What has occurred in the 蜜柚直播 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 蜜柚直播: Borderlands. Good news.
In short order, Borderlands was followed by Dragoon, Ten Fifty-Five, Sentinel Peak, 1702 / The Address, and Iron John鈥檚. The demand was (and is) so great for good beer in 蜜柚直播 that several of the breweries expanded. On top of that, there are several new breweries planned around the county.
蜜柚直播 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鈥 for sure.
Second, establishments that offer a variety of good beers to enjoy on premises. Tap and Bottle is the quintessential in 蜜柚直播. A great location, cool building and constantly rotating taps. 1702 at 1702 E. Speedway near the University of 蜜柚直播, 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.
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And last, you鈥檝e got to have beer events and we鈥檝e got several. Brew at the Zoo in June benefits the Reid Park Zoo and is a great time to see the animals while trying 蜜柚直播 beers. 蜜柚直播 Sun Sounds just put on its 28th Annual Great 蜜柚直播 Beer Festival. Hotel Congress recently hosted the Third Annual Born and Brewed event featuring local beers.
The 蜜柚直播 Brewers Guild last weekend put on Baja Oktoberfest, which featured 75 mostly 蜜柚直播 brewers. This is the third different event the guild has put on over the past three years. It鈥檚 great that it is putting on events in 蜜柚直播. 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 蜜柚直播 beer culture was compared to L.A. In a recent edition of the Southwest Brewing 蜜柚直播, 12 column inches was devoted to Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) and five inches to Southern 蜜柚直播. The California counties have a combined population of 13 million; the 蜜柚直播 area is right around one million. You do the math, but there is a lot going on in 蜜柚直播 compared to SoCal.
What has happened here in just a few years is pretty darn amazing. 蜜柚直播 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鈥檚 to today鈥檚 beerpreneuers. It takes a lot of money to start up a brewery and I applaud and thank today鈥檚 local brewers for their love of good beer, determination and risk-taking.
Paul Pedersen writes a monthly column on 蜜柚直播’s beer scene. Contact Paul Pedersen at tucsontapped@gmail.com