Friday 6th of September 2013 03:33:31 PM

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Lumberyard Brewery - located in one of the last of Flagstaff's lumber yards (wow -- who would have guessed?), this is owned by the same folks who operated Beaver Street Brewing one LONG block away.

And it's different here.

I'm not sure why the owners decided to expand and explore new avenues but it is most assuredly a work in progress.

Opened in 2010, it's bigger and badder than it's little "brother." Sitting right next to the railroad tracks, THAT'S your beer garden sound and you are reminded constantly that this country still runs on trains! Also, they appear to want to cater to a younger crowd....I can not explain the addition of PBR at a local brewpub any other way. Also, I visited on a Friday morning right after opening...and a Monday night when things were hopping. Both times I sat at the bar and both times I waited to be served for an in-ordinate amount of time given the fact that on Friday I was the only patron there....on Monday, I was joined by 3 others. Each time, I had to "flag" down the server. At night, I had to ask for a menu (it was 5:30...to my mind, dinner-time...I should have been given one without questions); in the AM, I told the server I was just sampling their beer as she put down then picked up the menu but not before given me a look that said; "You could have mentioned that?"

Then came my sampler order and since I had just come from Beaver Street, I only needed to try the 4 brews missing there. Also, I told the gal behind the bar that she could pour 2 ounces since I was by myself and had another brewery to visit. "Well," she said, "the sampler is 6 beers." "OK," I countered "but I just want those 4." Another look. "I'm sorry, " I said. "I'm just trying to make this easy for you." "Oh. No problem."

But it was which was a big disappointment since I met the owner on a flight from Phoenix and, after establishing what he did for a living, he mentioned several times during our conversation how important customer service was to him. It's possible he wasn't clear to some of his employees....and it's possible that I'm being too picky?

No.

The beer here is identical to Beaver Street although Lumberyard had a Porter that was quite tasty and an Imperial Red and Brown that were, like so many brews, overly hopped.

My Monday night dinner was a smoked turkey sandwich that I enjoyed...but the menu is typically geared to a younger crowd with macaroni and cheese "balls", sausage sandwiches, burgers, etc.

Lumberyard is also canning and bottling their beers and can be found throughout most of Arizona....which makes this brewpub nothing like a place where you can go, share a beer and conversation with anyone. The owners are looking to be "forces" in the beer community, competing with the likes of Four Peaks....and as a result, I believe they have lost the personal touch.

For my time and money....Beaver Street is the better choice...but never on a Friday or Saturday night. For that, try Flagstaff Brewing (see my review.)

Friday 7th of June 2013 09:13:41 PM

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Lumberyard is a typical big scale mountain town brewpub. The beer is decent but, no gems. The food is good, fatty, and overpriced. They were very busy, but 2 people should have no problem getting service. The service was really good when we were there, they gave us samples and great food suggestions. Trains run by the brewery every few minutes and Flagstaff is just an excellent drinking town. My suggestion would be to skip Lumberyard and spend your night at Alpine Pizza and the Hotel Monte Vista Lounge. This brewery is very much a tourist style family friendly spot and is more a turn and burn pub than legit brewery.

Saturday 8th of December 2012 09:29:24 PM

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Owned by the same group as Beaver Street Brewing just one street over in downtown Flagstaff. I visited and it was bustling the night I was there. Good service overall, including a pretty good job explaining their beers overall.

I tried the Mac and Cheese Balls ad Sonoran Dog and have no complaints about either. This was my first sonoran dog so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I enjoyed this heart attack waiting to happen.

I tried the IPA, Porter and Imperial Red. The IPA was great, the other two were relatively average in my opinion. They also had a stream beer, but I didn't have a opportuity to try it.

Thursday 14th of April 2011 10:27:26 PM

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My one and thus far only visit to this place was on a bit of an off-night for the bar scene in Flagstaff, and they seemed to be ready to close when we came in at about 10pm. The guy at the door tried to get us in to the club side of this place, but we were not going for that.
The club is a distraction and an annoyance, and it really doesn't belong here. They should have done a better job of separating the two.
Best I can tell, this is owned by Beaver Street, who may have wanted to push a younger crowd at its normally-crowded restaurant to this new, separate establishment.
They had about nine on tap when we came, which is impressive and more than Beaver Street has. It's a big place, and you can see the brewing facilities in the back.
The exterior looks like an enormous cabin, and the bar is nice and new, with black marble and a more chic sense to it, especially when compared to Beaver Street.
The beer is generally pretty good. We tried everything that night, and I recall liking their Hopshot IPA, which is the stronger of their two IPAs. I also enjoyed the heffeweizen. There was some fruit beer on tap, maybe two, and those are the ones I recall not liking.
Lumberyard is available on tap throughout the state, and they've just starting distributing in cans.
We'll be back, but maybe earlier when the club isn't operating.

Thursday 29th of July 2010 07:46:10 PM

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very new, owned by the same people as beaver street brewery. nice decor, plenty of tvs. wide restaurant menu, medium sized dance floor for live music-djs at night. excellent location between north downtown and south of the tracks. good red ales and imperial reds. excellent choices for wing sauce including the silent scream, you must sign a waiver and eat w gloves on.tons of sliders and much better than average bar sndwiches. very friendly albiet new staff. i recommend because of the all around goodness and experience of the owners and what theyre bringing to the table and glass.