A week to recognize Arizona’s beer culture and its economic contributions became officially recognized once again Friday. Arizona Beer Week is now running in its 14th year.
As acting governor until Saturday, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes made the designation while attending an event at a local brewery.
"It's a celebration of the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into making beer here in Arizona. It's important that we celebrate that because it's not just the beer, it's the business. It's the economic impact. And it's the people that really make this part of Arizona so special," he said.
Joining Fontes at the event was Rob Fullmer, the executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild.
“We were fortunate then to catch up with the rest of the country on the growth of craft beer. So our industry is unique in that there's a lot of cooperation at the production level," he said.
Fullmer says the guild focuses on training and fostering collaboration among breweries. And Fontes said craft beer’s impact goes far beyond just brewing, extending to other segments of the economy, such as suppliers, transportation and the service industry.
