Arizona, Day 3 (7/24/11)

We drove from Prescott back to Phoenix (actually, to Scottsdale). When we'd driven the other way, it had been dark and we missed all the gorgeous desert scenery. This time, we got to admire the mountains and cacti and beautiful vistas. All that looking worked up a thirst, so after checking in we went to Papago Brewing, which is our favorite Arizona brewery so far.

Papago has a wide selection of beers on tap, as well as a cooler of bottled ones that you can purchase either to drink on premises or to take with you. Of course, our goal was to sample Papago's beers, so Marlowe got a flight of all six (actually, two flights of three since that's how Papago rolls):

• Oude Zuipers - Belgian Strong Ale
• Coconut Joe Coconut Coffee Milk Stout
• Elsie’s - Irish Coffee Milk Stout
• El Robusto - American Black Ale
• Orange Blossom - Vanilla Mandarin Wheat Ale
• Hopago - India Pale Ale

Meagan got a pint of Elsie’s, but tasted all of Marlowe's. We also had an appetizer and lunch, which was quite tasty. We were so impressed with the beer that we each had a second flight of three.

Meagan:

Oude Zuipers - Belgian Strong Ale

Elsie’s - Irish Coffee Milk Stout

Orange Blossom - Vanilla Mandarin Wheat Ale

Marlowe:

Oude Zuipers - Belgian Strong Ale

Coconut Joe Coconut Coffee Milk Stout

Orange Blossom - Vanilla Mandarin Wheat Ale

We also bought a growler of Elsie's and a six-pack of other beers for later in the trip.

Before returning to the hotel and visiting relatives / picking up people at the airport, we stopped at the grocery store for a few supplies and a six-pack of Four Peaks Kilt Lifter Scottish Style Ale.

After much visiting with relatives, we introduced Rainer to the Cave Creek Chili Beer, which he enjoyed, while Marlowe and Meagan also enjoyed Kilt Lifters. We'd been unimpressed by Four Peaks' overly kitschy web site, but their Scottish Style Ale is quite good.