San Tan Brewing Company - Part 4: So Long, And Thanks For The Beer

Greetings fellow beer snobs, it's me again, your humble beer imbiber Daver with the final chapter in my examination of local brewery San Tan Brewing Company.  I wasn't all that sure there was anything left to say about San Tan, so I went back for one last sit-down at the bar. Glad I did! I sampled four of their specialty pilot concoctions, and a year-round brew that's only available on draft. We'll start there, with the Sunspot Golden Ale.

Sunspot Golden Ale is an American blonde ale, a clear yellow in color with a modest head at first pour that fades out fast. The bouquet is light, I can just barely pick up notes of wheat and barley, likewise with the body when it reaches your tongue. The finish is crisp and clean, but a little more robust than I would expect from a blonde ale. It's simple, well-crafted, and its light flavor and cleaner finish makes this an ideal summer brew! Why isn't this one in stores?

Now we're on to the pilot brews, available only at the tap. The Imperial IPA Heavy D is a stronger version of San Tan's Devil Ale, a deep, foreboding red ale with a thin head.  The bouquet is sweet with notes of caramel, citrus, and hints of the hops. The hops bitterness is strong, just at the utmost limit of tolerable. Harsh like Kentucky bourbon, a robust body that isn't too heavy, with a rich finish.

Next is the Moonjuice I.W.A., the acronym stands for India Wheat Ale. An American IPA, it looks like a hefeweizen brewed like an IPA. The Moonjuice is a dark yellow color at first pour, with a thick head, a light floral scent, and the taste of bananas balanced with the hops' bitterness and notes of lemon limey goodness.

The Hibiscus Pale Ale, pictured above served in a goblet, is a brew the color of a red chardonnay. In fact, chardonnay is an accurate descriptor overall, this is like beer brewed from a good table wine. The head lingers, fadining unevenly and clinging to the glass sides. Floral bouquet, rich flavor like a wine cooler that means fucking business, and oddly refreshing in the finish. Can you tell that I liked this a lot? I liked this a lot. Please, San Tan, make more of this!

And the Arizona Farmhouse, a Farmhouse ale being a brew crafted in cooler months and held in storage till summer, has a cloudy yellow color and modest head that fades fast. The cloudiness is likely from the yeast in its brewing, and you can pick up hints of the yeast in the flavor, as well as a more prevalent banana character. The bouquet also has notes of banana and faint yeast traces, but also cloves and clover. The finish is unusually fizzy, but that's normal for a highly carbonated beer like a Farmhouse ale.

Friends, if you want to try anything by San Tan Brewing Company? GO TO THE ACTUAL BREWERY. Sure, they have six packs in the store, and a few of them are actually pretty good, but San Tan is the example proving that beer is better on tap than in the can, and at that best at the source. Plus, their pilot brews are always changing, between those and their seasonals, you won't know what you'll get. Hell, by the time you read this, the batches will have changed and no telling if those I've just told you about will come back. I really enjoyed the pilot brews, the care and creativity that goes into them makes me want to go back to see what they'll have now.

In conclusion? San Tan is like a star baseball player, they won't hit them all out of the park, but when it's a home game, they hit it right into the stadium lights showering sparks all over Robert Redford.