Skip to main content

The Best Breweries to Hit Up in Phoenix During MLB Spring Training

The sharp cracks of bats are back — Major League Baseball games are well underway in Arizona and Florida.

Every year MLB teams descend upon these two states for spring training, a time for players to hone their skills for the upcoming season. A trip to the spring training sites can give fans sweet relief from a lingering winter and a sneak peek at what’s to come in the world of baseball.

Unlike Florida’s Citrus League, where the spring training is spread across the state, the Arizona’s Cactus League stadiums are all located in Phoenix suburbs. If you’re in town to watch, here are the best breweries to hit up for a cold post-game beer. With more than 40 breweries in the metro area, your bases are covered.

Arizona Wilderness

Arizona Wilderness gose

Located in Gilbert, one of the few suburbs without a spring training facility, Arizona Wilderness is still worth a visit since it’s close drive from the stadiums in Mesa, Tempe, and Scottsdale. In 2013, Arizona Wilderness was named the Best New Brewery in the World by RateBeer.com and has struggled to keep up with demand since. Limited in growth by their own desire to remain in control of their product and source as much ingredients from Arizona as possible, the brewery continues to push out superb beer. While the hoppy options are great, we suggest trying the farmhouse saisons like Salome Saison, made with local Lisbot Lemons, and the sour and salty goses, made with Sonora white wheat, Arizona sun-dried salt, and local citrus fruits, grapefruit, and blood oranges.

Huss Brewing Co.

Huss Brewing Co

Huss Brewing Co. owner Jeff Huss is a major Chicago Cubs fan. Located in Tempe near the Cubs’ spring headquarters, Sloan Park, Huss makes an West Coast-style pale ale called Magic in the Ivy, which honors the ivy-covered walls at the Cubs’ home stadium, Wrigley Field, with a bit of Southwest flair. Huss beers aren’t limited to Cubs fans, and can be found at six spring training stadiums — including a pop-up taproom at Scottsdale Stadium — and bars, restaurants, and retailers across the city.

Pedal Haus Brewery

Pedal Haus Brewery

Like Huss, Pedal Haus is located in Tempe, which also houses the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Pedal Haus might have the most appropriate beer for enjoying during the dog days of summer: Pedal Haus Light Lager. This light brew, which won a medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Fest, can easily be found during the sun-baked March days in Phoenix.

Wren House Brewing Co.

Wren House Brewing Co

Located in a long-abandoned 1920s bungalow, Phoenix’s Wren House Brewing Co. offers a wide array of beers. Brewmaster Preston Thoeny works out of the guesthouse and garage, while customers belly up in the house. Wren House’s lineup includes familiar styles such as lager, pils, and IPA, as well as more interesting fare like a sour ale made with peach, apricot, pineapple, orange, and vanilla.

Goldwater Brewing Co.

Goldwater Brewing Co

Scottsdale is the temporary home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and San Francisco Giants, and the permanent home Goldwater Brewing Co. Goldwater’s Machine Gun Teddy brown ale also won a medal at last year’s GABF, but try the Desert Rose, a light beer with a deep red color and cactus fruit.

Scottsdale Beer Company

Scottsdale Beer Company

While the Scottsdale Beer Co.’s tap list features seemingly every beer style, the brewery produces many excellent hop-forward brews, including the award-winning Cannonball Australian Pale Ale. Other standouts include the Downshift Session IPA, East Coast Grove Unfiltered IPA, Replacement IPA, Red Rocket Imperial Red IPA, Dank Triple IPA, and Double Dry Hopped Citra Monster Double IPA.

Saddle Mountain Brewing Co.

Saddle Mountain Brewing Co

Not as many breweries call the west side of metro Phoenix home, but five spring training facilities do. Near the airport and Goodyear Ballpark, which hosts the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co. pumps out delicious beers like the Taildragger’s Clan-Destine, a Scottish-style ale.

Editors' Recommendations

Pat Evans
Pat Evans is a writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on food and beer, spirits, business, and sports. His full…
Study signals bad news for seafood lovers hoping for fewer canceled crab seasons
Crab season's outlook continues to appear less than ideal. Here's the latest scientific reveal
Crab on display at the store.

Climate change is kind to nobody, or thing, but it has been extra hard on certain sea creatures as of late. With canceled crab seasons and struggling populations in various spots all over the globe, shellfish are now being dealt an unfavorable hand of cards by way of a dramatically warming planet. Turns out that heatwaves hit the oceans, too, and that doesn't bode well for some of our favorite seafood friends.

Recent research suggests these marine heatwaves, or extended stretches wherein the ocean water temperature is well above the average, will negatively impact life even at the base of the food chain. Researchers looked specifically at the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab, a species enjoyed by all kinds of animals, from waterfowl and fish to humans. Data was collected in three coastal locations — Brazil, Norway, and the U.S. — and the findings are not promising, especially for those who like cooking with shellfish.

Read more
Why Italian food absolutely deserves to be UNESCO-recognized
As Italian cuisine becomes even more iconic, it's achieving UNESCO status
Plate of pasta

 

Italian food is incredible stuff. From hearty pasta dishes to remarkable wine, the cuisine at large is among the best on earth. And now, it's (almost) a UNESCO-recognized genre of food.

Read more
Perfect for any man cave, this 130-can beverage cooler is $50 off
The Insignia beverage cooler holds 130 cans.

Mancave, office, patio, game room, theater room, or heck, even just a bedroom, these are all perfect places to stow a mini fridge. Why? Because of sheer laziness, maybe a little, but also because it's super convenient to have your beverages and snacks available right there, right when you want them. You don't have to make a trip to the kitchen or anywhere else. Whether for wine,  beer, or soda, the best wine coolers and fridges are strangely compact but sizable at the same time -- the latter meaning they can hold a few cans or bottles. They're also available at a great price, like the Insignia 130-can beverage cooler available for a discount at Best Buy, right now. Normally $370, you can get it for $320 thanks to the current deal and save $50 in the process. The 115-can variant is also on sale, for $250 saving you $50, as well. Hurry and check those deals out, they won't last forever.

Why You Should Buy the Insignia 130-Can Beverage Cooler
Okay, so, maybe Insignia's 130-can cooler didn't make it on our list of the best beverage coolers for 2023, but that's okay because it's not just comparable, it has a lot of additional features that make it worthy of your attention. For example, the touch controls and LED display make it easy to adjust temperature settings and keep an eye on your cold storage. Plus, there are three fully-adjustable wood-trimmed shelves for the interior, which you can use to organize your snacks, beverages, and whatever else you might store inside.

Read more