Nearly 5,000 people are expected to descend on downtown Chandler on Saturday for the city’s annual Oktoberfest celebration outside SanTan Brewing Company. The event runs noon to 11 p.m.

Homemade German bratwurst, courtesy of Van Hanson’s Meat Market in Chandler, will highlight a menu of sausages, sauerkraut, German potato salad and other items.

Bavarian-style beer gardens will serve a selection of craft beers, including SanTan’s Oktoberfest seasonal ale.

The Arizona Accordian Club will play polka music from 12:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., followed by live music from Shawn Johnson & the Foundations from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and The Insomniacs from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The Arizona Derby Dames will show off their roller derby moves at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Other events will includeweiner dog races, a bratwurst-eating contest, keg stacking and tricycle races.

Admission to the festival is $10. Tickets can be purchased at SanTan Brewing in advance or the day of the event.

SanTan Brewing is located at 8 S. San Marcos Place, a quarter-mile southwest of the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard. Info: (480) 917-8700.

Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port Brewing Company will be the guest brewer at SanTan Brewing Company’s monthly Tuesday Night Tasting on Aug. 4.

The tasting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $25, will feature four courses of food and six beers:

• Reception beer: Pizza Port’s Carlsbad Cask IPA

• Point Reyes blue cheese and pear wedge salad (paired with SanTan’s HopShock IPA)

• Classic vichyssoise (SanTan’s Hefe Weizen)

• Intermezzo: Pomegranate sorbet (SanTan’s Sunspot Gold)

• Muscovy duck confit with Gouda mac ‘n’ cheese (SanTan’s Big Red)

• Chocolate-vanilla creme brulee duet (SanTan’s Strawberry Wit)

RSVP: (480) 917-8700.

You no longer have to trek to downtown Chandler to enjoy one of SanTan Brewing Company’s ales. The city’s only independent microbrewery has begun making its beers available to other Valley restaurants and bars.

“The intention is to drive business back to the pub,” says brewmaster Anthony Canecchia, who opened SanTan in September 2007.

SanTan is the only Arizona brewery that self-distributes its beers. The few other available local beers, such those from Four Peaks or Sonoran, are among many brands handled by large distribution companies.

Canecchia, on the other hand, purchased his own delivery truck and is starting with just two dozen accounts across the East Valley and Phoenix, ranging from fine-dining restaurants like Cork to wine bars like Down Under to steakhouses like Trophy’s.

“I want to create personal relationships with these places that will have us on tap,” he says, reflecting his philosophy of supporting and promoting local businesses.

SanTan staffers will visit the restaurants and bars for promotions and giveaways.

Eye-catching tap handles in bright colors identify the pub’s seven signature ales: Sunspot Gold, Hefeweizen, Big Red, Sun Devil, Gordo Stout, Hopshock IPA and Strawberry Wit.

Canecchia leased a refrigerated, 600-square-foot storage space in May and began brewing every day, storing the extra beer that wasn’t needed for his popular pub.

“We’re able to do it (distribute) right now because we’ve built up an inventory,” he says.

To service more than two dozen accounts, though, Canecchia is planning to get more holding tanks, which also might enable the opening of other SanTan locations.

In the meantime, SanTan also is publicizing its brand by teaming up with other Chandler restaurants and stores for events, including:

• A SanTan beer class taught by Canecchia 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Thursday at Whole Foods in Chandler. Cost is $5. RSVP: (480) 821-9447 or e-mail sp.chr.marketing@wholefoods.com.

• A four-course dinner with SanTan beer pairings at 7:30 p.m. July 23 at Whole Foods. Cost: $35. RSVP: (480) 821-9447 or e-mail sp.chr.marketing@wholefoods.com.

• A five-course dinner with SanTan beer pairings at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at Cork in Chandler. Price TBA. RSVP: (480) 883-3773 or e-mail info@corkrestaurant.net.

SanTan also holds its own Tuesday Night Tastings, featuring a four-course menu with beer pairings, the first Tuesday of every month. The next one is Aug. 4. Cost: $25.

SanTan Brewing Co.
Where: 8 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler
Open: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday
Prices: Beers $4.75 ($3.75 during happy hour), appetizers $5.50-$10, pizzas $8.50-$16.50, burgers and sandwiches $8-$10.50, entrees $7-$12.
Info: (480) 917-8700 or santanbrewing.com.

Photos by Tom Boggan, East Valley Tribune

SanTan Brewing Co. holds its next monthly Tuesday Night Tasting on July 7. The four-course menu with beer pairings, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $25, includes:

• roasted beets and jicama salad with shredded papaya, paired with SanTan’s Sun Devil Ale;

• chilled green pea and mint soup, with Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard;

• venison roast and grilled yams, with SanTan’s Gordo Stout;

• Schnepf Farms peaches, with SanTan’s new Strawberry Wit (pictured).

The downtown Chandler brew pub’s popular TNT dinners always fill up quickly. Reservations: (480) 917-8700.

Last night’s monthly Tuesday Night Tasting at SanTan Brewing Company drew the largest crowd yet — nearly 60 people — who enjoyed a four-course meal with beer pairings for just $20. At the rate this five-month-old event is taking off (I was told the tasting sold out in just a day), the downtown Chandler brewpub eventually may have to devote its entire dining area to future TNTs.

This month’s theme was British food. The four courses:

• A Scotch egg, a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage, covered with breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served cold with a Dijon Hollandaise (top left), paired with SanTan’s current seasonal, an English-style pale ale called Summer Comfort;

• Yorkshire pudding with mutton cooked in a red curry sauce (top right), paired with Maibock, a smooth and nutty bock beer from guest brewer Dieter Foerstner of Tempe’s Gordon Biersch;

• A”Yankee” pasty, a puff pastry filled with sweet potato and lamb sausage with a delicious shallot-and-lavender gravy (bottom left), paired with Bass Original Pale Ale;

• Cathy’s Rum Cake with English Toffee glaze (bottom right), paired with SanTan’s Gordo stout.

As a surprise, SanTan owner/brewmaster Anthony Canecchia concluded the evening by giving attendees a half-pint preview of his next seasonal, Strawberry Wit. Look for this sweet, fruity ale to be unveiled later this month.

From beginning to end, I thought this was SanTan’s best TNT to date. My favorite dish was the “Yankee” pasty, especially the lavender sauce. I’d order it all the time if it was on the regular menu.

The next Tuesday Night Tasting is scheduled for July 7. Info: (480) 917-8700 or santanbrewing.com.

The fourth installment of SanTan Brewing’s monthly Tuesday Night Tasting series drew the largest crowd yet – the downtown Chandler brew pub expanded the reservation-only event’s area to nearly 50 seats. Moving to the first Tuesday of the month, this TNT fell on Cinco de Mayo, prompting a Baja-themed menu of four dishes paired with four beers for $20.

The courses, in order, were a very spicy shredded pork and habanero spring roll with sweet onion relish and a pepper-infused honey glaze (accompanied by Full Sail Brewing’s “Session” beer); lightly bread tiger shrimp with a mojito-lime reduction and Sriracha sauce (with SanTan’s Sunspot Gold); bacon-wrapped scallops with a Bosc pear and apple chutney (SanTan’s Sun Devil Pale Ale); and passion fruit margarita sorbet from nearby Simply Unique Gelato with berries and a lemon tuille (SanTan’s Habanero Gold).

As always, SanTan owner/brewmaster Anthony Cannechia introduced each dish and beer and chatted with guests between courses. The next TNT (menu TBA) will be June 2. The best way to find out when SanTan begins taking reservations is to follow the brew pub on Twitter at @santanbrewing.

Hoppy beers were the inspiration for this month’s Tuesday Night Tasting at SanTan Brewing Company in downtown Chandler. Three dozen people enjoyed a four-course tasting menu prepared by chef Brant Gasparek with four different beer pairings Tuesday night.

Hops add bitterness, aroma and strong flavor to beer, making American pale ales and IPAs perfect for pairing with smoky or spicy foods.

This month’s guest brewmaster was Derek Osborne (pictured on left) of Chandler’s BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery. Osborne and SanTan brewmaster Anthony Canecchia (right) introduced the beers for each course and answered questions.

The first course was Landjäger, a Bavarian sausage not unlike dry salami, with the Italian blue cheese Gorgonzola. The accompanying beer was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The second course was a smoky Hungarian sausage that I think was Csabai, along with Cambozola, a German creation combining Gorgonzola with a Camembert-like rind of French triple cream cheese. The beer was BJ’s Piranha Pale Ale.

The third course was a bowl of tom kha gai, a spicy Thai soup made with coconut milk, lemongrass and chicken. Fried chiles gave it a smoky flavor that paired well with SanTan’s bitter Hopshock IPA.

The last course was carrot cake with a sweet ginger frosting. You might not think a beer would complement a piece of cake, but SanTan’s Big Red Ale has a spicy/citrus hop character that went with it quite well.

Since debuting in February, SanTan’s monthly tastings — which are being moved to the first Tuesday of each month, making the next one May 5 — are proving to be very popular. Even though the price of April’s event was raised from $10 to $20 (still a great price for four courses and four beers), it filled up in two days and there was a waiting list several pages long.

So if you want to attend the May 5 tasting, which starts at 6:30 p.m., you’ll probably need to make your reservation as soon as the menu is announced next week. Info: (480) 917-8700.