Our hand crushed malted barley
In our opening announcement several weeks ago, we mentioned that our North Peoria Brewery location would be a “new 3,000 square foot brewery and gastropub” featuring “the flagship beers of Peoria Artisan,” with a restaurant which “will feature classic, upscale cuisine emphasizing fresh and local ingredients whenever possible.” Since then we’ve been asked somewhat frequently, “What exactly is a gastropub?”
Put quite simply, a gastropub is a bar that serves high-quality cuisine. In our case, a brewery that serves high-quality cuisine. Specifically, we aim to incorporate our beers into fresh, locally sourced and sustainable foods in order to provide our customers with an amazing beer experience complemented by damn good food. Essentially, we invest a significant amount of time and effort into brewing our beers: sourcing malt, hops and yeast, preparing and maintaining our yeast, developing recipes, personally crushing our malt, cleaning and sanitizing equipment, controlling mash temperatures, controlling fermentation, packaging our beer, cleaning beer lines and the list goes on. Why in the world would we not put the same level of dedication and attention to detail into the foods we will serve?
To think that accomplishing the above will be easy would constitute blissful ignorance on our part. We recognize the many challenges inherent in this endeavor and appreciate that we must learn, grow and develop. However, having accomplished so much thus far with our beers; not taking on this challenge would be a disservice to our customers. We could keep it simple. We could take an approach of purchasing pre-made or frozen food from local vendors. We could, but we won’t.
Our environment will have a significant impact on availability of locally sourced and sustainable foods. Honestly, many of us caught in the hustle and bustle of life in the Valley of the Sun do not commonly associate the day-to-day with farming and agriculture; however, it is alive and well right under our noses and goes well beyond the many citrus trees found throughout our neighborhoods. Local Farmers’ Markets continue to grow in size and popularity while we all recognize the great food scene we have in The Valley. It’s time to bring this culture to the NW Valley!
Relationships with our local farmers will be an instrumental component of our gastropub. Date Creek Ranch, Maya’s Farm, McReynolds Farms and Duncan Family Farms are just some of the wonderful purveyors of agricultural goods that will allow us to provide you with unique culinary creations emphasizing what is fresh and local. Organizations such as Arizona Farmer+Chef Connection are also key resources for Keeping it Local in AZ.
Another key component of our new brewery will be our Chef. Our Steward of Delicious Eats is not yet known – we are searching. Diligently, we are looking for someone that shares our passion for beer, food and for the camaraderie that is an essential component of our AZ Craft Beer Culture. This person must be as dedicated to citrus, kale, pork and eggs as we are to malted barley, hops, yeast and water. Together, we will combine our heartfelt passions into creating a community gathering place that emphasizes the best of what our families and Arizona have to offer.
Comments or inquiries, please feel free to contact Matt at matt@box5675.temp.domains.