Lumberyard Brewery of Flagstaff Has a Beer for Everyone — Even Non-Beer Lovers

In 1994, Winnie and Evan Hanseth left their corporate jobs to create a Flagstaff local landmark, Beaver Street Brewery. The hot spot gained popularity, as did the beers. Fast-forward 16 years and the Hanseths opened a second location named Lumberyard Brewery, renovating a building from the area's lumber era. This enabled the couple to not only have a cool new spot to showcase their fine brews, but to have the ability to distribute these beers. 

Lumberyard Brewery is located in the heart of the action of downtown Flagstaff, just off Historic Route 66 at 5 South San Francisco Street. The brewpub is vibrant and action-packed much of the time. Locals, skiers, hipsters. and businesspeople share the comfortable red brick and stucco surroundings in this classic building. The brewery itself is visible through glass, and patrons can view the activities of the brew staff while enjoying one of the fine offerings Lumberyard serves.

A brewery with something for everyone, Lumberyard can satisfy the demands of the craft beer hophead just as easily as the person transitioning into the craft beer world for the very first time. Here's a breakdown of the brewery's offerings. 



Diamond Down Lager 5 percent ABV | 25 IBU
This beer is extremely light in color, flavor, and taste. By no means is this a knock on the beer; it's an excellent gateway beer for those wanting to step out of their former allegiance to America's Big Three breweries and be introduced into the craft beer world.

Red Rock Raspberry Ale 4.4 percent ABV | 18 IBU
The raspberry flavor is front and center, providing more tartness than sweetness. Another good gateway option despite the raspberry having an "extract" character to the flavor and finish.

Humphrey's Hefeweizen 5.6 percent ABV | 25 IBU
This German-style wheat beer features flavors of banana and clove, derived from the yeast and placed on a soft wheat background. This beer is wonderfully balanced and was a 2007 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Winner. The draft version brings home the traditional Bavarian character that seemed to be lacking in the bottled version. This is a must-try for craft traditionalists as well as new-to-craft drinkers.

Knotty Pine Pale Ale 5.4 percent ABV | 40 IBU
The possible star of Lumberyard's show, this pale ale is full of pine hop aromas and flavors that reflect the very essence of what Flagstaff is all about. A seemingly everlasting foamy head projects this pine-like aroma outward, tempting the consumer to have another sip, again and again. This is a fantastic example of the pale ale style, and there's no wonder why it has won a GABF Gold Medal (2013) and a World Beer Cup Silver Medal (2014).

Flagstaff IPA 6.1 percent ABV | 90 IBU
Taking a page from Knotty Pine, Flagstaff IPA upped the ante in strength, flavor, and hop character, taking that pine forest essence and increasing it. This clear gold ale is set on a straight forward malt base that showcases the hops while finishing crisp and clean. A consumer could be led to believe they're enjoying this beer in the great outdoors due to the use of both American hops that project a pine essence and English hops that provide an earthy/woody experience. 

Pumphouse Porter 6.7 percent ABV | 50 IBU
Roasty aromas combine with molasses, chocolate, and sweet caramel notes to provide a dark and somewhat intense porter presentation. Although listed at 50 IBU, this certainly is a malt-forward beer and the hops exist more in the background. Because of that, the finish produces a lingering sweetness, more reminiscent of a stout than the usually drier porter.

Pumpkin Ale (Seasonal) 5.3 percent ABV | 23 IBU
Fresh pleasant pumpkin flavors and aromas lead supported with light and balanced spicing. This, all on a malt base reminiscent of pie crust, producing all aspects of a pumpkin pie in a glass. This is a remarkably well-made pumpkin ale.

Other offerings available at Lumberyard include the Belgian Trippel (10.8 percent ABV | 40 IBU), Snowbound Stout (7.5 percent ABV | 16 IBU) and the Railhead Red (5.8 percent ABV | 50 IBU). Lumberyard clearly has an option for everyone, even the person who says they don't like beer. With the different flavor combinations available at Lumberyard, even the hardest to please consume can find something to enjoy.

Check out the Lumberyard Brewery website for more information.