Borderlands Brewing Co. 119 E. Toole Ave. Tucson, AZ 85701.   phone: (520) 261-8773   website: BorderlandsBrewing.com

Hours: Wed/Thurs 12-9pm, Fri/Sat 12-10pm, Sun 12-5pm

Experience before you go............

Yes I admit it, I've been to a couple Tucson breweries . Well including this one, it makes a total of 7 delightful tour stops drinking great brews and yes I've enjoyed every one of them. It's really a growing subculture, mostly made up from home brewers taking it to the next level. You have a lot of creative genius going on and this is what makes each one of these HoppinBreweryTour.com stops so much fun. The bare bones brewing process has been the same for eons. But what's really cool is where each individual brewery take this basic recipe, tweaks it over and over again and then toss in a building with a great location, a sprinkling of furniture, a dusting of board games, a drizzle of atmosphere, a splash of friendly staff personality, fold in some warmth and there you have it.....a welcoming and very interesting brewery. And they're popping up all over this beautiful country of ours.

So on this Saturday, our son Jake was flying back to Aurora University after a week long Tucson visit so we dropped him at the airport (hugs and kisses) and continued to downtown Tucson to have lunch at the The Cup Cafe located in the Congress Hotel. The Congress is thick with history and tradition, built in 1918 the Congress is the site of the capture of bank robber John Dillinger in 1934. So Kat and I ate at the Cup and then did the historic stroll up and down Congress street and believe it or not realized that Borderland Brewing Company was just around the corner......did someone mention beer!!

A short 7 minute walk and there it was.....Borderland Brewing! As Kat and I went through the very substantial front metal gate we entered a large shaded, dog friendly and yes, people friendly patio area. Two Great Danes were foot loose and fancy free as the owners drank beers and enjoyed the day. As I rode one of the Great Danes up to the front door....just kidding....I noticed more folks inside with the familiar, this beer is good smiles upon their faces.

Through the front door we went.....high raftered ceilings, fermenting tanks to the left, tables and chairs straight ahead and to the right, a lot of cool art displayed on all the walls and the big bar running most of the back wall....very nice! As always we gravitated towards the bar and we found two stools with our names on'em and boom....Hoppin Brewery Tour strikes again. Andy the bartender is on us and I hand him a promotion card and he says, you got to try the Prickley Pear Wheat (6%, 15 IBU). Out comes a 4 oz red colored, light bodied refreshing ale with great wheat flavors and hints of citrus fruits of lemon and grapefruit....I like it, I like it a lot! Alright, Andy got us all warmed up so I said bring on the Borderland beer flight. It started out with the Starkiller Base - Imperial IPA w/ Citra + Galaxy (8.7%), next was Toole Ave - IPA (7.2%), next up was Noche Dulce - Moonlight Vanilla Porter (7.3%), followed by Citrana - Southwestern Style Gose (6.3%) and bringing up the rear was the Hibiscus Sour which made'cha pucker up and want'a howl at the moon.....won't find that in your neighborhood liquor store cooler.....yeah buddy!!

Sitting down on our right we have a comparably aged couple getting comfy and we come to find out they're Donna and Bruce from Delaware, Ohio. Donna doesn't miss a beat and incoming we have a Prickley Pear pint and Donna says...."it's the best she's ever had"! Donna and Bruce have been coming to Tucson for a few years and they absolutely love it. We talk about hiking trails, Jazz bars, the Tucson Happening website and yes, Catalina Brewing Company, future Hoppin Brewery Tour stop. In retirement you cross paths with many follow retirees and it's cool when you have stuff in common and enjoy talking with them and that's how it was with Donna and Bruce. Maybe there's a hike followed with some Jazz and drinking some brews with D & B in the future. Ain't retirement great!!

Well Borderland is a definite, got their groove on brew stop! Been around for 5 years, worked out the kinks and serving up some one of kinds that will make you want'a say, "how'd you do that". One very cool thing on their website is a walk-through titled, "How a beer becomes a can"...http://borderlandsbrewing.com/2014/10/how-a-beer-becomes-a-can/. Check it out!

Until next time and remember.........

Go get'cha one!!