Finally, the first brewery visit to hit the blog!
Yesterday I went to Fate Brewing Company for what was supposedly “drink a beer day” according to an outside source. I really love Fate so I didn’t need the excuse to go…but I used it anyway. Fate has been open a little less than a year and it’s a small operation so far. They produce their beer in 7 barrel batches (around 250 gallons) or less. They also specialize in brick oven pizzas that are all fantastic.
Yesterday when I was there I had a glass of Fate O’Donnell’s Dry Hopped Pale Ale which had been specially dry hopped with hops from a local home brewer. This beer in particular was one of their smaller 15 gallon batches and I tasted it side-by-side with a sample of their normal pale ale. Fate’s Pale is one that I really like a lot and I was interested to see how it had changed. Both beers were good but I honestly liked the standard pale a bit better, and they seemed so similar it was hard to decide. Fate’s Pale ale is just so drinkable and has a great hop profile.
While I was there I also spoke with the owner and mastermind behind the beers, Steve McFate. Steve is a great guy and always takes a little time to say hi to customers even if he looks busy. Steve spoke with me for a little while about one of their next beers, a Flanders Brown ale brewed with cherries. They’re brewing this as a kettle sour and I can’t wait to try it, it’s their first sour beer at Fate. Really, since you can’t see my emotion, this is pretty exciting! Steve also took some time out to get me a sample of their smoked porter and their Belgian-style dubbel. Their Smoked porter is a really great beer, and one of their first, which they had on opening day. Steve told me that people typically have a love or hate reaction to this beer and I love it. The dubbel is even better! I honestly didn’t expect a belgian-style beer this good from a new brewery, but this is fantastic.
Overall this experience isn’t all that different than other times I’ve been here. Sure talking with Steve and the samples aren’t a regular occurrence, but I always have a fantastic time! If you live here or visit Arizona, come try out Fate beers and the food too!