Nimbus Brewing Co. could have new life after being bought by a Chicago brewing company late last year in a court-ordered sale.
Two Brothers Brewing, which operates a tap house and brewery in Scottsdale and several other brewery-centric restaurants in Illinois, is planning to relaunch Nimbus as a brand, according to Mike Cummings, the Tucson auctioneer who is liquidating the contents of Nimbus’ cavernous brewery at 3850 E. 44th St. for Two Brothers.
Two Brothers officials could not be reached for comment, and employees of the Scottsdale outpost said they had no information. But in a Facebook post to promote the auction, Cummings said the goal was to liquidate Nimbus’ assets to help fund the revival of the brand.
“Help a local Tucson icon rise from the ashes!” the post read, ticking off an inventory list that included restaurant and brewing equipment, memorabilia and furniture.
The first batch of auction items has been posted on auction-tucson.com, including the Nimbus mounted monkey head, bar stools, a framed flag that was flown over Iraq during the second Iraq war and framed photographs of military jets and service members.
Cummings said he is starting at the front of the bar-restaurant and making his way back to the kitchen and brewery until everything is gone.
Nimbus has been shuttered since May 2018 when the court-ordered receiver Christopher G. Linscott determined the longtime brewery and restaurant didn’t have enough money to keep the doors open. The business had been at the center of a drawn out and contentious divorce proceeding between Nimbus founder James Counts and his wife, Patricia.
As part of the 2014 divorce decree, Counts was ordered to split the business with his wife, either by buying her out or selling the company and dividing the proceeds, according to court records.
In January 2018, Patricia Counts sued, which led the court to appoint Linscott.
Linscott on Monday said Two Brothers was one of several potential buyers. The company paid $550,000 for Nimbus, which included the recipes for the beer.
Linscott said Two Brothers was familiar with Nimbus because it had been one of its distributors.
