Flagstaff brewery unveils exclusive beer for America’s 250 birthday

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — This year, America is turning 250 years old. Some might argue nothing is more American than an ice-cold beer.

So, Mother Road Brewing Company is representing Arizona in the celebration with their America 250 Arizona beer.

There’s a lot that goes into making beer, from the brewing process to packaging it. Even more is at stake when you are creating a beer that will represent your home state.

Michael Marquess is the CEO of Mother Road Brewing Co. in Flagstaff. Their beers can be found on shelves across the state.

Their newest brew will be Arizona’s exclusive state beer for the America 250 celebration. It’s a lager with a light, crisp taste, so Marquess said it’s a beer for everyone.

“So this is our semi-quincentennial beer,” he said. “Our motto has been building community one pint at a time, and this just ties so clearly into building community.”

The design of the can was important to the team because they wanted to include every corner of Arizona.

“Not just Northern Arizona or the state of Maricopa or Tucson—this is an Arizona beer,” Marquess said. “This is for everyone to celebrate this year.”

Once the beer is made and a design is picked out, it’s time for the fun part: canning the beer.

Each beer is transported on a conveyor belt, filled and sealed. They’re inspected, and the bad ones are rejected.

After a quick wash, they’re packaged, and 120 to 150 beers can be packaged per minute. After this, they are ready to go out to stores and customers.

Marquess said that especially now, something is needed to bring Americans together, and what’s better than beer?

“I think it’s nice to sit back and enjoy a pint together because most of the time, even people that don’t think the same as you, you could probably agree on 95 to 97 percent of things in life, especially when you’re sitting over a cold pint,” he said.

The beer is being officially unveiled across the state this weekend and will soon be available on the shelves at Fry’s grocery store locations in just a few days during Arizona Beer Week.

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