Smelter Town Brewery Beer Fest Turned Into a Full Weekend Adventure
Adam and Dedra head to Clarkdale, Arizona for Smelter Town Brewery’s anniversary beer festival and turn it into a full Cottonwood weekend filled with craft beer, coffee, burgers, wine, cigars, and plenty of questionable decisions. From Dedra finding her five-star hazy to discovering a burger worthy of a tattoo, this trip proves once again that the best beer adventures are about way more than just the beer.
Adam & Dedra
5/28/202610 min read
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Smelter Town, Strong Winds, and the Burger That Almost Resulted in a Tattoo
Some weekends are planned.
Some weekends are well planned.
And some weekends start with a beer festival in Clarkdale, turn into a full Cottonwood food-and-drink crawl, involve temporary tattoos, allergy attacks, banana stout, questionable water reviews, and a burger so good Dedra was ready to get it permanently inked on her body.
This was one of those weekends.
We headed up north for Smelter Town Brewery’s anniversary beer festival in Clarkdale, Arizona, which is basically Cottonwood’s cooler little neighbor that knows how to throw a party. And because this is us, we didn’t just “go to a beer festival.” We turned it into a whole weekend of beer, food, wine, coffee, burgers, cigars, bourbon, and enough wind to personally attack Dedra’s allergies.
So, yes. It was a successful trip.
First Things First: The Beer in the Glass
Before we got into the Clarkdale adventure, we cracked open Labrador from Great Notion, a hazy IPA with can art that immediately earned a spot on the shelf.
The artwork is inspired by Cheech and Chong, complete with a clever little “Up in Smoke” nod. It’s the kind of can that makes you say, “We’re definitely keeping this,” before you even take the first sip.
And the beer? Tasty.
Adam, of course, admitted that his Untappd game still needs work. Which is impressive considering we went through an entire beer festival full of tasters and he logged exactly zero beers.
To be fair, at a beer festival, Untappd becomes less of a beer-rating app and more of a reminder that your hands are already full, your brain is busy having fun, and your next taster is approximately eight feet away.
Dedra Finds Her Five-Star Hazy
Adam has a problem.
He refuses to give beers a five-star rating because apparently that means he has reached the top of beer mountain and can never experience joy again.
Dedra does not share this issue.
At the festival, she found a beer that hit exactly what she wants in a hazy IPA: Lake Pleasant Brewing’s Citradelic Haze.
According to Dedra, that beer is the hazy she is always chasing. The one in her head every time she orders a hazy. The standard. The benchmark. The “this is what I meant when I said I wanted a hazy” beer.
That one gets a 5.0.
Adam may still be overthinking his beer ratings like he’s defusing a bomb, but Dedra has spoken.
Smelter Town Knows How to Throw a Party
The main reason for the trip was Smelter Town Brewery’s anniversary festival in Clarkdale.
And honestly, we’re a little mad at ourselves for missing years one and two.
The setup was simple and perfect: no big entry fee, just buy tickets and use them for beer tasters. That way, you could wander around, sample different breweries, talk to people, and pretend you were going to remember every single beer you tried.
Spoiler: you will not.
There were a ton of Arizona breweries represented, including Lake Pleasant, Bone Haus, Old Ellsworth, Simple Machine, Saddle Mountain, Phantom Fox, O.H.S.O., Beer Babes, and more.
That is one of the coolest things about the Arizona craft beer scene. Everybody seems connected. Breweries know each other, collaborate with each other, and show up for each other. It feels less like a competitive industry and more like one giant family reunion where everyone brought better drinks than your actual family reunion.
The only real villain of the day was the wind.
Clarkdale decided to remind everyone that outdoor festivals are fun, but also nature can slap you in the face for several hours straight. Dedra’s allergies were not impressed. Between the wind, the dust, and being outside most of the day, she left sounding like she had taken up smoking.
She did not.
It was allergies.
Allegedly.
Temporary Tattoos and Festival Decisions
Beer Babes was there, and Dedra got a temporary tattoo.
Except this was not some weak little sticker tattoo that disappears after one shower. This thing had commitment issues in the opposite direction.
Days later, after scrubbing like she was trying to remove evidence from a crime scene, there was still a mark. Dedra wore a short-sleeve shirt to work and looked down like, “Why do I look dirty?”
That’s how you know the festival was legit.
The beer was memorable. The tattoo was apparently semi-permanent. The wind tried to kill her. Great weekend.
Why We Keep Coming Back to Cottonwood and Clarkdale
We’ve been going to Cottonwood for years, long before Smelter Town entered our regular rotation.
At first, Cottonwood was our Arizona wine getaway. We love craft beer, but Dedra loves wine too, and Cottonwood gave us a place close enough for a quick trip but far enough away to feel like a real escape.
Then we discovered more breweries, more restaurants, more little bars, and eventually Clarkdale became part of the ritual too.
Smelter Town is now one of our favorite breweries in northern Arizona. The beer program is strong, the building and town have that old Arizona charm, and the whole experience feels like something worth making a trip for.
And when we make the trip, we go all in.
Shoutout to Iron Horse Inn
We stayed at Iron Horse Inn, which has become one of our go-to places in Cottonwood.
This time, the staff deserves an extra shoutout because Dedra is still healing from a broken ankle, and we suddenly realized that stairs were going to be a problem.
Not a small problem.
A “Dedra might sleep on a courtyard bench after the festival” problem.
Thankfully, they were able to accommodate us with a first-floor room, which was very appreciated and probably saved Adam from having to explain why his wife was camping outside the hotel like a wounded raccoon.
Iron Horse is right in the downtown area, the rooms are nice, and the people are always friendly. That combination is hard to beat.
Bocce: Pizza, Patios, and Snake Memories
No Cottonwood trip is complete without talking about Bocce.
Bocce is one of our favorite pizza spots in town. It has a cool multi-level setup, great patio areas, and the kind of food that makes you wonder why you don’t live closer.
We’ve been there a bunch of times, and one visit included a snake casually poking its head out near the patio.
Dedra, being very brave in the way people are brave when they are absolutely not okay, warned the people sitting nearby.
Because if you see a snake approaching someone’s dining table and say nothing, that is how you end up being smacked with a snake.
At least according to Dedra.
Realistically, she would have flipped the table, launched herself back to Phoenix in record time, and left Adam and the kids buried under patio furniture.
But the warning was appreciated.
Copper Jackalope and Banana Stout Glory
Right near Bocce is Copper Jackalope, a craft beer bar that naturally required a visit.
That’s where we picked up Banan-Archy from O.H.S.O., a barrel-aged stout packed with banana flavor.
And yes, Dedra drank a stout.
Not only did she drink it, she liked it.
This is important because Dedra’s usual wheelhouse is hazies and smoothie sours. So when a stout earns her approval, especially a banana-heavy barrel-aged one, that beer deserves respect.
Adam bought two bottles because one bottle is for drinking and the second bottle is for emotional security.
Nick’s Italian: Come for Dinner, Leave Covered in Butter
Another Cottonwood favorite is Nic’s Italian.
If you’ve seen the cartoon-style photo on our website of us destroying crab legs, mussels, and beer at a table, that moment came from Nic’s.
The king crab legs were so good that Dedra almost lost her mind. Shells flying. Butter everywhere. Adam’s shirt taking damage. People walking by the window probably wondering if they were witnessing dinner or a seafood-based wrestling match.
Nic’s says Italian, but we’ve had seafood, steak, pasta, risotto, and honestly, who cares what category it falls under when the food is that good?
Sometimes a place does not need to make sense.
It just needs to bring more butter.
Kactus Kate’s: Where Things Got Fuzzy
Later in the evening, we ended up at Kactus Kate’s, a dive bar that seems to be one of the places people go when everything else in town starts shutting down.
And we mean that in the best way.
Scotty behind the bar was running the place like a one-man army, pouring drinks, taking care of everyone, and somehow keeping the whole operation moving.
We found the back patio, smoked cigars, drank Evan Williams dark rye, and this is around the point where the evening got a little fuzzy.
Not bad fuzzy.
Just “we should probably do market research tomorrow to confirm what happened” fuzzy.
The Next Morning: Coffee, Burgers, Wine, Beer
The next day started with Bruja, a coffee spot that has now become part of our Cottonwood ritual.
We are not coffee snobs. We are simple coffee people. Dedra takes a splash of half-and-half. Adam drinks his black because apparently joy is optional.
But Brewha’s Americano made us both stop and stare.
It came in a clear cup, had foam on top, and tasted way better than we were prepared for. We watched them making other coffees like we were trying to solve a magic trick.
Was it technique?
Was it beans?
Was there crack sprinkled on top?
Legally, probably not.
Emotionally, maybe.
G’s Burgers: The New Ritual
Right across from Brewha is G’s Burgers, a place we had seen before but somehow never tried.
Huge mistake.
This burger was incredible.
The place is in a funny little parking lot near a Shell station setup that barely looks like a gas station, next to a veterinarian, which did raise some questions we chose not to investigate.
The burger had green chile, we added a fried egg, and it came out huge, flavorful, messy, and glorious. We split it and still left full.
The fries were also excellent! Hot, crispy, and served in a paper sack like they knew we needed emotional support carbs.
Dedra said she was ready to get a tattoo for this burger.
That is not a casual compliment.
The ranch was a little watery, but then the water itself got a full tasting review, so everything balanced out.
Dedra described the mouthfeel of the water like she was reviewing a beer, and honestly, once you start talking about H2O hitting the palate, you may have officially become craft beverage people.
Tumbleweed, Wind, and Waiting for Smelter Town
After coffee and burgers, we headed to Tumbleweed Winery to wait for Smelter Town to open.
Because the festival had been the day before, Smelter Town opened later on Sunday for cleanup, which makes total sense.
Tumbleweed had a gorgeous view, good wine, and more wind.
Of course.
At some point, you just accept that northern Arizona is beautiful but also personally committed to messing with Dedra’s allergies.
Still, sitting outside with wine and a view is not a bad way to pass time before heading back to a brewery.
Back to Smelter Town for Research
Once Smelter Town opened, we went back.
For research.
Obviously.
Adam tried Grinding Gears, a collaboration with Simple Machine. It was an extra pale ale, light in ABV, crisp, and had a nice hop punch without being too heavy.
Dedra went back to Hop Deposits, Smelter Town’s hazy. She had it at the festival and again the next day. Adam briefly got in her head by questioning whether it looked hazy enough, so naturally she ordered it again to confirm.
This is called scientific method.
Adam also had Digging Up Bones, a collaboration with Catalyst. A double dry-hopped double IPA? That is exactly in Adam’s lane. It was probably his favorite Smelter Town beer of the weekend.
He also tried Clarkdale Wise Guys, a strawberry lemonade-style sour that was light, refreshing, and a nice reset after the double IPA.
And because Smelter Town also does smoothie sours, we left with one from their Sluice Box series waiting in the fridge.
Dedra is very much looking forward to that one.
The Weekend Verdict
Smelter Town’s anniversary festival was a blast.
The beer was excellent. The Arizona brewery community showed up strong. Clarkdale gave us small-town charm. Cottonwood gave us pizza, burgers, coffee, wine, seafood, dive bars, and one very aggressive temporary tattoo.
This is exactly why we love these trips.
You go for the beer, but the whole experience becomes the story. The random burger place you finally try. The coffee that shocks you. The hotel staff that saves your ankle. The patio snake from years ago that still gets brought up. The bar where the night gets a little blurry. The beer that makes Dedra finally give out a five-star rating.
That’s the good stuff.
So if you’re planning a trip to Cottonwood or Clarkdale, go visit Smelter Town. Stay at Iron Horse. Grab coffee at Brewha. Eat the burger at G’s. Get pizza at Bocce. Stop into Copper Jackalope. Go to Nic’s if you’re ready to fight crab legs in public. And if you end up at Kactus Kate’s, tell Scotty we said cheers.
Just maybe bring allergy medicine.
And if Beer Babes has temporary tattoos, understand that “temporary” may be a loose term.
Cheers!!!
