Breweries in Tucson and beyond cook up a weekend full of special events

The westside brewery at 2045 N. Forbes Blvd., down the street from Dragoon Brewing and within walking distance of Hamilton Distillers, has survived its first year and will mark the occasion with a blowout bash all day on Saturday, July 2, with cake, music and Ken’s Hardwood BBQ in the parking lot.

The brewery also plans to hold a beer pairing dinner on Friday night, with Mr. Cookman’s food truck providing the eats.

Visit facebook.com/1912brewing for more information.

USA!

If you are looking to celebrate Independence Day New England style, head to Beast Brewing Company, 1326 W. Highway 92 in Bisbee, for its third annual Fourth of July Lobstah Roll event.

The Maine lobsters in these tasty rolls are imported from the Ipswich Shellfish Company in Massachusetts and will be served Saturday through Monday or until the food runs out.

Owners James and Amanda Gibson hail from Massachusetts and have a tendency to slip this regional dish into their celebrations when they can.

A roll with potato chips will run you $17.95. A roll with a Beast Ale or small batch Citra IPA is $21.

Call 1-520-284-5251 to make reservations or visit facebook.com/beastbrewing for details.

O Canada

In an interesting twist to this weekend’s activities, Sentinel Peak Brewing Company is giving a nod to our neighbors to the north on Friday, July 1, with a Canada Day celebration.

For those not in the know, Canada Day is a federal holiday in Canada, marking the anniversary of the 1867 enactment of its Constitution Act.

The Sentinel Peak event is a collaboration between Sentinel Peak, Visit Tucson and the city of Tucson.

It is meant to mark the arrival of the city’s new minor league ice hockey team, the Tucson Roadrunners.

It will feature special menu items, including a 49th Parallel Canadian Style Ale and Sonoran poutine, a plate of tortilla chips covered in slow-cooked pork, mozzarella cheese and gravy.

The fun starts at 5 p.m. Visit facebook.com/sentinelpeakbrewingcompany for more information.

And then there’s China

How far will I go for a quality craft beer?

How about China?

OK, I went to the country of roughly 1.4 billion people earlier this month to visit my sister, who teaches English in Shanghai.

But I was pleasantly surprised, amid trips to the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, to find that craft beer culture is alive and well there.

Beer is a big deal in China. And the craft beer craze, consisting of homegrown brews and high-end imports, appears to be on the rise.

Both Shanghai and China’s capital city of Beijing sport relatively healthy scenes, with breweries and tap rooms found throughout each city.

The New York Times in January reported that China spent about $220 million on high-end imported beer in 2013.

Beer tasting wasn’t my primary goal, and I probably had more Tsingtao and Snow (a couple of China’s mainstream beers) than I care to admit, but a stop at the Great Leap Brewing Company in Beijing was like visiting Dragoon, Pueblo Vida or any other brewery in Tucson, right down to the handwritten menus.

The brewery’s slogan is “Take a Great Leap when you are young and fat” (I imagine the translation sounds more profound in Mandarin).

My favorite purchase: A glass of Honey Ma Gold, which incorporated Sichuan peppercorns and honey from an apiary near the Great Wall.