Photos by Brian Goddard

Our staff sampled 47 Arizona brewed and packed beers...
so you don’t have to.

















Clockwise from upper left:

Mudshark Brewery
Up River
Light Lager
Lake Havasu City
Refreshing grassy-floral notes underscored by yeast and caramel tones, with a smooth coda. “Great if you want to drink lots of beer.” —Nicole. 4.2% ABV

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
American Pilsner
Williams
Almost headless, with a
succulent, asparagus-like aroma and pleasant honey-grain flavors. “This ain’t your grampa’s
pilsner.” —Brian. 5% ABV


Old World Brewery
Nitro Blonde Ale
Phoenix
Buttered popcorn-scented, creamy and scrumptious. “It’s a vanilla bomb.” —Craig. “I can’t believe it’s not butter.” —Niki. 4.2% ABV

Four Peaks Brewing Company
SunBru Kölsch
Tempe
An easy-drinking Cologne, Germany-style ale that balances slight bitterness with a lightly citrusy, spicy aftertaste.
5.2% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Nimbus Brewing Company
Dirty Güera Blonde Ale
Tucson/Scottsdale
More of a strawberry blonde in appearance, with a roasted peach flavor and subtle sweetness owing to killer bee honey from Bisbee. 3.5% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
FFF Ale
Scottsdale
Brewed in conjunction with Chef Eddie Matney, FFF is flush with basil. Like pesto, it’s better paired with food than consumed on its own. 4.3% ABV

Old World Brewery
Arizona Honey Wheat
Phoenix
A good dose of carbon dioxide would breathe life into this beer. “Zero head.” —Brian. “Citrus-honey but no oomph. This beer has passed out.” —Niki. 5.2% ABV

Sleepy Dog Brewery
Monje Azul Belgian
Blue Agave Ale
Tempe
Surrounds the tongue with a floral, orange fizz and a toasty malt flavor, with a metallic finish. 5% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

SanTan Brewing Company
Hefeweizen
Chandler
No need to add an orange slice to this high-scoring hefe. “Citrus all over the place.” —Brian. “Tastes like Constant Comment tea, in a good way.”
—Keridwen. 5% ABV

Phoenix Ale Brewery
Watermelon Wheat Ale
Phoenix
Opinions varied from “more wheat than watermelon” to “fruity but not necessarily watermelony” to “it’s a watermelon Jolly Rancher.”  4.8% ABV

Oak Creek Brewing Company
Amber Ale
Sedona
Honeyed biscuit up front
mellowing into caramel, with a faint, pleasant aftertaste of pine. Reliably refreshing and smooth. 5.5% ABV


Oak Creek Brewing Company
Hefeweizen
Sedona
A fruity, foggy, unfiltered wheat beer in the hefe tradition. “A little too buttery for my taste.”
 —Craig. “It hits you with a banana at the end.” —Nicole.
4.5% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Mudshark Brewery
Dry Heat Hefeweizen
Lake Havasu City
A summer quencher with a good dose of caramel and the faintest memory of banana and apple. 5.5% ABV

Mogollon Brewing Company
Wapiti Amber Ale
Flagstaff
“Probably should be categorized as a brown ale.” —Brian.
“Very caramelly up front, cut briskly by a slightly toasty bitterness.” —Keridwen. 5% ABV

Four Peaks Brewing Company
8th Street Ale Amber Ale
Tempe
Nary an unkind word for this cushion-plush sipper. “It feels like an autumn beer. Rustic.” —Nicole. “My go-to amber. Spicy.” —Keridwen. “That’s a crowd pleaser.” —Brian. 4.7% ABV

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
White Water Wheat
Williams
“Lightly lemony and refreshing. My favorite of the wheat beers.” —Keridwen. “That’s a baseball beer. Very partakable.” —Brian. 4.2% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Mudshark Brewery
Full Moon Belgian White Ale
Lake Havasu City
“Mudshark’s ode to Blue Moon. Lots of coriander and orange zest.” —Keridwen. “But with more body and density than Blue Moon.” —Brian. 8.5% ABV

SanTan Brewing Company
Epicenter American Amber Ale
Chandler
Burnt honey, roasted nuts,
coffee, and caramel blend in this lightly bitter beer that looks dark but tastes light. 5.5% ABV

Oak Creek Brewing Company
Pale Ale
Sedona
“It’s all about the flowers, and this flower is a sacred lotus opening up its pollen to drunken wood nymphs. That’s f-ing
awesome.” —Brian. 5.5% ABV

Lumberyard Brewing Company
Red Ale
Flagstaff
Crisp, balanced and woodsy. “This is a beer you want to round out a hike with. It feels like it was made in a higher altitude.”
 —Brian. 5.8% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
Sunset Amber Ale
Williams
An apricot nose, followed by bright toffee flavor aromatic with hops. Smooth and blessedly free of bitterness. 5.4% ABV

Phoenix Ale Brewery
Fretzy’s Unfiltered Ale
Phoenix
You can see grain chaff dancing in the foam of this unfiltered, nutmeg-kissed, Fat Tire-esque ale. 5% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
Burning Bird Pale Ale
Scottsdale
A malty, floral, bittersweet ale akin to British-style beers, with a dash of white pepper on the tongue. 4.8% ABV

Sleepy Dog Brewery
Red Rover Amber Ale
Tempe
“Dear Red Rover Amber Ale, you’re really brown.” —Brian. “I can smell the nut flavor and coffee. Subtle, soft aftertaste.” —Niki. 6.2% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Prescott Brewing Company
Liquid Amber Ale
Prescott
“Crisp, with an assertive peach greeting and a powdery, lemony farewell.” —Keridwen. 4.5% ABV

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
Horseshoe Bend Pale Ale
Williams
“Tiny voices of caramel, citrus and hops try to speak up, but no specific statements can be distinguished, creating a balanced chorus.” —Keridwen. 6.9% ABV

Nimbus Brewing Company
Pale Ale
Tucson/Scottsdale
Citrus-crisp like an IPA but not as hoppy or bitter, with floral, burnt honey and vanilla notes.
5.5% ABV

Four Peaks Brewing Company
Kilt Lifter
Scottish-Style Ale
Tempe
Toasted malt flavors get a touch of caramel in this crowd-pleasing brew. “Really fills a niche for sweet ale fans who want a malty kick.” —Craig. 6% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Sonoran Brewing Company
7 Wives Saison
Scottsdale
Crisp and refreshing, with
tasty, intriguing twists of fennel pollen, orange zest, coriander and pepper. 5.2% ABV

SanTan Brewing Company
Devil’s Ale Pale Ale
Chandler
Medium-bodied pale ale with the piney punch of an IPA and a caramel-citrus twist. 5.5% ABV

Four Peaks Brewing Company
Hop Knot IPA
Tempe
“Unites bark and pine flavors and immediately gets a little punch of orange that saves the day from the scourge of bitterness.” —Keridwen. 6.7% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
Victorian IPA
Scottsdale
Hop-bomb IPA lovers will feel let down, but if you prep your palate for a pleasantly bitter British-style ale, this satisfies. “A spayed IPA.” —Craig. 6.2% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
Black Iron IPA
Williams
Despite the name, this isn’t a black IPA but a piney, citrusy,
bitter IPA. Too strong for the
IPA-shy but delicious to fans of the genre. 7.3% ABV

Mudshark Brewery
Desert Magic IPA
Lake Havasu City
“A little more caramel than the average IPA, with a nice effervescent quality. It’s a solid amber-IPA hybrid.” —Craig. 7.2% ABV

Mogollon Brewing Company
Skunk Ape Double Black IPA
Flagstaff
Hefty with chocolate malt and steeped in coffee notes, with the creaminess of an oatmeal stout. 10% ABV

Phoenix Ale Brewery
Camelback IPA
Phoenix
“It has a silky, umami, almost mushroomy earthy flavor.”
—Craig. “Spicy, pungent fungus.”  —Niki. 6.1% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Lumberyard Brewing Company
Flagstaff IPA
Flagstaff
“Everybody be quiet while I drink one of the best beers in these coolers.” —Brian. “The honey floralness balances the pine, then gets bitten off by a bit of bitterness.” —Keridwen. 6.1% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
White Chocolate Ale
Scottsdale
“Oh, that is so what I wanted it to be.” —Nicole. “Why would you want a cupcake in a beer?” 
—Keridwen. 4.7% ABV

Nimbus Brewing Company
Brown Ale
Tucson/Scottsdale
“Like a chicory stout.” —Craig. “Toasty, with a glaze of caramel.” —Keridwen. “Mocha. This is a coffee shop beer.” —Brian.
“Robust nuts.” —Niki. 5% ABV

Prescott Brewing Company
Ponderosa IPA
Prescott
“That’s really good. This is for serious hop heads.” —Brian.
 “I get a green, lettucy taste.” 
—Craig. “Anarchist romaine. Very verdant.” —Niki. 6.5% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

SanTan Brewing Company
Hop Shock IPA
Chandler
A hodgepodge of hop varieties smacks of pine and wildflowers. “If there’s a category for badass dominator, somebody’s got to win.” —Brian. 7.1% ABV

Nimbus Brewing Company
Old Monkeyshine
Tucson/Scottsdale
Cinnamon toast-tinged hefty wheat-malt that goes down so smooth you don’t notice the high alcohol content. 8.2% ABV

Old World Brewery
Dark Knight Porter
Phoenix
A subtle, dry blend of coffee, cocoa and roasted marshmallow, with a dash of soy sauce. 6.8% ABV

Sleepy Dog Brewery
Wet Snout Stout
Tempe
If you could caramelize toast, then blend it with condensed coffee syrup without it becoming too sweet, this stout is what you’d conjure up. 5.7% ABV

Clockwise from upper left:

Nimbus Brewing Company
Oatmeal Stout
Tucson/Scottsdale
Breakfast flavors of strong
coffee, oatmeal and a hint of bacon make this a bold stout. “Mmm.” —Craig.  5% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
Inebriator Stout
Scottsdale
“I can’t stop drinking this. One of my top two favorites, and the only stout that’s crisp and refreshing and not overly coffee-steeped.” —Keridwen. 9.1% ABV

Sonoran Brewing Company
Sonoran 200
Scottsdale
Brewed with agave nectar and aged six months in oak. “It’s like beer went to Tuscany and turned into the dessert wine vin santo.” —Keridwen. 19.37% ABV

Beers can be purchased at several Valley locations, including AJs, BevMo, Sprouts, Total Wine, and Whole Foods. Old World Brewery beers available only at the brewery.

Four Peaks Brewing Company
1340 E. Eighth St., Tempe
480-303-9967
fourpeaks.com

Grand Canyon Brewing Company
233 W. Route 66, Williams 928-635-2168
grandcanyonbrewery.com

Lumberyard Brewing Company
5 S. San Francisco St.,
Flagstaff
928-779-2739
lumberyardbrewingcompany.com

Mogollon Brewing Company
15 N. Agassiz St., Flagstaff 928-853-1021
mogbrew.com

Mudshark Brewery
210 Swanson Ave.,
Lake Havasu City
928-453-2981
mudsharkbeer.com

Nimbus Brewing Company
7001 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale
480-248-9212
3850 E. 44th St., Tucson
520-745-9175
nimbusbeer.com

Oak Creek Brewing Company
2050 Yavapai Dr., Sedona
928-204-1300
oakcreekbrew.com

Old World Brewery
334 N. 25th Ave.,
Phoenix
602-763-4342
oldworldbrewery.com

Phoenix Ale Brewery
3002 E. Washington St., Phoenix
602-275-5049
phoenixbrew.com

Prescott Brewing Company
130 W. Gurley St.,
Prescott
928-771-2795
prescottbrewingcompany.com

SanTan Brewing Company
8 S. San Marcos Place,
Chandler
480-917-8700
santanbrewing.com

Sleepy Dog Brewery
1920 E. University Dr.,
Tempe
480-967-5476
sleepydogbrewing.com

Sonoran Brewing Company
10426 E. Jomax Rd.,
Scottsdale
602-484-7775
sonoranbrewing.com