What has occurred in the Tucson beer world over the past few years is nothing short of miraculous. In 2011 there were Barrio, Nimbus and Thunder Canyon. Good breweries, but three does not make a beer town. Then in 2012 a group of guys announced the opening of a new brewery in Tucson: Borderlands. Good news.
In short order, Borderlands was followed by Dragoon, Ten Fifty-Five, Sentinel Peak, 1702 / The Address, and Iron John’s. The demand was (and is) so great for good beer in Tucson that several of the breweries expanded. On top of that, there are several new breweries planned around the county.
Tucson has become a Beer Town.
I think there are three components that define a beer town. First, of course, are good breweries, and we got em’ for sure.
Second, establishments that offer a variety of good beers to enjoy on premises. Tap and Bottle is the quintessential in Tucson. A great location, cool building and constantly rotating taps. 1702 at 1702 E. Speedway near the University of Arizona, Noble Hops at 1335 W. Lambert Lane in Oro Valley and Whole Foods at 5555 E. River Road and the new store at 7133 N. Oracle Road each offer a variety of beers on tap. Several breweries have restaurants while the others have tasting rooms with food trucks.
And last, you’ve got to have beer events and we’ve got several. Brew at the Zoo in June benefits the Reid Park Zoo and is a great time to see the animals while trying Arizona beers. Arizona Sun Sounds just put on its 28th Annual Great Tucson Beer Festival. Hotel Congress recently hosted the Third Annual Born and Brewed event featuring local beers.
The Arizona Brewers Guild last weekend put on Baja Oktoberfest, which featured 75 mostly Arizona brewers. This is the third different event the guild has put on over the past three years. It’s great that it is putting on events in Tucson. I hope they settle on one that is reasonably priced (Baja Oktoberfest was $45 per person).
In a recent column, after a visit to Los Angeles, I opined on how advanced the Tucson beer culture was compared to L.A. In a recent edition of the Southwest Brewing News, 12 column inches was devoted to Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) and five inches to Southern Arizona. The California counties have a combined population of 13 million; the Tucson area is right around one million. You do the math, but there is a lot going on in Tucson compared to SoCal.
What has happened here in just a few years is pretty darn amazing. Tucson is fortunate to have men and women who were willing to take financial risk to build the beer culture . Starting with Dennis Arnold in the 1970s with Gentle Ben’s to today’s beerpreneuers. It takes a lot of money to start up a brewery and I applaud and thank today’s local brewers for their love of good beer, determination and risk-taking.
