Bailey Quinn didn’t know much about beer until she started working at Saddle Mountain Brewing Company. Quinn was one of the original employees and grew into her position of bartender, learning the passion behind craft beer.
We had the chance to sit down with Quinn and learn how she got into the beer business and what makes Saddle Mountain Brewing Company so special.
How did you get started in the craft beer business?
I started here as a hostess wanting to serve and I moved up within a month. The company offers multiple trainings on the craft beer with our brewers to keep us educated and aware of what we’re serving to our customers. Of course, we do tastings of all the beers—especially when new rotationals come out and we need to be pretty well educated on them. Our brewers give us a pretty detailed description. Over the course of the five years working here, I’ve become pretty well versed in the craft beer realm.
What do you think makes the craft beer here special?
Well, first and foremost, it’s a small business. I think that makes it pretty unique. There are a lot of other breweries that are family owned and local. It’s pretty impressive for us to go to the Great American Beer Festival and win three consecutive gold medals coming out of a small brewery in Goodyear. Our brewers do a great job, while being very educated and passionate about their work. Also, the owners are involved and passionate. Jacob Hansen does help brew things here and there, which adds that little touch of love in the beers.
Tell us about some of the breweries you think are doing it right and why.
I feel like we’re doing it right because we are at a smaller scale and we all are passionate about craft beer and the restaurant. I live in Downtown Phoenix, so there’s an abundance of good breweries down there, like Wilderness Brewing and O.H.S.O., that have a different business model than us but are still running really well.
What’s your favorite part about beer culture in Arizona?
Awesome hats. They have great merch. I would say the social gatherings make it great. Obviously, when the weather is nice and everyone wants to be outside, they want to be on the patio at a brewery, having a good time, drinking a good beer. Then, of course, beer festivals. I feel like there’s a pretty good amount of beer festivals here. We’re all coming together and hanging out, enjoying what everyone’s passionate about.
Tell us about the beer program.
We have this thing called “Challenge Coins.” Laura, the owner, will post on Facebook that if you bring in your Challenge Coin you have purchased, you’ll get deals for the day. It has brought in a lot of people. We also do beer tours. People come in large groups, which is especially fun. Any beer holiday like Oktoberfest we do something. Oktoberfest is a great time because it’s very busy and lots of fun.
What’s are your favorite beers?
Oddly enough, I really like the Taildragger 300 Foot Steve. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but that beer has a bit of bite in the front end, but then it’s kind of smooth, like a sweet finish that I really enjoy. That is one of our more popular ones. But we had to make a little room for our seasonal ones. I’ll be excited when it comes back, because it is more of a fall or winter beer. I’d say that one or any of stouts I like, too, because I’m a coffee drinker.
Saddle Mountain Brewing Company, 15651 W. Roosevelt Street, Goodyear, 623.249.5520, saddlemountainbrewing.com.
