Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Heeds the Call of the Wild

Arizona Wilderness opened in Gilbert, Arizona as a traditional brewpub with one main dining room, a small bar and modest patio. The 17 employees were settling in and business was good. Not even six months into their existence, a national beer publication announced that Arizona Wilderness had been voted the "Best New Brewery in the World" for 2014. Their fortunes changed overnight.

Local Phoenix news stations appeared wanting interviews. Craft aficionados from all over wanted to experience the wunderkind brewery. They doubled, then tripled the workforce to keep up with demand. Two-hour waits at the door were the norm, and full serving tanks of beer became a pipe dream; at one precarious point their stock dwindled down to their final two kegs. Only through hard work and the divinity of the yeast would enough beer be produced for the thirsty public.

Imbibing Arizona’s wilderness is a way of life for both Ware and Buford – hiking, camping and enjoying nature is what they live for. Photographing nature is one of Buford's biggest passions, and may have been his profession had the brewery not panned out. His striking photos are looped on the brewpub's TV screens, and most beers have names that reflect the Arizona landscape.

The beers on tap at Arizona Wilderness represent the local terroir, along with Belgian and American brewing traditions its founders have absorbed in their time as brewers.

DC Mountain Imperial IPA, a highly hopped Double IPA and their second-biggest seller, and Superstition Coffee Stout, an oatmeal-based American stout brewed with seven pounds of local cold-roasted coffee and Madagascar vanilla beans are both named after local Arizona mountain ranges. The juicy, 7.2% Refuge IPA remains their best-selling beer and is arguably the best IPA produced in the state.

For Arizona Wilderness, remaining homegrown is key, a mentality that extends to building relationships with local farmers and businesses, which includes trading spent grain to farmers who provide beef for the brewpub's extensive menu. The brewery’s incredible Blood Orange Gose is made from Arizona-grown blood oranges, Sonoran white wheat and locally sourced salt.

Because of the continued success of the brewpub, Arizona Wilderness recently opened an additional tasting room onsite. Within this room resides Ware's baby – a new, humidity-controlled barrel-aging room to satisfy the pair's fondness for Belgian-inspired brews.

In an unending quest for brewing knowledge, Ware and Buford have traveled extensively to learn from and collaborate with some of the world's best brewers. Their travels have produced collaborations with Almanac of San Francisco, Way Brewing of Brazil and Lervig in Norway, among others. But none match the "star factor" of collaborating with Logan Plant, the owner of North London's well-known Beavertown Brewery, who also happens to be the son of Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. After collaborating in England, Plant came to Phoenix, the group traveled north to Sedona and they picked local pine cones, which were later smoked and added to a collaborative Gratzer beer.

Arizona Wilderness is the living, breathing embodiment of its founders’ spirits. There is an "it" factor there; an infectious energy that draws people back to the brewery again and again. Nature, artisanal craft beer and a passion for both – that’s a recipe for success in Arizona.

Photos Courtesy Michela Ricci (featured, bottom) Dave Clark (all body photos but Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness -- Jonathan Buford)