Copper State Beer Festival, Mesa AZ | Jan 13th 2024

Sweaters are being stripped off, sleeves are being rolled up, and hats are perched on heads as the sparkling winter sun permeates Mesa, AZ’s Riverview Park. Copper State Beer Festival is in full swing, and the weather is offering up its desert best for the 5,000 visitors the event has attracted. This is the third year the festival has taken place, drawing beer lovers from across Arizona and further afield to one of Phoenix’s hippest suburbs for an afternoon of imbibement. As Arizona’s craft beer scene blooms like a cactus flower, consumers are catching on, creating space for this frankly huge event featuring 72 breweries, plus a range of cideries, wineries, meaderies, distilleries, seltzer makers, bars and bottle shops. While the focus is firmly on beer, this is an event with something for everyone and an opportunity for local businesses to showcase their offerings alongside high-profile national names. There’s even a skating rink and axe throwing, which beats the heck out of the usual spin-the-wheel attractions beer festivals offer (FYI there was also spin-the-wheel).

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Walter Station Brewery | Hazing Arizona Triple Dry Hopped IPA

Walter Station Brewery sits on the east side of Phoenix, AZ right near the city’s airport. Located in a former fire station, the brewery makes killer Mediterranean pizzas and ideal for sporting events and live music. And it’s definitely worth the stop for a beer or two, especially for the Hazing Arizona. Read More

Button Brew House & Old Ellsworth Brewing Company | Dark Elevation

For those of you that have been around the craft beer scene for a while, think back several years ago and it’s easy to see that many styles have come and gone. Even some of the styles that have stood the test of time have evolved over the years. One style, in particular, comes to mind: Black IPAs. This style was highly popular for a few years, then quietly phased out of many breweries’ lineups. However, Black IPAs have started to make a comeback in popularity.

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Event Preview | Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild’s Real Wild & Woody Beer Festival

When the temperature is well over 100 degrees, there are two places most people want to be: the pool or in air conditioning. The Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild wasn’t able to host a beer festival pool party, so they did the next best thing and will be hosting Arizona’s premier craft beer festival, Real Wild & Woody, on July 28, 2018 in the air conditioning at the Phoenix Convention Center. In addition to a varied selection of brews, they’re bringing the great outdoors inside with an outdoorsy, camping theme throughout and a bunch of interactive games for attendees to play. Read More

Wren House Brewing Co. | Wally’s World Triple IPA

There are a lot of amazing IPAs out there these days, but something you don’t hear about as often is an amazing triple IPA. Triple IPA is not an official style recognized by the Brewer’s Association, but generally speaking, it is a high ABV IPA (typically double digits). Some IPAs that are 10% ABV or higher can be very boozy and wouldn’t be something you’d consider “easy drinking.” However, Wren House Brewing Company in Phoenix has cracked the code.

These guys have brewed a hazy triple IPA that is very easy drinking (almost too easy) not just once — but four times. Those four tantalizing IPAs are what you’ll find in their Wally’s World IPA series: Good Boy Wally, Bad Boy Wally, Sad Boy Wally and Where’s Wally. The beers were named after one of the founder’s dogs, Wally. Each brew ranges from 10%-11.2% ABV and drinks like the ABV is half that amount. Grab a mixed four pack, sit back and enjoy the series — just maybe not all in one sitting. Read More

Ultimate 6er | Southern Arizona Sampler

I feel fortunate as a beer nerd to live in Southern Arizona, Tucson specifically. The beer scene here has started to gain some national attention, but still largely flies under the radar. Tucson is a legitimate beer destination with 20+ breweries, drive out a little bit further and there are additional breweries in Tombstone, Bisbee, and Sonoita. The desert is definitely not dry here, so sit back and crack open a few delicious local brews. Read More

Green Feet Brewing Company | Holly Jolly

Now that the holidays have come and gone, I’m sure many of us can look back and reminisce about some amazing food and beers we had. One of the beers that was the highlight of my holiday beer drinking, was Holly Jolly (AKA Christmas in a glass) from Green Feet Brewing Company. Green Feet has been open since the spring of 2016, so 2017 was Green Feet’s second time around brewing Holly Jolly. They somehow managed to up the ante from the 2016 batch, which was the best pecan beer I had tried.
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Tombstone Brewing Co. | Little Baby Wyatt

Welcome to the Wild West. No town represents that way of life better than the town too tough to die—Tombstone, Arizona. Many people know this town as one big tourist attraction, where you feel like you’ve gone back in time into the heart of the Old West. Nevertheless, though it is a rustic and historic town, the city is also home to one of the state’s top breweries—Tombstone Brewing Company. Tombstone has only been open a little over a year, but they have won over the taste buds of craft beer drinkers around the state, and with beers such as Little Baby Wyatt, the brewery is also appealing to the locals who usually prefer macro-brews.
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Ultimate 6er | Beers to Drink in the Desert

Regardless of the time of year, when you’re spending time in the desert, it is important to stay hydrated, thanks to the dry climate and low humidity. The same concept applies to drinking beers in the desert—you want a beer that is refreshing and easy-drinking, particularly in the summer months when the daily temperature can easily exceed 110°F. This is a six pack that speaks to the lighter side of the desert culture.

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National IPA Day | Southwest Regional Roundup

From the lush green landscape of eastern Texas, through the dusty Llano Estacado in the Texas Panhandles and New Mexico and into the deserts of Arizona, there’s plenty of craft beer, including an abundance of floral, aromatic, tasty IPAs. One would expect the beer to reflect a region so vast, and so diverse — and it does. Here’s a sample of what’s good in the Southwest. Happy National IPA Day!

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Let’s Start a ‘Revolución’ | An Austin Brewery Made A Beer to Pair with Tacos

Independence Brewing Co. (Austin, TX) and “The Tacos of Texas” authors start a ‘Revolución’ with new Saison made to pair with tacos.

Now, you know that is something we can get behind. Smashing tacos and skulling Saisons is, like, one of our top five favorite things to do during patio porch season.

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Borderlands Brewing Company | Sitting In A Tin Can

ABV: 9%

In this day and age you can just about find an IPA around every corner. IPAs have evolved over time, but there will always be hop heads willing to try a brewery’s latest, freshest IPA. Unfortunately, making a delicious IPA that stands out from the crowd and doing so on a consistent basis is a challenging task. Borderlands Brewing Company out of Tucson, Arizona has been a fixture of consistency in the state of Arizona and recently received national recognition for one of their IPAs. Draft Magazine was kind enough to blind taste test nearly 400 different IPAs and came out with a top 50 list. Borderlands Brewing made that list at number 48 with their Toole Avenue IPA. Riding their wave of success on their flagship IPA, they are just coming out with their first canned double IPA—Sitting In A Tin Can. Read More

Pueblo Vida Brewing Co. | Monswoon IPA

Pueblo Vida Brewing, based out of Tucson, Arizona, is quietly producing some of the highest quality IPAs in the state. Part of the intrigue and mystery surrounding this quick riser could be attributed to the fact that Pueblo Vida doesn’t currently distribute outside of Tucson, nor do they regularly can or bottle any of their beers. However, recently they’ve started releasing two special release cans each month, which have quickly grown a cult following locally and around the beer trading community. After you try one of their beers, it’s easy to see why they’re gaining popularity. One of their releases for May and arguably the best beer they’ve canned so far is Monswoon IPA.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

The BA releases its list of Top 50 Brewers, Mississippi officially allows direct sales to customers at breweries and Maine brewers look to streamline state laws. North, South, East and West – no matter where you live in the U.S., we’ve got you covered on the latest craft beer news. Keep reading to catch the details of these stories and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Inside the Tank | Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.

Video Created by PorchDrinking Videographer Travis Weger

After a little over two years in operation, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. has quickly become one of the hottest new breweries in the country. … Read More