This was my last stop in the Phoenix metro area and it was a great one.  I had actually never been to downtown Chandler where the brewpub is located and thought it was quite charming. With a big patio right on the main street in town, this brewpub is a great place to sit outside and have a meal and beer. A lot of people must have had this idea because it was quite busy for a weekday lunch spot.

As usual, I did a sampler so I could give most of their beers on draft a try.

I started with the Sunspot Gold, a blonde ale.  This beer was ok but didn’t have much of a nose, there was a just a hint of this on the nose and at the finish.  I am not a huge fan of this style and it would make a good beer on a hot day.  I actually have one in the fridge I got at the Total Wine in Tucson so maybe I will save it to give it a try after yardwork on a hot day.

The Hefeweizen here was not my favorite. The banana in this beer was really overpowering and not balanced. Oddly though, the banana doesn’t come through much in the nose. There was also a slight metallic after taste to this beer.

The Epicenter Amber also didn’t have much nose and was quite weak for an amber. There really wasn’t a taste of toasted malt that you would expect.

The Devil’s Ale is worth the trip to this brewery. This is a good solid pale ale with great hop on the nose. The taste is very balanced. I had forgotten how good this beer was until I drank the can I got in Tucson last night. Now I really wish I had another one.

The HopShock IPA was a good solid IPA in flavor but the hop didn’t really come through much on the nose.  It was another good beer and worth a trip to the brewery.

Gordo Stout is characterized as an Irish stout. I had good flavors of roasted malt and a very nice silky mouth feel. I would definitely go for this over a Guinness any day.

The Sex Panther double chocolate porter was, however, a bit of a let down. There was not much nose and it was very weak on the chocolate flavor.

Negro Nitro was a black IPA served on nitro. Please don’t serve IPAs on cask or on nitro– it destroys the hop flavors leaving the beer bland. In addition, you want that nice bubbly effervescence in an IPA, not that silky mouth feel. This was probably a very good beer as it had a nice hop nose. However, the flavors of those hops were lost on nitro. I wish this beer were served as it should have been because I feel I missed a great beer.

All in all, SanTan has it all– a couple of great beers, a great location, and great food. This is a must if you find yourself in the Phoenix metro area.