tempe is being taken over by newcomer Huss Brewing, which plans to open in mid-2013. If the Huss name sounds familiar, it should. Jeff Huss
• Some changes starting today at The Deli: The Queen Creek restaurant (pictured above) is now open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Doors won’t close at 7, but they won’t
• The Cards have lost nine straight games. The Suns have lost seven straight. At least we still have Burger Monday! • Micheal Iles, chef at the Sierra Nevada Taproom & Restaurant in Chico, Calif., is in town for a
• It’s Craft Beer Thursday! Tonight’s big event is a Sam Adams winter beer tasting at Whole Foods Chandler. There’ll be five rare beers, plus Winter Lager, but the highlight of the evening will be a raffle for a bottle
Tickets for the 2013 Arizona Strong Beer Festival, the state’s premier beer fest, just went on sale, but if you go to the event’s web page (pictured below) you might be in for a bit of a shock. All presale
• It’s Wine Wednesday, which means wine specials throughout the East Valley. • Romanian cuisine isn’t something you run into very often, but tonight’s your chance. Romeo Taus (pictured), owner and chef at Romeo’s Euro Cafe, will be preparing some old-country
Last month, MXSW broke the news about the Phoenix Brewers Invitational, which makes its debut Friday and Saturday at Heritage Square (map) in downtown Phoenix. More than 70 breweries from all over the country will be represented. Today, I got
• It’s Taco Tuesday, which means lots of taco specials around town. • It’s also National Cookie Day. To celebrate, Cookies From Home is offering a walk-in special from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. today at its Tempe bakery: Get half-off ($5)
• It’s Monday, which means burger specials! • “Deck the Halls” is the theme of SanTan Brewing‘s Monday Night Movie series this month: “Scrooged” (shown above, tonight), “Bad Santa” (Dec. 10), “Home Alone” (Dec. 17), and “Christmas Vacation” (Dec. 24
The San Diego area’s Lightning Brewery, a newcomer to Arizona stores and taps, will be the subject of this week’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler. Brewmaster Jim Crute, who started Lightning six years ago in Poway, will be
If you didn’t make it to Denver for last month’s Great American Beer Festival – the largest ticketed beer festival in the U.S. – Taste of Tops might offer the next best thing. At 6 p.m. Thursday, the Tempe liquor store’s
A little more than a week after opening a kitchen-less taproom at its new Tempe production brewery, Four Peaks has announced a schedule of food trucks through the remainder of the year. The mobile vendors will include Short Leash Dogs,
Last year, New Belgium Brewing debuted a fundraising program for non-profit organizations called “The Glass That Gives,” and it’s back this year. As part of the program, 50 Valley restaurants and bars will be donating $1 to The Beer for Brains
If you missed the Oskar Blues tasting at Whole Foods Chandler earlier this month, you have another chance Wednesday at Flanny’s. The Tempe craft beer bar will have Dale’s Pale Ale, Mama’a Little Yella Pils, G’Knight, Deviant Dales, and Ten Fidy on tap. The highlight,
Sierra Nevada specialty beers are the subject of tonight’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler, which starts at 7 p.m. Among the beers on tap will be two from the Chicao, Calif., brewery’s Ovila Abbey Ales series – Barrel
Thursday usually is the most popular night of the week for craft beer events. But with Thanksgiving this week, the action moves to tonight: • Chicago’s Goose Island beers finally have begun migrating to Arizona. You can check out a
Flanny’s will host a Pint & Growler Night with Denver brewery Great Divide from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The featured beers will include a couple of seasonals. The first is Hibernation Ale, which the brewery dubs “Colorado’s original strong ale” because
Valley beer lovers got an early holiday gift last night: Four Peaks Brewing opened its long-awaited new Tempe taproom. Located at 2401 S. Wilson St. – that’s a little west of Mill and a little south of Broadway (see map) –
For a lot of people, the holiday season begins Thursday with Thanksgiving. For Valley beer drinkers, though, it starts Tuesday with the release of SanTan Brewing‘s Winter Warmer. The seasonal ale, named the best in Arizona by New Times last
From 6-8 p.m. Friday, Flanny’s in Tempe will host an Abita Growler & Pint Night. The Louisiana brewery will have a trio of its most popular beers on tap: Turbo Dog, a dark brown ale; Purple Haze, a raspberry lager;
Lyons, Colo., brewery Oskar Blues is the subject of this week’s Friday Beer Class at Whole Foods Chandler. The informal tasting costs $5 and starts at 7 p.m. The highlight will be the Belgian-style ale Chaka, a collaboration with Indiana’s Sun
SanTan Brewing introduces a new seasonal beer Thursday. And there’s a twist: It’s also the downtown Chandler brewery’s first seasonal available in cans. The newcomer is Rail Slide – named for the snowboarding manuever – and owner/brewmaster Anthony Canecchia calls
Arizona State has its work cut out for it in Saturday’s Pac-12 football showdown with No. 13-ranked Oregon State. So, too, do Arizona brewers in Beer Wars II at Lucky Break. The Tempe neighborhood sports bars hosted its first Beer
Fans of Stone Brewing will want to head over to World of Beer, which has eight rare beers from the Escondido, Cali., brewery on tap today. The list includes three variations of its popular American strong ale Arrogant Bastard: Double
Gilbert, we have brewing equipment. Arizona Wilderness Brewing, the town’s first microbrewery, bought a used seven-barrel system from Carter’s Brewing in Billings, Mont., last week. It was unloaded today into their space on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and
Don’t put away the lederhosen just yet. Just when you thought Octoberfest season was over, here comes one last German beer dinner. This one is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at DownUnder Wines & Wines in Gilbert. There’ll be four courses, and chef
At 6 p.m. Thursday, Boulders on Broadway in Tempe will hold an Odell Brewing Night. Among the beers on tap from the Fort Collins, Colo., brewery will be  The Meddler oud bruin sour, Deconstruction Golden wild ale, Haven and Hale peach ale, St.
The Watering Hole at Whole Foods Chandler will hold a pair of beer events this weekend: At 6 p.m. Friday, Firestone Walker rep Jeff Prior will be tapping two firkins from the Pasa Robles, Calif., brewery – unfiltered Union Jack
Lucky Break in Tempe will hold a beer dinner at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24. The event, limited to 24 attendees, will be $37 per person. Chef Ian Westlake’s menu: Toasted hazelnut pasta carbonara topped with roasted portobello mushrooms, paired
The Hungry Monk in Chandler wil host a Bell’s Brewery promo from 5-9 p.m. Friday. The highlight will be The Oracle, the Kalamazoo, Mich., brewery’s highly rated West Coast-style double IPA (10.4% ABV) that will be tapped at 6. The Oracle will
The third installment in Sonoran Brewing‘s Chef Series of seasonal beers will make its debut Friday at The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale. The traditional English-style nut brown ale, brewed in collaboration with chef Lee Hillson, who recently moved from the
Stone Brewing steps into the spotlight for this month’s tap takeover at Flanny’s in Tempe. The Escondido, Calif., brewery will have a whopping 21 beers on tap at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Highlights include Stone’s 16th Anniversary IPA, a version of
Old Chicago has launched a Halloween Mini Beer Tour featuring eight seasonal beers. The first seven are the same at both Mesa locations:Â OC Blood Orange Wheat, Newcastle Werewolf, Woodchuck Seasonal Cider, Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale, Widmer Brothers Pitch Black
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery in Chandler and Lumberyard Brewing in Flagstaff picked up coveted medals at the 31st annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver over the weekend. Jerry Maker from BJ’s captured the gold medal in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
The Arizona State football team takes on Pac-12 rival Colorado in a special Thursday night game, and the action won’t just be on the field. There’s also a battle “brewing” between the two states at Lucky Break, where “Beer Wars” will
A week after its much-anticipated release at the brewery, Four Peaks‘ seasonal Pumpkin Porter hits taps throughout the Valley today. Earlier Four Peaks taps popular Pumpkin Porter
Desert Eagle Brewing, the Valley’s newest microbrewery and the first in Mesa, opens its doors to the public at 3 p.m. today. Located on downtown’s Main Street, just east of Country Club, Desert Eagle will start with five beers on
World of Beer in downtown Tempe is hosting “WOBtoberfest,” an Oktoberfest block party, from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday. There will be a huge selection of German and  pumpkin beers on tap, and Colorado brewery New Belgium will be pouring many of
The Watering Hole craft beer bar at Whole Foods Chandler is holding a couple of beer events this week: At 6 p.m. today, there will be a release party for Barking Squirrel, a lager by Hop City Brewing. The Ontari,
Flanny’s in Tempe will host a Coronado Brewing promo at 6:30 p.m. Friday featuring four of the California brewery’s offerings on tap.
Vermont’s Magic Hat is the latest brewery to enter the Arizona market. Papago Brewing in Scottsdale will host the South Burlington brewery’s official Arizona launch party 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Papago will have Magic Hat’s flagship #9, which it calls a
SanTan Brewing is going where no Arizona brewery has gone before: A series of canned seasonal beers. And first up will be a newcomer called Rail Slide, an imperial spiced ale (8.1% ABV) that will debut on taps and in cans Nov.
RAREaffair, one of the Valley’s premier craft beer events, will be held Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix. The annual fundraiser for The Beer For Brains Foundation also includes food and wine. Proceeds go to the
After weeks of anticipation, Four Peaks Brewing taps its most popular seasonal, Pumpkin Porter, today. Well, technically, the brewery tapped it at midnight last night. While pumpkin beers seem to be everywhere now, this wasn’t always the case – certainly not
A couple of beer events Friday to help you ease into the weekend: At 4 p.m., Trophy’s in Queen Creek will tap a cask of unfiltered Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA. Also on tap will be the Paso Robles, Calif.,
Valley beer lovers get a rare opportunity to enjoy Prescott Brewing beers on tap from 6-8 p.m. today at Papago Brewing. Outside the brewpub, Prescott beers usually are only available in cans. A seasonal Christmas City Ale is sold in bomber
Two of the Valley’s top craft beer bars – Papago Brewing and The Watering Hole at Whole Foods Chandler – were skunked in CraftBeer.com’s “Great American Beer Bars” contest. Among the 10 finalists in our Mountain West region, three Colorado
