Hiking the Shaw Butte Trail...

Background

This past Saturday morning, January 18, 2025, I was drinking coffee and flipping through the channels on the TV, when my mother asked me if I was going hiking that afternoon. I had not decided on what I was going to that afternoon. I checked the time on my phone. It was 11:00 AM. I noticed that the weather forecast for the afternoon would be 66 degrees Fahrenheit with a slight breeze. Why not, I figured. It seemed to be a good day to go ahead and go hiking somewhere.

Initially, my thinking was to go to Sunrise Mountain in northern Peoria, AZ. Sunrise Mountain had a lot to recommend it. First, it is relatively close to my mother's house. Second, there are a lot of short trails that you can combine in various combinations to get a really good hiking workout. Third, it has been several months since I had hiked over at Sunrise Mountain. Fourth, hiking at Sunrise Mountain would fit in with how I had been hiking at places like Thunderbird Conservation Park and Deem Hills in recent weeks. On the face of it, hiking at Sunrise Mountain seemed liked a pretty good idea.

However, a part of me wanted to go somewhere different. I had the desire to go somewhere new.

In my recent visits to the Carl T. Hayden VA Hospital in downtown Phoenix, I have been driving north on 7th Street to get to Bell Road on my way back to the Peoria-Sun City area. No real reason to go that way other than out of sheer curiosity. There are easier routes back to Sun City from downtown Phoenix to be sure, but I wanted to explore Phoenix more. As a result, when I drove north on 7th Street from the VA Hospital back in October, I drove by the North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park on my way north to Bell Road. I was interested with what I saw as I drove by at 45 MPH.

Why not go to North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park, I asked myself. Since I started hiking again in mid-December, my knees seemed to have recovered as much as they are going to after hiking the Piestewa Peak Summit Trail (see this link for a post about that hike). Thus, it seemed to be as good a time to go as any.

After performing some map reconnaissance on Google Maps, I noticed that there was a trailhead for North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park with a parking lot located south of Thunderbird Road on N. Central Ave. I also looked up North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park on Alltrails.com. At a total length of 4.5 miles, the Shaw Butte Trail (aka Shaw Butte Loop) seemed like an ideal place to go on a January afternoon in Phoenix. Additionally, Alltrails.com categorized the trail as a "moderately challenging route" that would take approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete.

North Mountain and Shaw Butte Preserves (Source: www.alltrails.com)

I had made my decision.

Instead of going to Sunrise Mountain, I was going to go to North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park.

Getting Ready to Go Hiking

After getting all of my things together to go hiking, such as adding more water to my hydration pack and doing a quick inventory of my backpack, I was ready to go. Unfortunately, large stretches of Highway 101 were closed for construction for the weekend. As a result, I drove down North Del Webb Blvd to West Thunderbird Road and then headed east toward North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park. Driving along West Thunderbird Road can be a real drag. Fortunately, radio station KWSS 93.9 FM played several good songs in a row. I didn't have to change the radio station for nearly thirty minutes. It was amazing. Before I knew it, I had driven past Zia Records (I still have yet to pay a visit) and Thunderbird High School. I then made the right turn onto North Central Avenue and followed the road to the Shaw Butte trailhead parking lot. According to my cellphone, the time was already past 1:30 PM. Surprisingly, the Shaw Butte trailhead parking lot still had some empty spaces available. 

The parking lot at the Shaw Butte Trailhead.

After turning off and locking my car, I put on my Zamberlan hiking boots, my Gregory hydration pack, my wide-brimmed hat from REI, a pair of gloves, and a scarf for my neck. Why do I wear gloves and a scarf when hiking? Back when I lived in Maryland, I underwent chemotherapy for cancer for close to five years. When I would go outside for an extended period of time, like to go walking, I noticed that I would develop either a heat rash or heat sores on my hands and arms. The heat rash and heat sores would stay visible for many days at a time. As a result, whenever I would go walking or hiking in the Baltimore area, I would wear gloves and long sleeve shirts. It seemed to work in preventing a heat rash from occurring. Once I got everything on, I was ready to hit the trail.

Getting ready to hit the trail at Shaw Butte.

Hiking the Shaw Butte Trail

After walking through the parking lot, I quickly found the map for the Shaw Butte area of North Mountain. Once at the trailhead map, I was faced with a decision to make. I could follow the recommendation from All Trails and hike the steep portion of the trail first and then circle my way back to my car on the lower, and mostly flat, part of the trail. Alternatively, I could start the trail on the low portion and then work my up to the radio and TV towers at the top before walking down the steep part of the trail back to my car. After thinking about the two options for a minute or so, I decided that I was going to hike up the steep portion of the trail first.

Park Map at Shaw Butte Trailhead.

I then started up the trail. I ignored the turn off to go left (south) on the trail. The trail got rather steep. Quickly. According to All Trails, the grade can get as high as 22% once you get going on the trail. Depending upon your physical fitness level, you might find the steepness of the Shaw Butte Trail slow going. Despite working out several times per week, I still had to take breaks occasionally on the trail to get my breath back and to take a drink of water. Usually, when I go hiking, I am in no hurry to get where I am going. To me, the journey is just as important as the destination. Therefore, I would also stop at random points on the trail, so I can take a look around the environment and take a photo or two or three. The views of the Phoenix area from the Shaw Butte Trail are quite amazing. To the north, you can see as far as Deems Hills and the TSMC manufacturing facility. To the south, you can see as far as downtown Phoenix. To the east, you can see the other sections of North Mountain Park, including the nearby Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort. To the west, you can see into Glendale and Peoria.

Staying to the right on the Shaw Butte Trail (Trail 306). 

Looking back toward the trailhead.

The Thunderbird High School area.

The people I saw along the Shaw Butte Trail were quite similar to those that I have seen on other trails in the Phoenix area: trail runners, joggers, other hikers, and the occasional family with children of various ages. There were even a few people walking up and down the Shaw Butte Trail with their pet dogs.

Distant view of the broadcast towers on Shaw Butte.

Other hikers on the trail.

Getting steep on the Shaw Butte Trail.

There are a couple of interesting features about the Shaw Butte Trail. The first feature is that the trail is a bit wider that your typical hiking trail. The trail looks wide enough to accommodate a truck or SUV. The second interesting feature about the trail is that the trail will occasionally alternate between dirt with loose or compacted rocks and patches of asphalt. The Shaw Butte Trail doubles as the service road that leads up to the radio and TV broadcast towers located at the top of Shaw Butte. In addition, there is a second mountain on the Shaw Butte Trail that also contains several radio and TV broadcast towers. At the beginning of the hike, there are signs warning hikers about the potential presence of service vehicles going up and down the Shaw Butte Trail. I didn't encounter any service vehicles during my hike.

Trail marker.

Getting closer to the top.

View of the Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort.

Approaching curve in the trail.

The broadcast towers are getting closer.

Looking toward northern Phoenix.

View of Northern Mountain.

Still have a way to go up the trail.

Another view of northern Phoenix.

The trail got really steep.

Looking back at my progress thus far.

Looking south toward central Phoenix.

Another view of North Mountain.

Looking south toward central Phoenix II.

I can almost reach out and touch the broadcast towers.

At a saddle point below the radio and TV broadcast towers (approx. 1.1 miles from the trailhead), I was taking some photos as I was taking a break. A fellow hiker on the trail volunteered to take my picture. The photos she took weren't the greatest photos that I have been taken of me, but I appreciate the nice gesture. Yes, I know that she was essentially shooting into the sun while taking the photos. The woman was on her way up the trail to the radio and TV broadcast towers. After she took my picture a couple of times, I followed her up the trail. Since she maintained a moderately fast tempo as we hiked, I surmised that she goes hiking for the cardiovascular workout.

Photo of me I.

Photo of me II.

Photo of me III.

Before I knew it, we had reached the top of Shaw Butte Trail. According to All Trails, the top of Shaw Butte Trail has an elevation of 2,133 feet. From what I have experienced in the Phoenix area on other hiking trails, that elevation seems to be about average. There were a couple of clusters of radio and TV broadcast towers. All of the towers are enclosed behind chain-link fences, so there really isn't much to see. However, there is a really nice vantage point beside one of the gated enclosures that does offer an impressive view of downtown Phoenix to the south and the urban sprawl of the West Valley to the west. The view was worth the 1.4-mile hike to the top of Shaw Butte. There were other people at the top of Shaw Butte. However, after reaching the top of the mountain and looking around for a bit, most of the people simply turned around and headed back down the trail toward the trailhead. The woman I hiked to the top of Shaw Butte with took a couple of photos and then headed back down the trail. The top of Shaw Butte is a good place to take a break after that steep hike up the trail. My recommendation is to find a rock to sit on with a good view, drink some water, and have something to eat before heading back down the trail.   

Broadcast Tower I

Broadcast Tower II

Broadcast Tower III

Broadcast Tower IV

Broadcast Tower V

Looking south to North Mountain I

Looking south to North Mountain II

Looking west to Phoenix and Glendale, AZ.

Broadcast Tower VI

Looking south to North Mountain III

Rest Area on Shaw Butte I

Looking south to downtown Phoenix, AZ.

Looking west to Phoenix and Glendale, AZ II

Rest area on Shaw Butte II

Broadcast Tower VII

Decision Point(s)

After wandering around the top of Shaw Butte, I had a decision to make. I could either hike back down to the parking lot or I could continue on with hiking the Shaw Butte Trail. I decided to push-on. After leaving the broadcast tower area, I rejoined the Shaw Butte Trail and made an immediate left turn. I was then confronted with a very steep downward slope as the trail was covered with cracked asphalt. I slowly hiked down trail, trying to avoid any potholes in the asphalt. It was slow going, but I eventually made it down to the saddle point. From this location, the Shaw Butte Trail branches off in two directions. For the first branch, the trail briefly ascends another mountain top with more broadcast towers. For the second branch, the trail heads south and begins its descent from Shaw Butte. I decided to leave exploring the second mountain top for another visit. As a result, I then started hiking south on the Shaw Butte Trail. Curious as to my position on the trail, I decided to check Google Maps on my cellphone. No service. Google Maps would open, yet no map was displayed. Compared to the hike up to Shaw Butte, the trail was a gentle descent with some turns. Before I knew it, I had reached the ruins of a restaurant on a plateau below Shaw Butte. The story is that the restaurant had burned down sometime in the 1960s and was never rebuilt. Like the second broadcast tower area, I decided to leave investigating the ruins for another hike. I noticed on my cellphone that the time was already past 4:00 PM. As a result, I continued hiking on the Shaw Butte Trail just a little further past the ruins before turning around. Plus, it's always fun to feel bone-on-bone contact in both of my knees whenever I take a step forward.

Leaving the top of Shaw Butte.

Walking down to the saddle point.

Trail leading to the second mountain top at Shaw Butte.

Heading south on the Shaw Butte Trail.

Ruins of restaurant on Shaw Butte Trail.

Looking north on the Shaw Butte Trail.

Below Shaw Butte.

Looking west from the Shaw Butte Trail.

Foundation of restaurant that burned down.

Heading Back

Map of the portion of the Shaw Butte Trail that I completed.

Thus, after deciding to turnaround where I was on the Shaw Butte Trail, I started the hike back to the trailhead. Once I returned to saddle point, I had to hike up the steep hill to get back to the top of Shaw Butte. After spending five minutes or so to return to the top, it was smooth sailing hiking back down the Shaw Butte Trail to the trailhead. In fact, my hike down to the bottom was mostly a blur. I don't remember taking a single photo on the way back down. At one point, I do remember passing a very attractive woman, who was hiking up the trail with her rather large dog. She was also wearing dark sunglasses and had bluetooth earbuds in each ear. I figured that she didn't want to be bothered, so I quickly pushed on down the trail. I was also surprised at the number of people who had just started hiking up the trail. My guess was that they wanted to reach the top of Shaw Butte prior to sunset, so they could see Phoenix after dark. After about a half hour or so, I was back at the trailhead parking lot.

Upon my return, I saw that the parking lot now was at about half full. I opened the trunk to my car and started taking off my hiking boots. I was tired, but not exhausted. However, I did sweat A LOT during the hike. To me, that was an indicator that I had a good workout. According to All Trails, I had hiked close to five miles total. Not a bad result for an afternoon of hiking. I didn't complete the entire Shaw Butte Trail, but I resolved to come back and try again at a future time. I also took quite a few photos with my cellphone. After putting on my running shoes and loading my gear into the trunk, I was ready to leave. As I was leaving the trailhead parking lot, I was thinking about what I was going to next as it was only a little after 5:00 PM. Then, I had an idea.

Lake Pleasant Brewing Company

Lake Pleasant Brewing Company

I decided to go to the Lake Pleasant Brewing Company to go and drink some REALLY GOOD beer. My intent is to eventually dedicate a post to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company here on my blog, so I will keep this brief. As I drove out of the Shaw Butte Trail parking lot, I realized that the drive to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company wasn't too far away (for the Phoenix area). I then drove west on Thunderbird Road and then headed north on 19th Avenue. Eventually, I passed through Bell Road and under Highway 101 before reaching Rose Garden Lane. The parking lot for Lake Pleasant Brewing Company was PACKED!!! I then realized that the NFL playoff games were being played that day. Since I have a great time whenever I go to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company, I decided to go ahead and park the car. Boy, I'm glad that I did. I put on my purple Baltimore Ravens hat and entered Lake Pleasant Brewing Company. For beer, I mainly focused on drinking the German beers. That meant ordering 20 ounce glasses of the Fest Bier, the Rauch Bier, and the Hefeweizen. As per usual, all of the beers were terrific. Since I was starving after my hike, I went out and ordered a pizza from Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza, who had a food truck outside in the parking lot. I was unfamiliar with Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza, but I am glad that I ordered the sausage pizza. It was excellent. I spent my time at the bar, watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Houston Texans. I also happened to chat with some people who were also watching the game.

Fest Bier from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company

Hefeweizen from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company

Rauch (Smoke) Bier from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company

Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza

Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza kitchen in the parking lot.

Sausage pizza from Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza.

Wearing my Baltimore Ravens hat at Lake Pleasant Brewing Company.

Conclusion

All-in-all, it was a GREAT DAY. While I did not complete the Shaw Butte Trail, I still had a great time hiking up the steep trail to Shaw Butte. The North Mountain and Shaw Butte have a lot to recommend it. There are a lot of trails to explore in a relatively small area, so I will definitely be back. I will also definitely be heading back to Lake Pleasant Brewing.

Update #1

The following week I returned to North Mountain and Shaw Butte. I successfully completed the Shaw Butte Trail. With the camera on my brand-new Samsung S24 cellphone, I took quite a few photos during the hike. I am planning on making a follow-up post with some of the photos that I took. The photos with my new Samsung S24 cellphone are, well, quite amazing to look at compared to my old LG Stylo 6 cellphone. 

Update #2

On my second hike on the Shaw Butte Trail, a fellow hiker who has lived in the Phoenix area for many years informed me that the ruins on the trail belonged to a restaurant known as Cloud 9. The restaurant burned down in the 1960s and was never rebuilt. I found a blog post about the restaurant that also contains some photos that were taken when the restaurant was open. Additionally, I also took several photos of the ruins. I will include all of this information in my follow-up post about the Shaw Butte Trail.

Throne Brewing Company Review

Throne Brewing Company (https://www.thronebrewing.com/)

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

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

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. 

      

 

Sitting at the bar.

View of the dining room looking towards the front door.

View of the dining room looking towards the bar.

Classic pinball games at Throne Brewing Company.

Brewing the next batch of beer. 

Close up of beer kegs in cool storage.

Throne Brewing T-shirts.

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.  

Bell Road West Coast IPA

Blood Orange IPA

West Valley Amber Ale 

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

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

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. 

Finishing Chapter 7 in the Official Cert Guide for CCNA

Working My Way Through the CCNA Official Cert Guide

A couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and began studying for the Cisco Certified Network Administrator certification. This IT certification is better known by its abbreviation: CCNA. As I mentioned in a previous post on here on my blog, when I worked at the Social Security Administration (SSA) in Woodlawn, MD as a Tier 1 help desk agent, I made an attempt to study for the Network+ certification offered by CompTIA. Due to the sheer volume of information required to know for the certification, I gave up on studying for Network+. I then made an attempt at studying for the CCNA certification. I got as far as either Chapter 9: "Spanning Tree Protocol Concepts" or Chapter 10: "RSTP and EtherChannel Configuration" before stopping. I was having trouble understanding some of the topics in either chapter, so I got bogged down studying. In addition, I went through a period where I got REALLY BUSY with work. It's amazing how that works.

Over the past year, I have been taking online courses via Cisco's Networking Academy. Since I recently completed all four online classes for networking, it seemed like the perfect time to make another attempt to study for (and earn) the CCNA certification from Cisco.

A couple of months ago, I discovered on Cisco's own website that an updated and revised version of the Official Cert Guide for CCNA 200-301 would be published and available for sale in July 2024. Well, the first volume would be available. At the time, the second volume of the Official Cert Guide had been scheduled to be published a month or two after. Even though I was busy working on the online courses at the Cisco Networking Academy, I went ahead and bought the first volume of the new certification guide from Amazon as soon as it was available for purchase.

Since I decided to make another attempt to pass the CCNA certification exam, I quickly made it through Part 1: "Introduction to Networking". Part 1 consists of the following chapters:

• Chapter 1: Introduction to TCP/IP Networking
• Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Ethernet LANs
• Chapter 3: Fundamentals of WANs and IP Routing

To be honest, Part 1: "Introduction to Networking" was a good review of the information covered in the four online networking classes that I had completed.

I then began work on Part 2: "Implementing Ethernet LANs", which consists of the following chapters:

• Chapter 4: Using the Command-Line Interface
• Chapter 5: Analyzing Ethernet LAN Switching
• Chapter 6: Configuring Basic Switch Management
• Chapter 7: Configuring and Verifying Switch Interfaces

I then made short work reading chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7. Like the chapters in Part 1: "Introduction to Networking", chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 were another good review. However, using the Cisco IOS to configure different aspects of a network switch is like riding a bike to a certain degree. Part of my plan for studying for the CCNA certification is to use Network Simulator software offered by Pearson Vue. The objective of the Network Simulator tool is to give you experience using Cisco IOS by giving you exercises to work on after reading the corresponding chapter in the Official CCNA Cert Guide. Just know that the Network Simulator tool doesn't have exercises for every chapter in the Official CCNA Cert Guide. It just depends on whether the chapter in the Official CCNA Cert Guide covers new commands for the Cisco IOS.

On the night of December 11, 2024, I completed the exercises in Pearson Vue's Network Simulator tool for Chapter 7: "Configuring and Verifying Interfaces". Surprisingly, there were only three exercises for the chapter.

Before moving on to Part 3: "Implementing VLANs and STP", there are some things that I probably should do first.

In no particular order, here are some things that I should do:

• Go back and complete the "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes for chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7. The questions are probably very similar to the questions on the official CCNA certification exam. As a result, the more practice I can get with these types of questions, the better.
• Go to Wendell Odom's Cert Skills blog and work my way through the exercises for chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7. These exercises are similar to the Cisco IOS exercises found on Pearson Vue's Network Simulator. The difference is that Wendell Odom doesn't prompt you or guide you through the exercise. Instead, he gives you the network setup and tells you the changes that need to be made. It's up to you to try to figure out what commands that you need to enter into the Cisco IOS command prompt to complete the exercise. Wendell Odom does give you the answers. The nice thing about the Cisco IOS exercises available on the Cert Skills blog is that the exercises are free. While the exercises were conceived with using just a pen and a piece of paper, you can complete the exercises using Cisco's Packet Tracer application, which is available for free.

Screenshot of Wendell Odom's Cert Skills blog.

• Create my own User's Guide to the Cisco IOS. That means going through chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 creating my own tables of all of the Cisco IOS commands. There are also step-by-step instructions on how to configure passwords, for example. Once complete, I can then print out all of the tables and step-by-step guides and then put them into a notebook. Then, it's just a matter of adding additional tables and step-by-step guides as I complete subsequent chapters in the Official CCNA Cert Guide.

Cisco IOS User Guide on Google Docs.

UPDATE: Over the past week or so, I have been steadily creating my own Cisco IOS user guide over on Google Docs. I created my versions of the tables found in the first seven chapters of the <b>Official CCNA Cert Guide</b>. I am planning on adding to this document as I progress through the book.  

• Go back through chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 and write down notes for all of the key topics that MIGHT be on the certification exam. So far, I have written down notes for chapter 4. Since I have completed those four online networking classes from the Cisco Networking Academy, this is largely just another review.
• Create my own simple networks using Cisco Packet Tracer and then configure all of the devices. The nice thing about this option is that Cisco Packet Tracer is F-R-E-E to download and use. Here on my blog, I wrote a post about other options available, such as Cisco Modeling Labs or GNS3, if you don't want to use Cisco Packet Tracer.

Cisco Packet Tracer exercise. 

Lastly, is it really necessary to buy your own hardware to study for CCNA? That is, do you need to buy a router, a couple of switches, some Ethernet cable, and a networking cabinet? Not really. If you have the money and space, you most certainly can. Based on my own research, a hardware kit for CCNA study can easily cost several hundreds of dollars, depending on the options you choose. However, it's not necessary to buy all of that equipment. I have a friend and former co-worker at SocialSecurity who earned the CCNA certification by just using Packet Tracer. The main advantage of buying your own CCNA hardware kit is that you gain tactile experience using and configuring hardware. Cisco Packet Tracer was designed for study when hardware is not available or affordable. Besides, the Cisco IOS used on Packet Tracer is largely the same (for the most part) as the Cisco IOS used by actual switches and routers.