Brewery Tour Through Arizona’s Ninth District
This weekend, I met up with mayors and city councilmembers from Arizona’s ninth district to get a closer look at one of our state’s fastest growing industries: local craft brewing. We toured four breweries to talk to the teams behind the beer and learn more about how they turned their passion for brewing into community-building hot spots.
First Stop: SanTan Brewing Company in Chandler
First, I met up with Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke at SanTan Brewing Company in downtown Chandler. Anthony Canecchia founded SanTan in 2007, and they have since become leaders of the “craft can revolution,” as one of the first large craft breweries to use cans.
Mayor Hartke and I sampled SanTan’s newest brew, the Juicy Jack “Juicy Hazy IPA.” It was first home-brewed by an employee who then brought the beer in for Anthony to taste — it was so good, he decided to put it into full production.
Anthony is still actively involved in the chemistry of every single beer SanTan brews. Their lab is one of the most expansive in the state, and SanTan brewers regularly consult for other local, up and coming breweries.
Since its opening, SanTan has always distributed their beer for retail sale in cans instead of bottles. It’s been a way of doing business more economically and more environmentally for the company — they also explained that cans help maintain the flavor of the beer more effectively by blocking light.
Mayor Hartke and the Chandler City Council work hard to create an environment where businesses like SanTan can flourish. During our tour, we talked about Mayor Hartke’s plans to promote and celebrate Chandler’s local businesses, including an upcoming Chandler pizza-and-beer tour.
Second Stop: Huss Brewing Co. in Tempe
Next, I headed to Tempe to meet up with Mayor Mark Mitchell and Jeff and Leah Huss at Huss Brewing Co. Locals may know Leah from her time as co-owner and operator of Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, which she ran for 14 years before starting Huss with Jeff.
Jeff and Leah opened Huss in 2013, and today the brewery employs about 45 people. Huss recently completed its acquisition of Papago Brewing, and they are still brewing Papago’s most popular beers — especially the Orange Blossom Wheat Beer. Huss has quickly become a staple in the community. They’ve collaborated with Arizona athletes on special brews — including former Cardinals offensive lineman Jared Veldheer — and they invite locals to bring in their extra citrus produce (which they use in brewing) in exchange for free beer.
While we toured behind-the-scenes, Jeff and I talked shop about a bill in Congress that has a big impact on local breweries. H.R. 1175, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019, is a bipartisan bill that restructures a federal excise tax to help strengthen small brewers and support jobs in the industry.
Currently, small brewers that produce fewer than 2 million barrels per year are eligible to pay $3.50 per barrel, reduced from $7, on their first 60,000. Once production exceeds 60,000 barrels, the tax rate goes to $16 per barrel — reduced from $18 — which is the same rate paid by the largest brewers in the country. Those rates, which benefit small and new brewers like Huss, will expire at the end of this year if Congress doesn’t act. The bill would make these rates permanent, giving brewers like Jeff and Leah long-term financial stability and confidence running their business. For all these reasons, I’m proud to cosponsor the bill.
Third Stop: Oro Brewing Company in Mesa
After a productive (and delicious) stop in Tempe, I went to Mesa to meet up with City Councilwoman Jen Duff at Oro Brewing Company. Founders Chuck Wennerlund and David Valencia opened up shop in October 2016 with head brewer Jesse Kortepeter.
Oro is a nano-brewery, meaning that they brew on site but don’t distribute their beer. The only place you can get it is right there in the restaurant— but they do have a small-scale canning machine if you want to take some with you.
In 2016, Mesa’s mayor and city council were eager to attract new businesses and restaurants to its burgeoning downtown — and Oro Brewing was one of the first restaurants to lease space. Since then, they’ve been an anchor in downtown Mesa’s revitalization and a popular spot for concert goers at the nearby Mesa Center for the Arts.
David told Councilwoman Duff and me that one of the biggest helps to their business has been the light rail. The recent light rail extension to Gilbert Road has practically doubled their business, bringing in even more people from the East Valley.
Fourth Stop: Helton Brewing Company in Phoenix
Last on our tour was Helton Brewing Company in Phoenix, where I met up with Mayor Kate Gallego to try some of their famous Scottish Ale. We toured the brewery with owner Brian Helton, who opened up shop in May 2016 with just their flagship Scottish Ale.
Though it’s young in the brew-world, Helton is already making a name for itself with its facility. They renovated a warehouse into a state-of-the-art brewery with a water treatment and reuse process set up to support its fast-growing operation. Brian often gives tours to other brewers and even to city officials who want to help model the process in other facilities.
Brian’s experiences starting Helton are similar to other startups or bootstrapped entrepreneurs. The brewery is growing so rapidly, they have had to temper expectations for their fans. But they did just buy a brand new canning machine to help with distribution.
At each brewery, it was clear that the founders and brewers pour their passion into every beer they make. It’s truly an art form, and we’re lucky to have so many craft brewers investing in the greater Phoenix area. We saw up close just how much of an economic impact a craft brewery can have on a community — and at the local level and the federal level, we’re going to do what we can to support the growing industry.
