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| - I love beer. No I'm not talking about the mass marketed, mass distributed stuff that supposedly tastes great and is less filling. I'm talking about the flavorful heady craft brews that are interesting and actually flavorful. I enjoy beer much like I do food; it's a celebration of diversity, history and sensual stimulation, simply put, it appeals to all of your senses. One of the many cool things about beer is that it's like a meal in itself. With so many varieties to chose from there's bound to be one for every individual appetite out there. Now where to get a great pint for a reasonable price?
If you're not familiar, Four Peaks Brewery has been serving up tasty pints in the valley for years. Having 2 locations and a loyal following of people who appreciate beer, tasty pub grub at super low prices, both locations are pretty hopping on most nights. If you've ever heard of Kilt Lifter and 8th Street Ale which are served in most valley restaurants, those are Four Peaks creations. The Tempe location actually has the whole brewery thing going on in a large warehouse type space, which was a creamery back in the day that now has the massive stainless steel vats for making some of their most beloved brews. The Scottsdale location has a similar warehouse feel including a more private mezzanine level. The bartenders and wait staff are very attractive and friendly, which you know gets kudos from me and if one of them is sporting a beard, even better! Though with the case of our server, it was definitely style over substance, maybe a bad hair day?
Besides being with friends there isn't anything that goes better with good beer than good food. The menu seems to have been written with the beer in mind as well as used as an ingredient. The menu isn't super large but is easy to navigate with many salads, sandwiches and pizza's to choose from. Aside from everything being well priced, the portions are quite hefty, you won't leave hungry. If you visit their website, be sure to sign up for the daily menu specials email. You'll receive 2 emails a day that features lunch and dinner specials for that day or night. The specials menu really gives the Four Peaks chefs a chance to be even more fun and creative. They can also be followed on Twitter as well as Facebook, isn't social networking great?!
Great meals here begin with a great beer. You'll notice a chalk board up on the wall displaying which beer is available including its alcohol content. You can use this as a point of reference as to how loaded you might end up. So be careful with the darker beers, not only will they fill you up like a meal in a glass but tend to get you snookered before the meal arrives. The Portero Chingon ($3) was an amazing Porter full of dark complexities with hints of chocolate and coffee. Those notes for me paired very well with the BBQ Chicken Pizza ($14.50/$17.50) which had a nice sweet and smoky sauce loaded with tender chicken breast. Pizzas come in 2 sizes, 12" and 14" but the 12" is of good heft and made a great appetizer for the table.
To stand up to some of the stronger flavors of beer, the Bleu Light Special Burger ($9) with its thick juicy patty, hickory smoked bacon and smothered with blue cheese crumbles, was well grounded and a solid choice. Just to let you in on something, Four Peaks makes amazing beer bread it's similar to a really soft pita and makes for a great substitute to an ordinary bun. All sandwiches are served with your choice of beer battered fries, pasta salad or a garden salad; I went for the fries and couldn't have been happier with my choice. The fries are so light and crunchy you might finish yours and eat off a friend's plate and no I didn't do that. Yes I did.
Now some sandwiches are served natively on beer bread like the Grilled Chicken Beer Bread ($9). They start with grilled chicken breast then add sautéed artichoke hearts, mushrooms, green peppers, red onion, mozzarella and then top with a creamy cucumber sauce for a Greek/Mediterranean flare. Try ordering a Hefeweizen ($4) to accompany since the bright lemon notes tasted so great with the chicken and vegetables on the sandwich. Or, have a beer sampler with your meal ($9) so you can taste several different beers and see which one works best for your tastes. The melted Swiss cheese and the tangy sauerkraut on the Reuben ($8.50) tasted good with the Kilt Lifter ($4) but I'm excited to try the Oatmeal Stout ($4) next time.
Beer bread, beer battered fries and drinking beer, sounds like a beer fest right? It get's even more interesting for desserts, you wont find a Tiramisu like this one. Called the Stoutamisu ($5) they take espresso soaked chocolate sponge cake, then layer it with Oatmeal Stout lady fingers and chocolate mascarpone cream. Its feather light and a mile high though not as sickening sweet as many I've tried. Goes down like many of the Four Peaks brews, nice and smooth.
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