Beer is flowing at The Perch

Brewmaster Andrew Baumen pouring THE FIRST Perch beer
earlier this week at their tapping party!
(taken from the Perch's FB page)

Earlier this week, I had the absolute pleasure of attending the tapping party at The Perch, in downtown Chandler. Now, the Perch opened back in Feb, but was met with a number of set backs that prevented them from brewing beer until just a few weeks ago. Since then, Brewmaster Andrew Baumen has been brewing up a number of batches. This allowed them to have a full 5 tap handles ready to go, so that this past Tues, at 5pm, the opened the taps to the public!

Like I said, they had 5 beers of their own on tap. I got to at least taste all 5 of them while there, and I must say, they were very good, a few I would even say were excellent!

The beers they had on tap were..

1.) GLCA (Grilled Lemon Cream Ale) This was my absolute favorite beer I had this evening. Just an excellent summer beer, that pairs well on the rooftop patio at sunset!

2.) Calibration Mild - the first beer brewed at the Perch. As its name implies, this is, a VERY mild, drinkable beer, with what I would call and "interesting" flavor. Another nice summer brew.

3.) Ginger Mofo - a blonde ale just PACKED with Ginger! If you like ginger, you will love this beer. Just a suggestion, if you don't like ginger, probably should stay away from this one. (I like ginger, this was an enjoyable beer to me)

4.) Cinnamon Honey Nut Porter - My second fravoite brew I had. I love porters to start with, and this is a sweeter, fairly light porter that like the GLCA, goes well in the warmth of the rooftop!

5.) Rooftop Rosemary IPA - OK, full discloser, I am not a big fan of rosemary. This is a well made, flavorful brew, and is strong on the rosemary. If you are a fan of rosemary, this is an IPA you MUST try!!! My wife loved this beer!

So, if you weren't there this week, do yourself a favor, and stop by The Perch. I must admit, I was worried about it being too hot to sit on the rooftop patio, but man, with the shade, fans and misters they have up there, it was quite pleasant, despite the fact it was about 104 degrees when we got there. So, don't let the heat stop you! Go grab a beer, and enjoy the sunset on the rooftop, I guarantee you will have a good time! Here is a look at just some of the sights that were had this week at the Perch tapping party!

My Ginger Mofo....on the roof!

The tap handles....



I think we all know who these guys are!
Jon, you got something in your teeth...

Enjoying the rooftop bar!

Mmmm, yummy!

For a look at all my photos from the evening, check out the photo album on our Facebook page here...(like us while you are there if you haven't already)

The Perch is located at 232 S Wall St, at the southern end of Downtown Chandler (right behind Planet Subs).
Check out their website here....
Or like them on Facebook here....

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

The Perch, coming soon to downtown Chandler

***Update: I spoke with James Swann a few days ago. As of 10/16, they are a little over a month out from opening. 35 to 45 days. Due to the government stalemate, um, I mean "shutdown", the opening of the brewery will most likely be pushed back a bit, but no date was given for that. When I get more info, I'll pass it along. Thank you,      

The Beer Czar

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Most of you that follow this blog have at least heard the name, James Swann, the former beer guy at the
Watering Hole in Whole Foods Chandler. Well just recently, James vacated his post there, to help start up a new nano brewery and beer bar called "The Perch" in the southern end of Chandler's historic downtown district. If you know Chandler, The Perch is on Wall Street, directly west of Planet Sub, if that makes sense. Tucked away in a hidden, shaded section of town, in an area known as "The Shops on Wall Street", the site is unassuming, and for now, easy to miss. In fact, my parents have lived a mile from there for almost 20 years, and I never knew anything was back there.

The patio to the left of the walkway. 

The entrance....

To say this site is unique, is a huge
understatement. The building looks as if it grew out of the ground around it 100 years ago. Like the olive tree covered patio out front, the building is just a natural, well placed gem, that will prove to be one of the most comfortable, relaxing places to enjoy a beer or two. A great date place too I can imagine!

The roof top patio, wave to the Mayor!

One of the unique aspects of the new place, is going to be the rooftop patio. Covering the entire top of the bar/dining area, the roof top patio is going to have a bar (just wine and beer), pergola, comfortable seating, great views, and best of all, will be cigar friendly!!! You can even wave to the mayor (his office is visible from there) while you sip your beer, and puff your cigar atop the perch.

From what James has told me, the food, in a word is going to be, fresh. Salads, sandwiches, hand made pizzas, most everything made on site, with generous helpings. It was described to me as big, fresh, southwestern gastropub fare.
There will be an onsite brewery (I was told by Andrew Bauman, the brewmaster, its going to be the most beautiful brewery in the state of Arizona, and I think he might be right!), with 5 of the 25 tap handles dedicated to their own in house brew, while the remaining 20 will be guest taps, some static, others routing, with a fair mix of local brews offered up as well.

The newly topped bar and beer cooler behind it.

All in all, this place is going to be just so cool, unique, and comfortable. Even with all the construction mess going on right now, you can totally see the potential this place has, and will soon become.
They will be opening "softly" sometime around the end of Oct, with a grand opening celebration sometime in Nov. The brewery will not be brewing up their own brews till about January, with their beers available to the public sometime in Feb.

This will be the brewing area, behind the restaurant

Check back on regularly, I will make sure I am keeping you all updated with the most up to date information I can get you regarding this new and exciting venture.

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar