— Editors’s Note: To wrap up our four part craft beer travel series Mark Lilly stopped by Fate Brewing. A small brewery, brewing up some unique batches. Definitely worth a visit on your next craft beer holiday. —

Part 4: Fate Brewing

One of the newer yet most popular breweries in the Phoenix area is a little operation called Fate Brewing Company. They may be small in size, but their uniqueness and ability to think outside the box makes them a true David to other Goliaths of the beer industry. We figured this made them perfect as the final installment of our four-part series Spotlight on Phoenix.

I immediately got a friendly, neighborhood feel as I walked in and grabbed a seat at Fate. As I looked around the room, I could just tell that people were genuinely happy to be there. Even though they haven’t been in operation for many years, they’ve clearly won over a devoted following in the community. Fate’s General Manager, Travis Pack, took the time to give me a tour of the facility and sat down with me to shed a little light on Fate Brewing.

Here’s what Travis had to say:

CB: What’s behind the name “Fate”? Is there a story? An attitude?

FB: Fate is an iteration of our owner’s (Steve McFate) last name. We like to play on the word “Fate” quite a bit, which is easy to see in our tagline, “It’s in your hands.” We also like to get cheesy laughs out of saying, “Fate brought you here!” to customers.

CB: You guys do things “a bit differently.” What is that sets you apart from other breweries?

FB: Compared to most other breweries in Arizona, Fate is tiny and versatile. Our small brewhouse produces just 7 barrels (BBL) at a time, or 217 gallons, which gives us a very high beer turnover rate. One of the biggest benefits of this is our ability to produce many different styles and types of beer…in just under 2 years we’ve released more than 150 brews. We like to experiment a lot as well, and will often release just one keg of specialty batches like Cedar Pale Ale, Hatch Chili Cream Ale or Bourbon Barrel-aged Smoked Porter, to name a few.

CB: You say Fate beers are brewed in small batches. How small are we talking?

FB: Our typical batch size is 7 BBL, which is 217 gallons, which is 1,736 pints. That might seem like a lot at first, but consider the biggest brewery in the state, Four Peaks (who has been extremely supportive of the little guys like Fate and who we love dearly) has individual fermentation tanks that are 240 BBL. Just two of their batches is more than we brew in an entire year!

CB: How long have you been in operation and what sorts of changes has your business seen during that time?

FB: Fate has been up and running since November of 2012, and we’ve seen tons of changes since the early days. Some have been huge and most have been small, but some of the more notable changes: our menu has received a nice makeover with the addition of some great wood-fired apps and creatively topped pizzas; our beers are getting better and better, and we’ve acquired a small collection of wine and whiskey barrels for aging beer (which has been awesome); we’ve become quite nimble and efficient and we like to claim that while we only do pizza and beer, we think we do both pretty darn well.

CB: What is your proudest moment as a brewery?

FB: Hands down, winning a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2013 for our Candy Bar Milk Stout. We were completely shocked and overwhelmingly excited to receive a medal at the biggestbeer festival in the US, especially since we hadn’t even been open for a year. People come in from all over the country asking about the Candy Bar Milk Stout, which is pretty cool considering our size.

CB: What has been the most difficult challenge for you as a brewery over the years?

FB: One of the biggest challenges for us as a brewery has been keeping enough of our beers on tap. While our small size is great for experimenting with new styles and flavors, it can make it tough to keep up sometimes. Because we don’t technically have any “staple” beers that are always on tap, some guests get a little upset when their favorite is gone for a few weeks or even months. We try to balance this by brewing our most popular beers as often as possible, but even so we run out of pretty much everything we brew at some point. And while we’ll occasionally have a Fate Tap Takeover (where we fill all 12 of our taps with Fate beer), it’s quite a process for us to make that much of our own beer available, so these are big events for us! Usually we’ll have 6-8 of our own beers on tap, and fill the remaining taps with our favorite local and regional craft beer.

CB: How big is your staff?

FB: There are only 13 of us here on the Fate Team, including our head brewer, Adam, and Fate’s owner, Steve. It’s a tight knit crew for sure, with a very positive and teamwork orientated atmosphere. It’s a great feeling knowing everyone has each other’s backs, and while we take the beer and our jobs seriously, we make sure to have tons of fun while we do it. The staff seem to enjoy working at Fate too, 7 of the 13 have been here since we opened!

CB: Are there any typical characteristics of your customer base or is it pretty varied?

FB: We get a pretty diverse crowd, but we definitely do see a lot of self-proclaimed “beer nerds” pretty regularly. They like to come in and try all the new and experimental beers, and they’ve been great because they share and promote what they drink online. It’s a fun group too, because they love to talk about beer and aren’t afraid to give an honest opinion. We have great support from the neighborhood as well, and a fantastic group of regular customers who keep us busy even in the middle of summer!

CB: What is your #1 seller and what are the favorites among your staff?

FB: Our American Pale Ale has become our flagship beer, and we generally sell out of a full batch in less than two weeks. It’s a very hoppy pale brewed with Simcoe, Falconer’s Flight and Cascade hops, and is the go-to beer for most of the staff and a good percentage of our customers. As far as all-time favorites, I’d have to go with the Double Oatmeal IPA. It’s a big imperial IPA that weighs in at 9% ABV and 120 IBUs, but you’d never know it by the remarkably smooth finish and slight sweetness brought in by the oatmeal addition to the grain bill. On the pizza side, pretty much everyone recommends The Jess to first-time guests; the combination of garlic-infused olive oil, bacon, ricotta, spinach and roasted garlic make this one of our best-selling pies.

Fate Beers

While sitting down with Travis, I had a chance to try Fate’s Single Hop Sour (ABV 5.0/IBU 10) and the Double Oatmeal IPA he mentioned. I’m really not a “sour” guy, at least not yet, but this was so much more bearable than others I’ve had. It was a tart, but not overwhelming, kettle-soured American wheat beer. I loved the Double Oatmeal IPA, a deep golden IPA brewed with Golden Naked Oats and plenty of American hops.

Everything on Fate’s beer menu looked unique and tempting enough to try, from their Cream Ale to their Irish Red to their Milk Stout. They even featured a collaboration with 1055 Brewing called “Into the Wild” Sour Stout. Fate Brewing is a must-visit when you’re in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area; just don’t expect the same menu when you get there. Due to their fast turnover rate, you never know what you might find. To learn more about Fate Brewing Company, visit www.FateBrewing.com.

More articles in the Craft Beer Travel Series: Phoenix:

• Part 1: Four Peaks Brewing in Tempe (with a tasting room at the Phoenix airport!)
• Part 2: SanTan Brewing and their Southwestern style ales
• Part 3: Papago Brewing with a surprising Canadian connection
• Part 4: Fate Brewing’s small batches (This is Fate!)

— Editor’s Note: So, what’s a curling logo doing on an article about a craft brewery in Arizona? Read on to find the surprising bit of Canadiana connected to Papago Brewing. This is part 3 of a 4 part series in which Mark Lilly looks into what the craft beer scene in Phoenix has to offer the craft beer traveler.

Part 3: Papago Brewing

Most of the buzz about Papago Brewing Company seems to come from their Orange Blossom Mandarin Wheat Ale. As I stated before, my wife and I often have very different taste in drinks. Although she’s not much of a beer drinker, she’s the one who asked me to order a growler of Orange Blossom. It’s a vanilla-orange wheat beer that many people describe as a creamsicle in a glass.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect until we walked in the door. Immediately, you’ll notice that you’re surrounded by design that feels almost like a log cabin. Papago Brewing is not trying to be ultra-modern, and that may be one of the most refreshing aspects about them.

Ron Kloth, President and main owner of Papago Brewing Company recently took the time to discuss some of the unique features of one of Arizona’s top-rated craft breweries.

Here’s what Ron had to say:

CB: When I walked in, I could tell this place is unique. What do you think makes Papago stand out from other breweries?

PB: I think it’s because we’re a hybrid. Yes, we have our own unique beers but we’ve always been proud to showcase other craft breweries and imports to serve both at Papago and to go. Nobody can please everyone but we try and do our best by serving the best beer we can find and most importantly serving it and storing it properly so the customer gets a great tasting beer every time they come in.

CB: Who is that statue greeting me as I came in the door?

PB: That’s Jake. He’s storage unit shaped like a monk that originally housed our Monk’s Club (mug club) members’ mugs. The membership increased so much we had to find other ways to serve our mug club members so now he is just used for photo ops with the visiting customers.

CB: I read that Papago Brewing started out as a home brew supply store in 2001. You guys have obviously gone through lots of changes since then. What’s that been like? Any significant challenges?

PB: As I said, we’re a hybrid. We started out as a combination homebrew shop/bar/beer store and as a contract brewer. We sold off the homebrew supply store after the first year in order to have more seats and to add a kitchen. The biggest challenge has been trying to keep up with all the new breweries that have come online the past few years and to try to decide what to serve. When we first opened, that wasn’t an issue as we served everything we could get our hands on. Now there is a huge supply and variety of beers from which to serve.

CB: Papago features quite a few beers on site (both your own and from other breweries). Some might think it’s crazy to carry your “competitor’s” beers. What’s your take on that?

PB: No company can make a wide enough variety of beers and do them all well to meet all the customers varied tastes. Our philosophy was to serve as wide a variety as possible as long as we could do it right and keep it fresh and to make our beers as unique as possible and to do things other breweries weren’t doing. It’s allowed us to make our beers unique to stand out against the local competition.

CB: What’s your proudest moment as a brewery?

PB: That’s a tough question as there have been many things. Perhaps it was last year when we won the Freshest Bar in America contest by Draft Magazine and we were able to tap a cask of fresh unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell that was tapped by P.U.’s head brewmaster.

CB: You say the members of your staff are “beer people.” What are some of their favorite brews?

PB: Right now, it’s a tossup between IPAs and sours but even then you have different opinions. Some of them like an easy drinking IPA like Firestone Walker and others go for some of the big hop bombs like Ballast Point Sculpin. Myself, I’m more of an IPA guy at the moment and love Ska’s Modus Hoperandi or Odell IPA if I’m not drinking my own.

CB: How would you describe your customer base? Why do you think they continue to support you?

PB: We have a very eclectic customer base in terms of age and gender that is all over the map but they all have one thing in common: a love for good beer. I think they continue to support us for a number of reasons, the first being our staff. Unlike other places in the business we have had an extremely loyal and knowledgeable staff that have worked for us for years. We haven’t experienced the turnover that other places have had and that’s made a difference in having loyal customers. The other thing is, of course, the beer. We have always believed in doing it right: proper glassware, serving temps, cleaning our beer lines between kegs, and with the bottled beers storing them cold in a UV light protected area. Lastly, we aren’t corporate and offer a chill neighborhood vibe that is comforting to people. With our constantly rotating taps, it’s always like Christmas. You don’t know what you’re getting until you get there.

CB: Besides beer, do you have any other interests/hobbies to share with our readers?

PB: Sure. Since you have a Canadian audience, it’s actually kind of funny. I’m really into curling and belong to the Coyotes Curling Club in Tempe. We just opened our own dedicated ice arena earlier this year. We have leaques almost everyday and plenty of bonspiels for anyone visiting from up north. I’m half Canadian and half German so it was in my blood to love beer and curling.

Big thanks to Ron Kloth for taking the time out of his busy day to talk with us. In this article series, I set out to establish that Phoenix, AZ has a booming craft beer scene, but never expected to discover a curling league!

As the Papago Brewing President said, the atmosphere at the brewery is a relaxed, neighborhood vibe. It’s a comfortable place to meet friends or catch a game while trying one of the 30 beers on tap. You can find out more about Papago Brewing Company at www.PapagoBrewing.com.

More articles in the Craft Beer Travel Series: Phoenix:

• Part 1: Four Peaks Brewing in Tempe (with a tasting room at the Phoenix airport!)
• Part 2: SanTan Brewing and their Southwestern style ales
• Part 3: Papago Brewing (You’ve just read about Papago)
• Part 4: Fate Brewing’s small batches (and Pizza!) (coming soon)

— Editor’s Note: Here’s part two in Mark Lilly’s four part craft beer travel series with an eye on Phoenix. If you missed his first post on Four Peaks Brewing be sure to check it out as well. In this feature Mark takes a look at SanTan Brewing and their Southwestern style ales. —

Part 2: SanTan Brewing

My wife and I don’t always have the same taste in drinks, but one drink we both agree on and look forward to each summer is Mr. Pineapple from SanTan Brewing Company. For craft beer drinkers in the Phoenix area, this is always one of the most anticipated seasonal releases. A traditional wheat beer with natural pineapple juice, it’s a refreshing choice to beat the intense summer heat in Arizona. Mr. Pineapple took home a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, but this isn’t the only SanTan brew worth your while.

SanTan maintains a year-round selection of their Devil’s Ale, HopShock IPA, HefeWeizen Wheat, SunSpot Gold, Epicenter Amber Ale, Negro Nitron Black IPA, and Gordo Stout. All of these plus seasonals are available at SanTan’s Brew Pub in Chandler, AZ as well as any craft beer retailer in the area.

I recently got to spend some time learning more about SanTan’s operations from Chip Mulala, SanTan Brewing’s “Minister of Craft Beer.”

Here’s what Chip had to say:

CB: You guys brew craft beers designed for a hotter climate and call them Southwestern Style Ales. What characteristics does a Southwestern Style Ale have?

ST: Our beers are fermented to completion (fully attenuated) and carbonated higher than traditional American beers resulting in a more effervescent, crisp and refreshing beer. Perfect for quenching your thirst in the hot Arizona sun and throughout the Southwest, Texas and California!

CB: How long have you been in operation and what sorts of changes has your business seen during that time?

ST: Seven years. Our Founder and Brewmaster Anthony Canecchia, opened SanTan as a Brewpub in downtown Chandler Arizona. The goal at that time was simply to have a neighborhood pub with great beer and great food. Within a few years we realized that the vision was going to be much bigger and underwent a large expansion at our original brewery. Eventually, we outgrew that and 18 months ago completed construction and opened our 35,000sq ft state of the art brewing production facility 2 miles up the road. Lot’s of changes, I’d say!!

CB: What is your proudest moment as a brewery?

ST: I think walking down the street in another state and someone pointing at the SanTan bird logo on my shirt or hat and shouting “Oh My God, I love SanTan!” That always gets me. We’re a proud hometown brewery but it always makes me so proud to see how far our reputation has grown.

CB: What has been the most difficult challenge for you as a brewery over the years?

ST: Simply put, keeping up with demand and managing the growth. It’s a good problem to have but can be a challenge nonetheless. We don’t pretend to know everything and our founder Anthony has always been very forward thinking and patient so this has helped all of us.

CB: From the pictures on your website, your staff seems to love their jobs. What’s the work environment like at SanTan?

ST: I think it starts at the top. We all work extremely hard and the only way to work this hard and enjoy it is to be proud of what you’re doing. Everyone in the SanTan family is proud of their particular part of our culture, from cellar guys to brewers to sales and promotions and the entire BrewPub team.

CB: What are your customers like? What keeps them coming back?

ST: Our customers are fantastic. They’re normal people that enjoy great food and great beer. That’s what we’re all about. From our pairings and educational events featuring food and beer, to beer dinners and socials. We’re always staying relevant and innovative throughout the market when it comes to craft beer and food. I think this is why they keep buying our beer and supporting the brand and festivals.

CB: What are some of your most popular brews?

ST: This is always the tough question, but without a doubt our flagship brew, Devils Ale, a west coast pale ale is our biggest seller. From our seasonal series… Mr. Pineapple, our GABF award winning summer seasonal is extremely popular in all our markets. As far as share of market all of our beers are nicely balanced and I like that we’re not just known for one brand of beer. I think this is another reason that we have a growing base of fans that want to see what’s next! Speaking of that, we’ll be releasing our first series of high end specialty beers called the “Vault Series” in fall. These will be available in a very limited quantity (and in 16oz cans for the first time). Stay tuned to our social media platforms for news!

CB: SanTan Brewing is the founder and sponsor of the annual AmeriCAN Craft Beer Festival. A lot of people don’t even know craft beer comes in cans. What’s that movement all about?

ST: Thanks for asking about that. AmeriCAN is near and dear to our hearts. The craft can movement was started by our friends at Oskar Blues in Colorado and when Anthony was planning our move into packaged beers he had a choice to go with bottles or cans. He chose cans because he really believes that this vessel is hands down the best way to actually showcase what the brewers intended for the end consumer. If you look at it as the world’s smallest keg, it makes perfect sense. No issues with UV light, oxidation, etc. When we talked with other canning craft breweries around the country, we realized that this was a movement that needed to be showcased to help educate the public that amazing craft beer CAN be found in a can! AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival was born with 26 breweries in our first year and over 80 breweries and 250 beers last year!

CB: I have to ask about Canzilla. What is this 32 oz. “Crowler” system I’ve heard about?

ST: It’s a take on the glass growler except it’s a can, hence the name “Crowler!” The system basically uses a single use can seamer which we have installed behind the bar. We take an empty 32 oz. can and after purging it with CO2 we fill it with the beer of your choice and then pop a top on it and the machine hermetically seals the can in front of you and “CANZILLA” is born!

 

More articles in the Craft Beer Travel Series: Phoenix:

• Part 1: Four Peaks Brewing in Tempe (with a tasting room at the Phoenix airport!)
• Part 2: SanTan Brewing and their Southwestern style ales
• Part 3: Papago Brewing with a surprising Canadian connection
• Part 4: Fate Brewing (Coming Soon)

— Editor’s Note: From time to time we’ll run a travel series that looks at some craft beer destinations that are a bit further than the “backyard”. Over the next few days Mark Lilly will be highlighting 4 breweries in the Phoenix, Arizona area. As Summer starts to wind down you might be looking to chase the sun without travelling to the other side of the world. Phoenix offers sun, a great craft beer scene and it’s only a 3 hour flight from Vancouver or 4 hours from Toronto. —

Part 1 – Four Peaks Brewing

Within walking distance of the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, AZ is one of the state’s most beloved and celebrated breweries, Four Peaks Brewing Company.

Boasting a catalog of eight mainstay brews and a variety of seasonals, they’ve expanded to three additional locations in recent years. In addition to the 8th Street Brewery, they now have a tasting room also in Tempe, Four Peaks Grille and Tap in Scottsdale, AZ, and Four Peaks Sky Harbor at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

It had been a while since my last visit to Four Peaks and I had forgotten that if they’re busy, you might be parking down the street. As I approached the 8th Street location, I remembered how worthwhile the walk is. I sat down on a Friday afternoon with a SunBru Kölsch-Style Ale and spoke to Four Peaks Marketing Specialist Tim Neuman.

Here’s what Tim had to share with CraftBeer.ca:

CB: What’s the story behind Four Peaks? Do you have a distinctive culture here?

FP: Four Peaks was named after a quartet of 7500-foot mountains located 35 miles northeast of Phoenix that you can literally see from almost all areas of the East Valley. Even with a recent change in the state law that allowed a jump in production from 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per year, we are rapidly approaching that cap and are hoping to be able to “up” production to even higher levels in the near future. The fact that the original brewery on 8th Street is one of the oldest buildings in Arizona gives customers and visitors that rare feeling that they are having an experience and not just a beer.

CB: You guys are in a Mission Revival style building constructed in 1892. Can you give a little background on that?

FP: It’s definitely one of the oldest buildings in the area if not the State. It was originally the site of Tempe/Mesa Produce and later, the Pacific, then Borden’s Creamery. Back in the early 20th Century it was the hub of social activity–especially in the summertime with its ice house as a place to cool down–and we like to think that it’s come full circle in its latest incarnation as a brewery today.

CB: How long have you been in operation and what sorts of changes has your business seen during that time?

FP: Since 1996 when we were one of only a handful of breweries in the state. Since then we’ve seen a boom in those numbers as people both around Arizona and the U.S. have begun to get more involved on a local level and started to take more pride in their communities. This move away from things “macro” and back to a more local, hand-crafted mindset over the past several years has been the biggest change.

CB: What is your proudest moment as a brewery?

FP: All of the relationships that we’ve forged due to Four Peaks.

CB: What has been the most difficult challenge for you as a brewery over the years?

FP: Keeping up. Seriously! We are the largest brewery in the state of Arizona and every year, despite the increasing numbers of tanks we install and expansions being done, we are still finding it hard to keep up with demand…and we are still distributed solely within the state of Arizona!

CB: How big is your staff?

FP: 350

CB: How would you describe your customer base?

FP: That’s a good question. We really are not catering to any particular clientele. In the summer we are equal parts family, business professional, craft beer enthusiast, young, old, you name it.

Obviously, during the fall and winter months, our location–less than a mile from ASU–means that we also have a pretty substantial college crowd, especially on game days. But that gets balanced by the fact that we don’t serve the “cheap domestic beer” one typically likens to your typical college bar.

CB: You seem to be pretty active in your community. Can you tell me about your partnership with the Make-a-Wish Foundation and your recent Four Peaks for Teachers campaign?

FP: It’s more of a reaction to what’s going on directly in and around our neighborhood more than anything else and when you know exactly where it is your donation goes, it gives you that extra added feeling of accomplishment. Make-A-Wish, for instance, allowed us to help make the wishes of two children in Arizona come true; actual individuals that you are able to help and then meet.

Four Peaks for Teachers is pretty much the same. Through our partnership with Smashburger and Wist Office Products we were able to collect donations from guests to our establishments to purchase essential classroom supplies that we then, in turn, handed out directly to the teachers themselves. Simply put, these are the people that helped us become what we are today and these are the ones we want to try to assist first.

CB: What is your #1 seller and what are the favorites among your staff?

FP: Our number one seller, by far, is our Kilt Lifter Scottish Style Ale. But ask any long time regular or staff member and you’d probably get more of them leaning to our Hop Knot IPA or in the summer, Peach Ale.

Craft Beer in Cans?

Canned craft beers have seen tremendous popularity in recent years and Four Peaks has been right there to support this movement. As a participant in the 2014 AmeriCAN Canned Craft Beer Festival in Scottsdale, AZ, they took home two bronze medals and a silver for their 8th Street Pale Ale, Hop Knot IPA, and Kilt Lifter Scottish Style Ale, respectively. Votes were cast by 110 certified beer judges who sampled over 200 beers at the event. A portion of event proceeds benefited the Scottsdale Cultural Council and the American Foundation for Cardiomyopathy.

Where to Buy

Canadian readers might be wondering where they can try some of Four Peaks’ offerings. Tim mentioned that while Four Peaks is the largest brewery in the state of Arizona, they are still distributed solely within state. If you find yourself in Arizona, you’ll most likely find them on the shelves wherever craft beer is sold. But if you want to try exclusives that are only on tap for a limited time, like Kilt Lifter w/Dates, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Raj IPA, Lemon Zest Infused 8th Street Pale Ale, you’re probably going to have to stop by the brewery or tasting room.

Tim’s responses line up with the Four Peaks mission statement posted right on their website: “To provide consistent high quality beer, food and service in a community based atmosphere.”

More articles in the Craft Beer Travel Series: Phoenix:

• Part 1: Four Peaks Brewing (You’re already here)
• Part 2: SanTan Brewing and their Southwestern style ales
• Part 3: Papago Brewing with a surprising Canadian connection
• Part 4: Fate Brewing (Coming Soon)