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Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. opens European-style beer garden in downtown Phoenix

The Gilbert brewery known for its experimental beers is the newest spot to open along Roosevelt Row.
Credit: Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
Customers gather at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.'s downtown Phoenix location during its soft opening.

PHOENIX — For six years, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. has grown its following in the southeast Valley, becoming a place for beer geeks and families alike.

One of Arizona's most experimental breweries soft opened its downtown Phoenix beer garden this week ahead of a grand opening next month.

Arizona Wilderness is bringing its expansive and ever-changing taplist to Roosevelt Row, a neighborhood that brewery founder Jonathan Buford dubbed "the shining light in downtown."

The location at Second and Roosevelt streets is right in the thick of an area where luxury apartment buildings are popping up seemingly every month.

The beer hall is very open, with a walk-up bar and community tables intended to foster conversation. The outdoor area will feature its own bar out of a shipping container, along with fire pits and a standing bar along the sidewalk fit for people watching.

In total, Buford says it was more than a year from the signing of the lease to Monday's soft opening.

Buford contrasted the new space with the brewery's existing Gilbert pub, calling it not a sister location, but a cousin.

Arizona Wilderness hired three new brewers in recent months to increase their production and foster the second facility, which will also feature selections from its initial menu, including duck fat fries.

According to Buford, the brewery places an outsize emphasis on using local goods, down to contracting construction company FormThird, just around the corner, for the build. Its beers are built with Sinagua Malt, a Verde Valley malt house focused on sustainability.

While many beers will move in and out of Arizona Wilderness' rotation, La Ciudad IPA will remain on tap at the downtown Phoenix location.

The new location provides another opportunity for the brewery: An entry into the West Valley market. It's hard to convince anyone to drive an hour for a beer when they can grab a pint anywhere in between, but if they work near downtown, they may stop in.

"We saw First Fridays and we said 'What if we were able to get 1,000 people food in 10 minutes?'" Buford said.

The streamlined beer and food service will certainly be put to the test March 1, when its grand opening lines up with Roosevelt Row's First Friday.

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