Short trip to Phoenix was a success.. Kind of went OD but what can you do when distribution sucks in your home state.
To add what was purchased Saturday, I went back to another TW and just grab bagged a couple of dozen more
We didnt make it to four peaks, nor wanted to spend $5 on a pint anywhere. So theyll get their fair shot in a sampling. I grabed some SanTan IPA and Hefe, and a Prescott AZ amber, along with a lake havasu beer, grand canyon pislner, and a camelback IPA.
We also made it to AZ Wilderness brewing. The place has a ton of hype. I ended up sampling their only 5 beers on tap.. Completely solid and above the norm, which is great for someone this new. Mind blowing? Not really.
-They had a unmalted saison that had a real unique flavor. Top notch
-Refuge IPA is the one we ended up taking a growler home with. It reminds me of a local, Marble IPA. At 75 IBU, it tastes 100-150. Quite malty, and piney. Above par for sure
- Pale Ale was probably my favorite. Nice fruity hop smell, lighter in taste all around. Again, nothing mindblowing but good non the less
-Nitro coffee stout... If you like black coffee or espresso, this is your beer. Not even close to a traditional coffee smell or flavor. This has some dark roasted coffee flavor
-Berliner Weiss, was a funky sour "beer'. I liked the tartness but then it had a vomit like taste. That seemed to be returned 99% of the time on the sample trays that I saw.. We drove that far. I didnt waste but a single drop.
They seem to be rotate in and out 4-5 beers at a time, so I may have caught them on a down cycle.. They can only go up from there imho. They are already above 75% of what I typically sample. So thats good for them? Worth the time or the hype? Not for a $14 growler fill price.
Other beers getting their first shot from me
Some are super fresh. Some are expired
. I dont think I know any ratebeer or BA scores on most of these. So theyll get a open shot at wowing.
btw, Saturday night, I had a FW Pale 31.. It seemed more like a IPA with its hop bite. Maybe that was the 4 prior beers skewing my perspective. Solid stuff though. I havent had a bad FW beer just yet.
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The biggest surprise was probably Mother Road brewing in Flagstaff. Tucked away near downtown, a old beatup factory turned brewery had about 10 beers on tap. I went with their english style summer ale and was super impressed. It seemed more like a well crafted light pilsener. It puts Sam Adams summer ale to shame. I also went with their Black IPA. Perfect balance. Just because its an IPA doesnt mean it has to be crazy bitter. It wasnt too chocolately or roasted. Balanced for sure. I sampled their english brown and caught some great hints of flavor too.
Overall I may regret not getting more sculpin or dirt wolf. So this grab bag variety set is questionable for sure lol.
forgot to mention. Went by a Yardhouse (100+ beers on tap etc..) The list was a bit of a letdown. I went with a Sculpin. Slightly better on draft, but probably not worth the upcharge price. I also went with a Weihenstephaner Hefe. Damn thats really good stuff. Sadly it was served in a normal pint glass, and they offered me a lemon or orange wedge :x. We wont ever be going back there.