Overnight trip to Tucson

Heading down to Tucson this weekend for a beer getaway...it's been awhile since I've been down South so I know there are a lot of new beer destinations. We'll definitely hit Borderlands and Dragoon (looks like they're having a 3rd anniversary party on Saturday at their taproom). The others on the radar are Pueblo Vida, Iron John's, and 1055. Which of those are the best bet(s)? Oh, and since Tap & Bottle is close to Borderlands I'm sure we'll head there for a beverage as well.

Will also be looking for lunch/dinner options...we'll probably spend part of mid-day around 4th Ave., so we've had recommendations for both Ermanos and The Hub which both look interesting food-wise and have a respectable tap count. I haven't been to 1702, which I know gets some love. Thoughts/opinions?

 

It was a fun, whirlwind trip filled with too much drinking (i.e. the reason for the trip). The quick rundown:

- Started by walking around 4th Ave., which was a lot of fun. Had lunch at Ermano's...highly recommended. Limited menu, but really high quality, and a solid taplist. The taplist is a bit light on local stuff, but it's a quality overall selection. The service was ultra-friendly and patient, putting up with our group asking to taste several beers before ordering.

- Stopped by Mr Head's Gallery and Bar....basically a dive bar but a nice selection of AZ taps. Good place to grab a quiet beer on the patio on a nice afternoon.

- Headed to Dragoon, which pretty much ruined all other places for us. We had the benefit of it being their anniversary celebration, so I believe they had more on tap than usual (about 18). There were a *ton* of people there, but the space is much bigger than I expected so it didn't feel overly crowded, and the service was super-friendly and helpful. As far as the beers...well, for me it was a revelatiion. Dragoon doesn't seem to have much distribution in the PHX area, so I haven't had much of their stuff. I sampled (at a minimum) 15 of their beers, and there was not one that I didn't like. The Barrel Tres (stout BA in Elijah Craig barrels) was sublime. Other highlights were The Cuatro (new Russian imperial stout release) and Fumacabra, a wonderful mesquite-smoked bock with a sweetness that kept the smoke from being overpowering.

- Next stop (well, after freshening up and cashing in our 2-for-1 drink coupons in the Best Western lounge, where I had a Dragoon IPA) was Borderlands. This is a cool space, right next to the railroad (which I love), but the beers honestly underwhelmed. I do like Noche Dulce and their Horchata Cream ale, neither of which they had on tap during our visit. The six beers they did have weren't particularly memorable. Maybe we were experiencing a Dragoon hangover.

- Pueblo Vida was our pre-dinner stop. After having trouble finding the place and realizing we'd walked right by it a couple of times, we settled in with some samples...it's a cool, relaxed vibe and the beers weren't bad. I particularly liked the Belgian Golden ale...one of the best beers I'd had all day.

- The Hub for dinner...wow this place is popular. The food's good, and they have a respectable, but not earth-shattering, taplist. Whatever you do, finish with some ice cream, because that was *stellar* (I had the horchata snickerdoodle).

- The plan was to finish at Tap and Bottle, but the ice cream put everybody over the top and there was no way another beer was going to fit. We did stop in to check the bottle selection though, and I picked up a couple of Iron John's offerings to take home...will have to wait for the next Tucson trip to imbibe at T&B however.

- Before leaving town the next day, we stopped at Sentinel Peak. It's a pretty uninspiring location, but felt nice inside, and I have to say the beers, overall, were really good. They had a nice, smoky Scottish ale and a really nice refreshing and flavorful blonde ale. Everything else was drinkable at worst. Worth a stop if you're unfortunate enough to find yourself on Grant a few miles East of the university.