Two former colleagues team up to bring their passion project to North Phoenix’s growing craft brewery scene.
Nick Kelley and Dustin Westby started brewing beer eight years ago when they worked together at a rental car company. Today they are putting the finishing touches on their new craft brewery, Lake Pleasant Brewing Company.
“We love everything that beer encompasses,” Kelley says. “Not just what’s in the glass, but the camaraderie it brings between friends, family and strangers. We wanted to create a place where others could experience it.”
Kelley says he first became interested in the brewing process and quickly fell in love with the many different styles of beer that can be made. After meeting Westby, the two began creating recipes like IPAs and sours for their beers.
Westby said that while they did their corporate job well and achieved all the goals they set for themselves, the two did not feel satisfied with their jobs. After the country shut down during the pandemic and their business went through dramatic changes, the couple decided to take the plunge and start planning to open their brewery.
Owners Dustin Westby and Nick Kelley.
Lake Pleasant Brewery
“The unpredictable can happen sometimes, and I never wanted to be in a position where we looked back wishing we had tried,” Kelley says.
The brewery joins a bustling craft scene just northeast of I-17 and the 101 loop in North Phoenix, including Front Pourch Brewing and Simple Machine Brewing Company. The brewery, currently still under construction, will have a family setting to accommodate 100 people. There will be 18 taps with beers from Kelley and Westby.
The co-owners are still planning the finalized tap slate, but Kelley said they hope to offer misty IPAs, lagers, porters and stouts once construction is complete. Once the business starts, Kelley said they would like to start offering sours and other local beers.
There is no set opening date due to supply chain shortages and shipping delays, but Westby said his ultimate goal is to start building a slate of taps and brewing so that they can open by the end of January.
“Everything was supposed to be finished by the end of July or the beginning of August, but we still haven’t finished everything,” says Westby. “Hopefully in the next few weeks everything will be in place so we can start making beer and planning our opening.”
Westby says the aim is to create a family meeting place where people could hold events or relax with friends over a glass of beer.
“It’s a family business for both of us, so we want to be able to invite people to bring their kids,” he said.
“Throughout the 10 years we’ve been together, we’ve had great celebrations around beer, and it’s so much more than what the drink is, but the experience it brings,” said Kelly. “We’ve traveled a lot to other parts of the country, soaking up what beer looks like across America, and we want to bring pieces of that culture here to Arizona.”
For up-to-date information, follow Lake Pleasant Brewing Company on Facebook and Instagram.
Lake Pleasant Brewery
1950 West Rose Garden Lane, Suite #130
Opening date and hours to be determined
