I enjoy exploring different types of beer, but can never find great places to go and get that awesome beer? Any suggestions? Very appreciated.
Not sure how far East you are located but the places not to be missed at either end of Mesa are in West Mesa: Sun Devil Liquors http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2341/?view=beerfly which usually has the number one or number bottle selections in the state at any given time and has a very nice small bar in the basement and in Apache Junction: Handlebar Pub http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25167/view=beerfly http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-handlebar-pub-and-grill-apache-junction which usually has a really good taplist.
Out that way your choices are limited, Handlebars for sure, Red, White and Brew has an ok selection of mainstream craft beers. You also have a BJ's. For bottles as mentioned Sun Devil or perhaps Gilbert Convenient Mart
If you are looking for Pliny you'll either have to get to know somebody, trade beers or go to California as the Russian River Brewing Company http://russianriverbrewing.com/ which makes Pliny the Elder doesn't have their beers distributed in the state of Arizona. Many of the breweries which make the most highly rated IPAs don’t get Arizona distribution (yet). But you can always make friends with people in CA, VT, OR, WA etc …And although IPA isn’t really my thing I’ve had a lot of them and I can attest that we do get some nice double IPAs from other states and a few brewed in AZ all of which you should be able to find if you’re looking in the right places. I’m sure others can chime in on better ones that I’ve missed. (and I won’t get into dark/black/Cascadian IPAs…that’s’ another world…) But some that I could recommend if you need the hop fix are: Papago Hopago (several varieties..how many, Ron? Seasonal brewery only) Knee Deep Citra Knee Deep Simtra Firestone Walker Double Jack (now in 12 oz in AZ ; not just 22oz!) Bell’s Hopslam (limited, seasonal winter) Ballast Point Sculpin Squatter’s Hop Rising (very well balanced and really underrated I think) Four Peaks Double Knot (I think still brewery only, not yet bottled/canned..maybe Yemmonocha or somebody can enlighten us?) Dragoon IPA (not a double but this is a real good AZ-brewed IPA) Great Divide Titan Great Divide Hercules Lagunitas Maximus Lagunitas Hop Stupid Mission IPA Mission Shipwrecked Epic Hopulent Epic Imperial IPA Epic Spiral Jetty (maybe not a double but pretty damn hoppy as I recall) Sierra Nevada Hoptimum (seasonal…anybody?) Great Divide Wet Hop (technically not even an IPA but super hoppy; seasonal winter) Oskar Blues G’Knight (they say it is a red, tastes like a DIPA to me…maybe somebody knows more, but readily available and pretty damn good) Oskar Blues Gubna (a very nice very malty DIPA) Deschutes Hop Henge Cornoado Idiot IPA Port Mongo (maybe my favorite readily available (in AZ) DIPA) Odell Myrcenary Bear Republic Racer X (seasonal) Flying Fish Exit 16 (a strange take on a DIPA but very popular) Boulder Mojo Risin Odell St Lupulin (again a pale ale; maybe not a DIPA but a glass of hopjuice and delicious for sure) Ninkasi Tricerahops (maybe seasonal? I think 22oz bottles only Anybody?) I won’t go into details as I’m not a huge fan but Stone Brewing, available everywhere in AZ makes like 9 zillion D/IPAs or aggressively hopped big beers and most of the are very well received by hopheads…(some beers that Stone claims to be on other styles taste like IPAS o me or at least super hoppy X ales). Also Mikkeller, and his bro, brewing under the label Evil Twin, seem to make about 50 bajillion different beers a year in every imaginable style and sometimes that includes IPAs. Many of them are excellent. See: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307 http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300
