“A place where an artisan craft brew can be enjoyed only footsteps away from the equipment and the brewers that crafted it.”
As a young adult, I was never really into beer. I had only been exposed to domestic macro-brews. I saw them only as a means to a buzz, so I rarely partook outside of social drinking events. My “internal-economist” would always pick the new experience over something I had already tried. A friend ordered a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at a restaurant one night. I had never tried it, so I figured I would. It changed my perception of what “beer” was. I committed to memory “Sierra Nevada Pale Ale”, but then learned I could order different “pale ales”.
Eventually, I decided to branch out into different styles of beer. As a New Year’s Resolution for 2007 I vowed to never drink the same beer for the entire year. At the end of the year, I had tried 250 different beers! In 2008 I started going to all the breweries in San Diego County. I did tour after tour of breweries like Ballast Point (Homebrew Mart), Stone, Ale Smith, Green Flash, and Lost Abbey. I talked to everyone I could about the brewing process and different styles of beer. 2009 I continued my education and research of breweries and beer styles on monthly trips to Denver, CO. O’Dell’s, Golden City, Renegade, Strange and Copper Kettle brewing companies all added to my inspiration. I brewed with Jeremy at Copper Kettle and with Tim from Strange.
As a home brewer, I brewed typical styles like Pale Ales and Black IPAs, but also experimented with Cider, Mead, Braggot, and Cyser. In late 2008 I moved to Phoenix, started brewing with Floyd, and we joined Brewmeisters Anonymous. I researched and brewed many styles including Scottish, Belgian, French, English, German, and American. In 2009 I brewed a Belgian Strong Ale that scored 39.5 and won a Bronze Medal in the 2009 Great Arizona Homebrew Competition.
As my passion for brewing grew, so did my desire to bring interesting and unique styles to Arizona and to bring an independently owned micro-brewery to the West Valley. I want to create a gathering place for the community of home-brewers and craft beer lovers, liken to San Diego and Denver. A place where an artisan craft brew can be enjoyed only footsteps away from the equipment and the brewers that crafted it.