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Welcome to a Bizarro October
I am officially baffled. The Sun Devil Football team is struggling at best, The Minnesota Vikings are a pathetically lucky .500 team, The Arizona Cardinals are in first place in their division, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers Football team is 6-1 and on the cusp of getting into the top 20... hunh?
Did you know the New Kids On The Block are successfully touring, Ringo Starr hates fan mail soooo much he's throwing it away, and Phish is quitting retirement and going back on tour in March... eh?
Not only that, due to the unusally cold weather we were having this weekend, we decided to get the propane heaters all set up for the impending winter. Well, they're all up and ready now, and guess what... temperatures are swinging back into the mid-90's!
Is it just me, or does everything seem backwards?
Well, on the "everything seems backwards" front, be sure to read this weeks Brewers Blog about the Great American Beer Festival. On the lighter side, we will also give you details on how you can win a tasty Pumpkin Porter keg of your very own, Karina from Scottsdale fills in the blanks about the goings on up north, we kick a few questions around with Sarah Kelly, and I try to figure out how this financial crisis is somehow the fault of Hitler.
 Remember this Saturday, October 18th, we will be the sole beer provider at the Third Annual Roosevelt Row Harvest Festival! Admission is free and we will be offering all your favorites including Kilt Lifter, Sunbru, Hop Knot, 8th Street, Hefeweizen, and... Pumpkin Porter! You read that correctly, be the first person on your block to say you've had the Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter before anyone else! This is not a hoax, and you have to go to the Harvest Festival to get it!
One final note, Brian Yaeger, author of the book Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey will be at Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe for a book signing on Wednesday, October 29th. This event is being hosted by Changing Hands Bookstore and all details can be found HERE.
Auf Wiedersehen,
Your Friends at The Four Peaks Brewery and Four Peaks Grill & Tap
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Who Wants Some Pumpkin Porter?
The first rule
of Carving Club is - you do not talk about Carving Club. The second
rule of Carving Club is - you DO NOT talk about Carving Club!
-Tyler Durden, 2008
 All right, was that too arcane of a reference? I was just attempting to draw a parallel between the movie "Fight Club" and our latest time-honored promotion!
Yup, it's that time of year again when we allow the general public a chance to win a keg of our fantastic Pumpkin Porter! You just have to jump through a few minor hoops for us that's all. What am I talking about? Well, our Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest at the Tempe Brewery of course!
This year's event will be held on Tuesday, October 28th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:45 pm. We have just a few ground rules for what has become one of the busiest (and sometimes most bizarre) events of the year.
RULES:
1. You are responsible for bringing your own pumpkin(s). There is no size limit.
2. Any tools, knives, drills, etc. must be supplied by the individual.
3. No prepping of your pumpkin is allowed. All stenciling and cutting must be done at the brewery.
4. No derogatory or ethically questionable pumpkins will be accepted.
5. No bribing the judges!
Winners will be judged in 3 different categories
1. Best Overall:
1/4 barrel (7.75 gallons) of Pumpkin Porter
2. Most Creative:
1/4 barrel of your choice (Not Pumpkin Porter)
3. Best Four Peaks Theme:
1/4 barrel of your choice (Not Pumpkin Porter)
Runners up in all categories will receive gift certificates, growlers and other special prizes. Feel free to enter as many pumpkins as you like!
Any questions please contact Steve Lynch at steve@fourpeaks.com
Looking for tools?
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The Grill & Tap Dispatch
by Karina Lang
Hello, hope the week is going well as usual. We are only days away from the delicio usness of the Pumpkin Porter and I know ya'll are super excited about that! It's too bad that it can't be one of our beers year around... but let's face it, it wouldn't be the same if it was, right? It's nice to have something to look forward to!
Thank you to everyone who came out for the Walk to Defeat ALS on Sunday. It was a good time and I am glad Four Peaks was able to participate and help a great cause. Don't forget that we are still fundraising for ALS by selling our "baseballs," so if you want to make a donation of any amount, we - along with ALS - really appreciate it.
I know I have been mentioning it a lot, but ALSO, don't forget that the Four Peaks 4th Annual Charity Golf Tournament is coming up fast. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am extremely excited for the tournament this year, and I hope I see some of your smiling faces out there. That's about it for me this week!
Cheers!
You can contact Karina at (480) 303-9967 ext. 209
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5 Questions With Sarah KellyThis weeks installment of 5 Questions involves Sarah Kelly. Honestly, the Four Peaks bar wouldn't be the Four Peaks bar without her. She has been a stalwart member of the family for many years, hell, before she was even of legal drinking age!  The year was 2000, William Jefferson Clinton was the esteemed President at the time, Elián González was finally returned to Cuba, and the Y2K fear was recent history... then along comes Sarah Kelly (a.k.a. Mel's sister, "Ohh...THAT'S Mel's Sister," and "That's not Mel's sister, they're nothing alike"). Most of you don't even remember a time when she wasn't slinging you drinks but I remember when she was a server! One of the best damn servers I'd ever seen! Good hustle, attentive to the customers' needs AND she would bring back a full bus tub without breaking a sweat. Sure, it was only so she could go back into the kitchen to get herself a fix of French Fries dipped in Bleu Cheese Dressing, but that's beside the point! We all have addictions, so I don't judge. Well here we go! You know her, you love her... I present to you, Sunshine Sarah! 1. You've been working here at the Brewery for a few years now, what was your favorite seasonal offering in that time? Why? A long time ago when the schedule only had 12 servers, Tim Neuman was a
line cook, the bar wasn't tiled, and Steve and Murph were cute little
servers, we had a beer on tap called Leroy Brown. I had just turned 21
and Leroy Brown opened my eyes to the big bright beautiful world of
micro-brewed beers. This "gateway beer", as I like to call it, has led
me to try every and any micro brew, leading me to my all time favorite
ever, the complex and delicious Hop Knot... mmmmmm!!! 2. Being originally from Chicago, does Oprah use an ingenious form of mind control to still get people to watch her show?Chicago is dying right now!! The North Side is in absolute turmoil and
shame. The Cubs have once again taken our pride and allegiance and
smacked us across the face with it. That one guy even sold his loyalty
to the Cubs on ebay. Oh yea Oprah, can she use some of that mind
control to make Manny Ramirez go away? 3. What is your favorite Four Peaks food item, be it regular menu or one of our many specials? Please elaborate.Great question Tim. This may come as a shock to some of you, but Bleu
Cheese Dressing is the best food that Arthur has ever made. It changed
my life. There is nothing better than the chunky deliciousness of
Four Peak's Bleu C  heese. Try it on everything, I swear you will not be
disappointed! 4.
According to the Nielsen Ratings, "Dancing With The Stars" was the
number 1 program last week and was watched by 18.9 million people, is
this the first sign of Biblical Armageddon? If not, what is?1) I hate this show 2) I hate this show 3) I watch really, really stupid TV and I really don't like this show  5.
Legend has it that The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was started by Mrs.
O'Leary's cow knocking over a lantern, that being said, what would you
put on top of a delicious Four Peaks burger (see what I did there!!)?
Well, I don't mean to disappoint anyone, but I have never had a Four
Peaks Burger. Now, now calm down... I have a weird feeling toward
ground beef. I was a vegetarian for seven years, but don't worry I am
back from the dark side and have seen the light. Beef is my friend,
even that stupid cow that tried to burn down the greatest city ever is
my friend. However, I really enjoy a great big juicy Filet, but the ground
beef thing I still can't do. There is one burger that makes my mouth
water every time I see it and that is the Schaffer Burger!!! For those
of you who don't know what that is, it is an occasional lunch special.
Juicy burger topped with cheddar, bacon, bbq sauce, and onion straws... think about it... mmmmmm... I have tried it on a garden
burger but I imagine it is not the same. I would probably add some
bleu cheese dressing. We appreciate your candor and moments of introspection, Sarah. On a personal note, I just wanted to thank you one more time for pretending to be my girlfriend all those years ago in what was one of the most terrifying evenings of my life! All the parties there that night know what I'm talking about! The Latest Nielsen Ratings!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Saturday, October 18th: Roosevelt Row Harvest Festival from 12 noon until 7 pm. A wonderful street festival with Four Peaks beer on tap! The only place to get Pumpkin Porter before its official release date! Monday, October 20th: A little thing we like to call Pumpkin Porter will be released for consumption Tuesday, October 21st: Beer And Cheese Pairings in Tempe!!! ***SOLD OUT***. For those coming here's ALL THE INFO...Tuesday, November 4th: Election Day, so get out and vote!!!! Wednesday, November 12th: Fourth Annual Four Peaks Charity Golf Tournament to Benefit The ALS Assocation of Arizona. We are now accepting players and teams! Please click HERE to sign up!
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Brewers Blog XIX: GABF...WTF?
"It's not like I ever expect anything for my birthday... BUT THEN I DIDN'T GET ANYTHING!!"
-Pee Wee Herman
OK we're not that bad but the timing on this blog may be questionable, seeing as though we got skunked at the Great American Beer Festival. No medals; zip, zero, nada. We don't want it to seem like sour grapes but we're just not sure how much the medals mean to us any more. We suppose it would seem more like whining had we never won any medals or awards, but we've done pretty well in the past. The question is, so we didn't win medals this year, so what?
Don't get us wrong, we see the importance of winning. It's always nice to get recognized by your peers in the industry and its reassuring in knowing you're doing things right. But how often have you gone into a bar or liquor store or grocery store and not bought a beer because it has never won a medal?
The point we're belaboring here is that it only really matters to us if you like it, the person who shelled out hard-earned money for it. And if yo u do then that's reward enough for us.
We've got a philosophy on whether a beer is good or not. We believe a good beer is only 60%, meaning that if a beer is well liked by six out of 10 people that try it, then that beer is a great success. Now, being "the best" in a particular style is different, that can happen on an apples to apples level. But beer in the marketplace is not compared by style, it's compared by what's next to it; apples to oranges, and most of our beer is in the marketplace - not a judge's table. In the market beer isn't a math problem; it's not right or wrong, good or bad. To get philosophical again, beer is not Manichean, it has gray areas. The market is also far more competitive than a judge's table, so to label a beer as a Gold Medal Winner doesn't mean it will be a commercial success. It just means it's good at being what it is stylistically.
It comes down to us being happier making beer that we like for people who really like it than we are for winning medals. Will we stop entering into contests? No, we do like the thrill of winning. Will we worry if we never win again? ONLY IF WE DON'T!!
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CASK-CONDITIONED AND SEASONALS
IN TEMPE AND SCOTTSDALE THIS WEEK
Hop Knot I.P.A.: A true American Innovation. The color of a golden ale but, the bitterness of a fine pale ale and the hop aroma of an IPA. Hop Knot gets its name from the six different hops which are added at six separate times during the brewing process - which includes a cavernous hop back so stuffed with whole hop leaf hops we feel guilty for its excess. NEW SEASONAL COMING ON MONDAY 10/20/08
Pumpkin Porter: Any description would just take away from the myth, legend, and majesty of our most popular seasonal ever. I'll just leave it at that.
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Now A Few Parting Words...As we continue to watch the stock market fluctuate between massive highs and, more often than not, crushing lows, we couldn't help but share this little bit of stock advice from the Family Scussel: Subject: 401k HelpIf you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have $42 left.
With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left.
With Fannie or Freddie, you would have less than $5 left.But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg.....See, the numbers don't lie, copious amounts of drinking... in moderation of course... has the best return in this sluggish economy. I know it will only be a matter of time before we switch over to an aluminum based economy, so get in on the ground floor while you can. As soon as Four Peaks gets its canning line installed that is exactly what I plan on doing! That's it for now, come back in a scant 7 days and learn just how quickly we are cruising through the Pumpkin Porter! "Brewers enjoy working to make beer as much as drinking beer instead of working." -Harold Rudolph 
Soon to be appearing at the Grill & Tap next month with the Gert Jonnys (I think he's looking at you!) |
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