by: Amanda Savage
Celebrate American Craft Beer Week and visit a local brewery!
Microbreweries and brewpubs have exploded into the local nightlife and culinary scene over the past few years. Everyone is familiar with local successes like San Tan and Four Peaks, and although they have delicious food and great beer, there are breweries beyond the mainstream that deserve your attention! Expand your palette this week at some of the Valley’s best spots for local brews.
Papago Brewery
Papago is a local staple. Although they’ve brewed beer for well over a decade, they stay relatively under the radar. Papago is the embodiment of the hidden local gem. The brew pub floors and tables look to be the result of handmade wood work with craft beer taps decorating the place like trophies. It’s cozy, comfortable and has a certain unconventional personability. The brewery features house brews like their famous Orange Blossom and imports from popular out-of-state craft breweries like Epic and Bells along with less popular finds from Plzensky Prazdroj and Boston Beer Co. Papago offers a full menu packed with pizzas and above average “bar food.” Thursday the 16 is a Boston Beer Co. night, with $1 specialty beers and ciders. Friday the 17 is Papgo’s an Ameri-CAN beer festival pre-party with $4 select cans from 6 – 8 p.m.
Papago Brewery
7107 E. McDowell Rd.
Scottsdale
480.425.7439
Fate Brewing
Nestled just off the south east corner of Shea Blvd. and Scottsdale Rd., Fate Brewing successfully mixes the character and comfort of a local brew pub with modern style. Although Fate is new to Scottsdale its brewer is a craft beer veteran from Colorado, which translates to their beer. The brewery features rotating seasonal taps along with regular house brews like their American Pale Ale. Fate’s menu is simple. Gourmet pizzas, salads and a chili oil that every server claims is the best! It embodies the idea of being great at a few things rather than being “half-good” at a lot of things. Happy hour is from 3 – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with $3.75 pints, $1 off wines and $5 pizza bread.
Fate Brewing
7337 E. Shea Blvd. Suite 105
Scottsdale
480.994.1275
North Mountain Microbrewery and Gastropub
One of the area’s newest breweries, North Mountain Brewery , sits right near, you guessed it! North Mountain in Phoenix. North Mountain Brewery creates an open, welcoming environment in their brewery and restaurant. With long tables for guests to share and a kitchen that’s free of walls and open for guests to see. It creates a transparency that makes the environment comfortable. Their menu consists of comfort food made to pair with beer, with items like Shepards Pie, Banger, Fish and Chips and Charcuterie & Fromage. Guests can watch beer made as they drink and eat. Some notable house brews include the Patience Pays Pale Ale and James Brown Ale. There are drink and food specials daily with an ongoing happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. with $1 off all house beers.
North Mountain Micro Brewery and Gastropub
522 E. Dunlap Ave.
Phoenix
602.861.5999
Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse and Microbrewery
Steak, burgers, salads and beer. This brewery brings out the beer snob and the inner cowboy in everyone. Pinnacle Patio was originally opened in 1957 “as a general store and rest stop for travelers.” Now the location is transformed into a microbrewery and resturant famous for its mesquite broiled steaks with a no “necktie” policy. The restaurant is serious about their casual ambiance, and will literally cut a person’s tie off if they wear one into the place! They staff displays the cut ties on the walls of the restaurant — the walls are covered! Guests can enjoy festively named brews like the Cowgirl Blonde Ale or the Gunslinger Stout.
Sonoran Brewing Company is also located in Pinnacle Patio. Sonoran is famous for its old-fashioned root beer, Inebriator Stout, Victorian IPA and Sonoran 200. The 200 is a 19.37% brew produced from “two-row malt and pure agave nectar” that is aged in oak barrels for six months before being served.
Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse and Microbrewery & Sonoran Brewing Company
10426 E. Jomax Rd.
Scottsdale
Call the Patio: 480.585.1599; call Sonoran: 602.484.7775
Follow Amanda on Twitter @Amanda_Savage
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