But I failed to do my homework to see if dogs were still allowed to walk down 4th Avenue during this event. We parked by the Crooked Tooth brewery and walked two blocks east, when a guard stopped us because dogs were not allowed. Sure enough, the official website now does say "no pets allowed," a change that took place last year. We were both temporarily crestfallen. I immediately thought of all the vicious chihuahuas carried in shoulder bags that lunge at unsuspecting passers-by and tear out bits of human arm muscle that most likely caused this anti-pet policy. But I digress...
"Why not do a pubcrawl?" I asked Steve. There are two breweries in the area that we hadn't been to yet. We were safely parked in a $10 lot and could walk down to Congress Street in just under a mile. We could try beer and get some exercise. Steve seemed OK with that. Weather was beautiful, peaking at 74F midday. I wore my favorite white Royal Robbins hiking shirt with a cotton t-shirt underneath. I never needed a jacket.
Our first stop was the Corbett Brewing company, just a block south from the Crooked Tooth Brewing company we had tried two weeks ago. The main entrance is on 7th Street and a half block west of 4th Avenue. We were not stopped from entering here, although the loud banger music inside was a turn-off. Luckily dogs are allowed on the more quiet patio. We ended up sampling four beers between us. I had the pumpkin ale and then the VMO, a Vanilla-Mandarin Orange hefeweizen that is perhaps one of the top three hefes made in Tucson. Steve had the porter and then the IPA. We sat outside in the shade on a comfy wicker couch while the dogs rested. We were the only ones there, besides an employee setting up the stage for a later engagement. It was very peaceful, but I can imagine the place getting rowdy at night. It was much busier when we left an hour later to walk south toward downtown. Our next destination was the Iron John's Brewery on Congress Street.
The arts festival on 4th Avenue, a north-south street, was busy for the entire walk. No one stopped us here as we were heading away from the festival. To get to downtown via 4th Avenue, one must walk what locals call "the tunnel," a dark underpass that on the south side merges with Congress street. It feels like walking down a metro tunnel, with people walking past street musicians and sound echoing off the walks. The dark coolness was refreshing, as on the other end of the tunnel is busy Congress Street.
I've always enjoyed downtown Tucson. It's very walkable, meaning it's also a pain for drivers and its many one-way streets, bike paths and trolleys that one must be careful of. We found Iron John's rather quickly and was quite surprised at how small the taproom is. We both sat at the counter and each ordered one beer. There was no wheat beer here, so I had their standard ale, which was OK but not as good as Corbett's Hefe. I was hungry by now (I had saved my appetite for some street fair food, but knew now we couldn't get any with the dogs) so I went west down the street and got chicken burritos at the first eatery I saw, the even tinier Iguana Cafe. I took the food back with me to Iron John's where we both finished them off.
We had been enjoying our last-minute pubcrawl but now we each had three pints in two hours. With full bellies we could venture out to one more brewpub on our way back to our cars. Our last stop was at Puebla Vida, a brewery we had already been to earlier in the year and that also makes a mean Hefe.
Congress Avenue was alive with people! I just love the vibes of this town. We passed the famed Rialto Theatre, saw some colorful murals, and stopped for one final beer before heading out to the Honda.
Puebla Vida is another dog-friendly brewery and it was busy today. We were lucky to get two adjoining seats at the counter for our usual Hefe and Porter combinations.
Our last stop before heading back to Cochise County was a stop at the big beer and wine store, Total Wine and More, where we looked around and each picked up some craft beer. I found my Shriner's Holiday Ale. By now it was dark and we had to make our way back home, but we were both content that despite not being able to attend the street fair, we both got to enjoy some really good craft beer. I haven't been to a brewery in Tucson that isn't good! Tucsonans take pride in their beer.
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