Touring the Mothership

This spring we were able to spend a long weekend with friends in Fort Collins, Colorado. What a beautiful state! We also really loved the town of Fort Collins, particularly the downtown Main Street. 2014 happens to be Fort Collins' sesquicentennial celebration (try saying that 3 times fast!), and they've earned quite a few bragging rights.

Fort Collins tourism points out that it was named "best place to live" by Money Magazine. Add to that the number of craft breweries and opportunities for outdoor recreation, and Fort Collins wins a "cool town" label in my book! With the little time that we had to visit, our friends decided to take us to one of the town's most notable breweries...

Visiting New Belgium Brewery (AKA "The Mothership") is not your average brewery tour (and we've walked our fair share of breweries!). Touring New Belgium is a 90-minute stroll through multiple buildings...

a walk through history...

and a close-up look at beer production...

 ...always with a new [generously poured] sample in hand!


If I haven't won you over yet, just check out these photos:

Rumor has it that years of employment with New Belgium earn you perks... like a "fat tire" bicycle!

Wooden barrels are used to make sour beers, which are growing in popularity, and have become a curious favorite of ours!

New Belgium is committed to sustainability, and proves it with their solar power.

Always something interesting to see if you keep your eyes peeled on tour!

And YES, there is a SLIDE at the end of your tour (try spinning down that after 90-minutes of beer sampling)!

Discovering Tucson: Downtown

After our outdoor exploring, we were excited to see what downtown Tucson had to offer. Our only planned stop was at Laff's Comedy Cafe,' which did not disappoint! The food and drinks were great, and the comics had us slapping knees, buckled over, and crying!

After our laugh-fest, we pulled out our handy Arizona Craft Brewers Guild Beer Trail Map. Now THIS was the way to explore a new town! We found easy parking downtown, and our first stop was Thunder Canyon Brewery. It was a chill atmosphere, and our server helped us select a few favorites for our tasting "flight." Perhaps the most memorable part, however, was being serenaded by a local bagpipe clan as they rehearsed for the Gaelic Storm performance at the Rialto Theater across the street! We took it as a good sign that the gentlemen came to Thunder Canyon (kilts and all!) to get a drink after the show.

We enjoyed the comfortable walk up and down the main streets of Tucson, and even popped in to a small art gallery hosting a live jam session with a grand piano and a six-string guitar. What a way to get lost in the art! As the sidewalk started to get a bit more crowded, we decided to find the next brewery before the college kids really started hitting the streets.

After doubtfully following our antiquated GPS through back alleys and over train tracks, we were happy to actually find the Barrio Brewery. While we were skeptical of the dimly lit parking lot and warehouse appearance, the atmosphere inside was fun and welcoming. We confirmed that it was a great find when we saw the Mocha Java Stout on tap (we're suckers for the dark stuff) and award-winning beers all around.

We loved our short visit into downtown Tucson, and are hoping to visit again when we can enjoy it by day as well (and maybe take a few photos this time). We also decided to keep our Beer Trail Map in the car... for future exploring "emergencies."