Where to Go for a Good Beer in Tucson, Arizona

Below are places to go for a good, tasty beer in Tucson, Arizona.

Nimbus has 2 locations in Tucson Arizona:
Nimbus American Bistro & Brewery
Location: 6464 E. Tanque Verde Road.
Telephone number is: 520-733-1111.
Hours: Monday-Wednesday: 11:00 A.M.-11:00 P.M.; Thursday: 11:00 A.M.-12:00 A.M.; Friday & Saturday: 11:00 A.M.-1:00 A.M.; and Sunday: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M.
Nimbus Brewing Company
Location: 3850 E. 44th Street at Dodge Road, off of Palo Verde Road. Their telephone number is: 520-745-9175. Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11:00 A.M.-11:00 P.M.; Friday & Saturday: 11:00 A.M.-1:00 A.M.; and Sunday: 12:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M.
Nimbus brews 6 different beers, which are:
1. Dirty Guera is a southwestern blonde ale with a very smooth, light, crisp, refreshing taste. It also has a slight floral scent and is slightly sweet from its honey ingredients. If you normally don't like the taste of beer, but like a sweet flavor, I recommend you try this one. I don't care for beer, but this beer I like. A bottle of this beer is 3.5% alcohol;
2. Pale Ale is a northwestern pale ale with a smooth, but bitter taste and strong scent. It is also considered spicy with a slight fruit flavor. Once a taste is developed for this beer, it becomes a favorite. A bottle of this beer is 5.5% alcohol;
3. Red Ale is an American beer with a slightly sweet flavor added to it's dry taste. This beer is light and doesn't have a bitter taste. A bottle of this beer is 5.0% alcohol. Many people like this Red Ale;
4. Brown Ale is an American dry light beer with a nutty flavor. It is a dry beer with a slight aroma. A bottle of this beer is 5.0% alcohol;
5. Old Monkey Shine is an English strong ale with a dark roasted flavor. This is a dry beer that is slightly bitter with a mild aroma. A bottle of this beer has the most alcohol content of all their bottled beer - at 8.5%; and
6. Oatmeal Stout has a very dark roasted flavor that has an almost burnt flavor. It is so dark that the color of this beer is black. It has a nice smooth creamy taste to it and at the same time is a bit bold and slightly bitter. If you like dark beer, this is the beer for you. A bottle of this beer is 5.0% alcohol.
Their beers cost $3.50 for a regular pint and $4.50 for a premium pint. A ½ gallon of regular beer is $13.00 and a ½ gallon of premium beer is $17.00. Six-packs are also available at: $9.00 for regular and $10.00 for premium. Kegs are also available. They sell a 4 oz. sample of each beer with 8 different beers as the maximum for $9.00. Nimbus has a full bar with a large selection of wine too. They serve lunch and dinner. Their appetizers range in price from: $3.00-$25.00 (50 chicken wings). Their entrees range in price from: $5.00-$8.00. Most of their entrees are $8.00 and are very filling. All of their subs and sandwiches come with curly fries, French fries, ranch fries, hot chips, or cole slaw. Some of the entrees at the Tanque Verde location are $1.00-$2.00 more. They also sell 20oz. soft drinks for $1.50, bottled water for $2.00 and an energy drink for $4.00. Take out is also available. Every Friday & Saturday night at the 44th Street location they have live entertainment and on a some Sunday nights. Most have a cover charge of $4.00-$5.00. At the Tanque Verde location they have live entertainment every Friday and Saturday night and on some Thursday nights. There is no cover charge at this location for any of the live entertainment through the month of April so far. You can see their schedule and times of events on their website at: www.nimbusbeer.com

Gentle Ben's Brewing Company
Location: 865 E. University Blvd., at N. Tyndall Avenue, near the University of Arizona's main gate.
Telephone number: 520-624-4177.
Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M.; and Friday & Saturday: 11:30 A.M.-10:00 P.M. The bar is open: Monday-Thursday: 3:00 P.M.-1:00 A.M.; and Friday & Saturday: noon-1:00 A.M.
They brew 9 different beers, which are:
1. Red Cat Amber is a very smooth, chocolate flavored, malt beer. A glass of this beer contains 5.6% alcohol;
2. Copperhead Pale Ale has a nice flavor and isn't bitter at all. A glass of this beer contains 6.1% alcohol. It is served seasonally;
3. Tucson Blonde is a light, crisp beer with a slightly sweet flavor. A glass of this beer contains 4.53% alcohol;
4. Taylor Jane's Raspberry Ale is a light beer with a mild, sweet flavor. A glass of this beer contains 4.53% alcohol;
5. Beer Down Nut Brown is a nut flavored ale with a slightly sweet flavor. I don't like beer much but here at Gentle Ben's this is my favorite; I love nuts. A glass of this beer contains 5.3% alcohol. It is served seasonally;
6. Nolan Porter is a dark colored beer with a light flavor. A glass of this beer contains 5.6% alcohol. It is served seasonally;
7. Chelsea India Pale Ale is a stronger beer with a robust, but smooth flavor. A glass of this beer is 7.6% alcohol. If you like a strong beer, choose this one at Gentle Ben's;
8. MacBlane's Oatmeal Stout is a very dark, but smooth beer with a dark roasted flavor. A glass of this beer contains 5.5% alcohol; and
9. Hefeweizen is a German beer with a banana and clove flavor, served with a lemon wedge. Ironically this beer is full of Vitamin B from its yeast. A glass of this beer contains 7.6% alcohol. It is served seasonally - during the summer.
All jugs of beer are $9.00 and kegs are $90.00. Gentle Ben's has a full bar. Happy Hour is every day from 3:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M. in their downstairs bar and every day from 4:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. in their upstairs bar. During Happy Hour food starts at $1.00, plus discounts on beer, wine and cocktails. They serve lunch and dinner. Their finger foods range in price from $2.95-$7.95. Their entrees range in price from $3.25-$9.95 and they also serve desserts. They have a good variety of choices for their entrees. They have indoor and outdoor seating. They also have take out. You can celebrate a special occasion here in several ways such as: Beer Garden Buffet for $14.95 per person for groups of 50-200 people; Beer Garden Plated Menu for $14.95 per person for groups of 20-60 people; Cocktail Party for groups of 15-200 people. Prices vary; Fiesta Buffet for $13.95 per person for groups of 50-200 people; Fiesta Plated menu for $13.95 per person for groups of 20-60 people; Limited menu for $8.00 per person for groups of 20-49 people; Pacific Rim Buffet for $12.95 per person for groups of 50-200 people; Pacific Rim Plated Menu for $12.95 per person for groups of 20-60 people; Taste of Italy Buffet for $13.95 per person for groups of 50-200 people; Taste of Italy Plated Menu for $13.95 per person for groups of 20-60 people; and U of A Buffet for groups of 15-200 people. Prices vary. They also cater. Their website is: www.gentlebens.com

Barrio Brewing Company is owned by the same people who own Gentle Ben's above, so the beer choices are the same.
Location: 800 E. 16th Street, in downtown Tucson.
Telephone number: 520-791-2739.
Hours: Monday-Saturday: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M.; and Sunday: 12:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. The bar stays open later on Friday & Saturday.
They serve lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating. The menu here is similar to Gentle Ben's above and the food is good. They have a full bar with about 10 different brews of beers, which are brewed right there on the premises. For $10.00 you can taste all of their beers. Whenever a train passes, beer is $3.00 per pint. Happy Hour is every day week day from 4:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. with $1.00 off beer, wine and appetizers. This location offers everything that Gentle Ben's Brewery above does, but without such a large crowd. Don't let the outside appearance scare you away. It used to be an old warehouse. Their website isn't operating right now, but it is at: www.barriobrewing.com

Thunder Canyon Brewery Restaurant & Pub
Location: 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd., in the Foothills Mall.
Telephone number: 520-797-2652.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M.; and Friday & Saturday: 11:00 A.M.-11:00 P.M. Their full menu is served until those closing times. The bar usually stays open until midnight on weekends. Happy Hour is all seven days of the week from 3:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. with $1.00 off well drinks, house wine and draft beers.
Thunder Canyon has a full bar including the sale of wine and pear cider. They usually sell 11 of their own brews of beer and often add about 25 others. Their regular 11 brews are:
1.Deep Canyon Amber which has a medium flavor with a smooth, rich taste. This is their most popular beer;
2. Thunder Canyon IPA has an intense but smooth and slightly caramel sweet flavor with a lot of malt. It also has a creamy flavor and appearance;
3. Good Vibrations IPA is a strong flavored beer with 7.8% alcohol per glass;
4. Blackout Stout has a light, smooth and creamy flavor of chocolate and coffee. This is a great choice if you love both of those ingredients and usually don't like beer. This beer is my favorite at Thunder Canyon Brewery because I love both ingredients;
5. Strawberry Lightning has very rich fruit flavor with a creamy and smooth taste. The fruit they use as the main ingredient changes often;
6. Sandstone Cream Ale has a light, crisp and refreshing flavor and it is light in color and aroma;
7. Imperial Porter is a strong beer with a robust flavor;
8. Windstorm Wheat is a light colored wheat beer with a crisp, smooth refreshing flavor;
9. Obsidian Porter tastes like chocolate and roasted coffee. This beer is dark in color;
10. Orange U Glad is fruit flavored with a very smooth taste; and
11. The Cask has a very robust flavor, but smooth taste.
They offer one ounce samples of their beer for free. Half gallon glass bottles, ¼ barrel kegs and ½ barrel kegs of beer are available to go. Bring in your own empty kegs and they will fill them too. They also sell name brand beers. Every Sunday-Wednesday from 7:00 P.M.-closing, a pint of draft beer is $2.00 and Stoli drinks are $3.00. They serve lunch and dinner. They have other on-going specials. Monday-Friday is their Lightening Lunch for only $5.49. Monday-Friday from 3:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. is ½ off all appetizers. On Mondays a kids meal is $1.99, limit 2 per one adult entrée. On Tuesdays for their Mug Club members (see below) a 20 oz. mug of beer is $3.00 all day. On Wednesdays all day, one of their 3 sausage plates with a pint of draft beer is only $8.95. All day Friday, Saturday & Sunday is Margarita Weekend with $2.75 for their house blend and $3.75 for their premium. On Saturday and Sunday from 3:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. a sampler plate of wings, nachos, mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms and chicken breast tenders is only $6.99, dine-in only. On their regular menu, appetizers range in price from: $3.79-$17.99 (one pound of shrimp).Their regular price entrees range in price from $3.99(soup)-$12.99. They have many vegetarian choices on their menu. The interior of the restaurant/pub is very spacious and nice with indoor and outdoor seating. There's free wi-fi here too. They also offer brewery tours where you will receive a 4 oz. sample pack of all the beers they brew. It costs $35.00 to join their Mug Club (own your own mug that hangs over the bar) which you can do at the restaurant. Their website is: www.thundercanyonbrewery.com