5 Arizona Breweries for Summer
With impending sweltering temperatures quickly on the way in the months ahead, some frosty beverage options will prove to be an essential summer survival tool. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of incredible breweries throughout the entire state, with many residing right here in the Phoenix area. With several award-winners and a beyond wide selection of offerings, dive headfirst into some of our top picks.
Wilderness Brewing
Rooted in the desire to give Arizona craft beer enthusiasts something to call their own, founders Patrick Ware and Jonathan Buford heavily emphasize their focus on using local ingredients and promoting conservation. How, you ask? One selection, “This Beer Saves Water” Pale Ale, utilizes barley from Sinagua Malt, a company that not only sources the base malts for all Wilderness beers, but works with local farms to actively shift from summer to late winter/spring crops. This initiative has helped to stop approximately 425 million gallons of water diverted from the Verde River. Along with more whimsical offerings like the floral and cleanly sweet “Don’t F#%k It Up” Blonde Ale and well-rounded “Czech Yo Gear” amber lager, Wilderness has continued to help cement it as a flagship in local beer culture. 201 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ; azwbeer.com // @azwilderness
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Wren House Brewing
Tucked away in the Green Gables neighborhood of Midtown, the former 1920s bungalow lends itself well to the cozy yet stylized taproom. The featured drafts are consistently exceptional, and they regularly incorporate local flavors like Arizona wheat and local citrus. Some of the standouts iinclude their King Snake barrel-aged series, and refreshing “Valley Beer” American Lager, and Spellbinder, a super creamy Oatmilk IPA with tropical notes that won Gold in the “Juicy or Hazy” category at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival. Often with a selection of food trucks to boot, don’t let the neighboring strip mall facade deter you: deliciousness abounds. 2125 N. 24th St., Phoenix, AZ; wrenhousebrewing.com // @wrenhousebrewing
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Helton Brewing
A Certified Cicerone, with 20 years as a brewmaster responsible for thousands of batches encompassing over 60 different styles. These are not the stats of an amateur, and despite only opening in 2016, Brian Helton has established his brewery as a benchmark for quality and originality in the Phoenix area. Hell, the man deconstructed several barns in Indiana to acquire the lumber to build their tasting room, to give you further insight into the dedication to his craft. Known for their Northeast IPA and Sours, its “Valley Venom” American Pilsner is a mainstay, featuring Czech Saaz hops that give it a slightly spicy but crisp, dry finish. 2144 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ; heltonbrewing.com // @heltonbrewingcompany
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O.H.S.O. Brewery
With a ackonym like Outrageous Homebrewer’s Social Outpost, you’d expect some truly unique contributions, and this outfit does not disappoint. With four locations throughout the east Valley, regular mainstays like the pithy yet juicy BOOM Dynamite IPA give way to more distinctive selections like Slice, a mild dark conditioned on a blend of Costa Rican and Papua New Guinea Coffee beans. The Gilbert location gained notoriety for their Japanese rice lager, “Sudoku,” layered with lemongrass, ginger and jasmine green tea. That originality helped earn a silver medal at the GABF’s Herb and Spice category last year. There’s also spirits to be had, including Horseradish, Rosemary, Meyer Lemon and Jalapeno flavored vodka along with peach or apple bourbon that host a plethora of house cocktails, plus a full kitchen of tasty morsels to help soak up all that goodness. 335 N. Gilbert Rd., Suite 102, Gilbert, AZ; ohsobrewery.com // @ohsobrewery
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Goldwater Brewing
A true family affair, Chad and Dillon McClelland bring a diverse degree of background experience and knowledge to the brewery they opened in 2015. After dabbling in homebrewing with their father, Greg, they went on to work for larger craft outfits, founded a restaurant branding and marketing agency in addition to researching bars and breweries around Europe, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand. This has led to the creation of the malt-forward, robust red Desert Rose Cactus Ale, piney and fruity Birthday Suit IPA and subtle, toffee-inspired Chocolate Eagle Porter. 3608 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ; goldwaterbrewing.com // @goldwaterbrewingco
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