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Co-Founder’s Dick and Jean Wilson read an article about the up and coming trend of “Brewpubs”. Just not another restaurant, but one that brewed their own beer. In 1993 there were a mere 250 microbreweries and brewpubs. They quickly called their daughter Winnie Hanseth and told her about concept, hoping this would bring their daughter and her husband back to Flagstaff to live with their two children.

As it happens, one of the first Craft Brewers Conferences was in a few weeks away after the phone call. Winnie and Evan quickly dropped off their children at the neighbors and boarded a plan to New Orleans – the site of the Conference. The conference was small those years, a total of around 600 participants attended. (Today there are over 10,000 attendees)

The conference inspired and motivated Evan and Winnie to put their house on the market and moved to Flagstaff. Together with Winnie’s parents, Dick and Jean, they found the perfect spot to open the brewpub, on the Southside of historic downtown Flagstaff. Using the money from the sale of their house they bought the brewing equipment that Beaver Street Brewery still uses today.

In March of 1994, Beaver Street Brewery opened its doors as Flagstaff’s first brewpub. Over the years Beaver Street Brewery’s beer has been well received by the public and has won numerous awards. With little space, small capacity, and high demand for Beaver Street Brewery’s beer, owners Winnie and Evan Hanseth looked for an opportunity elsewhere to brew more beer and start distribution throughout Arizona.

Just when they had exhausted many possible locations around Flagstaff, the city of Flagstaff put out a request for proposal for the historical Halstead Lumberyard Building, built in the early 1900’s, and had been abandoned for 8 years. After being granted the proposal, Winnie and Evan rehabilitated the lumber building to become our sister brewery Lumberyard Brewing Company.

Lumberyard Brewing Company continues to brew the flagship Beaver Street Brewery beers, formed from Flagstaff’s original brewpub: Railhead Red, Flagstaff IPA, and Red Rock Raspberry. Even though some of their names have changed, these are still the great beers that started their journey here in 1994.

Beaver Street Brewery’s original brew house is still active today supporting Beaver Street Brewery with their flagship beers and seasonals to those that are visiting Flagstaff’s first brewpub.

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Google map to Beaver Street Brewery

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Other photographs for Beaver Street Brewery