This new Arizona brewery is an ode to hops. What to expect at Hundred Mile Brewing
Owner Sue Rigler and brewer Valerie Adee will cut the ribbon and open Hundred Mile Brewing Co. at 4 p.m. on Dec. 6 in Tempe. The microbrewery is opening in a former print shop that was built in 1970 near Tempe Town Lake and Arizona State University.
Rigler's dreamed of opening her own brewery for nearly a decade, though she's been a beer fan for even longer. She remembers wearing a Budweiser T-shirt when she was 10. "What kind of parent lets her child wear a beer shirt?" Rigler said with a laugh, adding that she went on to collect beer cans and work as an ASU campus Coors Light rep when she was in college.
"To me, beer is community," said Rigler, who grew up in Iowa with pig roasts and block parties. "It's laughter. It makes people gather around and cheer and be a neighborhood, a family, a city."
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From biologist to brewer
Rigler, who received her microbiology degree from ASU, remembers her two worlds colliding in 2014 when a brewer showed her the science behind making beer. That's when she knew she wanted to open a brewery. And she wanted to do it in Arizona once her youngest child graduated from high school.
That's exactly what she did, teaming up with Adee, an award-winning brewer who worked for Firestone Walker Brewing Company and as the head brewer with Trademark Brewing in Long Beach.
The women met at a Pink Boots Society event. PBS is an organization that supports women and nonbinary individuals in the brewing industry through education.
According to the Brewers Association, women make up only 7.5 percent of brewers and 2 percent of owners. Rigler is moving the needle on those statistics with the opening of her 10,000 square-foot, 10-barrel brewhouse that will be home to two bars, an event space and a dog-friendly patio.
"This is our vision of a gathering place where our guests will first show up to check us out, and then come back frequently because of the way our brand makes them feel," she said.
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What's on the menu
Both women are hoppy beer fans. But they urge guests not to automatically assume hoppy means bitter. Hops is one of the ingredients every beer requires. And Rigler is excited about the variety it can impart in terms of flavor, something reflected in brews like light west coast IPA and soft, tropical, juicy hazy IPA.
"We hope to have all 24 available at all times," Rigler said of her goals for the taps, "along with guest beers."
All guest beers will come within 100 miles of the brewery, thus the name, which refers to the fact that all its beers are made within 100 miles of the taproom, Rigler explained.
In addition to craft beers, the bar will serve cocktails like a hibiscus margarita with a floating edible flower.
Chef Nick Bymaster described the food menu as elevated brewery classics with entrees like a coffee-rubbed short rib and roasted chicken with a beer mustard beurre blanc. Other food options include burgers, tacos, tuna tartare, a hot chicken sandwich and other bites that pair well with beers on tap. He and co-chef Tylor Anderson also plan to add occasional specials.
For the first couple weeks, guests will only be able to order food, cocktails and guest taps. Adee will release the Hundred Mile brews including Coyote West Coast IPA, Pinetop Pils, Desert Neon Hazy IPA, Crowd Surfer Mexican Lager with Lime and Salt and The Natural Blonde Ale on Dec. 19.
Details: 690 N. Scottsdale Road, Tempe. hundredmilebrewing.com.
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Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hundred Mile Brewing Company opens near ASU in Tempe. What to expect
