What is our Beer PHXation?

We live in the desert. We are not Munich, Brussels, Portland, Denver or San Diego, but we certainly get our fair share of beers from those classic beer cities.  We do not have a well known traditional brewing history here, but we do have a history and we do have a beer culture. To the casual eye, our craft beer scene blends in with the landscape like the ocotillo or creosote bush- seemingly dormant but damned resilient and ready to flourish with just a little rain.

Does it matter where beer is brewed? Yes. ...  It matters what the ingredients are and where they come from. – Beer should be considered in context. That context. - Stan Hieronymus

Such is the premise of Stan's blog, Appellation Beer and we feel it is a good jumping off point. We agree that it matters where beer is brewed. We think the ingredients the brewer chooses are important. We believe in brewer intent. We think beer brewed in Arizona is unique and it's potential is largely untapped.

Our name is a play on Phoenix and fixation. It is our context to Stan's premise. We'll be discussing what Beer Culture is, where it can be found in metro Phoenix and where we have seen the best expressions of it. There will be interviews and reviews of beers, breweries, restaurants and bars, too, but we'll try not to cover the well worn paths of some of out favorite beer blogs and we'll try to keep the focus local.

We hope you join in this discussion as we are eager to learn and hear new stories, your stories.