THE ENTERTAINER! MAGAZINE AUGUST 2018
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BEER TENDERS Bartenders who really know their beer PHOTO BY KIMBERLY CARRILLO
Alison Bailin Batz » The Entertainer!
M
ichael Kogan, craft beer industry veteran and bartender/ manager at Boondocks Patio and Grill, is a local boy done good. Learn his story here.
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN CRAFT BEER? I am actually an Arizona native. I grew up in the Valley and while attending Horizon High School at age 15, I started working at a then-Sam Fox restaurant called Chloe’s Corner. The corporate chef and I got along straight away, so when she made the decision to buy the business from Fox, I stayed on with her. Then, once I started at ASU in 2009, I went to work for Pranksters, which was owned by a family friend. By age 19, I was co-running the Tempe location and helping in Scottsdale – getting fascinated by the quickly
growing craft beer movement but not yet able to taste it. By 21, having worked in hospitality for six years around it by then, I jumped in, first with Papago Orange Blossom, then with Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter – and I knew I found my calling. I moved over to Spanish Fly in 2011 and stayed on when it converted to Boondocks in 2013, really focusing on how to champion local and regional craft beers.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES CRAFT BEER SPECIAL? Craft beer tells a story – of the brewery, of its people, of its local landscape. I love nothing more than traveling to breweries all over to taste the local ingredients in their beers and hear – often directly from the brewers themselves – the stories of how they got into this field and what goes into their selections.
TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE BREWERIES DOING IT RIGHT.
TELL US ABOUT THE BEER PROGRAM AT BOONDOCKS.
I am a huge advocate of Sleepy Dog, Four Peaks, Papago and Huss.
Every beer on draft is local. We have 10 local beers on tap always. At any given time, expect Scottsdale Blonde, Papago Orange Blossom and a selection from our friends at San Tan, Four Peaks, Sleepy Dog and others. Every beer we serve in a can is crushed and recycled. We actually donate the money we get for recycling the cans the charity.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEER CULTURE IN ARIZONA? It’s so collaborative. Being on the bar side, I can speak to this directly. A great example – Sleepy Dog. They worked with us to develop a Boondocks Double Dog Dare You IPA. We are a dog-friendly venue, so was perfect for us. Not only that, once we had the beer in, they worked with us on charitable and other events to bring people in and taste for a good cause. There is a true sense of partnership we feel, like this, with so many of our local breweries.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BEERS? I love most sours. And, in addition to all of the ones I noted above, I am a fan of Newcastle, Killian Irish Red and most of the beers that Pizza Port in San Diego is coming out with lately.
Boondocks Patio and Grill
4341 N. 75th Street, Scottsdale, 480.949.8454, boondocksaz.com.
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