28 March 7th–March 13th, 2019 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | mUsIC | Cafe | FILm | CULtURe | nIght+DAy | FeAtURe | neWs | oPInIon | FeeDBACK | Contents | ▼ NOW OPEN WELCOME TO PHOENIX ArizonA Wilderness BreWing opens giAnt doWntoWn spAce S onoran Prince is the kind of beer that can suddenly invade your day- dreams. Aged in French oak, sandy- golden in the glass with a long-lived froth like ocean spume, the sour ale has crisp acidity, unshy carbonation, and a lush backbone of bursting ripe summer peaches just loaded with juice. More than a ton of Schnepf Farms peaches go into each batch. Sonoran Prince has become one of the sig- natures of Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co., which, today, will be holding the grand opening of its impressive downtown Phoe- nix location. This opening will boost Phoenix’s al- ready-robust beer culture. And not just because the beer-garden- style drinkery on East Roosevelt and Second streets can pack 650 people. Not just be- cause you can chill in a large outdoor area or at a sidebar along the sidewalk, watching cars and people roll by. Not just because some days the kitchen will be serving burg- ers until long after midnight. It’s simply be- cause, crucially, the beer is that good. “We wanted to give the neighborhood what it really wanted,” part-owner Jona- than Buford says. “We spend a lot of time down here, man. We said there’s two things not happening here: a ton of out- door drinking that’s facing the street ... and then late-night good food.” Opened in 2013 in Gilbert, Arizona Wil- derness Brewing Co. is a leading light of the Valley’s beer scene. Buford and Patrick Ware’s brewery produces thoughtful, de- pendable versions of beer styles widely popular in America, doing so heavily using fruit, grain, and other ingredients from lo- cal farms. But where the brewery really ex- cels is when head brewer Chase Saraiva pushes into more challenging territory: foeders, wild fermentations, brewing with foraged ingredients, complex sours, wine- beer hybrids, mixed-style beers, and so on. Bringing Wilderness’ erudite, curios- ity-slaying brews to Phoenix at a brewery- run location instantly upgrades our beer landscape. This year, Wilderness has been expand- ing operations. In early February, during Arizona Beer Week, Wilderness unveiled that it had moved its wood fermentation and barrel-aging programs across the street from its main brewery and into a 6,000-square-foot warehouse. Today, a downtown beer garden two years in the making opens. “We want to give to the neighborhood and be part of it,” Buford says. “We don’t want to gentrify this. We just want to add to this.” He notes that he wants to provide, for the many food and culture havens adja- cent on Roosevelt Row and be- yond, “a living room.” | Chow bella | ▼ Café >> p 31
