Sedona Breweries: A Local Guide to Craft Beer in Red Rock Country

Sedona breweries come in two flavors: a pair of brewers right in town, Oak Creek Brewing Company and Sedona Beer Company, each with two places to drink, and a ring of small brewpubs 25 to 35 minutes away in Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Camp Verde. You can have a great beer afternoon without leaving Sedona, but the best brewery day around here strings the town spots together with the Verde Valley. Here is where we take the beer drinkers in our groups, what each place does well, and how to plan it so nobody has to drive.

We have been guiding in Sedona since 2004, and we can tell you that almost every wine group has at least one person who would rather have a pint. The good news is that the Verde Valley takes beer seriously, and the breweries sit right alongside the tasting rooms.

Breweries in Sedona itself

Sedona proper has two craft brewers, and between them four places to drink. All are within about 10 minutes of each other.

Oak Creek Brewing Company (West Sedona). The original. Visit Sedona calls it Sedona’s only combination production craft brewery and brewpub, and it has been making beer here for more than 25 years. The brewery sits at 2050 Yavapai Dr., tucked off State Route 89A in West Sedona, with a laid-back beer garden, a fire pit and live music on weekends. Hoppy Hour runs daily from 4 to 7 p.m. This is the locals’ spot: no red rock views to speak of, but a relaxed patio and beer made a few feet from where you drink it.

Oak Creek Brewery & Grill (Tlaquepaque). Same brewing family, very different feel. The Grill is upstairs at Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, 336 State Route 179, Suite D201, and Visit Sedona’s listing describes an exhibition kitchen turning out wood-fired pizza, baby back ribs, fish and chips, burgers and steaks, with a full bar and great views. It opens daily at 11:30 a.m.; call (928) 282-3300 for the evening schedule. This is the one to pair with a Tlaquepaque gallery stroll, and the patio is small, so go early on weekends.

Sedona Beer Company Uptown Brew Pub. Sedona Beer Company’s motto is “brews and views,” per its own site, and the Uptown pub at 465 Jordan Rd. delivers both: a small-batch brewery, a kitchen and a patio a short walk from Uptown’s main drag. It is an easy stop after a morning on the trails, and it is the closest brewery to most Uptown hotels.

Sedona Beer Company Basecamp Beer Garden (West Sedona). The company’s second spot, off Dry Creek Road in West Sedona, is the casual one: an outdoor beer garden with a food truck, beer and wine. It is handy on the way back from the Dry Creek and Boynton Canyon trailheads.

Verde Valley breweries: Cottonwood, Clarkdale and Camp Verde

Drive 25 to 35 minutes from Sedona and the brewery count grows. The Verde Valley breweries are small, local and very different from one another, which is what makes a loop fun.

Belfry Brewery, Cottonwood. Our most-requested beer stop. The Belfry is a brewpub in a former church built in 1928 at 791 N. Main St. in Old Town Cottonwood, and according to Arizona Highways, the owner rebuilt the original bell tower and hung a historic church bell to keep the building’s character. House beers, a brewpub menu and a beer garden make it the natural lunch stop on a wine-and-beer day. Phone: (928) 239-4595. Our Old Town Cottonwood wine tasting guide covers the tasting rooms on the same few blocks.

That Brewery, Cottonwood. A taproom at 300 E. Cherry St., just off Main Street. Friends of the Verde River lists house-brewed beers and non-alcoholic drinks, cornhole and board games, and leashed dogs allowed. There is no kitchen, so bring food or order in. Its listing is older, so confirm it is open before you plan around it.

Smelter Town Brewery, Clarkdale. At 921 Main St., Suite A, in the historic Park Hotel building in downtown Clarkdale, about five minutes past Old Town Cottonwood. Experience Clarkdale calls it “one of Main Street’s brightest sparks,” with bingo nights and weekend live music. Friends of the Verde River notes that $1 from each pint of its collaboration beer goes to local river projects. It pairs well with a ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad or a stop in Jerome, up the hill.

Verde Brewing Company, Camp Verde. South of Sedona, at 724 W. Industrial Dr., Suite 7, Camp Verde. Visit Camp Verde describes a locally owned microbrewery with eight beers on tap made with local ingredients, nachos, salads and sandwiches, growler fills and a patio where dogs are allowed. Phone: (928) 567-8626. It fits nicely into a day with Montezuma Castle or the estate wineries out on the Verde River.

Sedona breweries vs Flagstaff: worth the drive?

If beer is the whole point of your trip, Flagstaff is about 30 miles north and 2,500 feet higher, with a downtown brewery scene on and around Route 66. It is cooler by a good 15 degrees in summer, which makes it a smart afternoon in July. In fall and winter, though, most visitors are better served by the Sedona and Verde Valley breweries: shorter drives, room to mix in wineries, and you are back in town for sunset. Our Sedona wineries and vineyards guide lists the Flagstaff breweries we visit as well.

How to plan a Sedona brewery day

A few things we have learned from two decades of beer-and-wine days:

Two or three breweries is plenty. Pints add up faster than tasting flights. Ask for a flight or half pours where they are offered.
Eat at a brewpub, not between them. Oak Creek Brewery & Grill, Sedona Beer Company Uptown and Belfry all serve real food. Some smaller taprooms do not.
Mix wine and beer by town, not by drink. Old Town Cottonwood puts Belfry and a cluster of tasting rooms within a few blocks, so the wine people and the beer people can split up and meet for lunch.
Watch the day of the week. Small taprooms often keep shorter hours early in the week. Check the current hours before you go.
Never drive after tasting. The roads between Sedona and the Verde Valley are busy highways with plenty of roundabouts, and Arizona enforces DUI laws strictly.

Brewery-friendly tours, so nobody drives

All three of our brands can build a day around beer as well as wine:

Wine Tours of Sedona runs our most popular private tour, the Sedona & Verde Valley Tour: Wine, Beer, Raw Chocolate & Lunch. It is five hours and all-inclusive, with four wine or beer tasting flights, chocolate tastings and lunch, routed by what your group likes, at $444 per adult.
Sedona Wine Adventures offers Everybody’s “ABT,” the Adult Beverage Tour: six private hours of wine, beer, spirits, cider and mead anywhere in the Verde Valley and Flagstaff, at $300 per adult plus 18% gratuity, with tastings paid at each stop.
SIP Sedona runs the 5-Hour Wine, Beer & Beyond Experience, a shared small-group loop through the wider Verde Valley at $150 per person plus 18% gratuity, with tastings paid at each stop.

Wine Tours of Sedona and Sedona Wine Adventures welcome well-behaved dogs, so a brewery patio day with your pup is easy to arrange. Full details on deposits, gratuity and guests under 21 are on our pricing and policies page.

What to book, what to bring and when to go

When to go. Fall through spring is prime brewery-patio season here, with mild afternoons and cool evenings by the fire pit. Weekday afternoons are calmest; Saturday evenings with live music are liveliest. In summer, plan patio time for the late afternoon and evening.

What to book. - A table at Oak Creek Brewery & Grill if you want a view at dinner on a weekend. - A driver or tour for any day that leaves Sedona. - Your Verde Canyon Railroad or Montezuma Castle visit, if you are building them into the loop.

What to bring. - A valid photo ID for everyone, even if you are clearly over 21. - A light jacket. Patios cool off fast once the sun drops behind the rocks, especially from November on. - Water. The high desert dehydrates you faster than you expect, and beer does not help. - A cooler bag if you plan to take home cans or a growler.

Reach us

Want a day that mixes breweries and wineries? Call Sedona Wine Tours at (928) 504-2445, email [email protected], or visit www.sedonawinetours.group. For the all-inclusive Wine, Beer, Raw Chocolate & Lunch tour, reach Wine Tours of Sedona at (928) 224-2991 or www.winetoursofsedona.com; for the Adult Beverage Tour, call Sedona Wine Adventures at (928) 366-8476 or visit www.sedonawineadventures.com; for the shared Wine, Beer & Beyond loop, call SIP Sedona at (928) 308-5166 or visit www.sipsedona.com.

Whether your crew leans hops or grapes, Sedona wine country has room for both, and our Tour Chooser will match you with the right day in about a minute.