Oh boy. A Blog. Well, I had best make this worthwhile. First off, I apologize for the 6th grade (5th in most other countries) grammar at times. I strive to create beers that would make Louis Pasteur smile, but Walt Whitman will roll over a few times. I'll keep the ! to a minimum, those tend to annoy me. Anyways, on to the good stuff:
I'll just get this out of the way. We are now officially three things that we weren't at the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign. Those things being: 1.) We are done fighting for the spot next to Trophy's Steakhouse. So many weeks have passed, so little response. L.A. Fitness has the final say (yes they actually have this written into the lease) and they made themselves clear. They are not a fan of more alcohol, less parking, and let's be honest, less glory. They will never see it our way. I even gained 10 lbs to spite them, SO TAKE THAT! Ok the beer, butter, and lack of hiking may be a small part of that. 2.) Moving forward we are officially going to be at least 7bbl. Why not? We have a bank account, the knowledge to be successful, and the market to sell. That's still small, but it fits our budget. 3 bbl was a lot to maintain in this city. 3.) We will now officially be "The Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co." The whole operation will be ours. The licence will say brew pub, and that's a good thing.
Now that's all fun and games on paper, but we are still left with a building search. Every brewery goes through this. My motto has regressed to, "Relax, don't worry, have a few to many beers". To say we are being aggressive in our search is an understatement. Hopefully, in the next month we will lock up a building, and get licensed to brew in that location. The plan is to have guest taps and our food until the brewery is fully operational. I don't like the idea of not brewing in a brewery, but trust me when I say that will only be for a short time.
Also, I want to do a local travel spotlight every week. These are the places around this fine state that may lie along a road trip to the great outdoors, a small up and comer, or somewhere in between. I have only one stipulation: It must be an establishment I'd be proud to send AZWBC's beer to. First up:
Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market 3951 N. St Rt 89A Sedona, AZ 86336 - Most people that I know have driven right by this establishment due to the visual overload from highway 89A north of Sedona. Heck, I did 25-30 times I bet. "This is Arizona?" , "It's so green!", or my favorite, "the fall colors are stunning!" is what I hear on that stretch frequently. Well, now you must stop. They have 5 taps total and at least two are always AZ handles. They have a nice sized cooler section with over 100 craft cans and bottles (in singles and 6 packs) from US craft , local craft, and imports. It's a beautiful sight to see when you don't have enough craft beer before a camping, fishing, or you are just plain thirsty after a nice day hike. All beer no food? Heck no! The food is definitely worthy to be paired with a tasty craft beer. The words "organic" and "local" are tossed around a whole lot, which surely excites me. After a chilly early spring drive, "The Gobbler" and its smoke flavor pair perfect with a bold stout. "The Beast" and a sassy IPA intertwine to become create a euphoric high ( of course a Sedona vortex or two helps with this bliss.) The list could go on and on. Mix in some incredible local art, a warm cup of coffee, a nice small camping/outdoors supply section, two wine taps, fresh desserts, clean bathrooms, and you'll get the gist of the place. Go find out more for yourself, just let me know your going, I love an AZ road trip!
http://oakcreekmarket.com/
http://www.facebook.com/oakcreekmarket
-Jonathan
Jbuford@azwildernessbrewing.com Don't bother me to much though, I have a brewery to get started:)
Jonathan, what are "7bbl" and "3bbl?"
ReplyDeleteBruce