End NEW IN TOWN
CRAFTING A COMMUNITY SanTan Brewing Company opens in Central Phoenix
BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
More than 10 years ago, SanTan Brewing Company opened its doors in Chandler’s historic downtown district, just in time for the recession to ravage Arizona. “Sometimes we don’t know exactly how, but we persisted,” says founder and brewmaster Anthony Canecchia. “Not only that, we were in on the ground floor of the Arizona craft beer revolution that’s happened over the past decade.” Many folks, in fact, credit SanTan for helping to start the revolution. “We had a vision from the onset: to both make craft beer that locals could be proud of as well as to give the community a space that paired the beer with great food and ambiance,” Canecchia explains. On the beer side, SanTan has taken home local, regional and national honors for its brews, including earning top honors at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, 2012 U.S. Open Beer Championships and 2016 World Beer Cup. To that end, the craft beer vision has not only met, but exceeded all expectations. And from the community side, with the opening of SanTan’s new Central Phoenix location, their full vision is now in focus.
66
Uptown June '18
“Our Uptown location has all of the flagship menu items from Chandler, including our Ricky Ricardo sandwich, award-winning chipotle bacon cheeseburger, and of course, our beers,” Canecchia says. Among the ultra-popular varieties available in-house are: Devil’s Ale, an American pale ale with aromatic pine and citrus notes; HopShock IPA, a Southwestern India pale ale with an intense aroma of apricots and peaches; Mr. Pineapple, a wheat beer infused with fresh pineapple juice from Fair Trade Costa Rican farms; Gordo Stout, a dry Irish stout with robust flavors of coffee and chocolate and injected with nitrogen; and MoonJuice IPA, their acclaimed Indian pale ale. Sex Panther, Oktoberfest Lager and LimeLeaf will be available seasonally. The team’s “Pilot Series” specialties including their StrataBlaster IPA and Yotes Pale Ale, currently only brewed in Chandler, will also make appearances on the Uptown menu while a small brew system is being installed this summer. Once installed, the system will allow the local brew team to create beers unique to just the Phoenix location. “Along with our beers, our drink lineup also features Arizona wines, a margarita made with Arizona native Roger Clyne’s Mexican Moonshine and even Peixoto Coffee Roasters cold brew coffee out of Chandler,” Canecchia says. The space itself is 7,000 square feet, and they plan to complete their dog-friendly patio by the late fall. Friday through Sunday, they offer breakfast. There is are traditional happy hour specials Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and reverse happy hour Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to close. SanTan is open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. SanTan Brewing Company, 1525 E. Bethany Home Road, Phoenix; 602.595.7390; www.santanbrewing.com.