Beer

Nimbus Brewing Co. – Tucson, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Microbrewery, Southern Arizona, Tucson, Wine

Located at 3850 E 44th St, Tucson, AZ 85713
Open Mon-Thurs 11a-11p; Fri-Sat 11a-1a; Sun 11a-9p
http://www.nimbusbeer.com

Your favorite The Classy Alcoholic is going through a tough time, y’all. February of 2016 is the month I turn 30 years old. The panic of growing older is starting to set in and I feel like I’m not ready to leave my 20s behind. The sight of a few gray hairs is my only consolation because the one thing that would make my amazing hair even better is a Clooney-esque, salt-and-pepper look to it. But so far my gorgeous mane stays dark, thick and smooth…while my youth rapidly slips away through my fingers.

I decided that if I wanted to recapture my youth I would have to literally travel back in time. So I found a junkyard in Tucson where I could buy an old flux capacitor and installed it in my car. I retrofitted the thing so it could be powered by Arizona-brewed craft beer because my flux capacitor was sure as hell gonna #chooseAZbrews, dammit! I hit the road and drove as fast as I could until a portal of light appeared, engulfing my ‘89 Honda Accord with the bumper that was a different color from the rest of the car and also held on only by a chain. When the portal of light disappeared I looked around me and I realized I had successfully arrived in the year 2006.

I still had to write a microbrewery review for today though and unfortunately there weren’t many breweries in Tucson ten years ago. But then I recalled that Nimbus Brewing Company had been around since 1996 and would be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. So I headed to the east side of Tucson wading through industrial parks in search of the warehouse where Nimbus had its brewery and restaurant. In order to fit in I put on a necktie that was only slightly different in color from my dress shirt. It was the kind of monochromatic outfit I remembered people in suits wearing all the time a decade ago, back when Regis Philbin was the classiest motherfucker on TV because Mad Men wouldn’t introduce Jon Hamm to the world until a year later.

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Wanderlust Brewing Co. – Flagstaff, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Flagstaff, Microbrewery, Northern Arizona

Located at 1519 N Main St #102, Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Open Weds 4p-9p; Sat 2p-8p
http://www.wanderlustbrewing.com

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I find the term “Wanderlust” to be a bit complicated. On the one hand it evokes a sense of exploration and adventure. It’s undoubtedly positive to want to travel, learn more about the world around you and expand your life experiences. But I’ll admit that sometimes my desire to travel through Arizona finding new breweries and wineries can come from a need to run away from something rather than running toward something. I decided that a trip to Wanderlust Brewing Company in Flagstaff was necessary in order to find out what “wanderlust” really meant to me.

Downtown Flagstaff is probably my favorite spot to hang out in of all the places I’ve been to in Arizona so far. There are an endless number of options for food and drink and I’m hard-pressed to find reasons to venture outside it. But you’ll have to hop into a car and head east of downtown for about ten minutes in order to get to Wanderlust Brewing. The brewery is in a small, unassuming business park just off the beaten path.

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Four Peaks Brewing Company – Tempe, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Greater Phoenix Area, Tempe

http://www.fourpeaks.com

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Before we get started I want to make it clear that this post will not be shitting on Four Peaks Brewing Company at all. If you were expecting me to tear this brewery a new asshole then you came to the wrong place. They will continue to have only a standard amount of asshole(s). Also, since this blog has always been mostly aimed at newbies who are trying to find their place in the Arizona craft beer community I’m gonna be recapping a couple of things regarding Four Peaks’ corporate acquisition. If you already know the story then feel free to skip the next two paragraphs.

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Pueblo Vida Brewing Company – Tucson, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Microbrewery, Southern Arizona, Tucson

Located at 115 E Broadway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85701
Open Mon-Thurs 4p-10p; Fri 2p-12a; Sat 12p-12a; Sun 12p-6p
http://www.pueblovidabrewing.com

Pueblo Vida5

Pueblo Vida is right in the heart of downtown Tucson but is tucked away just enough to make it feel like a hip hang out spot that only the cool kids know about. It doesn’t have a huge sign out in front and it’s a bit inconspicuous if you’ve never been to the place. I’ve always had a bit of fondness in my heart for Pueblo Vida and it’s not just because they make great beer.

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The Classy Alcoholic’s Guide To Pairing Arizona Beer With The Grossest, Loneliest Fast Food

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Chandler, Microbrewery, Sedona, Tempe, Tucson

It’s the holiday season again and if you’re like me that means you’re gonna spend it alone  in a dark apartment listening to your upstairs neighbors have sex while you drunkenly text pictures of your junk to your ex-girlfriends and also your landlord accidentally. Most likely you’ll be too hammered to be able to cook anything but you’ll have stocked plenty of beer and law school rejection letters to cry onto. Well you’re in luck because The Classy Alcoholic is now your only friend and I’ll be giving you a guide to the best fast food and Arizona craft beer pairings for your lonely holiday celebrations.

Yes, I’m normally big on supporting local businesses but let’s face it, a lot of your local options aren’t gonna have 24 hour drive-throughs. Most of these places do. Let’s get to it!

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Verde Brewing Company – Camp Verde, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Camp Verde, Liquor, Microbrewery, Northern Arizona, The Rural Brewer, Verde Valley

Located at 325 S Main St, Camp Verde, AZ 86322
Open Mon-Thurs, 11a-9p; Fri-Sat 10p
http://www.verdebrewing.com

The small town of Camp Verde sits just off of I-17, about an hour-and-a-half north of downtown Phoenix and an hour south of Flagstaff. The last time I was in this area I visited a brewery in the town of Pine. That was the first part of an adventure I called The Rural Brewer Tour, in which I planned to visit microbreweries in parts of the state that felt remote to city slickers like me. It was a rainy night when I drove through Camp Verde. The city looked like a ghost town on a moonless summer night. Raindrops hit my windshield and I could see the thunder roll in my rearview mirror.

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8-Bit Aleworks – Avondale, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Avondale, Beer, Greater Phoenix Area, Microbrewery, Poontang Pie

Located at 1050 Fairway Dr #101, Avondale, AZ 85323
Open Mon-Thurs 4p-9p; Fri 4p-10p; Sat 12p-10p; Sun 12p-8p
http://www.8-bitbrewery.com

Today’s epic adventure takes place in the hamlet of Avondale, which is about half an hour west of the kingdom of Phoenix, as the dragon flies. My destination was 8-Bit Aleworks, a video game-themed microbrewery that opened in June of 2015 A.D.

Legend held that 8-Bit offered four flagship beers and three seasonal or experimental beers classified as the Miniboss, the Boss and the Extra Life. The legend further stated that any would-be adventurer must defeat a series of enemies in order to prove themselves worthy of the beer. And if there’s one thing The Classy Alcoholic considers himself it’s worthy of any beer. I was ready for the challenge.

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The Beer Research Institute – Mesa, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Brewpub, Greater Phoenix Area, Liquor, Mesa, Microbrewery, Wine

Located at 1641 S Stapley Dr, Mesa, AZ 85024
Open Sun-Wed 11a-10p; Thu-Sat 11a-12a
http://www.thebeerresearchinstitute.com

Beer Research Institute (1)

The Beer Research Institute in Mesa is located on the grounds of the Mesa Grand Shopping Mall right next to the AMC movie theater, which is an awesome location for a microbrewery because I honestly haven’t been to a movie theater sober since I was a teenager and don’t understand how anyone else could do it either. Most movies are shit and the best way to make them at all interesting or hilarious is to be appropriately hammered. Like the time I drunkenly puked into my neighbor’s popcorn bucket while watching Paul Blart or The Avengers or Schindler’s List or whatever that movie  was.

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The Perch Pub & Brewery – Chandler, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Brewpub, Chandler, Gastropub, Greater Phoenix Area, Liquor, Microbrewery, Wine

Located at 232 S Wall St, Chandler, AZ 85225
Open Mon-Fri 11a-1a; Sat-Sun 9a-1a
http://perchpubbrewery.com

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Last time I was in the town of Chandler (which sits about half an hour southeast of downtown Phoenix) I paid a visit to SanTan Brewing Company without realizing that The Perch Pub & Brewery was just a couple of blocks away. I’m glad I made it back to Chandler because The Perch is a really cool place that’s worth a visit.

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Dubina Brewing Co. – Glendale, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Brewpub, Glendale, Greater Phoenix Area, Microbrewery

Located at 17035 N 67th Ave #6, Glendale, AZ 85308
Open Tues-Thurs 3p-10p; Fri 3p-12a; Sat 11a-12a; Sun 11a-9p
http://dubinabrewing.squarespace.com

Dubina (1)

On the morning of my visit to Dubina Brewing Co. I awoke from troubled dreams and found myself transformed in my bed into a horrible vermin. Like, with a brown belly, slightly domed and having six legs and shit. Once after a night of heavy drinking I woke up naked in my neighbor’s bathtub laying on top of seven stuffed teddy bears that were all wearing Spiderman masks for some reason. But even that wasn’t as weird as the morning I woke up as a beetle or roach or something.

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