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Keeping It Short(er)
Week 2 of the Great Four Peaks Remodel is well underway! There is still quite a bit of clutter but things are starting to take shape. Fear not however, we will still be open our regular hours! By all means stop in early and often as you get a front row seat to the morphing of the Brewery!
How about that U.S. soccer team? They are advancing to the Confederations Cup Final this Sunday after defeating top-ranked Spain! You better be excited, they have never made it to the finals in their entire history! The game "kicks" off around 11 am and what goes better with a Four Peaks Brewers Breakfast than the opportunity to witness history!
Not too much else to reflect upon this week, let's see... John and Kate are getting a divorce, can't wait for that spin-off series. Walter Cronkite appears to be deathly ill, that has me feeling pretty bad. Oh yeah, some South Carolina Governor had an affair so he ditched his family over Father's Day Weekend to be with his whore... oh wait, he confessed, what a stand up guy! Farewell Ed McMahon... yup that's about it!
 The Smokers Corner.
This week at the Smokers Corner our talented kitchen staff will be preparing the classic "Beer Can Chicken." I'll try to get some photographs of these chickens to display in next week's issue, they're going to be cock-a-doodlicious!
In this week's edition, the Brewers discuss the topic Beer Culture around the world. Mike returns from the great State of Minnesota with stories and pictures but no word on any mosquito bites. I present to you the most interesting article I've ever done, and I have a guest contributor who just wants our Minnesota fan base know where he stands...well we'll try to dig up some more fun and facts next week, but until then
I'm Hiking the Appalachian Trail!
Your Friends at The Four Peaks Brewery and Four Peaks Grill & Tap |
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1340 East 8th Street #104
Tempe, Arizona 85281
480.303.9967
480.303.9964 fax
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15730 North Pima Road
Suite D5-7
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
480.991.1795
480.991.1796 fax
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It's kind of a slow week what with summer rolling in and a
huge concentration on getting our new brewhouse installed. I thought what better way to bore you than a
small piece on the Arizona Government as it pertains to the world of the
microbrewery! You know what I'm talking
about and it is HB2301.
Alright, I have a limited amount of remembrance when it
comes to  American Civics but I do enjoy getting totally lost in the abundance
of words and rhetoric. When it comes to
HB2301 (which I imagine stands for House Bill 2301 but I couldn't find anything
that would confirm it) the information I got seemed simple enough, it would
allow a microbrewery to produce
1,240,000 gallons of beer in 1 calendar year which is up from 620,000 gallons. Sure it seems cut and dry, but you should see
the rest of the existing "Section 4-205.08, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating
to liquor licenses!" It's a real "hoot"
as the oldsters would say.
The law as it pertains to (a favorite phrase used in many
other Statutes I've come to realize) your Domestic Microbrewery License drags
on for about a page and a half of mind numbing addendums and lovely bullet points! Yes, I find it chuckle inducing to note that to maintain a Class 3 liquor license
in the State of Arizona involves more words than it took Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves! It is also imperative to mention that this is only
the first step. I understand this will
go to more committees, then to caucuses, move to Senate and then, if all goes well, moves to the
Governor's office. I guess I missed the committee
and caucus portion on this in my High School Social Studies class! I know that there are a lot of things that go
into putting these laws together so I'll stop rambling and get to my favorite
parts of Section 4-205.08!
1)
did you know that to be a microbrewery in our
state that you shall not produce less than 5,000 gallons of beer in each calendar
year following the first year of operation?
2)
Persons holding a domestic microbrewery license
shall report annually at the end of each calendar year, at such time and in
such manner as the director may prescribe, the amount of beer manufactured by
them during the calendar year and the amount delivered pursuant to subsection
D, paragraph 5, subdivision (b).
3)
Make sales and deliveries of beer to
persons licensed to sell beer under this title through wholesalers licensed
under this title or as provided in subsection D, paragraph 5, subdivision (a)
or (b).
Yeah, I know I totally lost interest about 3 times wondering
what they were getting at. Anyway, enjoy
the entire bill by clicking HERE, and don't forget to check out subsection D,
paragraph 5, subdivision (a) and (b), it's quite captivating! If that is too much for you, HERE is the summary of said changes and background on the bill, it is written in conventional English for the layman!
Don't get me wrong, I totally respect our elected officials and the job they do, I just love how things get overly complex. It should be simple, but what in the grand scheme of things ever is! Now, ON TO THE SENATE!!!!
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CASK-CONDITIONED AND SEASONALS
IN SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK:8th Street Ale: Brewed in the heat of battle! This delicious concoction is truly a gift from the Gods!! Respect it but do not fear it! IN TEMPE:
Hop Knot I.P.A.: Does anyone really read these descriptions? Sometimes I feel I could write just about anything right here (see above). The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
SEASONAL DU JOUR: Our Chocolate Porter!! All Details Found HERE |
The Grill & Tap Dispatch
with Mike Kruchko
What's up kids, how's everyone's week going? Well, I'm back from my journey and ready to
bring you a very Perez Hilton drama free edition of the Dispatch. So, I mentioned last time that I was heading to
the land of 10,000 lakes and the hometown of our own Tim Neuman, not to mention
our very own Randall Schultz. Well,
after much "work" I have  discovered a few things. Minnesotans really do LOVE their
Walleye. As I'm sure you guys know we
serve Walleye at both locations for specials at various times throughout the
year. Well, being from the East Coast I
had no idea about this fish until I started with the Peaks all those years
back. That being said, I understand a
little better now. Those crazy Vikings
fans really do chow them down!
Speaking of Vikings fans; yes, the football season is quickly
approaching and from what I gather, the fans in Minnesota want nothing
to do with THE biggest prima donna the NFL has seen in all its years of
existence. (Total side bar here. I used to think guys like Terrell Owens were
the prima donnas of the league, but after really thinking about it...its Brett
Favre. Go away or stay, but make up your
mind and stop acting like anyone other than the 13 people that live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi care. Every team in the league should stop feeding
this guy's ego!) Sorry, where was
I? Oh yeah, so as much as people around the
Brewery (I'm looking at you Randy) think he'll bring the Vikes to the promised
land, your brethren up north feel very differently. The one thing I did realize in my journey to
see what makes Neuman, "Neuman", was the undeniably unique sense of humor
people seem to have up there. I always
thought our Minnesota guys from Four Peaks were
coincidentally amusing. Well, not
anymore and I've attributed it to one thing;
You have to be slightly crazy as well as have a great sense of humor to
deal with those winters...thus my conclusion; people from Minnesota are
proverbial crack-ups. How else could you
explain the Mall of America?
Does any of this accomplish what I was out to find? Can the riddle known as Tim Neuman now be
explained? The answer is....I understand a
little more than before, but at the end of the day, some things will never be
fully understood. So, I'm forced to move
on and since I'm lacking a smooth transition because my brain is concentrating
on the release of the new Transformers movie coming out today, I'll just get
right to it. This week's "Show Us Your Cans" pic comes
from none other but yours truly. I
couldn't resist the possibility of putting a few Kilts back while taking in the
Twin Cities favorite baseball team in the good ol' "Homer Dome". Which has to be in the top 3 worst ballpark
I've ever seen by the way...right up there with The Vet in Phily and the old
Olympic Stadium in Montreal, but I
digress. I will not be putting myself in
for the drawing however, since that would be....how do you say, unfair. So keep the pics coming 'cause we will be
announcing our first month's winner next week and I have a feeling that some
sweet lake pics will be rolling in any day, now that the weather is warming up.
Before
I go, I want to thank all of you who came out for Father's Day this
Sunday. We had a great turnout and an equally
great time. Well, I'll see you next time
with some hot summer ideas for your free time and maybe a little movie review
of the big Summer Blockbuster...."Roll Out".
You can contact us in
Scottsdale at 480-991-1795 or at Scottsdale@fourpeaks.com
submit all "can" photography to:
mike@fourpeaks.com
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Saturday, July 4th: America's Independence Day! Stop by for some Yankee Doodle Beef Noodle soup!
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The Brewers Blog
Beer Culture; that's a hard one to define. It's been said that the U.S.
has the most diverse beer culture in the world, but what is that? It sounds like something well established,
something concrete. Like something that
will last. If this is what you think of
culture then we think Germany
has the greatest beer culture with Great Britain
a close second. For centuries it was
these countries that were the vanguard of  the brewing world. Their consistency and volume outpaced all
other countries for a long time. These
were the style-makers; Pilsner, Pale ale, Kolsch, Stout. But, it's been difficult to find any
innovation in terms of new styles from these two heavyweights in a long, long
time (that's not to say that they haven't led the way in technical innovation).
But that's not what culture really means. It has a Latin root word that means to till
the ground, or, specifically, to cultivate, to plant a seed and see what
grows. But you need to cultivate
continuously; crops don't last forever.
And in this sense we think Great Britain
and Germany
need to dust off the hoe and find a row.
A country that has a legitimate claim to having a true beer
culture is Belgium. It's always changing; new styles, new
flavors, literally inviting bacteria into breweries that would make a German
brewer lose control of bodily function.
All in the name if flavor. Always
getting cozy with the sentence that starts, "What if we tried..."
Do we love Belgian beers?
Not always, but we are duly impressed with the depth of their
creations. It's the breadth that we have
a problem with. Belgians tend to get a
little narrow in their pursuit "Belgian Beer".
That is, there is something slightly similar in all of them. Perhaps it's highlighted in the fact that
they rarely emulate other countries' styles without putting a Belgian twist on
them. But, hey, they're Belgian. We'd probably do the same if we brewed in Belgium.
We brew here, though, in the USA. Now, for a long time the USA
could have been considered the Soviet Union of brewing
culture; bland, homogenized yellow lager for everyone. If you wanted a choice, well, you could get
it in "Light" as well. But Glasnost came
to our beer culture in the late eighties, too.
Who was the catalyst for this change?
It's hard to name one person, but collectively it was all the people who
said, "I'm tired of this, I want something new" (not coincidentally it was the
same kind of folks who forced the food industry to go from bland to beautiful
just prior to the beer awakening).
We brew everything here; German styles, English styles,
Belgian styles. Some with American
twists and some that are downright uniquely American. There are areas of our country that are even
creating new styles, West Coast IPA, anyone?
These brewers, and particularly craft brewers, are fearless in their
innovation, selfless in their collaboration, and giddy with their
situation. They respect the old school
ways while welcoming change.
If that's not a thriving culture we don't know what is,
and we're damn glad to be a part of it. And so should you.
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Sports Talk With Trevor...
Why should Mike Kruchko get the only article dealing with sports in the State of Minnesota? Our own Trevor Schultz has a thing or two to share as well. I got the call Tuesday afternoon about the concerns of a  lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan and the frustrations that go along with the Brett Favre waiting game, the pride one feels when it comes to hometown heroes and many other things. He asked if he could contribute and who am I to deny that wish? What you have before you is part rant, part frustration but 100% honest. So in lieu of 5 questions, here are 3 paragraphs with Trevor as we placate our avid Minnesota readership, please enjoy. As most of you know, I am from Minnesota. And as most of you know, I do
love sports. Especially Minnesota sports. You would think this is a
great time of the year for me. It is baseball season. Our hometown
hero, Joe "Baby Jesus" Mauer is flirting with .400 and on the cover of
Sports Illustrated
(full article found HERE).
The new M and M (Mauer and Morneau for those not in the know) boys mashing the ball. We are sitting in second with
July about to come. Perfect. Yet, it's not. I can't go a day without
hearing about Brett Favre coming to the Vikings. It is incredibly
frustrating. Why won't you go away Brett? I don't want you. Only Chilly (head coach Brad Childress)
does. He has had three years to develop a QB and he has done  nothing.
Trying to sign Favre is just (once again, head coach) Chilly trying to save his job. I have
been a Viking fan for as long as I can remember. And that means I have always
disliked Favre. He played for the Packers in those ugly green and
yellow uniforms. And now they want me to cheer for him. I am cheering
for him to stay home and mow the lawn. He's going to make it so that I
have to actually cheer for Favre when he does something good. But know
that when I am cheering for you Favre, I am hating every minute of it. If
we win a few extra games next year, I'll love it. But damn you Favre! I
can't wait until next off season when Favre unretires again. Until then, we're gonna win Twins, we're gonna score... Regardless of the Brett Favre debacle, we are working on another Vikings/Cardinals Football road trip on December 6th. According to James "Wildcard" Scussel the buses have already been secured and we are now waiting for the single game tickets to become available. If you joined us last year, we encourage you to join us once more, if you missed it, stay posted to this Brewsletter as details develop! |
A Few Parting Words...
Well, that will just about do it this week as we all patiently wait for the monsoon season to come and bring us nourishing moisture. But before I go I want to wish Brian  and Tanya congratulations on the birth of their new bundle of joy, Conor John Michael Schultz. Brian is the brother of Four Peaks' legend and owner Randy Schultz and we all couldn't be happier for the two of you! Only 20 years and 364 more days until you can have a beer with dear old dad! Let the countdown begin!
Customer Comment Of The Week...We got this comment a few months back, well its not so much a comment as it is a question of sorts. At any rate, here we go: Howdy, I have not stopped in to the brewery, I live
down in Tucson, but the Hop Knot is truly one the absolute best beers I've
ever tasted. As you may know, it isn't found in too many places around campus
and 4th Ave. Please, please talk to the folks at Zachary's. A lot of good beers are on tap regularly,excellent is what I would
like, HOP KNOT! Keep up the good work. Thank you.It's true we don't have the Hop Knot in too many places in Tucson (actually Hut On Fourth and Old Pueblo Grill are the only two that come to mind), but the places that serve our beers are constantly expanding. To keep you up to date with the current places that are offering our beers and which styles they have on tap click HERE. It's an invaluable resource and I find myself checking it out every time I leave town! Cheers!
Lois, everyone has their sanctuary. The Catholics have churches, fat people have Wisconsin, and I have the Pawtucket Brewery.
- Peter Griffin, Family Guy
4PBC Bad Boys Neil and Chris Represent at the Flagstaff Beer Festival
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