Hey guys, last year you helped me out a bunch when I was in Tuscon. In mid-spring I'm going to be making my way south on a bike and passing through Flagstaff, Prescott, and ultimately Phoenix. Are there any food places that I must stop at and support? I'm also interested in anyone's experience with any of the local breweries.

Bonus request: Any ranges not too far from those cities that have reasonable rental prices? I'm hoping to throw some lead downrange while I'm far removed from being behind enemy lines over here. Thanks! 

Flagstaff
*-Historic Brewing(fav)<-- I will be brewing there for a special event in April(no I'm not a brewer)
*-Mother Road(fav)
-Wanderlust(great beer)
-Dark Sky(saisons, farmhouse, belgians, some sours)
-Beaver Street(typical brew pub with solid typical beers)
-Lumberyard(typical brew pub with solid typical beers)

If you find yourself in the Verde Valley or Cottonwood aread
*-Verde Valley Brewing(great beer)
-That Brewery(solid line up of good beer)

On to Prescott area...  Others might be able to chime in on some of them as I have only been to a few there.

Prescott
-Prescott Brewing(solid but typical brew pub)
-Granite Mountain Brewing(have not been)

Chino Valley
-Insurgent Brewing(buddy said it was good, brand new)

Prescott Valley
-Lonesome Valley Brewing(have not been)


Phoenix... ok where to begin...
East Valley(Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale)
**-Arizona Wilderness Brewing...Must visit, top brewery, great food, unique locally sourced beers
-San Tan Brewing(Solid line up but widely distributed)
-Huss Brewing(great beer)
*-The Perch Brewery(great unique beers)
*-Beer Research Institute(great beer)
*-12West(great beer)
-Four Peaks(good beer, the one that started it all here, just sold to inbev two years ago but their beer has not changed)
-Sleepy Dog(solid beer)
-OHSO(great beer)
-Papago Brewing(great beer and my old watering hole)
-McFate(great beer, meh food)
*-Goldwater Brewing(awesome beer)
-Scottsdale Beer Co(great beer)

Central(Phoenix)
*-North Mountain(great beer)
-SunUp(good beer)
-Helton(have not been)
-Helio Basin(have not been but a "best new brewery in US" 2016)
*-Wren House(awesome beer)
*-Mother Bunch(great beer and food)
-Phoenix Ale Brewery

West Side(Glendale, Peioria, Avondale, Goodyear)
*-8-Bit Aleworks(Great beer)
-Saddle Mountain Brewing(have not been)
-State 48 Brewery(have not been)
-Dubina(have not been)
-Freak'N Brewing(have not been)
-Oggi's(based out of San Diego, good beer, San Diego Style)

There are a few I have missed, hopefully someone can chime in on those as well as ones I have not been to.

I am asterisking my favorites.

Cheers!

All the Flagstaff breweries are pretty good and are bike friendly. My friends own Dark Sky Brewing and they are die hard mountain bikers.

I just knew after reading the OP that it would be freeride21a to save the day when booze is concerned and nope, wasn't disappointed

OP, for rental ranges I am not familiar with Flag or Phoenix but in Prescott proper we've got a rental indoor range off of Iron Springs Road, the Prescott Gun Club and off the 69 in Prescott Valley Frontsite has a rental indoor range as well.

If you're interested, I'll make you a proposition because I have yet to be let down with the out of state travelers of arfcom when they visit. Just pay for the ammo and you can shoot my guns and hole my targets and ping my steel. Heck if the timing is right I can muster a few arfcomers if their schedule is open and we can make it a meet and greet shoot. We've got the NFA and all sorts of fun stuff that would make a NY politician piss their pants

@GSL Beer is serious business!

Holy crap thanks freeride21a. I'll give all of them a look and see what I can fit in. GSL, PM sent.

What PM?

You must still be writing it, I take it

Not sure if you have a place to stay in Flag or not, but Historic has a residence above their brewery that they rent out. It's usually booked, however you may get lucky.

Historic's Pad

Not to poo poo thread...

I have seen OHSO when I go to Fry's. Is it worth checking out?

Yes.  I have always had good food and great beer there.  They also started making their own spirits recently, gin, rum, and vodka.  They have a few in the valley.

Holy Cow Freeride21a!!!!
The resident expert! I will have to check some out next time I am in the area.
I am down in Tucson, and it seems like there are small brew-pubs spring up everywhere. I might even be working on doing the drawings for one if our fee is accepted.

Superstition Meadery in downtown Prescott is great too.

Totally forgot about SM, thanks!!

Superstition meadery is actually epic on a nationally known level.

When in Prescott, also check out Thumb Butte Distillery!
They do small batch distillation of Whiskey, Gin, Vodka, and Rum! 
They also have a tasting room.

http://thumbbuttedistillery.com/

I've "narrowed" it down to the following, highly dependent on my daily distance goals, exhaustion, etc.

Zion Canyon Brewing - if I make it to camp with enough light to spare.

Historic Brewing
Potentially another one or two in Flagstaff if I'm not sleeping in the woods. Trying to get a warmshowers host.

Verde Valley Brewing.

That Brewery

Lonesome Valley Brewing

Granite Mountain Brewing
Superstition Meadery
Thumb Butte Distillery

Phoenix is a whole other can of worms, as I'll be on foot, and don't wanna spend the day on a bus. So I'm figuring I'll snag whatever is closest to the airport.

I ended up booking a night near the south rim of the Grand Canyon and I booked a spot at Dead Horse Ranch. With the gallons of water I'll be consuming I look forward to offsetting it with all of these beer options. Thanks again.

Need an After Action Report(AAR) on any place you end up visiting!

Freeride, did you attend the Strong Beer Festival? I saw a bit on the news. Apparently, it sold out immediately. 

Why yes, yes I did!  Got our VIP tickets the first day they went on sale.  They had like 50 regular tickets left leading into today... But the VIP ones were gone long ago.

Kiss was for my wife lol

You must try Wilderness in Gilbert.
If you make it down to Tucson there are a few good choices, and some not so great.

Iron John's
Dragoon
Pueblo Vida
1912
Barrio
Thunder Canyon
The Address

1055
Catalina
Sentinal Peak
Crooked Tooth
Greenfeet
Nimbus
Borderlands

This is a sight I cannot unsee.

Great list Freeride! I'm an avid beer drinker and I've not heard of 2/3 of those micro breweries!

List saved to phone. Thanks!

Hey again AZ crew. Have any of you done any camping in or around Drake, Paulden (east of 89), or Chino Valley at the farthest? I'm making my way from Williams to Prescott Valley, but I'm hoping not to push more than 50 miles. Anywhere off the road in the National Forest would be great, if not I'll play it by ear. Thanks!

What kind of camping are you looking for? One with amenities or spartan and off the grid kind?

Saddle Mountain in Avondale is pretty cool with its WWII aviation theme going on. Good beer too!

Just to sleep, some chaparral or rocks works. I'm going to camp/hike Williams the night-day before so this is purely a do nothing day.

10 miles down E Perkinsvile Road in Chino Valley, pick a spot when you go past the Prescott National Forest sign.

Damn, this is the post I've waited all my life for.

Monica.

I went to The Perch this weekend.  Very good food and beer.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Freeride21a, I need to bump this thread due to your good recommendations.  I have been checking out some of these.  Arizona Wilderness Brewing is good food and very good beer.

Awesome!!  I live between there and The Perch.  I think AZW is awesome, It really put Arizona on the beer map.  I get there about 1-2x a month lol.

Brewery Visit Update..

Flagstaff
Dark Sky Brewing... freaking great beer!!

Phoenix, West Valley
Dubina.. great beer!!

I have a mountaineers cough so I've limited my intake. I stopped by Epic in SLC (great), Zion in Zion(meh), had Oak Creek in Marble Canyon(Pretty good). Im hoping to have a good evening of drinking when I hit Prescott in a few days. Im currently hanging out in Cameron awaiting a 55mi climb tomorrow to Grabd Canyon Village.

Ok.. that pic of the CH53's is pretty sweet!

And I see you found snow!  lol

I just came down out of the hills, and damn, i think there were more people living up there than camping. Between the weekend car camping drunks and random crackheads I am glad to be back among normal civilization.

Let me know/pm me if anyone wants to grab a drink tomorrow(Wednesday) night, I'm thinking of the Jersey Lilly Saloon for a drink, and/or the Meadery. 
I'll post pics of my trip when I'm back at my pc.

OP is a good person, I've met him already. He's good to go to have drinks and talk arf talk with.

Although he is a heathen who likes beans in his chili

Lochiel Brewing just recently opened up in Mesa. Really great beer.

Also, B.R.I. ( The Beer Research Institute ) is another great brewery to check out.

Place I work at sell out fast on both of these local brewers on a regular basis.