Hops and Dreams

By Brandie Bosworth

In 2017, Matt Wright and Marshall Norris met while working at Helton Brewing Company. Both had the same hopes—to be more involved in the beer industry. The pair along with a silent, third partner, dug up Norris’ old business plan and left their day jobs to found Simple Machine Brewing Company.

Wright moved to Arizona from Washington, D.C., with the hopes of shifting away from his corporate sales gig. Norris, an Arizona native, started as a home brewer in college before volunteering at a Tucson brewery to learn more about the process.

“It took us from December of 2014 to January of 2019 to actually sign a lease on a build

ing,” Norris says.

The business held a soft opening the week of Thanksgiving in 2019, which Norris says went off without a hitch and without drunk and disorderlies.

“It was kind of cool just to get our feet under

us and make sure the draft lines were working,” he says.

The brewery started by selling only local, guest beer on all 14 of its handles. By its January 2020 grand opening, it was procuring its own flavors on its handles and the sales

numbers were double the projected amount.

Norris says his favorite beer is Day Crusher. Th e light, blonde ale has a malty sweetness that fi nishes dry with a 4.8% ABV.

“It’s called Day Crusher because you can drink it during the day and not get hammered,” he says.

Wright says he favors the newest available beer, which at the time, was the Pillow Session Hazy IPA. Th e soft , smooth beer is composed of Cascade, Cashmere and Columbus hops with a 5.4% ABV.

Th e prices range from $11 to $20, depending on the beer and quantity. Th ere are fourto six-packs of 16-ounce bottles to 64-ounce cans available.

Since January, the business partners describe their experience as a rollercoaster. Th is is because COVID-19 hit shortly aft er their opening, and bars were forced to close or convert to takeout and delivery alternatives.

“We were definitely unsure about our future,” Wright says. “We had no idea how people would react or if anyone would come in the doors anymore.”

Th ey shut their tap room and switched to a diff erent business model from what they anticipated, Norris says. Th ey were bottling and canning everything they had made to get it out the door.

In a June 29 statement, Gov. Doug Ducey instituted a monthlong pause for businesses, including bars.

Wright says Simple Machine Brewing’s license doesn’t fall under Ducey’s restrictions, but as a company the owners decided to voluntarily close their taproom and revert back to delivery and to-go options. “It was tough because we could stay open, but we think it is the right thing to do right now,” Wright says. “Bars are hotspots for carrying this virus.” Pre-coronavirus, the business held activities that had the building buzzing, including free trivia nights every Wednesday and cornhole league tournaments every Th ursday.

Th e duo was happy to also introduce diff erent food trucks to complement their drinks. Trucks that have stopped by the brewery include Doughriders, Crazi’s Hot Kitchen, and Mr. Wonderful’s Chicken and Waffl es.

Th e success of the business so far is attributed to Norris’ knowledge of the brewing process and loyal customers, Wright says. A solid customer base was built at the beginning of the year, and the same faces week aft er week placing orders are the ones who are getting the brewery through being closed.

701 W. Deer Valley Road, Suite 1, Phoenix 623-469-9199, simplemachinebrewing.com