Sun Up Brewing Company (Phoenix, AZ)

Sun Up Brewing Company (Phoenix, AZ):

Earlier this year I had a chance to visit an old friend of mine in Phoenix, AZ. I really didn't know anything about the beer scene in Arizona, but there were at least of couple of brewpubs in the Phoenix area , and Sun Up Brewing Company looked good to me.

Since I was the only one drinking that night, I had to make it worth my while and ordered their house sampler. I have already posted mini-reviews of the beers already, but they are worth mentioning again. The Stinger Pale Ale, their Amber, and their Light Rail Cream Ale were all a little light on taste but definitely smooth and easy to drink. I think this is something city brewpubs try to focus on: providing drinkable alternatives to beers like Coors Light and Budweiser. Sun Up succeeds here.

Unfortunately, I have a bone to pick with their Horizon Hefeweizen, and Trooper IPA. When I order a wheat beer, I want it to taste wheaty, have a cloudy look to it. Perhaps it is unfair to compare it to this beer, but when you put a Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier up to your nose, you can tell right away it's a wheat beer. Not the case with Sun Up's Horizon. Same thing goes for their Trooper IPA. It's an IPA, give me some hops! With ultra-uber-hoppy beers like Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe or Victory's Hop Wallop, you can still make a beer pretty hoppy and not have it be over-board, but don't give me a timid IPA.

Anyone who knows me won't be surprised that their Vanilla Porter won me over. I liked it because it tasted like vanilla and like a porter. Go figure.

Overall, I really liked this brewpub. The service was friendly, and the food was good, too. I had their Sante Fe Chicken sandwich with guacamole, green chiles, and pepper jack cheese. Quite tasty. They also had really tasty french fries, which is always a plus in my book. I will say this, too, I probably should have sampled their seasonal beers. With other brewpubs, "house beers" are meant to be pretty tame and un-adventurous. If their seasonal beers are closer to the quality and taste of their vanilla porter, I will go back for more.

Sun Up Brewing Vanilla Porter (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Vanilla Porter 5.0% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "I saved this beer for last in my tasting. You can immediately smell the vanilla in this beer, which is nice. I like being able to identify the style of beer almost immediately, just by smelling it. Nothing too overbearing here and is nice and smooth. At 5.0%, it could use more oomph, but I will order a full pint of this."

Sun Up Brewing Trooper IPA (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Trooper IPA 6.2% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "When I get an IPA, I like to know it's an IPA even before it hits my mouth. This IPA does not have much in the way of the aroma or taste of hops. Underwhelming. The good thing is that at 6.2% abv, I couldn't really taste the boost in alcohol either, so it was smooth, but to be honest, I would rather have a nice bite to my IPA, smoothness be damned."

Sun Up Brewing Light Rail Cream (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Light Rail Cream 4.6% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "Pretty plain, but nice and smooth. Very light coloring, which always makes me suspicious, but this is definitely meant to be a drink-it-all-night-long kind of beer."

Sun Up Brewing Amber (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Amber 4.8% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "Great whiskey color Kind of lacking in either a bold malt or hop taste. When I think of an amber, I think of something like Hop Back, which is kind of unfair. Sun Up's Amber is smooth and easy to drink."

Sun Up Brewing Stinger Pale Ale (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Stinger Pale Ale 4.5% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "I can taste the malt with this one, and the hops. Nice golden color, too. This has more taste to it than some of the other ones. More body than their other beers, too."

Sun Up Brewing Horizon Hefeweizen (Citizen Review)

What: Sun Up Brewing Horizon Hefeweizen 5.4% abv
Where: Sun Up Brewing (Phoenix, AZ)
When: February 26, 2010
What-have-you: "Smooth, and easy going. Does not have a very cloudy, wheaty look to it when you hold it up to the light, and there is a lack of wheat flavor and smell. A lot of wheat beers you can tell right away from the smell. Not so here. Maybe that's good, maybe not. Overall, it's not my favorite, but very accessible."