Revision to Kickoff post

Just have to clear the air and say that I am not crazy and I did not dream up the event at Four Peaks previously blogged by yours truly here ...

I was able to locate the advertisement.  It was advertised on Arizona Beer Week's Facebook page.  I have copied and pasted their post below.

Arizona Beer Week

BREAKING: We just got word from Four Peaks Brewing of what they'll have on tap this Saturday. 9 rare and delicious brews...Cheers!:
Hopsquatch 2007
Hopsquatch 2010
Hopsquatch 2010 Bourbon Barrel
Sirius Black Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Rye Wine ML 209 West Coast Malt Liquor
Bourbon Barrel Kilt Lifter
Wine Barrel Aged Belgian Black D Dub
Robust Porter
Raj IPA

 


I am now officially re-disappointed.

The Hillside Spot

While my parents are in town, we decided to take advantage of essentially having a live-in babysitter and enjoy some time alone for a change.  So I met The Husband after work for a quick and dirty mountain bike ride at South Mountain.  We rode until we ran out of daylight (or for me, out of gas) and then treated ourselves to a belated Valentine's Day celebration.  Neither of us are Valentine's Day people but in this case, it was a good excuse for a belated dinner out without our children.

Cheers to Arizona local brews.  The more the merrier.

Also, I didn't realize until later but this also coincided with the first time we met a whopping 7 years ago for a mutual friend's birthday celebration at the Owl's Nest (which, the last time I checked a year or so ago, was now some sort of cheezy bar decorated entirely by Ikea complete with tons of mirrors on the walls and paper globe light fixtures) in Tempe.  After telling the piano player at the Big Bang it was my birthday and forcing ME to stand up on stage and be completely embarrassed while they serenaded me, escorting me to the men's restroom (the toilets in the women's room were literally overflowing - and I mean OVER flowing onto the floor like a disgusting bathroom waterfall feature complete with soggy globs of toilet paper all over the floor) like a complete gentleman and then helping me retrieve my purse from a thief, I thought you were a super stud that night ... although at the time, I never thought I'd end up marrying you.  That said, I couldn't be happier that I did.  And it's good to know that in a pinch, you'll escort me to the restroom and help me get my purse back from a thief (if needed - I tend to think I've learned my lesson and will not leave my purse unattended on the floor in the corner of a bar so that I can go sing and dance like a fool on the dance floor with the super stud I just met only a few hours earlier).

We visited The Hillside Spot Cafe and Market in Ahwatukee just a few minutes from the trailhead where we rode for a quick and relaxing bite to eat and a beer.  This place has a super cute atmosphere and a small, but very solid menu.  After we sat down at the bar I was pleasantly surprised to find such a large variety of local beers on tap (Four Peaks, Phoenix Ale Brewery, Oak Creek, Lumberyard and even Nimbus).  The food was delicious, the wait staff friendly and chatty, and the crowd was local.  Our only complaint?  The constant Dave Matthews on the stereo in the background.  Hopefully Dave will be absent on our next visit.

Anyway, let's get to what matters: I ordered the a beer from the Oak Creek Brewery in Sedona, Arizona based only on me seeing the tap handle.  I expected to get a glass full of their Nut Brown Ale, which is by far, one of their best and most common beers.  However, I was instead greeted with the Oak Creek Hefeweizen (5.4% ABV).  The color was a bit more dark and orange/copper toned than most Hefe's which are typically very blonde (at least the mainstream ones).  Oak Creek makes a solid beer - this was refreshing and good (i.e. the banana flavor was not overpowering, which I tend to hate).  Light and crisp but not watery and bland. I would absolutely order it again.

Sleepy Dog/Four Peaks Sunday Soiree

One of my favorite local breweries has to be the Sleepy Dog Brewery in Tempe, Arizona.  They run a small casual operation out of a warehouse in Tempe, just a stone's throw away from Four Peaks.  One may ask if this is cause for bad blood between the breweries, but as it turns out, Four Peaks seems un-intimidated (is that even a real word?!?) by their delicious brews, cute dog bone tap handles, modern decor, self-serve popcorn machine and television scrolling through photos of customer-submitted dog photos.

As proof that these breweries seem to be able to co-exist: the Sleepy Dog/Four Peaks Sunday Soiree.

Four Peaks Bourbon Barrel Aged Kiltlifter (specialty brew)

FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!!!! 

This event was on the top of my list for days.  I was super excited about attending.  Grandpa, Grandma, baby and I pack into the car.  We will be meeting The Husband there after his bike ride.  The event started at 1pm and we arrived around 1:40 only to discover there were lots of yummy smelling food trucks in the parking lot and a long line out the door.  So my dad and I hopped in line while my mom took the baby off for a stroller's eye tour of the event.

Now this was no ordinary line.  Not only did it stretch out the door but it moved about a milli-inch every 15 minutes.  My dad comments on how slow the line is.  I shrug off his comment because my dad is a firm hater of all things related to waiting in line.  After 10 minutes in line though, I realize he is very correct.  He holds our spot in line while I go to see what the hell is going on.  Oh.  Two bartenders?!?  Yup, that will do it.

I head back to the line with a list of their beers.  Again, no one has bothered to write down the "specialty" beers that will be unveiled today.  Why?!?  Why is it so hard to write these things down people?  Don't you know I have a blog to write and one or 2 readers who read this?!?!  Come on.  Finally someone walks by and yells the special beers out to the people in line.  I hear about 20% of it.  And then I remember about 5% of that. Is this what happens when you get old?!?!

Finally, we get to the bar. We order 5 beers (one for each of us and then a backup because we don't want to wait in this stupid line ever again) that I have carefully picked out to suit and delight everyone's varying taste buds in our little family outing.  We ended up with the following brews: Sleepy Dog Wet Snout Milk Stout for my mom, a Sleepy Dog Red Rover for my dad, a Sleepy Dog Strong Brown (official name unknown) for The Husband, a Four Peaks Bourbon Barrel Aged Kiltlifter for myself and a Sleepy Dog Imperial Stout (official name unknown) to share.

Sleepy Dog Imperial Stout and the best/only beer rest

Lucky for me, everyone is very pleased with their beers and we head outside to the party in the parking lot.  Turns out, it's not actually much of a party unless you conisder small groups of people standing around in a parking lot surrounded by a few food trucks (which were delicious) to be a party.  There were no tables, no chairs, and no where to set your beer down to scratch your head or anything.  Eating street tacos with one hand is also quite difficult, especially if you are unwilling to set the beer you waited in line 20 minutes for down on the ground for someone to accidentally knock over.  No way.  Not me.

I did not get feedback on any of these beers from anyone.  All I can say is this: everyone finished their beers, my mom and dad ordered another one of their beers, The Husband's second beer was a Red Rover and my mom did not like the Sleepy Dog Leg Humper Hefe.  Mainly, though, I think she didn't like the name.

All in all, a good event and I will be back next year with a clever way to hold/set down my beer and keep my hands-free for eating street tacos and fresh-popped popcorn from your cute popcorn machine.

Don't worry -- there's just water in her bottle

Kick off of Arizona Beer Week...

As many of you know, I have carefully planned a few events during Arizona Beer Week over the past few weeks.  Some of these events I am very excited and passionate about for one reason or another and other events are just something to do (maybe).

On Saturday afternoon, I planned to visit the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe, Arizona as they advertised that they would be tapping  specialty kegs all day. PERFECT.  I have to go to the airport on Saturday to pick up my parents so maybe I can go on my way there, or on my way home.  Either way, I will have to drive by the brewery on Saturday.  I started planning and getting excited.  What kind of specialty kegs?  Maybe a cracked out version of their pumpkin porter, which happens to be one of my favorite beers.  Maybe a fantastic new spin on the 8th Street Ale.  Who knows.  In my mind, the possibilities were endless...and quite delicious.

Fast forward to Saturday.  The Husband, baby and I pack into the car and head to the airport in a frenzy. Thank you Southwest Airlines for overestimating your flight time by 45 minutes so that you always arrive "on-time" which really, to the person picking up their visitors/your passengers, means that the flight is actually 45 minutes EARLY.  So my parents flight actually lands at the same time I was prepared to leave my house to get to the airport to pick them up at the previously scheduled time.  I hate being late. Damn you SWA.

My stupidly epic, and somewhat heartbreaking, beer fail.

After picking my parents up off the curb at Sky Harbor Airport 45 minutes earlier than anticipated (Note: I hate doing this.  I feel like when my parents come to visit, I should come into the airport and greet them with hugs and then help them with their bags all while welcoming them to town and discussing how awesome our weather is today.  Or isn't.  But usually IS - especially when compared to the weather in Lincoln, Nebraska.), we offered to take them out to Happy Hour for some delicious beer, fresh air and sunshine.

Mmmmmmm, I can taste the specialty kegs already.  

We arrive to find a crowd at the bar -- not all that unusual for a beautiful Saturday afternoon in February.  But we manage to snag a table outside with room for a high-chair and pop a squat.  The waitress comes to take our drink order. 

Ohhhh boy, here it comes.  She's going to list the specials...

She doesn't.  Ugh, really??? So I ask her.  She looks at me as if I am speaking another language which is extremely foreign to her.  I take off my sunglasses (as if this will help) and I ask her again "do you have any specialty beers on tap today?"  She shakes her head no - which prompts my almost 10 month old daughter to do the same - and says, well we do have a special porter on tap.  At this point, I am crushed.  I don't hear what she calls this "special" porter, but I order it anyway.  There is no description of it anywhere and no mention of it either.  For all I know, this could be their standard beer.

I am disappointed.  But hey, at least the weather was great and the Spinach Artichoke Dip is still top notch.

Disclaimer:  now that I'm sitting down to blog a few days later and had time to go looking for where I thought I read that initially, wouldn't you know that I can't find it.  Damn.  Maybe I just can't read.  Or maybe I just made it up because I wanted them to be releasing specialty kegs all day.  Fail.

Mountain Standard (Reserve) Time

Not very often does a beer come along that inspires The Husband to pickup a pen and help me collect my thoughts for the blog.  Even less often does a beer inspire him to actually write in complete sentences.  But the Mountain Standard Reserve Double Black IPA (9.5% ABV) from Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado must have had all the right ingredients to inspire my witty  hop-loving companion to begin to narrate his beer-experience.

Taken right before the train derailed...

"Tasty, healthy black IPA.  Pulls no punches.  Not smooth and not too rough.  Like 600 grit paper.  The sun goes down and the hope come out as does the smooth, strong darkness.  I also believe in a thing called MST and it is good.  Many black IPAs have a typical lightly roasted..."

Believe it or not, that's all he wrote.  He got distracted by a bowl of peanuts (in the shell) and then I'm sure the 9.5% alcohol played a part in completely sidetracking him.  Also, he was nearly out of paper and likely not inspired enough to go find some more.

I recall thinking that this beer was amazing.  I went back to Total Wine a few weeks later to try to find more, but no luck.  It is a winter only beer and apparently winter in Arizona ends just after Valentine's Day.  I will put this on my list of beers to buy next winter and hoard.

Rating:  5 of 5.

Bam Biere

Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale (4.5% ABV)
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Dexter, Michigan