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BEER TENDERS

Bartenders who really know their beer Alison Bailin Batz » The Entertainer!

edar Byrum mans the bar at Mother Road Brewing Company. The “Mother Road” was the moniker given to Route 66 by “Grapes of Wrath” author John Steinbeck, as he shared the story of the fictional Joad family who traveled the road in hopes of trading desperation and heartache for hope and new beginnings. The Mother Road Brewery now resides along a lost portion of this storied highway in Flagstaff. It stands in homage to the lost highway (and the fictional Goad family) as well as a symbol of the brewery’s journey to find its own new beginning in the world of craft beer in Arizona. The Flagstaff favorite has craft beers available statewide. How did you get your start in craft beer? Tell us about the journey above in detail. I started with Mother Road back in 2012, about six months after its opening. I was 18, so I wasn’t able to serve beer yet. It was back in the day when we were doing pretty much everything by hand. We had to make the boxes, pre-pack all the kegs, label all the bottles, scrub drains. So, that’s where I came in handy. Once I turned 19, I was able to start working behind the bar more and continue to help the brewers out. Tell us about the approach to making beers at Mother Road? We approach each beer with creativity and a love for the provocative flavors and distinct hop aromas that you’ll find in the body of a beer. There are a lot of fun and inventive ways that you can combine unexpected ingredients, and we like to explore a lot of different infusions and fruit flavors. A love for the community is definitely central, we’re constantly keeping them in mind when making our beers. We have new taps every Friday, we like to do fun, special blends and we’re always rotating the taps. What do you think makes craft beer special? Craft beer is focused not just on getting your beers out there, but on making sure that the people who are drinking your beer are really enjoying it. It’s an opportunity to focus on the wonderful flavors WWW.ENTERTAINERMAG.COM

and aromas that you pick up from a beer. It really brings the community together by bringing people into the tap room and to a bunch of great events. Where can folks in Phoenix/The Valley pick up Mother Road—both stores and restaurants/resorts? We’re available at a bunch of places. You can find us at BevMo, Whole Foods, Total Wine, and other grocery stores and gas stations. We’re on tap far and wide— everyone is trying to get one of our kegs. If we’re not on tap at your local bar and you want us on, ask your bartender to reach out—we’d love to be in every place possible! Why is Mother Road the perfect place for craft beer? The tap room is a place to see the creation in process. It’s more than just where we do all the mechanical work and making of the beer. It’s where we make friendships and connections. It’s a place for the community to experience what the brewers go through every day and it’s an opportunity for us to spread our passion for craft beer. We like to create a personal experience for each person who comes in. We have this wonderful patio beside the taproom and a seating area inside that we try to make as homey and familiar as possible, so everyone who comes in can feel comfortable and relaxed. What are your favorite beers now? One of yours and another? And why? One of my favorites that we have on tap right now is our Experimental Session IPA. We’re on our third variation. We’ve done a few experimental batches to finetune the fine flavors and body of the rye and special roast malts. We’re really honing in on what we want from this beer. It’s been great to see it change and taste the difference in flavors along the way, and I’m excited to see where it evolves from here. It’s a wonderful light, crisp ale that sits well on your palate. I’m also really enjoying Council Brewing Co. On my most recent trip to California, I found some wonderful sours. I’m kind of a tarthead, so I really love ales that give me a pucker face. The Béatitude Raspberry Tart Saison is a delicious beer with wonderful

raspberry notes and other lovely fruit flavors. It’s going to have more of that tart tang on the tip of your tongue that’s definitely not for everyone, but I absolutely enjoy it.

Mother Road Brewery 7 S. Mikes Pike, Flagstaff 928-774-9139, motherroadbeer.com