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(Meat) Smokers, Dads and Cans!
With June right around the corner it is time once again to prepare for the Dog Days of summer! I know everyone out there is looking forward  to the next 5 or so months of excruciatingly uncomfortable weather, ENJOY! You know I could go on and on about how delightful it is at the good old Tempe Brewery for patio drinking right now, but I'm sure you already know that. With the kids home from school this summer, you owe it to yourself to get a babysitter and calm your nerves with a delicious Kilt Lifter. What's that? You say that you can't get a babysitter? Well swing by after work and pick up a 12 pack of Kilt Lifter cans for $14.99...now with "can coolers" available to help keep them cold!! For a paltry $3 choose one of 5 different colors, or one of each to suit whatever mood you're in! C'mon, we dare ya!
Of course, coming up on the 21st of June is the time honored tradition of thanking our dad for being that integral part of our upbringing... Father's Day! Bring him by the Tempe Brewpub Sunday morning for the Four Peaks Father's Day Buffet! This year the buffet, similar to that of Mother's Day, begins at 10 am and lasts until 1:30 pm! The price is a measly $28 per person, try to find a better rate than that anywhere else! The menu will consist of the following:
Entrees
15 Item Omelette Station
Prime Rib Carving Station
Peel & Eat Shrimp
Belgian Waffles
Chipotle Smoked Pulled Pork
Chicken Enchiladas
Eggs Benedict
Country Baked Ham
Scrambled Eggs
Country Potatoes
1 Complimentary Beer for all Father's!
with
Mixed Salad Greens
Hickory Smoked Bacon
Sausage Links
Assorted Fruit Platter
Danish & Bagel Station
Dessert Station
Email steve@fourpeaks.com for info and/or reservations
This will ONLY be going on in Tempe!!! Scottsdale will be offering a special Father's Day Breakfast menu as opposed to the traditional one. Details of that menu will be released to you, my fair readership, when it becomes available to me, so tune in next week!
Why do your own grilling at home? Let the Four Peaks kitchen staff do it for you! Our Award Winning Kitchen Staff brings the savory deliciousness of freshly smoked goodies straight to your taste buds! We will keep giving you semi regular updates throughout the summer of the goings on with the new Four Peaks Smoke Demon 4K as the kitchen crew decides what they want to do and when! Now please enjoy the first segment of what I shall start calling...
The Smokers Corner.
This week we will be smoking some pork ribs for a Thursday evening special, yum, yum!!! We will also be offering beef brisket for you Friday lunchers out there, mmmm, mouth watering! goodness.
It's pretty concise this week. Depending on the response I get from this brief, perhaps I can get Arthur, Daryn and/or Tom to give me a more comprehensive break down of their plans and ideas. Maybe even get them their own little column, how would you like that now?
Speaking of smoked meats, did someone say bacon flavored vodka? We don't have it here yet, but it is worth checking out the news story by clicking HERE. Everybody loves bacon!
Now let's get on with this week in brew news. In this issue we get a "Wild Card" Update, Mike from up north wants to give you FREE BEER... but you have to do something for him first! The Brewers weigh in on the proposed healthcare bill and what it would mean to the beer industry and, as promised, a very special 5 Questions. Now another priceless line from one of the greatest programs on television today, 30 Rock, take it Kenneth:
Miss Lemon. Your eyes look like my uncle's after he would drink from the air conditioner.
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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Our man on the inside, James "Wild Card" Scussel, has been on
a relentless hunt to track down the chameleon himself, "Kentucky Waterfall"
Jesse and his legion of hired goons. For
weeks, Jesse has  been up and down the Valley to try to get the secret recipe
for Sunbru and Kilt Lifter and will stop at nothing until he can recreate the
formulas for his own dastardly plans!
Also being quite
adept at disguises, Wild Card decided to go undercover last week in his
relentless pursuit of his arch enemy.
Knowing KW Jesse's weakness for Four Peaks can beer and Monster Trucks
(and all things affiliated with said Monster Trucks), Wild Card took to the
streets to follow up some leads on current Jesse sightings.
"We've got a lot of really good accounts out there," Wild
Card thought to himself as he straightened his Sunbru Trucker style hat, "knowing
that all of them are keeping an eye out for him is a credit to Ted Golden and
Jon Schmidt!"
After fully adopting his disguise as Amarillo "Texas Hold 'Em"
McAustin, he was ready to go on his manhunt.
"Where should I start," Wild Card pondered, "there are so
many places in and around Phoenix that serve our beer, Sunbru in particular."
With the college kids finally out of the picture, Wild Card
thought that the Mill Avenue district may be a good place to start. But, alas, it was not in the "cards."
The Library.... Lovely ladies but still no sign
Mill Cue Club... KW's favorite pastime but still a bust
Pizzeria Uno... Even knowing Jesse's penchant for Chicago
style pizza, he still came up empty.
"Maybe I am just over thinking the process," Wild Card (or
should I say "Texas Hold 'Em") thought out loud as the daylight began to wane.
"I know!" Wild Card exclaimed, "One of those 'red neck'
comedians are playing down the street at the Tempe Improv and they have BOTH
Kilt Lifter and Sunbru on tap, I am nothing short of brilliant!"
Hopping back into the luxurious Lifted Limousine, Wild Card "shot
gunned" a Sunbru Kolsch to help get him back into character before engaging the
mullet strewn masses congregating at the Improv.
Witnessing the fear and abject horror on the
faces of those employed for the night's performance, Wild Card felt sympathy as
he went about his business being loud and obnoxious. Unfortunately screaming phrases like "Git R Done" and "WOOO,
Tater Salad!" still failed to bring Jesse out of hiding.
As the night wound down there were only a few more places he
felt the need to investigate.
Monkey Pants...even with the Shirtless Shot, no bueno!
Sail Inn...despite a blistering set by a local Bluegrass Band,
he came up empty.
Chronic Tacos...knowing KW's affinity for "ditch weed" and the
ensuing "munchies" this was still a dry run, even with 3 of Four Peaks' best
selling beers available there!
"I will find you Kentucky Waterfall Jesse, if it is the last
thing I do! With my dying breath, you will be put to justice!" Wild Card yelled
into the night knowing somewhere, somehow, Jesse heard him.
Feel like going on a "Kentucky Waterfall" Hunt
with your friends just like our hero, James "Wild Card" Scussel, and hitting
some of these fine local establishments?
Then call the good folks at Lifted Limousines at (623) 249-7082 to ride in the very same vehicle that is good enough to drive Wild Card around. Operators are always ready and you can't put
a price on being "cool!"
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Latest Picture Of Kentucky Waterfall Jesse Out On The Town
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CASK-CONDITIONED AND SEASONALS
IN SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK:
Hop Knot I.P.A.: Ever the crowd pleaser, stop in and have one today!
IN TEMPE:
Hop Knot I.P.A.: That's right, now available at both locations my friends! Be prepared for the 8th Street to follow up quickly.
SEASONAL DU JOUR:
The Little SAISON That Could!!!
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5 (kinda) Questions With... Randy "Grizzly" Schultz Pt. 1
A lot of things could be said about the man, the enigma, the
legend known as Randy Schultz and most of them would probably be correct. For weeks I have been trying to get him to
partake in 5 Questions but he repeatedly turned me down for an interview. What was I to do? Then a  fortuitous event happened to me one
night a few days ago. Randy appeared to
me in a dream and filled me in on his entire back story (didn't happen)! It's true (no, it's not)! In this dream I met Randy for a few drinks at
my hometown liquor procuring establishment (the Hector Legion Club Post 135,
Hector, MN 55342). Why we chose this
place and why the only people there were my friends and coworkers from Four
Peaks shall remain a mystery to me, but I digress... Raised on the mean streets of Columbia
Heights from the Twin City Metro Area in Minnesota, life has been a constant
adventure for the man whom I have known for more than 16 years. His laugh is pleasantly raucous, his grin infectious
and his love of butter legendary. Now
here is my abridged version of events that never happened over a 10 oz. pilsner of his favorite beer, Sunbru!
Tim Neuman: Wow
Randy, thanks for meeting me at the Hector Legion well after 3 am in the middle
of my REM sleep!
 Randy Schultz: Wouldn't
have it any other way Tim-bow!
TN: Still this is quite the surprise, there is so much that
the world is dying to know about you and I feel selfish for knowing so much
about you already, it is sincerely a pleasure to be in the company of...
RS: Please,
please. I would like to start off with a
song. *Ahem*... "Arizona moon keep shining,
from the desert sky above. You know pretty soon that big yellow moon, will
light the way back to the one you love."
TN: "Bluuuuue shadows on the trail, little cowboy, close
your eyes and dream."
TN & RS: "All of the doggies are in the corral, all of
your work is done, just close your eyes and dream little pal, dream of someone."
TN: Wow Randy, that really takes me back, I wish everyone
knew what we were talking about.
RS: That's easy Timmers, this is a dream sequence anyway so I
can have everybody enjoy that scene from The Three Amigos by simply clicking
HERE! See, no problem.
TN: Would you say that's a favorite movie? 
RS: Ranks up there with all the early '80's comedies for me... throw in First Blood for some variety. You know Brian (his brother) and I know all the words to
the song that rolls through the final credits?
TN: Do I ever! You
once sang it word for word all the way to the lake a few years back. Is that part of the reason you began these
Survival classes, to emulate your idol, Rambo, John J.?
RS: Not entirely. You know, Tim-berooski, when you're out
there under the stars living off the land with none of the creature comforts of
home surrounding you, well, you learn a
thing or two about the world and yourself.
TN: And what would that be, oh wise sage?
RS: First of all, "The more you know, the less you need to
carry," and rat does NOT taste like chicken.
TN: What?!?!? You single-handedly slew the wily rat all on
your own?
RS: Rocks and logs, brother, rocks and logs...
TN: That's simply incredible!
RS: Not with the proper training, a will to survive and a
nice, lush crop of facial hair at your disposal!
TN: I'll bet! END OF PART 1
As you can see, even in the dreamworld Randy calls me by a lot of different nicknames!
Be sure to tune in next week for Part 2 of one of the most exciting interviews to never actually happen in real life! It's chock full of Four Peaks history, music and even more surprises! |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Monday, June 8th pm- Wednesday, June 10th am: Four Peaks Tempe Kitchen remodel with a limited picnic menu!
Wednesday, June 17th: Cheese Puff Day
Sunday, June 21st: Father's Day with special breakfast offerings from both the Brewery and the Grill& Tap!
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The Brewers Blog
It seems our day of reckoning is soon upon us. The powers that be in Washington
are having behind-the-scenes discussions on how to pay for the proposed changes
to health care. What topped the
list? Raising beer excise taxes, of course.
And the states aren't far behind.
On the surface, people can easily say, "I don't mind paying
a little more for beer if it means that I can go to bed at night knowing that
I'm covered if anything happens to me".
Great, but let's take a look at that "little more". Taxes already represent 40.8% of the price of
beer. So if you paid $5.00 for a pint of
beer then $2.08 of that went to taxes being paid by the brewer, the distributor,
the retailer, and you. You already are
paying more than a little.
The Brewers Association, the national guild, if you will, of
the craft brewing industry takes it further by looking at the bigger picture:
"Let's add in your income, state, Medicare and social
security tax on every dollar you earn. Let's make some assumptions
and say you are in the 25% federal income tax bracket. You also pay about
7% in social security, about 1.5% in Medicare and let's play with an assumption
of 4% in state income taxes. That all comes to 37.5% of your paycheck
going to income related taxes. So for every dollar you spend you
actually need to earn $1.60 to have that $1.
This all adds up to having to earn $8.06
to spend $5.00 on that pint. That raises the tax burden on beer to
$5.04 for a $5.00 pint! If this doesn't compute, think of it this way: By
the time you have spent $5.00 for a pint of beer various government taxes
amounting to $5.06 have been paid.
Buying that six-pack for $8?
You've earned $12.80 to have that $8. $8.04 has gone to pay taxes on that
$8 six-pack."
The numbers are numbing.
These are the hidden costs of beer and other commodities that people
don't consider. But even  this is
deceiving because beer is not treated like other commodities. According to the Beer Institute, another
industry watchdog group, "total Federal, state, and local taxes equal 24.2% of
all other purchases in the U.S.
In other words, according to a Beer Institute's survey, beer is taxed a whopping
68.6% more than other purchases in the U.S." When is enough enough?
The point is this tax will not work to solve the budget
shortfall for government health care.
Some estimates say the tax will raise $30 billion dollars but the
government itself estimates single-payer healthcare will cost $1 trillion, with
a "T". How much is a trillion? Here's some perspective: LINK.
Neo-prohibitionist groups like The Center for Science in the
Public Interest (great name) say that raising the tax on beer will reduce
the amount of beer consumed as well as the number of people consuming it, while
reducing the harmful health effects of beer on society (among the side effects
of consuming beer they list gonorrhea and syphilis...really). But if this is the case then won't tax
revenues also dwindle? Then where will
the money come from? What industry is
next on the Nanny's list of harmful products to be punitively taxed? Soda?
Sugar? Trans-fat? Whole milk?
Coconut? (sorry, we just don't like coconut).
The hidden damage of this tax will be felt most by the
hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the beer business for their
income. Let's face it, many people want
the liquor industry to be made illegal again (because, you know, prohibition
worked so well). They know they can't do
that so they'll place more and more burden on the cost of beer that it will
destroy the industry through the back door.
What they fail to see is that, yes, breweries will close and their mission
will be complete, except, what about the people in that brewery? What about the truck drivers at the
distributor or the sales reps that take the orders? What about the stainless welder whose made a
career making equipment for the brewing industry? What about the farmers who rely on maltsters
to buy their crops? You see, the damage
will be far reaching and it will affect many more people than you think, many
of whom probably don't even drink.
In addition, we shudder to think what this proposal
will do to consumer choice or what it will do the beer culture in this country,
arguably the world's richest. If you
care at all, find out who your representative is and ask them to find another
way. Beer has paid enough.
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The Grill & Tap Dispatch
with Mike Kruchko
FREE BEER
Yes, it is
true...but before I tell you how, let me tell you why. A buddy came into the Grill & Tap the
other day; we'll call him Ken Smatecki (I changed his name for privacy  matters)
and he mentioned that he had been out of town and had fallen behind on his
Brewsletter reading. After some diligent
reading to get current with where we are today he then came with a smart ass
comment along the lines of, "Hey, did Kilt Lifter and Sunbru get released in
cans?" OK, we'll admit it. Maybe we've been a little overly excited
about our new babies, but can you blame us?
I mean, where else can you find such an awesome product in a can?
So that
brings me to the Free Beer thing? We at
Four Peaks are launching a new campaign today that everyone can get behind and
we're calling it, wait for it....
"Show Us Your Cans"!
We've had plenty of you send us
pics of you and your friends enjoying a Hop Knot bottle or five in various
locations and they have been great! Now
we're giving you a chance to bring out your inner Ansel Adams and showcase your
talents (or lack of) by sending us your photos of you, your buddies or the beer
itself. Here's how it will all go down.
Snap your
photo of either a Kilt Lifter or Sunbru can in whatever aspect you want (Like I
said before, it can be you with one solo, a group of friends or just the can
itself...don't be afraid to get creative), email it to me at:
mike@fourpeaks.com
then each week I'll
showcase a different photo in our Brewsletter.
This is where the payoff comes in...at the end of each month, we'll choose
a winner (kind of a "pic of the month" if you will) and that person will
receive a 12 pack of their choice! (Kilt
Lifter or Sunbru only) Not too
shabby right? The winner will be
contacted by me via email and will be able to redeem their prize at the Grill
& Tap in North Scottsdale. So, nothing to do now but start cracking
open some cold ones and getting the party started!
Before
I leave you, I did want to put up what I feel is hands down the best picture that
anyone has taken yet! Props to Vince
Kelly with his Hop Knot photo from Napa
Valley! This was taken a little over a week ago at
Sue & Lou's wedding. They are close
friends with Four
Peaks and we wish them both
the best!
You can contact us in
Scottsdale at 480-991-1795 or at Scottsdale@fourpeaks.com
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A Few Parting Words...
Our latest endeavor to be more bike friendly was recently implemented, please feel free to cycle on in and lock your precious little 2 wheeler to one of our new stylish bike  racks! Each one is securely bolted into the concrete and should provide enough security for anyone stopping in to put down a few. It is still not recommended you leave them overnight, there are just too many hooligans out there my friends! We would like to acknowledge Mr. Matt Barrett, longtime expediter and affable chap to the wonderful world of serving! After more than 2 years of faithful kitchen service he gets the chance of a lifetime as he moves up to the "Show." Congrats big guy, I look forward to having you explain that first drink ticket to me! Perhaps you remember him as the original individual to tackle the first incarnation of the 5 Questions (which can be found HERE).
Customer Comment Of The Week...This CCOTW came to us in the form of a server's comment card and was just too good to let slip into the filing cabinet. One of our guests stopped in on May 22nd and felt compelled to deliver the 3 sweetest words a Brewery could EVER ask for! What were those words again Brad? "It's my Graceland"Seriously, we couldn't be more thrilled to be perceived in such a manner. Thanks for emoting such a kind and generous sentiment... I'm getting a little misty eyed right now so please give me a moment! Cheers!
In ancient Babylon, women brewers also assumed the role of temple priestesses. The goddess Siris was the patron of beer.
- Useless Beer Facts
Jim "Wild Card" Scussel Seconds Before Tragically Finding Himself With A Hernia!
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