1/05/2018 The Phoenix Ale Brewery 3002 E. Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85034 phone: 602-275-5049   website: PhoenixAle.com
Hours: Monday-Saturday 12pm to 7pm | Sunday 12pm-6 pm

Experience before you go . . .

The way cool thing about this Hoppin Brewery Tour is when I travel or just bop to a neighboring town for the day I can always mix in a brewery tour just for grins. Take this fabulous day for example, my wife Kat decided to fly back to Naperville for a week to check on our house, our son, her mom, our friends and of course savor some Chicago style pizza. Now isn't it crazy that all over the country you see pizzeria signs saying they make Chicago Style Pizza, but in the end it never quite lives up to the advertising. Now let's talk BBQ for a second. Kansas City is known for its BBQ, but you can get dynamite BBQ all over this country unlike the Chicago pizza myth. You can go on and on and on....Philadelphia Cheesesteak, Texas Chicken Fried Steak and of course Wisconsin Cheese Curds. Look out, he's off the rails!! But there is only one place you can get a Sonoran Hot Dog and that's Tucson! Good eating, I don't care who you are!

Ok, I'm back...I think. So Kat got a smoking deal on a flight out of Phoenix to Chicago Midway for $49. You can't even hitchhike for that. So we left Tucson early enough to tour the famous Phoenix Ale Brewery. Out front selfie and in we went. Tables and chairs front and center with L-shaped bar for about 10 brew hounds to the left with 4-5 stools already accounted for. We made our way to the bottom of the L and marked our territory with a few "Hi, how are you, nice to see yas". Getting comfy I pulled out an HBT card and handed it to Mike who's behind the bar and who greeted us with a hand shake and a nice to meet ya. I give him the HBT intro just loud enough so the whole place can hear me. I get a couple nods, a smile or two and Mike says, "Phoenix Ale Brewery is the 8th largest brewery in Phoenix". Mike knows his stuff! Kat and I peruse the tappers and the beer menu that Mike seemed to have pulled out of thin air. I order up the sample flight and the first brew that catches my eye was the Orange Peel IPA - West Coast Style IPA (6.4%, 67 IBU) citrusy hop flavor that's kicked by adding orange peel during the final minutes of boil, hoppy and refreshing with some vitamin C to boot. Next up was the Camelback IPA - India Pale Ale (6.1%, 60 IBU) hoppy but retains the malt flavors for a very well balanced beer, PAB best seller!! Coming in third we have the King George Amber Ale (5.2%, 35 IBU) deep colored ale with a toasty malt taste followed by a mild hop finish....very nice! And bringing up the rear we have the Biltmore Blonde (5.1%, 15 IBU) easy drinking and thirst quenching!! Kat's been sipping my selection of Phoenix's finest but finally orders up a Watermelon Ale (4.8%, 20 IBU) light and very refreshing with a watermelon rind smile....yummy!!

To my left and sharing the bottom of the "L" we have Mary Lee the Art Lady. Come to find out that most of the art hangin on the walls is Mary Lees'. She got a creative, whimsical, friendly way about her and from looking around the brewery at some of her art work I can tell she transfers those traits to canvas. Maybe she could paint a Hoppin Brewery Tour picture of my beer drinking buddy Brad and I doing our thing. Now on the other side of Mary Lee and on the upside elbow of the "L" we have Duane. Now even though Duane loves his brews, if there is anything you want to know, or need to know about water.....he's the man. How to keep it, pump it, move it, distribute it, clean it, mix it, apply it, add it, spray it and last but not least drink it. Duane was a great guy with a lot of insight and he mentioned at one point, back a few years he was Barry Goldwater's pool guy.

Kat and I were having a great time and she realized, as always that I was in my element and probably could of stayed there talking and drinking beer for hours. But I don't think the flight to Chicago Midway would wait for her so a tap on the shoulder and I gesture to her watch meant it was time to pack up and head to the airport. I purchased a 32 oz sealed can of Orange Peel IPA to enjoy another day, said adios to our new friends and headed for the door.

Whether you're flying out of Phoenix or you're there to stay, Phoenix Ale Brewery is a must stop to enjoy the excellent beers and the friendly conversation!

Until next time and remember.........

Go get'cha one!!