Congratulations to all of this year's winners. Every day these people represent the future of America's brewing, go support them. You can find the winners here.

More specifically congratulations to my friends in Arizona.The Four Peaks Brewing won a Silver for their Kilt Lifter, a Scottish Style Ale, frankly one of the first beers in the state I expect to gain eventual national attention. Thunder Canyon Brewery won two awards with their Countdown Honey Brown getting a Gold for Specialty Honey Beer and Roadrunner Red Lager received a Silver for their American-Style Dark Lager. Last certainly not least my friends at Beaver Street Brewer in Flagstaff. They won for a Gold for their Big Rapid Red their Ordinary or Special Bitter and a Silver Hopshot IPA their American-Style Strong Pale Ale. With these beers in their arsenal it's a promising start to their Lumberyard Brewery operation to open later this Fall.

More locally congrats to Foothills Brewing for a Bronze on it's beer Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout, it's been wowing beer fanatics locally and on beer lists for years it's now had a chance to shine nationally. Always congratulations to Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery for it's Gold for it's Baltic Porter and it's Bronze for the Barrel Aged Baltic Porter just goes to show how North Carolina is flexing it's brewing muscles as well. I'll have to ask Paul if he has any of those around the next time I see him, we need to get them on tap in the Triangle somewhere.

Another year, another Brewer's Association Top 50 list.

Like last year no sign of Arizona nor my new home North Carolina on the list. But I am not worried, they will get there and soon. Arizona has some new efforts underway that will bring them more attention, but it will be a long haul.

North Carolina on the other hand I am fully confident that it will be recognized in the next few years as a powerhouse of brewing in the Southeastern US. Since Pop the Cap there has been a steady increase in the total number of breweries, currently around 40. The overall quality is amazing from Highland to Aviator. There is not just a love for traditional styles in the Tarheel state but also for trying new flavor combinations. Then there is the diversity of equipment from the converted dairy tanks in an airplane hanger at Aviator to the shiny, modern approach seen off the I-40 at Red Oak. The passion for craft beer is here. You can literally see it in the brewer's eyes and more importantly taste it in the beer.

So not this year for North Carolina on the list, but soon.

I have spent a big part of my life living in Arizona, but I never have managed to become an Arizona Cardinal's fan. That said I wish them success this weekend at the Super Bowl. If you are looking for Arizona beers for the big game here is what I would suggest.

First off ignore Cave Creek Chili Beer, it's a gimic beer not intended for the serious craft beer enthusiast and I only ever use the beer to flavor my chili. It may be the only beer that consistently makes it out of Arizona and I think it's because the locals don't drink it.

The AZ Brewing Guild is a great source to find out about craft brewing and they recently updated their website. If you find yourself going to Arizona this site would be my go guide for the state, after my site of course.

Four Peaks is probably the largest brewery in the state. Every time I hear about them they are finding ways to expand in a confided space. Kiltlifter is probably their flagship beer. It's a Scottish style ale and if you can find any of their beers it's probably this one. My favorite of theirs though would be the 8th Street Ale, their take on an English Best Bitter.

Nimbus Brewing, based in Tucson, is another large brewery in the state. Their Brown ale is the only one I have had with any regularity and it's tasty. Old Monkey Shine is an Old English ale that friends from Tucson always rave about but I haven't tried it.

Mudshark in Lake Havasu is another brewery you might see on the market. They make a Hefeweizen and Belgian Wit, which don't sound too unusual until you find out they serve them in cans. I don't recommend you drink them that way, pour it into a glass then enjoy, but their Wit is a very solid beer.

Oak Creek Brewing is an old favorite but frankly people outside of Arizona only see it at GABF. They are one of the most award winning brewers in the state for good reason. Inspired by German traditions that have fueled into more experimental brewing in recent years. Frankly I think their best offerings only make it to their pub or festival booths. That said their Nut Brown, Amber, and Pale ale are great beers and their traditional Hefeweizen recently was started to be bottled. Seek them out and you won't be disappointed.

Any of the above beers, except the Chili, would be a great offering for your party this weekend.

A couple of quick Arizona beer updates for while I certainly don't live there anymore, I still care and hear the occasional interesting bit of news.

Four Peaks Beer Dinner
Thursday, December January 22th - 6pm
Pesto Brothers Piazza
Flagstaff, AZ
Four Peaks hosts a beer dinner in my favorite mountain town. The menu has not been settled yet, but based on friends' opinions who have dined at Pesto Brothers I am sure the food will be great and worth the price. For more details call (928) 774-3020 or email ted@fourpeaks.com.

My spies, ahem, informants tell me Old World brewery will have a kickoff party Saturday, January 24th at 2pm. It will be great for Arizona to have another craft brewery in the mix so look for them in the Phoenix area soon. I'll have to work on Anonymous Mike or someone else out there to stop by and perhaps write me up a review of the event.

While I was in Arizona I was able to sit down with Gene, one of the brewers at Beaver Street, and discuss the planned expansion. While he was able to explain things in more detail, many of the points we talked about were not set as they haven't even started construction yet.

The planning Gene said had been going on for the last few years. The site had been selected last year, but until the city owned building cleared the sale process they could discuss their intent. As the location was a Lumberyard they would like that theme to factor into the brewery. At the same time as the building is a historic site that will play heavily into the renovation to keep those elements in the final design.

The brewery will be a stand alone operation with separate staffing from the existing brewpub. The powerhouse behind the brewing will be a 30 barrel system, which should provide plenty of capacity to provide their beers statewide.

Construction is hoped to begin soon with the beers hitting the shelves next Fall.

It seems like an Arizona beer week for me. Beaver Street brewery plans to expand to a second location and begin producing beer for the market in cans. This is a major game changing move for the Arizona beer scene for while the state has many great breweries no one has really taken the effort to go big in terms of production, but this maybe the company that can make it happen. I have been going to Beaver Street since they first opened and while the beers were not always the most exotic lineup they have always been well made. Also the brewpub has always been known for quality service and food on top of it. What has changed over time is that the owners have gotten more comfortable with trying new ideas in their beers and it's paid off with a Gold at last year's GABF.

Last April I wrote that for Arizona to have a brewery on the Top 50 list of breweries besides the current production breweries only a handful of names had a chance to make it big time, Beaver Street was on that short list. Now I am very hopeful it can become a reality. I'll be sure to see what else I can find out about this story when I am in Flagstaff soon for the holidays.

(Thanks to Jeff for sending the story to me)

In latest beer news for all my Arizona beer readers, Odell Brewing will be available in January. For further details you can checkout their site http://www.odellbeerinarizona.com/. While I'll miss them as I won't be in the state long enough over the holidays to sample them, I'll be sure to give them a try the next time I make it out that way.

This Fermentation Friday was a bit last minute so the format of homebrewing pictures to make it easy on the participants. I choose to highlight a few pictures I have been meaning to upload from the last time I brewed in Arizona before the move. They were taken at Oak Creek Brewing in Sedona during the AHA Big Brew day that the brewery was kind enough to host.

It was a fun filled day and I wrote about the day here.


A typical shot from the set to see all the images click here or from Brewer John's photo set click here.

I noticed and have been pondering the last few weeks, why Arizona doesn't have any breweries on the Top 50 list. It's not a lack of quality beer for sure. Oak Creek, Prescott, Four Peaks, and others all are brewing high quality ales and deserve recognition. But that Top 50 list is size oriented, so what will it take for Arizona's great breweries to get on the list?

Water. Arizona is a VERY dry state, even up here in the mountains so I think this is a major issue for any brewery considering growth. Towns like Flagstaff, Sedona, and Prescott while we can support a brewpub or small production brewery without enough water I doubt we can provided sufficient water supply a brewery on that list. The metro areas like Phoenix and Tucson on the other hand because they have a more reliable and larger water network to tap into may be the only places that a Top 50 brewery could be established.

So that said which breweries could develop out to that size? Four Peaks and Nimbus seem the only two obvious candidates. They are already bottling in the urban areas. They have strong brands with good quality. I have seen their beers in Cost Plus World Market packs, which while may be based regional is a good way to develop a reputation in larger markets.

However if Oak Creek, Prescott, or maybe even Beaver Street decided to open a production brewery in some place with more water or perhaps set up a contract brewing for their beers they have the quality and GABF reputation to make a play for the big time.

I don't see Arizona making the big time soon, but when we do they brewery will have certainly earned the title.

The first Saturday of May is National Homebrew Day and to celebrate this year Oak Creek Brewing and Northern Arizona Homebrewers will celebrate at the brewery. There will be brewing demonstrations, tours, and other fun so if you are in the area please stop in and join the fun.

Yes the photo evidence is true, second photo in the series, I was at the Dogfish Head Off-Centered Experience at Papago Brewing this weekend. The event raised funds for Brain Cancer Research.

It was a great experience. Ron Kioth, the owner, provided the perfect venue and environment for it to be a success. The tickets were limited to 100 each of the two sessions and while I know many others were interested in attending but couldn't because of it selling out early. The smaller group size provided a good balance of crowd, but not so much you couldn't move or enjoy yourself.

There was the best selection of Dogfish Head beers for the event that I have ever seen in Arizona. Of course there were the usual suspects one can find like the 60 Minute IPA or Chicory Stout. The more interesting were those we don't normally get to see like Chateau Jiahu, Johnny Rawton, and Olde School Barleywine. It was great to have the opportunity to taste those and I hope to see them in the Arizona stores in the near future. I'd love to elaborate on the many ones I was able to taste but sadly keeping indepth notes at any beer festival event is a losing battle, but a fun one to be sure.

I started with the Olde School Barleywine, small wonder I didn't keep excellent notes huh, while it had a strong alcoholic character it was well balanced with slightly Evergreen notes. I thought they were on the pine side, but a certain Food Geek thought they were more on the spruce/cedar side. I also got to sample the Burton Baton it was a very impressive Imperial IPA. It had a bit of a sweet wood component balance with a smooth, not hard bitterness. The Chateau Jiahu had an amazing delicate character, but I wasn't able to appreciate it properly because of the larger beers earlier I had tasted.

Last the entertainment it was well, Off-Centered. See the pictures I link to at the top of the post, but it was a unique experience and that frankly doesn't describe it right.

All and all it was great combination of great beer, people and entertainment, throw in that it was for charity and it was an experience that couldn't be beat. I hope the Off-Centered Experience returns to Arizona in the future.

So glad to have you around, er well when you are.