Customer Profile: Peoria Artisan Brewery

Peoria Artisan Brewery

Litchfield Park, Arizona (Original location)

Population: 5,306 

Peoria, Arizona (Second location)

Population: 162,592

http://peoriaartisanbrewing.com/

In 1916 as part of the war effort, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company sent executive Paul W. Litchfield to buy up land west of Phoenix to grow Egyptian long cotton that was used to reinforce tires. Paul Litchfield established the headquarters here for the Southwest Cotton Company and this company town was officially named Litchfield Park in 1926.

Among the palm and orange trees that scatter the landscape, nestled in between the miles of pathways and charming sidewalk cafes, Peoria Artisan Brewery’s Litchfield Taproom serves up thirst quenching beer to fight the dry desert heat. With a humble nano-brew system and strength from unconditional friendship, something magical caught on with craft beers lovers and locals.  

Less than two years after opening, Peoria Artisan Brewing expanded to a second location. With a dedication to hand-crafting brews without additives or chemicals or other “tricks of the trade” it’s easy to see why they have attained such early success. Co-owner Matt Frosch tells us what makes Peoria Artisan Brewing special.

How did you get started?

• My friend Neal Farrell invited me to homebrew one day and like many before us, we caught the bug.  Neal, my wife Kristina and I decided to give things a try in Litchfield. With just a 1 barrel system, the Litchfield Taproom opened in December 2013. This past year we opened a second and much larger location in Peoria, AZ.  The new location is both a brewery and a gastropub led by Chef Michael Mahalick where we do fresh, from scratch food.  We currently employ over 30 people.

What are the brewery specs?

• Our Peoria location has a 5BBL brewhouse, with three fermenters and three bright tanks hooked up to glycol. In Litchfield we are producing 1BBL batches with three fermenters and three bright tanks in a temp controlled room.

What’s the reception been like of the locals? 

• It’s been great!  We’ve established ourselves through the Litchfield location and are excited to be in Peoria as there is only one other brewery in the city and it’s pretty far away.  The local craft beer scene in the West Valley is not as developed as some other areas and we intend to change that through our own beers and partnering with other local breweries.

What is your brewing philosophy?

• No compromises.  Never will we compromise on quality.  Our beers must be up to our standards and if something occurs which impacts the quality of the beer, it never makes it to the tap.

What style of beers do you brew? 

• We have brewed quite a range of beers. We are mostly known for a Peanut Butter Porter and our Haboob Black IPA/Cascadian Ale and we have a strong IPA. However, I would say that we focus on producing well-rounded, solid beers that are drinkable with appreciation of the classic styles.

What’s in your future? 

• For the time being, we will continue to focus on establishing our new location.  We would like to expand our location in Litchfield Park and then look towards a production facility. We’ve enjoyed the business relationship with BSG and look forward to future success working together.