| News from The North with Special Correspondent Karina
Lange |
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So after reading countless issues of the Brewsletter, I
decided it was time to hear a little perspective on what's
happening up at the North Scottsdale location! The staff up
here is starting to get jealous of all the attention the
brewery in Tempe is getting.
After all, we have some
mighty exciting things developing too! Let's start with the
daily gossip of who's hooking up with who these days, shall
we? We've got... just kidding! We DID recently add a new
manager, Ryan, to our staff up here so make sure you welcome
him - along with Holly from Tempe and Alex. We also welcome
Tabitha from Tempe as one of our new day bartenders, but I
don't think I need to let anyone know where she went judging
from her full bar every day!
Back in the kitchen we've
got some fresh talent, with Derek joining the team as well.
We're happy to have them aboard!
We're also getting
ready for our annual beer dinner, a rare opportunity to revel
in the culinary delights that Arthur has to offer, which is
coming up on July 15th. The ticket price will be $60 a head
which is an unbelievable price considering all the great food,
beer, and that gratuity is included. Check out the menu and
the beer pairings for each entrée below.
As for the
seasonal, we are still serving the amazingly pleasant, mild
and dark-roasted Leroy Brown, but it's going fast up here, so
try it while you can! Also, the Hopsquatch Barleywine always
lasts a little longer up here, so if Tempe runs out, rest
assured, you know where to find it!
As summer unfolds before us, ( I wipe the sweat from my
brow as I write this), there seems to be an assumed general
slow down with students leaving and the snowbirds gone, but
we're bucking the trend and moving full beer-steam ahead. So,
do me and the rest of the staff a favor and come say hi to us
up here on Frank Lloyd Wright and Hayden at Four Peaks' North
Scottsdale location. We look forward to seeing you and serving
you a pint of your favorite beer! |
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| Another Legendary Beer Dinner July 15th @ Four Peaks
Grill & Tap! |
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There is a reason Four Peaks Chef Arthur Craft has the
nickname "Crafty" for no reason - obviously. But there is
another reason we call him "Crafty," and that is for his gift
of grub. The man knows how to combine ingredients in the most
flavorful and pleasing of ways - as many of you know - and
with the upcoming gourmet beer dinner The Crafty One has
out-done himself once more. Reception of refreshing Sunbru
Kolsch begins at 6 p.m., followed by:
First Course
* Ahi Poke Salad
*
Traditional Ahi Poke layered between crisp wonton
skins, served over micro & mizuna greens tossed in a
ginger & Maui onion vinaigrette with roasted red peppers,
European cucumber, & heirloom tomato.
paired
with: Hefeweizen
Second Course
*
Buffalo Short Rib *
Braised and then grilled buffalo
short rib in a Kilt Lifter and vegetable demi glace with Yukon
Gold potatoes, topped with a sunny side up quail egg, and
served over a spicy cranberry & tepari bean
relish.
paired with: Kilt
Lifter
Third Course
* Veal Tenderloin
*
Achiote rubbed veal tenderloin topped with Black Mesa
Ranch goat cheese fritters, a roasted tomatillo lime sauce,
and a chipotle veal reduction, served with spicy barley cakes
and eggplant napoleon.
paired with:
Hopsquatch
Fourth Course
* Peach
Ale Ice Cream Sandwich *
Slow churned Peach Ale ice
cream stuffed between baked ginger and cinnamon cookies,
drizzled with a caramel dipping sauce.
paired
with: Arizona Peach Ale |
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Price:
$60 per person (includes gratuity) |
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| Cask... and ye shall receive! |
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IN TEMPE THIS WEEK
8th Street Ale:
It's like our award-winning English Style "Best Bitter" was
made for cask conditioning. Mellow bitterness and a
slightly sweet malt flavor accompany a heavenly hop aroma
derived from lots and lots of rare imported Kentish hops. 4.5%
Alc./Vol.
IN SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK
Hop Knot: Four
different kinds of American hops are woven into this
award-winning IPA, then mellowed only slightly with
pure American malt. Few ales enjoy a cask as much as this one.
6.0% Alc./Vol.
And, uh, FYI - the Hopsquatch is
still alive and kickin'... ass, that is, at the Grill &
Tap. Around 12-ish percent alcohol by volume and hopped up
on... alright, never mind. Just get it while the gettin's
good! |
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| Lil Timmy's Wide World o' Sport (Patent Pending)
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Okay Boston, we get it, your team(s) are tougher than our
team(s). But really, with three Super Bowl titles since '02,
two World Series championships since '04, now with the Celtics
winning their 17th NBA title, 30 people got arrested for
disorderly conduct in and around Boston. You guys, like, win
something every year so what do you still riot about? If I was
your mother Boston fans, I would be very disappointed in you!
What do think this is - FUTBOL?!
Speaking of, get your
Euro 2008 on this upcoming week at the brewery as the
quarterfinals begin on the 19th! Watch live as a wily German
team takes on a plucky Portugal squad. Germany is undoubtedly
still trying to settle the score with one of the few nations
to not fall under its grip in the tumultuous 1930's.
Neutrality will not be accepted! Then on June 20th the
Croatians take on Turkey, I don't have to tell you how
exciting this rivalry is! It has got to be the Euro equivalent
of something, that's for sure! Show up early! What else do you
have to do? And it goes on through Sunday!
Come in this entire weekend as your N.L. West leading
Arizona Diamondbacks take on a never say die Minnesota Twins
team! These two teams have SOME history, wouldn't you say? It
goes back... well, at least a few years at any rate! Avid
Twins fan and cocktail hurler Trevor Schultz will be behind
the bar to cheer this Twins squad on to victory all weekend
long, be sure to say hi!
This just in!!! Tiger Woods is out for the season to repair
a ligament in his left knee! Let this be a lesson to all of
you about how dangerous the game of golf really is. If,
arguably the greatest golfer of our time is laid up with a
season ending knee injury, what are your chances of even
coming out alive? My advice to you, just give up the game,
find some shade and plop your arse down and suck down
Sunbru... you know you want to.
Coming soon: A Beer
Drinker's Guide to the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad!! |
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Aaaaahhhh...
... that first sip of Kilt Lifter just really hits the spot on
these hot summer days. Its unique blended maltiness... just the
right amount of hop flavor and aromaah-ahhh... so balanced, so
well-adjusted, this ale. Just look at that beautiful amber color,
will ya? I'm proud to drink this beer. Hmm... I think if this beer
were a person it would be my best friend... ah, I love this beer...
OH - HI! Sorry, got a little distracted there. So check this out,
Dear Reader: we have ANOTHER new voice, this time from our North
Scottsdale location. Four Peaks Grill & Tap deserves and needs
your love, too - so read up, then go check the place out. All the
phenomenal beer and grub you've come to love and the warm friendly
service you've come to expect conveniently located one minute from
the 101 in a cool and air-conditioned "hot" spot.
As for the rest of the Brewsletter, Nnneumann!'s at it again,
this time with Lil Timmy's Wide World o' Sports. Get this man a job
on SportsCenter already, will ya?! And this week's Brewers' Blog is
going to take you to school if you've ever thought a foam head was a
waste of valuable glass space, or that your beer is only bueno in a
frosty mug.
There's more, like the charity we're involved
with this month and the menu for another one of our famous gourmet
beer dinners... but you can read on for yourselves and, to be
honest, we've got a beer to drink.
You have THIS
MAN to thank for your air-conditioning.
| Brewers Blog III |
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We read an ARTICLE
recently from the Wall Street Journal (Thanks Curt).
Basically, it's about how some people feel ripped off by
"falsie" pints (14 ounce "pints", not 16 ounces) and
profit-pours (interesting name) where there is a two-finger
head on the beer so the publican can eek out a few more pints
from a keg. Anyway, read the article.
Here's our take;
you paid for a pint, you should get a pint, that is, 16 ounces
- not 14. But here's the rub, in our opinion part of that pint
IS the head. Now, a two-finger head is excessive, we agree,
but a one-finger head or less is compulsory at our bars. But
it's not, as that jerk, Navin
R. Johnson, would say, a "profit thing". Actually, it's an
aesthetic thing.
Beer foam and, thus, beer head are an essential part of
enjoying a pint and not just in the visual sense. Let's face
it though, a beer with a nice contrasting, foamy head looks
much more appetizing than one that is to the brim and
headless. Brewers take great pride in the stability of their
foam and go to great lengths to see that not only does it form
but that it lasts. In many countries the longer the foam lasts
and the more it clings to the side of a glass indicates the
quality of the brew, and the brewer. It even has a name, that
clinging sheet of beer foam on an empty glass: Belgian
Lace.
Something perhaps more important to brewers is the aroma of
beer - specifically aromas derived from malt and hops. Beer
foam traps those volatile aromas and when those bubbles burst
they release the great hop and malt scents into the air (and,
hopefully, up your nose). It's a known fact that a great
portion of what we taste is derived first from smelling it.
Without the aroma, eating and drinking become merely a
textural event. Try it out. Get some good Stilton cheese, plug
your nose, and eat it. It's just not the same when you can't
get those great funky aromas to accompany the creaminess. OK,
maybe Stilton is a bad example since it can permeate even a
plugged nose, but you get the point; the brewer takes great
pains to create the foam for additional enjoyment. Therefore,
it's part of what you pay for.
All of that being said, if you feel that you cannot be
cheated out of that extra ounce, please feel free to ask the
bartender to "top-off" your beer. Just be aware that you may
be cheating yourself.
Other beer aroma/flavor
killers:
Sub 35° F beer. Cold
temperatures suppress foam and anesthetize the tongue. Let the
beer warm to at least 40° for lagers and as high as 55° for
ales.
Frosted glasses. Why? Really,
unless you don't like the way beer tastes.
Dirty
glasses. Poorly rinsed glasses mean that oils and
sanitizers are still in the glass and they will alter the way
it should taste and smell. Give it back to the bartender,
they'll understand.
Dirty draft lines.
These must be cleaned every two weeks or less or calcium
builds up and may harbor flavor positive bacteria. Trust us,
we clean ours religiously. We even send samples to our lab to
ensure cleanliness.
Bad company. Nothing
ruins a good beer like drinking with Navin. |
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| Join Four Peaks in Support of Boots for Our Troops!
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Four Peaks has joined forces with Tempe landmark Casey
Moore's Oyster House, the Special Forces Association Chapter
XXII and the Tempe Chamber of Commerce to support Project "We
Remember's" Boots for Our Troops program. You can help show
your support, compassion and appreciation for the sacrifices
our active troops and veterans and their families have made -
and the challenges they continue to face every day.
"Some of OUR Arizona military service members, their
families and OUR veterans living in Arizona may encounter
financial emergencies because of substantially reduced incomes
during their period of active duty and deployments," states
the Boots for Our Troops brochure. In addition to Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain injuries, many
veterans also battle homelessness and must cope with
readjustment, distance from family members and other financial
challenges.
Here's how you can help those who have so loyally helped
us: come into the brewery in Tempe or Four Peaks Grill &
Tap in Scottsdale, mention to the staff you're interested in
participating and then make a $2 contribution for each pair of
boots you'd like to have displayed on our donor recognition
wall. The fund drive runs through July 6th. |
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Price:
$2 for each "pair" of boots! |
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We welcome any and all feedback about the brewery, the Grill
& Tap and now - our precious baby Brewsletter. Write us and let
us know what you think, if you agree or disagree with anything you
read or see here. On occasion we'll include a "Dear Four Peaks"
section in the Brewsletter in which our brewers or members of the
staff endeavor to answer the toughest of your questions - or reply
to the most earnest of your criticisms - over a frothy-edged pint of
our favorite Four Peaks Ale. Thank you for reading, see you next
week!
Yeghes da (Cornish), 
The Crew at Four Peaks
Four Peaks Brewing Company
phone: 480-303-9967
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