Mudshark Brewing Company in Lake Havasu City, Mohave County, United States | Brewery

Welcome to Mudshark Brewing Company, Brewery, Lake Havasu City, United States. Mudshark Brewing Company, which opened in September of 1998. Intrigued by the origin of the name, I asked owner Scott Stocking if there were some freshwater sharks lurking in their lake. The brew pub is named after a popular locals' beach of the same name. The beach got its unofficial name in the '70s from the locals who hung out there and dubbed it Mudshark after a Frank Zappa tune that was hitting the airwaves at the time.

Like most brew masters, Mudshark Brewing Company's previous brew master Ron Chieffo started out as a home brewer. Chieffo, a resident of Lake Havasu City for over 20 years, has a degree in forestry but was working as an information systems manager (managing computers) for the city of Needles when Scott Stocking, his mountain biking and homebrewing buddy, lured him away to work as an apprentice brewer at his new brew pub. Chieffo received on-the-job training as he apprenticed for six months with Mudshark's original brew master, Wayne Wannanan, before stepping into his brew master boots. The frosting on the cake of his training came from Roberto Santos from Brewski's/Bohemian Breweries, who walked him through Brewing techniques on the 15-bbl. Bohemian Brewing system.

The Brewery names of the beers reflect aspects of life on the Colorado River, including landmarks on the river. Mudshark's six standard beers are the Upriver Lager, Pilot Rock Pilsner, Dry Heat Hefe, Underground Pale Ale, Scorpion Red Ale and Full Moon Belgian Wit. Although Mudshark Brewing Company serves no fruit beers, the Full Moon comes close. It's served with an orange slice skewered on a toothpick resting above the beer, so one has the choice to add it to the beer or not.