Beer

3 Reasons Why the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival Is the Best in Arizona

I tolerate the douchery of the Great Arizona Beer Festival. I enjoy the charitable nature of the Beer for Brains Rare Affair. I love the drunken shenanigans and alcohol-heavy drink that flows freely at the Arizona Strong Beer Fest. See also: - 2013 AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival in Scottsdale ... More >>

Five Things to Eat and Drink This Weekend in Metro Phoenix

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We've got you covered. Check out what's on our plate. See also: - Food Truck Caravan Rolls into Downtown Scottsdale Starting This Saturday Night - Drive-Thru Tacos and Tapas Come to Peoria (By Way of Las Vegas) Schnepf Farms Peach Festival ... More >>

Can It

Four Peaks SunBru: A Can-tastic Gold Medal Winner

Beer: Sunbru Brewery: Four Peaks Brewing Co. Style: Kolsch ABV: 5.2 percent If you people are any part the beer geeks you claim to be, you'll journey outside your homes on Saturday, May 18, into the increasingly balmy summer air and over to the AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival. You'll get to lis ... More >>

Fest of the Best

Ten FIDY, Oskar Blues and the Canned Beer Apocalypse

Beer: Ten FIDY Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery Style: Imperial Stout ABV: 10.5 percent As we inch ever closer to the third annual AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival our discussion of aluminum cylinders continues, and it's only right that at this point we bring up Oskar Blues. See also: - 2013 Ameri ... More >>

2013 AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival in Scottsdale on May 18

As much as we respect beer in bottles we have to admit there are quite a few benefits that come with sipping your suds out of a can. First of all the can is much more beach and pool friendly not to mention lighter (and therefore easier to transport) and never, ever requires a bottle opener. See al ... More >>

Old World Brewery: The Old World Must've Been Messed Up

A word often flung around the beer-rating websites on which I sometimes dwell is homerism. The term has a broad definition, but most basically it means support for a local brewery that goes beyond what said brewery deserves. It's most often used by people from states outside a certain brewery's dist ... More >>

5 Things You Need to Know About Craft Beer in Arizona

Happy Arizona Beer Week, drinkers! Have you mapped out your schedule yet? There's a lot to see, do and imbibe in the next few days -- it's a busy, beautiful time to be a beer lover. It's also impossible to focus on just one beer during a time like this, so for Arizona Beer Week, we're giving you a ... More >>

Five Things to Eat and Drink this Weekend in Metro Phoenix

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We've got you covered. Check out what's on our plate. See Also: 17 Don't-Miss Events During Arizona Beer Week, Feb. 16-23 6 Don't-Miss Events During AZ Cocktail Week: Feb 16-22 13th Annual Arizona Strong Beer Festival Hold on to your beer ... More >>

Dates of Arizona Beer Week and Arizona Cocktail Week Overlap Again -- And Neither Group Is Budging

Fans of adult beverages and the events in which they're celebrated are going to have a tricky time filling out their calendars from Saturday, February 16, through Saturday, February 23, this year. That's when Arizona Beer Week and Arizona Cocktail Week, two of the Valley's major events hailing craft ... More >>

17 Don't-Miss Events During Arizona Beer Week, Feb. 16-23

With more than 100 tastings, tappings and opportunities to tipple taking place throughout Arizona Beer Week, one must schedule his time wisely for maximum drinking. These are the events you'll find us at -- and the beers we'll be drinking there. See also: - Chow Bella Rides with Mother Road Brew ... More >>

Suds (Mostly) Trump the Grub at Brat Haus

Tempe's Cartel Coffee Lab to Release First Craft Beer & Open Microbrewery -- Plus, "Crazy Hour"

After waiting nearly a year for its federal microbrewery license, Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe can now brew suds right along with its top-notch coffee. See also: Tempe's Sleepy Dog Saloon and Brewery Opening Gilbert Spinoff (With Eats) in February Appropriately enough, Cartel's new craft beer select ... More >>

Bear Republic Racer 5, In Beer And Whiskey Form

Beer: Racer 5 Brewery: Bear Republic Brewing Co. Style: American IPA ABV: 7 percent Brewing beer and distilling whiskey are closely related enterprises. To make beer, all you need to do is add yeast to a boiled blend of malted barley and hops called wort. To make whiskey, you take hops out the equ ... More >>

Budweiser Black Crown: The Poor, Desperate Man's Yuengling

Beer: Budweiser Black Crown Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Style: Amber lager ABV: 6 percent At the bar where I work, the most-requested beer we don't stock isn't Russian River Pliny the Elder. It's also not Three Floyds Dark Lord, or Westvleteren 12, or New Glarus Spotted Cow, or anything from Ciga ... More >>

24 Food and Drink Festivals in Metro Phoenix

Festival season's about to hit full tilt. Are you ready? Now you are. Here are some of our favorite local food & beverage events happening from now until the end of April: FEBRUARY 2/1 - Haute Chocolate Market & Festival Where: Heard Museum Price: $30 in advance, $35 day of the event and $45 for V ... More >>

Craft Stores

The Handlebar and Grill: Happy Hour Report Card

The Spot: The Handlebar and Grill, 680 South Mill Avenue Tempe, 480-474-4888, www.handlebaraz.com. See Also: - Boulders on Broadway: Happy Hour Report Card - (More) Craft Beer on Mill Ave. at the Handlebar and Grill, Open to the Public Today The Hours: Happy Hour is offered daily from 3 to 6:30 p ... More >>

So How Does Munich's Oktoberfest Stack Up Against Tempe's?

Lucky Megan Dobransky! Our Chow Bella contributor managed to make it to two Okoberfest celebrations -- in both Munich and Tempe. She's here to compare and contrast. Oktoberfest has been a beer drinker's mecca for centuries. The name alone conjures up images of massive beers so heavy you need two h ... More >>

Six Oktoberfest Celebrations in Metro Phoenix

Ready for a heavy dose of brats and beer? The official Oktoberfest season kick-off is this Saturday -- we already told you this morning about the celebration beginning this weekend at Brat Haus with free beer! -- and we've got the details on all the Valley's celebrations happening over the next few ... More >>

Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Receives Liquor License Approval

See Also: Craft Beer of the Week: Bell's Oarsman Ale Good news, East Valley Craft beer lovers. Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. just received approval for their Series 3 Domestic Microbrewery Liquor License! That means that the Kickstarter assisted brewery that will eventually be housed at 721 N. A ... More >>

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Beer: Indian Brown Ale Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Style: American Brown Ale ABV: 7.2 percent See also: Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Life & Limb See also: New Belgium/The Lost Abbey Brett Beer The Beer Judge Certification Program (the major authority that certifies and ranks judges for homeb ... More >>

Angels Trumpet Ale House -- Aimed at Beer Geeks -- to Open in August

See also: Ten Favorite Metro Phoenix Craft Beer Bars Mat and Sharry Englehorn know and love craft beer, and in their travels through California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado (where they've hoisted their fair share in the name of research), they concluded one thing: Phoenix doesn't have nearly e ... More >>

Nice Cans

Introducing "This Week in Beer," Your Weekly Beer Calendar

Beer is a big deal in the Valley. From tastings and tappings to pairing dinners and more, there's a different beer event to attend pretty much every night. Every week, we'll curate upcoming brew-related goings-on and lay them out for you here. Your calendar will be as full of beer as your belly. M ... More >>

Make Phoenix 2012's BeerCity USA

In 2009, National Beer Examiner writer and Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian created the BeerCity USA poll. Designed to judge the strength of a city's beer community, the online poll drew thousands of voters to throw their support behind their hometowns and the brew culture therein. As ... More >>

Ten Favorite Metro Phoenix Craft Beer Bars

​Let's discuss craft beer bars. We're not just talking about one or two handles here. We're taking about the bars that have devoted just about every handle to the art of craft beer; the folks that know that power of a freshly tapped keg of Hopslam and who would sell a large part of their soul to ... More >>

Our 21 Top Picks for Arizona Beer Week

Arizona Beer week starts Saturday and we are so freakin' excited! After spending hours looking at each and every of the more than 150 events that will take place between Saturday, February 18th and Saturday, February 25th we have come up with a list of our favorites. We tried to narrow it down to se ... More >>

Strange Brews

Chow Bella Hates on Fruit Beers With Lumberyard Brewing Co.

Who hasn't wanted to chat up the guys who make their favorite brews? The Chow Bella team, lucky dogs that we are, recently got the opportunity to do just that. Thing is, we only got a few minutes with each one. These guys are busy! Watch the short video below for an insight into the mind of an Ari ... More >>

Lumberyard Fireside Ale

beernews.org​Beer: Fireside Ale Brewery: Lumberyard Brewing Co. Style: Imperial Red Ale ABV: 9.5 percent Do you feel that? The building giddiness in the soul of every local beer lover. The faint smell of hops and sweet wort in the air. My beer sense is tingling. Arizona Beer Week is almost ... More >>

Four Arizona Breweries Medal at the Great American Beer Festival

​This past weekend -- as brewers and beer lovers got sauced during their yearly visit to Denver and the beer Mecca that is the Great American Beer Festival -- four Arizona breweries took home medals.   For those who don't know, the Great American Beer Festival is one of the largest celebrati ... More >>

Northern Arizona Brewery Tour; Escape the Heat with a Cold One

DesertDog @ Roadfood.com ​And now we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of August. There is no amount of ice cream, skinny cocktails, or boozy popsicles that will make the tail end of the Arizona summer bearable. Your best bet - grab a cooler and hit the road. Take a drive up to the ... More >>

SanTan Brewing Co. Negro Nitron

​Beer: Negro NitronBrewery: SanTan Brewing Co. (8 S. San Marcos Place, 480-917-8700)Style: Black IPAABV: 7.3 percent The Black IPA is so hot right now. As in fashion, music and baby names, trends in the craft beer world progress rapidly. Last year, Belgian IPA was the tits, and lately it see ... More >>

SanTan Brewery Celebrates American Beer Week and Beer Brownies in Today's Eater's Digest

www.wearenotmartha.com​ Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?Beer WeekWe know what you're thinking. "Wasn't beer week like three months ago?" Yes but that was Arizona Beer Week. This week is American Beer Week and SanTan Brewery has big pla ... More >>

The AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival

amymittelman.com ​Here at Chow Bella, we like our beer in cans. Aesthetics aside, cans are the ultimate in beer technology, providing better protection against oxygen and light (mortal enemies of fresh beer) than bottles while being easier to ship and more acceptable at the beach. Plus, they ... More >>

Brewed For Battle: American Brown Ale

Jonathan McNamaraSurly Bender, and Palo Santo Marron.​​At what point does one elevate from merely drinking beer to being a full-on beer snob? Answer: when you feel compelled to tell other people what to drink. And the inevitable result of this peculiar ailment is the beer argument. In the s ... More >>

Why the Great Arizona Beer Festival Ain't So Great

​If you've looked over the vendor list for the beer festival set to be held Saturday at Tempe Beach Park, you might have noticed something odd. At an event that bills itself as the Great Arizona Beer Festival, several of Arizona's greatest breweries -- Papago, Barrio, Nimbus, and this little ... More >>

Brewed For Battle: Blind IPA Taste Test

Jonathan McNamaraA blind IPA taste test? Let's hop to it!​At what point does one elevate from merely drinking beer to being a full-on beer snob? Answer: when you feel compelled to tell other people what to drink. And the inevitable result of this peculiar ailment is the beer argument. In the ... More >>

Strong Beer Festival 2011: Rain-Soaked Impressions

Zach FowleRain-soaked but thirsty for beer!​In case you missed it (or you're just awakening from a beer-induced coma and need a reminder) AZ Beer Week is in full effect. If, like Benjamin Franklin, you believe beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, get ready to worship at yo ... More >>

Craft Beer Competition and Sampling Event and Grilled Oysters in Today's Eater's Digest

Tastespotting.com ​Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives? Craft Beer Tasting Tonight!  Join beer brewers, beer judges and beer lovers at Taste of Tops tonight for the first round of judging for the Great Arizona Beer Festival Craft Beer Competi ... More >>

Craft Beer Competition and Sampling Event and Grilled Oysters in Today's Eater's Digest

Tastespotting.com ​Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives? Craft Beer Tasting Tonight!  Join beer brewers, beer judges and beer lovers at Taste of Tops tonight for the first round of judging for the Great Arizona Beer Festival Craft Beer Competi ... More >>

AZ Beer Week's Must-See Events

matchingfoodandwine.com ​​Arizona Beer Week, once upon a time just a twinkle in the eye of desert-dwelling beer lovers, is now upon us -- and has grown to juggernaut proportions. As our mom likes to say, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a beer week event. With somewhere in the ne ... More >>

Arizona Beer Week, You're Breaking Our Little Craft Beer Hearts

We got word that Arizona was going to get its very own beer week back in November and we have been giddy ever since. More than just a one-day beer festival, we would finally join the ranks of real cities and get a whole glorious week! ​But when we heard there were going to be at least 150 differen ... More >>

Strong Beer Fest Names Captain Squeegee Headliner

Captain Squeegee has the tough task of filling 2 Tone Lizard Kings checkerboard shoes at this year's Strong Beer Festival.​First, some sad news: 2 Tone Lizard Kings will not be playing this Saturday's Strong Beer Festival at Steele Indian School Park. When organizers approached the Mesa ska band t ... More >>

Brewed For Battle: Fruit Lambics

Jonathan McNamaraDelicious lambics.​At what point does one elevate from merely drinking beer to being a full-on beer snob? Answer: when you feel compelled to tell other people what to drink. And the inevitable result of this peculiar ailment is the beer argument. In the spirit of all great be ... More >>

Brewed For Battle: Double IPA

Jonathan McNamaraHopslam, Twin Sisters, and Breckenridge 471.​At what point does one elevate from merely drinking beer to being a full-on beer snob? Answer: when you feel compelled to tell other people what to drink. And the inevitable result of this peculiar ailment is the beer argument. In ... More >>

Arizona Beer Week Events Announced

​We like beer and so do you, which is why we're psyched to announce the list of events currently on tap for the first-ever Arizona Beer Week. Months ago, we announced plans to organize the inaugural festival for February 19-26. Sponsored by the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, this first-ever statewi ... More >>

Music to Your Beers

Get your booze on without judgment