Background
I am planning on writing a review of Throne Brewing Company in Glendale, AZ. I have been to Throne Brewing Company at least half a dozen times, so it's probably time to write a review about it here on my blog. Over the past couple of weeks, I have visited Throne Brewing Company after going hiking at Thunderbird Conservation Park. During my most recent visit to Throne Brewing Company, it occurred to me that I really should write a blog post about it. Moreover, it also occurred to me that I should write blog posts about other places that I have been to, such as the Cactus Taproom in Peoria, AZ and Lake Pleasant Brewing Company in Phoenix, AZ. Plus, writing about these places will give me some motivation to visit other places that I have been meaning to go to, such as Kitsune Brewing Company in Phoenix. In fact, that is what I will do. I also have some photos that I took while visiting Throne Brewing Company. I will post those.
Stay tuned. More to follow.
Introduction
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| Entrance to Throne Brewing Company |
Back on one Saturday in November or December 2023, I had just spent the afternoon hiking in the
Deem Hills Recreation Area in northern Phoenix. Once I returned to my car in the eastern parking lot, I opened my phone and started to look for places to go for dinner on Google Maps. Every place that seemed interesting, such as Lake Pleasant Brewing Company, appeared to be far away from where I was. On my way to the Deem Hills Recreation Area, I drove by a sizable strip mall on Happy Valley Road, but there wasn't anything that interested me. I then searched Google Maps for any restaurants closer to Sun City, AZ. Then, for whatever reason, Throne Brewing Company came up in my search results. I had never heard of Throne Brewing. Intrigued, I decided to pay them a visit. I set Throne Brewing Company as my destination in Google Maps and then set off for Glendale, AZ.
Location
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| Map of Throne Brewing Company |
Throne Brewing Company is located at 17035 North 67th Ave in Glendale, AZ at the northeast corner of 67th Ave and Bell Rd. Throne Brewing Company is located in the corner suite of a rather non-descript, L-shaped strip mall that contains shops like Hungry Howie's Pizza, Sunburst Nails and Spa, Gentiva Personal Care, Cornerstone Flooring Brokers, Pure Bliss Water and Ice, and Pool Parts Plus. I haven't ordered any pizza from Hungry Howie's Pizza, so I can't tell you if they are any good or not. They seem to have some good reviews on Google Maps, however. Perhaps one day, I will order a pizza from Hungry Howie's instead of local pizza chain Barro's. We'll see. As for the rest of the strip mall, it's all rather anonymous, bland, and uninteresting. Directly across the street from Throne Brewing Company are BevMo and Home Depot. Whenever I have gone to Throne Brewing Company, the strip mall parking lot has been quite empty, so that is a plus. In the unlikely the event that there isn't any parking, additional parking spots are available behind Throne Brewing Company and Hungry Howie's Pizza.
Throne Brewing Company has two additional locations. According to their website, Throne Brewing has a location at 9299 W Olive Ave Ste 513 in Peoria, AZ. The location is located in an industrial business park southwest of the intersection of W. Olive Ave and Highway 101. However, a search of the area on Google Maps does not return any search results. I remember seeing an entry for this location on Google Maps. According to the photos I saw on Google Maps, this location contained several brewing tanks and a simple tap room. My conclusion is that this location has been closed.
Throne Brewing Company's third location was at 1326 N Central Ave in Phoenix, AZ. According to a conversation I recently had with someone knowledgeable about craft brewing in Maricopa County, this Throne Brewing Company location was quite similar to the Throne Brewing Company location in Glendale, AZ. That is, the location was a restaurant with some brewing going on. The location was an interesting one as it was located near the intersection of Central Ave and E. McDowell Rd, not too far away from the Phoenix Art Museum and the Heard Museum. I remember driving by this location on Central Ave on my way to or from downtown Phoenix. According to my source, Throne Brewing Company recently closed this location. Indeed, a search for 1326 N Central Ave on Google Maps did not return any search results.
The Atmosphere
The interior design of Throne Brewing Company follows a simple and functional layout. After walking through the front doors to Throne Brewing Company, you enter a large, single dining room that continues to the far back wall. On your left-hand side are a series of classic pinball games. Beyond the pinball games is a refrigeration room used to store recently brewed kegs of beer. On your right-hand side is the brewing area, containing several brewing tanks and various apparatuses and tools required for brewing beer. After passing through all of the tables and chairs in the main dining area, you get to the bar in the back of the room. The bar has a typical U-shape with beer taps located on an island in the center. To me, the bar does seem to be a little on the small side. Going from memory, I would say that there is seating for about 15 people (give or take) at the bar. There are three flat screen TVs along the far wall. Compared to other restaurants that I have been to in the Phoenix area, the flat screen TVs are small. However, if watching that important American football game on large flat screen TVs is important to you as you drink beer, then you might want to go elsewhere. Near the bar is a small refrigerator containing canned Throne Brewing beer that you can buy and take home. Just beyond that is the merchandise area where you can buy all kinds of T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baseball caps featuring the Throne Brewing logo. The last time I was there, I should have bought the commemorative T-shirt printed for Throne Brewing Company's 5th anniversary. It looked pretty cool. Plus, from what I can tell, Throne Brewing Company could use some advertising in the Glendale-Peoria-Phoenix area.
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| Sitting at the bar. |
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| View of the dining room looking towards the front door. |
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| View of the dining room looking towards the bar. |
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| Classic pinball games at Throne Brewing Company. |
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Brewing the next batch of beer.
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| Close up of beer kegs in cool storage. |
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| Throne Brewing T-shirts. |
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| Throne Brewing baseball caps waiting to be unpacked. |
The Beer
According to their website, Throne Brewing Company was created in March 2018 when owner Carlos Toma purchased Dubina Brewing in Glendale, AZ. After owning and running a craft beer shop in downtown Phoenix for several years, Carlos Toma decided to make the transition to brewing his own craft beer. Thus, Dubina Brewing became Throne Brewing Company. The website makes no mention of Throne Brewing Company winning any notable craft beer awards. For some craft breweries, winning craft beer awards is a big deal. It's about earning the respect of your craft brewing peers. However, that's not really necessary. While awards are great, to me, all that matters is the quality of the beer.
Here are the
beers brewed by Throne Brewing Company that they have on tap as of December 26, 2024.
- Bell Road West Coast IPA Beer Style: IPA-American, 6.7 ABV, 67 IBU, Warrior, Citra, Simcoe, Cascade, and Amarillo Hops
- German Hefeweizen Beer Style: Wheat Beer - Hefeweizen, 5% ABV, 14 IBU
- Raspberry Wheat Beer Style: Wheat Beer - American Pale Wheat, 5.4% ABV, 21 IBU
- Blueberry Pomegranate Beer Style: Sour Sour-Fruited 6.1% ABV 14 IBU. Description: Red brown in color. Pomegranate smell. Tart flavors of berries and pomegranate.
- Gateway Blonde Beer Style: Blonde, 5% ABV, 18 IBU
- West Valley Amber Ale Beer Style: Red Ale - American Amber, 5.5% ABV, 30 IBU. Description: This American Amber has rich, complex caramel flavors and finishes with a dry, moderate hop flavor.
- Blood Orange IPA Beer Style: IPA - American, 6.7% ABV, 67 IBU. Description: Our West Coast Blood Orange IPA pours bright red in color. Following primary fermentation, there is a heaping addition of California-grown blood oranges to the brew. The tartness from the Blood Oranges, along with the hop profile, create
the perfect balance.
Additionally, the hops
provide a wonderful citrus burst up front followed by
a mild bittersweet finish.
In addition to their own beer, Throne Brewing Company also offers several other guest beers, alcoholic ciders, and kombuchas on tap. These offerings tend to be from other micro-breweries located within Arizona. If you go to Throne Brewing Company looking to drink, say, Coors Light or Miller Lite, you might be at the wrong place. Throne Brewing Company doesn't have any beers from the big, national brewers on tap. Throne Brewing Company is all about craft brewing.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the beers that Throne Brewing Company offers. In my five or six visits to Throne Brewing Company, I am absolutely positive that I have had all of the beers on the above list at least once. There are probably some beers that I have enjoyed drinking more than others. However, which type of beer I order just depends on the mood that I am in at the time. On my recent visit to Throne Brewing Company, I ordered the Bell Road IPA, the Blood Orange IPA, the West Valley Amber Ale, and the Blueberry Pomegranate Sour. Of those four beers, I particularly enjoyed drinking the Blood Orange IPA and the Blueberry Pomegranate Sour. In fact, I drank not one, but two glasses of the Blueberry Pomegranate Sour beer. It is a truly sublime beer to drink. The Bell IPA and the West Valley Amber Ale are also really good beers. They are especially good beers to drink after spending all afternoon hiking under the sun. A personal rule I have is that if a micro-brewery cannot brew a good IPA and/or a good amber ale, then that micro-brewery has no business being open to the public. That's just me.
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Bell Road West Coast IPA
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| Blood Orange IPA |
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West Valley Amber Ale
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| Blueberry Pomegranate Sour |
According to Throne Brewing Company's website, their beer is available at various stores in the Phoenix area, such as Sprouts Farmers Market, AJ's Fine Foods, and Total Wine and More. The cans look vaguely familiar, so I have probably seen beer from Throne Brewing Company at either AJ's Fine Foods or Total Wine and More. Curiously, I think I have yet to set foot inside any Sprouts Farmers Market. The cans are beautifully illustrated. If the website is anything to go by, the only beers Throne Brewing Company offers in cans are the Bell Road West Coast IPA, Helles Lager, and the Blood Orange IPA.
The Food
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| Spicy Gorgonzola Burger |
If you are expecting fine dining, Throne Brewing Company may leave you disappointed. On the other hand, if you have eaten at a brew pub before, then you would know what to expect and would probably feel right at home with the
menu. When I eat dinner at Throne Brewing Company, I typically order the
Spicy Gorgonzola Burger. It's a hamburger loaded with green chili, jalapenos, and gorgonzola cheese. When I see a hamburger with green chili on the menu, it's just something that I just have to order. It must have something to do with the fact that I am from New Mexico originally. For the Spicy Gorgonzola Burger, the patty isn't largest or flattest, but it is remarkably thick and juicy. The green chili, jalapenos, and gorgonzola cheese are really spicy and blend together rather well. I typically order the burger cooked to medium doneness. While you don't get a whole lot of French fries with your order, the fries are warm and crispy. I think on an early visit to Throne Brewing Company I ordered the Cheddar Bacon Burger. It was really good. However, the Cheddar Bacon Burger just isn't in the same plane of existence as the Spicy Gorgonzola Burger. If you don't like spicy food, and there are many people who don't, then order one of the other burgers. As for other items on the menu, such as the Philly Steak or Nashville Chicken sandwiches or the BYO (Build Your Own) Mac & Cheese, I couldn't tell you. For now, I am quite content to order the Spicy Gorgonzola Burger when I go to Throne Brewing Company. If the Spicy Gorgonzola Burger and the Cheddar Bacon Burger are anything to go by, my guess is that the rest of the menu is just as good.
Final Verdict
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| Throne Brewing cork coaster. |
Overall, I really enjoyed my several visits to Throne Brewing Company in northern Glendale, AZ. I really enjoyed drinking all of the beers that they have to offer. All of the beers are really good. I especially recommend both the Blood Orange IPA and the Blueberry Pomegranate Sour beers. I also enjoyed eating the Spicy Gorgonzola Burger with jalapenos and green chili. A visit to Throne Brewing Company really hits the spot after spending the afternoon hiking in desert terrain. If you find yourself in northern Glendale, AZ for whatever reason, do give Throne Brewing Company a try.
Final Word
Despite the good beer and the good food, what does strike me as odd is that Throne Brewing Company doesn't strike me as being a very popular place for people in the local area to go to. Out of the six times that I have been to Throne Brewing Company, I can only remember one visit where the brew pub was particularly crowded with people. On that visit, I ended up sitting at my own table since the bar was full. In contrast, on my other visits, Throne Brewing Company wasn't very crowded. I can't figure that out. On my most recent visit, which occurred on Saturday, December 14, 2024, there was a moderately large crowd at around 6:00 PM when I walked in. At around 9:00 PM, when I paid my bill, Throne Brewing Company was largely empty. There were more employees than there were customers. Is there an explanation for that? Is it a marketing problem? Does Throne Brewing need their own brand evangelists? Does Throne Brewing Company need to work on getting the word out via social media? I cannot say. I do see that Throne Brewing Company does have a presence on
Facebook,
Instagram, and
Twitter/
X. Throne Brewing Company does have an entry over at the
Arizona Craft Brewers Guild website. Lastly, is the craft beer market in the Maricopa County, AZ area starting to contract?
I do know that since the COVID-19 pandemic, many brew pubs and craft brewers in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, MD area, where I used to live for 13 years, started to either go out-of-business altogether or drastically scale back their operations. For example,
Dogfish Head Brewing once owned and operated three brew pubs, or
alehouses, in the Washington, D.C. area. These alehouses owned by Dogfish Head Brewing were the gold standard when it came to brew pubs. The alehouses were the perfect place to showcase Dogfish Head beers and serve food that complemented the beer. Many brewers in the Washington, D.C. area attempted to copy the Dogfish Head Alehouse concept to varying degrees of success. A look at the Dogfish Head Brewing website shows that the alehouses in Gaithersburg, MD and Chantilly, VA are currently open; however, the alehouse in Arlington, VA is now closed. Full Disclosure: I used to visit the Dogfish Head Alehouses in Gaithersburg, MD and Chantilly, VA quite A LOT as I used to live in Reston, VA. It and had relatives that lived in Gaithersburg, MD.
UPDATE: I just found out that the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Chantilly, VA has recently closed. Bummer.
