What is the most requested beer that we make?

If you said Pumpkin Porter you'd be half right.  In our estimation Pumpkin Porter is the most popular of our seasonal beers but not the most requested.  That honor goes to Leroy Brown.

No, it's not a request for Jim Croce's great song that we're talking about, we're talking about the eponymous Leroy Brown Ale.

Ah, Brown Ale; a somewhat forgotten style.  And since baseball's opening day is around the corner it's easy to portray Brown Ale as a player.  One that doesn't grab headlines but always seems to make the team.  A utility player; reliable, loyal, a beer that can come off the bench and ignite a rally and energize a clubhouse.  Until the stars start producing again, then it's back to the bench; but stay ready Big Guy, we'll need you. 

Sometimes, though (to carry on the metaphor way too long) the manager just can't ignore the chants of the crowd any longer, and out trots Leroy Brown.

Our Leroy is made in the style of Northern English Brown Ales.  That is, it has a slightly higher alcohol content than its Londoner cousins.  It's also a little darker.  Make no mistake Leroy isn't flashy, he doesn't boast of a high hop content and the alcohol, although higher, isn't going to send you tipsy into the night at 4.5%.  But what it does have is talent for displaying malt flavor and aroma, most notably darker, richer, more highly kilned malt; flavors that range from chocolate to caramel, and aromas like toasted nuts and hints of toffee.

Look for Leroy's return on the 2nd of April and stay tuned to next week's blog when we introduce Leroy's Hawaiian half-brother, Ali'i.  You'll like him, he's a real nut.

I spent the last weekend in the Canyon, a trip I pounced on last minute in lieu of a Vegas outing already in the works.  It got me to thinking how fortunate our location here in the Phoenix metropolitan area is, and all the other great benefits our fabulous Valley locale...

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - The three 'L's of real estate when applied in a wider geographic sense has to put Phoenix close to the top of the list for North American cities.  90 minutes from Sedona, 2 hrs to Flagstaff, 4 to the Canyon, 5 to Vegas or Rocky Point, less than 6 to L.A. or San Diego.  The valley is a veritable Mecca for golfing, hiking, and mountain biking, and you can do all three of those in dramatic new settings, plus surf or ski in little more than a day trip.

COST OF LIVING -  Slightly more than say, Kansas, but considerably less than many of the smaller east coast and Midwest metropolises most of us have migrated from.  $1200 here is a mortgage on a decent three bedroom house in a good neighborhood; in NY it leased me one of five bedrooms in a converted two bedroom Chelsea apartment (with one bathroom).  And that was five years ago. 

TRANSPORTATION - Public transit still has a way to go, and urban sprawl is a significant obstacle to the valley, but the light rail is a positive step forward, and the highway system is quite effective.  We love our cars, and with good reason - do you really want to be waiting for a bus or train in 110 degree heat?  Traffic does exist, of course, and it starts quite a bit earlier than in many cities, but it flows like a geyser when compared to most urban areas.  Parking is almost always ample and free.  The biggest downside is the radical DUI enforcement, but what you save in cost of living can spring for more than a few overpriced cab rides.

ACTIVITIES - I've already covered the recreational sort, and I never even mentioned that Scottsdale annually nears or tops the list of nationally ranked sports and recs departments.  We've also got NBA, LMB, NFL, and NHL teams, plus Spring Training, the FBR, college bowl games, a regular Super Bowl rotation, the Culinary Fair, and enough beer, art, film and music festivals to make your head spin.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS - We don't participate, which makes life here locally much simpler.  Figuring out neighboring time zones can be a bit confusing at times, but the first weekend that the east coast turns their clocks forward in the fall is a glorious Sunday when you're still in your early drinking days and you can sleep an hour longer without missing any NFL kickoffs.