Pinetop Brewing Co. 159 W. White Mountain Blvd, Lakeside, AZ. 85929
phone: #928-358-1971   website: PinetopBeer.com
Hours: Monday - Thursday 12-8PM | Friday - Saturday 11AM-9PM | Sunday 11AM-9PM

Experience before you go . . .

On a personal note, 9 months in Tucson without even testing if indeed the world ends on the outskirts of town just like the song says. And add in how tumultuous 2020 has proven to be especially in Tucson. Covid, Bighorn fire, very little rain, continued excessive summer heat, 3-4 months of personal health issues and even a time or two our beverage frige literally ran out of "All Day IPA" beer. It's been brutal to say the least. So when a very generous neighbor gave us her keys to her house in Pinetop, Arizona we jumped at the chance to get the heck out of Dodge....or in this case Tucson. We loaded the car in record time, throwing some clothes, our pillows, snacks, beer, vodka, gin, mixers, unfinished thick book..."West of Here", and I might add as of this brewery write-up it's still unfinished, and of course 2-3 of my favorite hats. We hit the road, blended into traffic, turned up the toonage to classic rock and settled in for the 3.5 hour drive to our weekend oasis. The drive heading directly north to Pinetop is very scenic and can also be treacherous if you're not a careful driver. Hwy 60 through Globe is non-eventful but then you have 77 through the Fort Apache Reservation which includes the Salt River Canyon. Now this is a drive everyone needs to put on their bucket list. The civil engineering behind this weaving road is mind blowing. Drivers, keep your eyes on the road. Big RV's and large fifth wheel campers, find another route. Arizona is one amazing state and I have to pinch myself every now and then to remind myself how lucky I am to live here. Alright next stop Pinetop!

Once we arrived and settled into our very cozy accommodations for the weekend which had a tree shaded back deck that overlooked a beautiful little lake filled with geese, ducks and an occasional Loon which seemed to become more relaxing as we consumed our 1st, 2nd and 3rd cocktails....life is good in Pinetop Arizona!!! My wife Kat and I both agreed that Pinetop reminded us of a northern Wisconsin resort town....Minocqua, WI.....and we love Minocqua! Granted the elevation in Pinetop is 7000' compared to 1600' in Minocqua but the feel is the same. Big local influence, a lot of mom and pop establishments built with respect and pride, a lot of big pickup trucks and jeeps, a lot of tourists and really one main drag to get access to all of it. Forget about turning left out of one of these parking lots during rush hour. We ate at a couple Pinetop favorites Johnny and Dee's Picnic Basket for breakfast and Charlie Clark's Steakhouse circa 1938 for dinner and of course the Pinetop Brewery was calling our names for lunch. Right off the main drag PB opens at 11:00 for constant poured brews, lunch and dinner. Kat and I masked up, front sign selfie pose and we hit the door. Thinking we'd sit outside, Kat, who is excellent at finding open tables peruses the patio as I walk through the inside which eventually leads me right to the bar.....which if you're a frequent Hoppin' Brewery Tour abuser this is right where I love to be. Two bar stools right off the corner, I mark my territory with my hat and turn to go get Kat as she's rounding the corner, we sit, get comfy and bing bang boom, the HBT strikes again for the 103rd time!! One hundred and three times.......what the heck!!

Pinetop Brewery is a stand alone building and is Arizona's only Belgian Microbrewery. It has a large cabin feel with many rooms and the bar is off to the left, down a couple stairs and against the wall. Lots of wood, smell of hops and food....my favorite. Jess is working the bar and is very busy and Kat being a lighter ale connoisseur she orders a Blonde (7.3%, 31 IBU) light, refreshing, smile on Kat's face who is now a blonde herself.....blondes have more fun!! I order up a Pinetop flight which starts with IPA (7.1%, 88 IBU) well balanced with cascade hops, Belgian malts, sugars and yeast; next up is the Tripel Houblon - IPA (8.7%, 113 IBU) now that's a lot of IBU's or double yum for us IPA'ers, 9 different hops, juicy with mango, peaches, tangelo and grapefruit....how do you say bases loaded with Casey up to bat!! Following the hop feast we have Amber (6.8%, 33 IBU) rich, dark and malty....reminds me of a girl I dated in college, very nice (the beer not the girl); and I finish up with the Saison Automne (7.2%, 43 IBU) traditional Belgian saison, baked apples, walnuts, toffee and caramel...fall colors, fireplace and the February, 1959 issue of Man to Man....doesn't get much better than that!!!

Kat and I split nachos and a Pinetop burger which was very good and filling and in mid bite up walks a comparably aged couple and they sit down at the bar directly to my right. I let out the welcome as if I was the bartender/owner and the conversation began. John & Jackie had just moved to Pinetop from the valley this past March. Now at first I thought the valley was San Fernando Valley which is a urbanized valley in Los Angeles, California. Now you learn something new everyday even in your 60's even if you'd learned it once or twice before and just plain forgot you still feel like you're learning something new and you're adding cred to your analytical database. Well the Valley is known as Phoenix, the capital of Arizona and home to 1,680,992 peeps. So J&J came from the big hot city to Pinetop for the moderate weather and 1,676,523 less people........1,680,992 - 4,469 (Pinetop Pop.) = 1,676,523 (new math in case you were wondering). John was 26 years Air Force (thank you for your service Sir), 4 grown children and Jackie was 100% Irish! I knew I liked her from the start! Pinetop Brewery was walking distance from their house, which is fabulous and also dangerous. Earlier this year when Brad and I toured #99, One Lake Brewing, we sat next to Mick & Chris and Chris lived exactly 89 steps around the corner from the brewery and Chris seemed pretty comfy sitting on that stool. So J&J when you figure it out let me know what the count is and we'll have a little friendly competition...."My Walk to the Brewery". It might even make Zillow's Walk Score......scores a 99 for close to brewery, homes would be flying off the shelves!! So anyhow John and Jackie were fabulous to talk to. They're both getting their retirement legs and having fun doing it. Enjoy PT you two and maybe, just maybe we'll cross paths again.

Pinetop's a must, Pinetop Brewery is a double must. Go, cool off, drink up and repeat!!

Until next time and remember.....

Go get'cha one!!!