Raise a glass to Verde Canyon Railroad’s annual ode to Oktoberfest! “Ales on Rails” is celebrating its 22nd year as a popular venue for showcasing Arizona craft beers, accompanied by an autumn rail adventure deep into the wildly scenic heart of the Grand Canyon State. Featuring a wide array of ales to suit every beer lover’s taste, this prior-to-train-time event has long been one of Verde Canyon Railroad’s most well-liked seasonal celebrations.
Oktoberfest began as an endless wedding party and continues as an annual salute to the fresh flavors of locally-brewed beer. On October 12, 1810, Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig I married Princess Therese Sachsen-Hildburghausen in Munich where they reveled with 40,000 invited guests who enjoyed drinking ale, dining, belly laughing and betting on horses for days without end. The festivity soon morphed into the famed drinking celebration, and in just two short centuries Oktoberfest jumped the pond from Germany to Arizona.
In 1850s Arizona, thousands of migrants flooded Arizona and Sedona’s Verde Valley looking to make their fortune in mining and railroading. They knew nothing of Prince Ludwig, Princess Therese or Oktoberfest, but the demand for beer skyrocketed in the untamed West because ales were deemed safer to drink than water. Early Arizona brewers faced significant setbacks, like alkaline water and unstable resource routes. Even with obstacles, these pioneer beer producers thrived until the transcontinental railroads opened supply lines for out-of-state beers to flood the market, causing local breweries to struggle and eventually close.
Since the 1980s, locally brewed beers have made a big comeback nationwide, and Arizona is no exception, with craft breweries’ signature beers bringing home gold, silver and bronze year-after-year from the annual U.S. Beer Tasting Championship. Verde Canyon Railroad has invited many of these award-winning beermakers to showcase their medal-winners at Ales on Rails from September 17, 2024, through the end of October. Hoppy Hour will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. prior to the train’s departure at 1 p.m. daily.
Niche brewing operations now flourish in Arizona, creating a vibrant beverage culture that comes alive at Verde Canyon Railroad’s taproom, under the newly constructed covered patio, the perfect venue for one-stop-sampling of some of the State’s most creative and richly flavored beers. In addition to twists on recognizable ales, lagers, stouts, pilsners and IPAs, the Railroad will also feature the world’s oldest fermented beverage known to mankind called mead, made from honey. On that same note, only with a splash of green tea, a refreshing semi-sweet jun kombucha is on the roster. Rounding out the diverse selection of Ales on Rails beverages is hard cider, rich with fruit and botanical components.
There’s a good chance that once a person samples a great craft beer, a mass-produced macro beer will no longer satisfy. Microbrewery experimentation – tasting the local, innovative craft beers – is a true hallmark of getting to know a place. Infusing historic ingredients with non-traditional flavors create a distinct style and taste native to a time and place. Audacious hints of pine, citrus, fruit, spice, malt and floral create flavors that are crisp, robust, smokey, and just the right balance of pleasantly bitter, which all pair well with Verde Canyon Railroad’s lunch menu served prior to train departure.
What does your $155.00 (plus tax/fees) get you for an Ales on Rails experience?
- An indoor seat and access to an open-air car aboard Verde Canyon Railroad for an autumn train adventure, complete with a Champagne toast and charcuterie tray
- Four tastings of Arizona craft beers, cider, mead or kombucha on the patio prior to the train’s departure
- A scrumptious scratch-made lunch from the Copper Spike Café
- Stainless steel souvenir pint glass with Verde Canyon Railroad logo
(Participants must be 21 years of age to purchase an Ales on Rails ticket, but everyone is invited to ride during one of the Railroad’s premiere seasons. Children and non-drinkers are welcome to have lunch and ride the train at the standard rate.)
There’s a limitless world of craft beers out there. You’ll find the one that suits your palate at Verde Canyon Railroad’s Ales on Rails before climbing on board the train for a spectacular four-hour journey through Arizona’s other “grand” canyon.
It’s not the destination, it’s an Ales on Rails journey
