#DrinkLocal Options for #Beer & #Wine for Super Bowl XLIX

It's time to move past the Packer's late game meltdown and #deflategate and start concentrating on what's most important for Seahawks and Patriots fans heading to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX. What are the options for drinking local?  And there are plenty, The Phoenix are is home to over 20 craft breweries in addition to  one winery and one distillery. I've never had a chance to sample any, so please let me know your favorites. Here's what's listed on theCompass Winery Brewery Distillery Locator and WineCompass.com:







Chandler
Perch Pub and Brewery: 480-773-7688
SanTan Brewing: 480-917-8700

Gilbert
Arizona Wilderness Brewing: 480-284-9863
Glendale
Dubina Brewing Company: 623-412-7770

Mesa
Desert Eagle Brewing Company: 480-656-2662

Peoria
Freak'N Brewing Company: 623-738-5804

Phoenix
Bold Barley Brewing: 602-978-0007
Mother Bunch Brewing: 602-368-3580
North Mountain Brewing Company: 602-861-5999
O.H.S.O. Eatery + NanoBrewery: 602-955-0358
Old World Brewery: 623-581-3359
The Phoenix Ale Brewery: 602-275-5049
Sonoran Brewing: 602-510-8996
Sun Up Brewery: 602-279-8909
Uncle Bear’s Brewhouse Grill: 480-961-2374

Scottsdale
Arizona Distilling Co: 602-391-3889
Bad Water Brewing: 480-659-9225
Fate Brewing Company: 480-994-1275
Papago Brewing Co.: 480-425-7439
Scottsdale Beer Company: 480-219-1844
Su Vino Winery: 480-994-8466

Tempe
Arizona Distilling Co: 602-391-3889
Huss Brewing Company: 480-264-7611
Sleepy Dog Brewing Company: 480-967-5476

The United Grapes of America - Arizona - Arizona Stronghold Tazi

StarChefs.com: The United Grapes of America

Blood Into Wine, the story of Maynard James Keenan and Eric Glomski quest to Arizona Stronghold Vineyards is a cult winery, popular not only on the left coast but on the right. And on our coast some of their wines are available through Wholefoods by Vino 50 - such as the Tazi - Aromatic White Blend ($23). And aromatics is what you get. Orange and flowers linger on the nose, moving to citrus flavors and a crisp dry finish. Pretty impressive. The 2011 blend consists of 28% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Riesling, 18% Malvasia, & 16% Chenin Blanc; the composition changes year to year - but the results are the same. This is why they turned blood into wine.
produce world class wine in the northern Arizona desert. Ever seen the movie? Well they did it; sorry to ruin the ending. And now their

Addicted to Netflix - How Beer Saved the World & Absinthe

A year ago I finally succumbed to family pressure and subscribed to Netflix - and today utilize the on demand feature (what a horrible implementation of splitting the rental and on demand divisions). The first two videos I watched were the popular documentaries Blood Into Wine and Beer Wars.If you haven't seen either of these, I highly recommend them - learn about Arizona wines and the competition between craft brewers such as The Samuel Adams Brewery and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and basically Budweiser - now Anheuser-Busch InBev. 

But there's more. In the past week, I have watched two new documentaries which are just as informative and entertaining: How Beer Saved the World and Absinthe.

The former is a light-hearted story where "Scientists and historians line up to tell the amazing, untold story of how beer helped create math, poetry, pyramids, modern medicine, labor laws, and America." Yes, they cover all these subjects. And the latter tells the interesting life of Absinthe "from its birth in Switzerland in 1787, through its rise in the chic cafés of Belle Époque Paris, to its prohibition, and its recent worldwide revival". Now its time to plan a trip to Philadelphia Distilling to sample their Vieux Carre Absinthe - the first legal absinthe to be distilled, bottled and sold on the east coast of the United States in nearly 100 years. Or grab some Lucid.


How Beer Saved the World

ABSINTHE documentary film trailer from absinthe on Vimeo.

Arizona Vineyards Winery Destroyed By Arson

We just wanted to let our readers know that one of Arizona's oldest wineries,
Arizona Vineyards, was destroyed by arson on June 5th. Here is the complete story from Wines & Vines. The winery had been owned and operated since 1984 by Tino Ocheltree. Apparently a nomadic neighbor entered the property while Ocheltree was setting up for a party and poured gasoline on the structure and set it ablaze. Ocheltree and his companions were able to capture the criminal. He had just finished bottling his 2008 vintage, 3,000 cases, which were lost in the blaze as well as all his winery equipment and wine making memorabilia.

Ironically Arizona Vineyards does not grow grapes, so Ocheltree can not fall back on sourcing grapes while he rebuilds the winery. He has created a tax-free foundation to accept donations. To learn more, call him at (520) 313-0226 or e-mail delfinjuly@yahoo.com.