Bars & Breweries

We think The Lost Abbey’s Red Poppy is one of the best examples of a Flemish Red Ale brewed in America. Here’s why.

Dos Cabezas WineWorks in southern Arizona has a new — and very transportable — wine. Following in the footsteps of their previously released rosé, simply named Pink, is a new sparkling rosé, aptly named Sparkling Pink. The best part? It comes packaged in a 16 ounce can…

Hands on the clock, as measured by those in the mixology world, move quickly. By now the barrel-aged negroni is the stuff of legend, and for me, the stuff of habit. At Citizen Public House in Old Town Scottsdale, I haven’t not ordered a barrel-aged negroni in years. Not, at…

The Spot: Cafe Tranquilo 401 West Clarendon Avenue 602-469-1730 goclarendon.com/restaurant/ The Hours: Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. in the bar only. Perfect for: Sitting in the shell of a once-beloved restaurant while half-heartedly enjoying their attempt at recreating your favorite dishes and drinks. Interior:…

Green Flash Brewing Co.’s rare Silva Stout gets much of its character from extended aging in used bourbon barrels, which have special qualities of their own.

A question for the ages: Just how many abandoned absinthe fountains are out there? Disenchanted by the apparatus (tragically, just picture those heavy fountains metal-plated Lady Absinthe lifts tirelessly above her head), some barkeeps may have even banished her to the highest shelf, by the 40-year-old scotch, as I’ve seen…

The Spot: Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend 5632 North Seventh Street 602-680-4044 www.foxrc.com/restaurants/little-cleos-seafood-legend/ The Hours: Happy hour is Monday through Saturday from 4 to 5 p.m. until June 1 when it will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Perfect for: Possibly the cheapest but classiest happy hour in town. Interior: There’s…

Huss Brewing Co.’s spring seasonal was inspired by a dessert made with lemon and toasted coconut.

The Spot: Central Bistro 3160 East Camelback Road 480-646-8560 centralbistroaz.com The Hours: Happy hour is daily from 2 to 6 p.m. and all day Mondays. Perfect for: Bringing people who can’t decide if they feel like splurging or sticking to that diet. Interior: Central Bistro was fully taking advantage of…

Dubina Brewing Co. in Glendale produces beers that range from halfway decent to very, very bad.

Welcome to the indecisive mind of a reporter: it’s never a matter of how would I introduce a guy like Travis Nass — a sort of fabled mixologist, tucked away in a cabin-in-the-woods-like setting, a couple turns on a dirt road wandering from Paradise Valley’s, let’s say, “lustre,” manning the…

The Spot: The District All American Burger Bar 7333 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale 480-664-0356 districtbaraz.com The Hours: Happy hour is normally 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, but during March Madness it is all day Monday through Friday Perfect for: Cheap eats and watching the game outside, while not…

The recently retired president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company talks summer seasonals, brewery mergers and the changes he’s seen during his 40 years in the beer industry.

One of the questions I like to ask bartenders is what they throw on the stereo while they’re opening or closing — when no one, save for their co-workers, are listening. Because what really speaks more to the essence of a bar: the curated playlist for paying customers — you…

The Spot: Sumo Maya Mexican-Asian Kitchen 6560 North Scottsdale Road 480-397-9520 sumomaya.com The Hours: Happy hour is daily from 2 to 6 p.m. Perfect for: Bringing anyone to happy hour, if they don’t mind standing. Interior: As my happy hour companion noted, you could bring anyone to Sumo Maya and…

In the past several weeks, Stone Brewing Co. has announced the death of several of the brewery’s most beloved ales. Here, we remember the beers that were.

Want firm proof that Phoenix’s cocktail scene is growing? The hot new openings are cool, sure, but if you read last week’s Spring Cocktail Guide with The Clever Koi’s Joshua James, I’m going to connect some dots…

The Spot: Caffe Boa 398 South Mill Avenue 480-968-9112 cafeboa.com/wordpress/ The Hours: Happy Hour is daily from 4 to 7 p.m. in the bar only. Perfect for: Impressing the pants off someone without breaking the bank. Interior: Tempe is not exactly at the top of the list when we think…

I can pour what the guys who handle marketing for Guinness call the “perfect pint.” I can take a cool, clean, dry, Guinness-branded glass and hold it under the tap at a 45-degree angle. I can pull the handle forward until it’s horizontal and fill the glass all the way…

Like many restaurant teams in town, the guys at The Clever Koi may not have slept much recently, with a weekend of Devoured under their belts and media types knocking on their doors to ask about Spring menus. All the same, Joshua James, co-owner and Beverage Director, was dressed for…

The Spot: Ten Handcrafted American Fare & Spirits 2501 East Camelback Road, #40 602-374-2611 www.tenfareandspirits.com Perfect for: A cheap, quick bite and drink before a movie at the nearby luxury (read: overpriced) movie theater. Interior: While sitting inside Ten, we couldn’t help but think about the small, private parties we…

Beer: Achocolypse Brewery: Prescott Brewing Co. Style: Porter ABV: 5.6 percent Hello, chocolate! White and milk chocolate do a sweet dance in the nose before subtler notes of weak coffee and some sour grain become apparent. There’s not a ton of depth to the aroma, but it’s very sweet and…