Walk into almost any Phoenix grocery store, and you'll likely spot Danzeisen Dairy's signature glass bottles—the ones with the floppy black-eared cow and the word “Fresh” scripted across the front.
With over 60 years and three generations in the local farming industry, the Danzeisen family believes they bottle some of the best-tasting milk around.
Excellence is rarely a coincidence.
In 2014, Kevin Danzeisen, who grew up on the farm, partnered with his father and brother to revive an old-fashioned idea: bottling milk directly from the dairy into reusable glass bottles for a fresher product.
One thing they focused on was speed.
“Typically speaking, within four hours, they can have it from the cow into our production area and into glass bottles. So it's a very quick process,” says Katie Klein, a Danzeisen partner.
Changing to glass bottles played an important role, too.
Plastic milk jugs arrive flat and are heated and blown into shape just before they're filled. Klein says that the process can subtly affect the milk's flavor, giving it a plastic taste. Glass, on the other hand, doesn't.
“And it keeps it so, so cold,” she says.
Along with whole, 2% and 1% milk, Danzeisen offers additional flavors for happy taste buds, such as chocolate, root beer and peach milk, as well as seasonal flavors like apple pie and churro.
Six years ago, the team opened its first Danzeisen Dairy Creamery in Payson so customers could enjoy milkshakes and ice cream made from that same fresh milk. A few months later, the longtime Laveen storefront also expanded into a creamery.
Everything that we make in our stores is derived from the milk that they're bottling at the plant, Klein explains. “It's super fresh, more wholesome. Our milkshakes are mixed with our milk, and that's what gives it its flavor. It's not a ton of sugar. It's more of a traditional type of milkshake.”
The towering Stack Shakes are among the biggest draws, especially the “core four” flavors: Monsoon Stack with triple chocolate, Dirt Stack with gummy worms and Oreos, Salted Caramel, and S’Mores with toasted marshmallows. Guests can also order a flight of mini stack shakes in the “core four”’ flavors or order a regular sized classic like a chocolate malt. The soft serve and hard ice cream is not to be missed, either. Gail's Campfire, named after Kevin Danzeisen's mother, is a customer favorite featuring her homemade fudge folded into the ice cream.
The menu also includes a full express menu, root beer, orange cream and sarsaparilla floats, plus smoothies, blended lemonades and “clean sodas” made with sparkling water and juice for those who prefer a dairy-free option.
The ice cream is made in-house using fresh cream separated during bottling, then blended back into the milk with cane sugar, vanilla and eggs.
“It's natural, wholesome ingredients,” Klein says. “It's not a bunch of crud pushed in to keep it good longer, or make it shelf stable.”
While the bottling plant isn't open for tours because of safety and sanitation requirements, visitors can sign up for butter-making classes at the creamery. Using just a pint of cream, participants churn fresh butter, and may flavor it with ingredients like rosemary, garlic, or cinnamon sugar to take home.
As the Laveen community grows, so have the Danzeisen’s efforts to care for it.
After local football games, the creamery hosts a “Fifth Quarter,” providing students with a safe place to gather for discounted milkshakes. The team also supports local schools, nonprofits and other events throughout the year.
For Klein, supporting local goes hand in hand with producing local.
“We want to see the areas that we live in continue to thrive and be supported,” she says. “When you shop local, you're supporting people who live in your community and helping those communities continue to thrive."
It's one part of the philosophy that’s made Danzeisen Dairy a staple in Arizona refrigerators for generations–and for many more to come.
DanzeisenDairy.com
“It's super fresh, more wholesome. Our milkshakes are mixed with our milk, and that's what gives it its flavor...It's more of a traditional type of milkshake.”