Rebecca Safford, Tap & Bottle co-founder, sees the Tucson brewery community as a family.
Themed Beer Camp Week, this year’s Arizona Beer Week cements this thought. The annual beerapalooza is Thursday, Feb. 13, to Sunday, Feb. 23.
“Just like the days of camp when you were a kid, we are focusing on friends, having fun, arts and crafts, and having some of our favorite camp foods like wood-fired pizza and S’mores,” Safford said.
Guests can earn “badges” (really stickers) at each event. If they go to three events, they get a special Beer Camp Week bandana, she said.
Tap & Bottle Downtown opened its doors in 2013 in a historic building close to Congress Street, Fourth Avenue and the University of Arizona.
T&B Downtown offers live music, trivia, food trucks, tasting events, and an array of craft beer, wine and ciders.
Serving Northwest Tucson and Oro Valley, Tap & Bottle North opened in 2017 in Cottonwood Plaza. It boasts curated beer and wine, ample outdoor space, a private event room, and Trivia Thursdays.
A year later, Rebecca and her husband, Scott, introduced Tap & Bottle Westbound, in the MSA Annex. Tucsonans refer to this location as “Westbound,” she said. The bar is nestled in a shipping container and surrounded by local shops and restaurants. Westbound also provides an array of spirits in the bottle shop.
All three locations have curated bottle shops offering a wide selection of beer, wine, cider, seltzers, hard kombucha and nonalcoholic beverages.
“We really opened our original location about 10 ½ years ago because my husband and I love beer and we wanted to celebrate beer.
“We don’t brew it ourselves, but we highlight beer from around Arizona. We have a big bottle shop and a great beer selection. We added spirits last year. Now we have a full bar. It’s great. We’re really happy that we’re here.”
They will kick off the festivities from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, with Team Trivia with Tripping Animals and Tap & Bottle North. The tap list will be available on its website, thetapandbottle.com.
Returning this year to Tap & Bottle Downtown is the pop-up with Flagstaff’s Pizzicletta, to nourish participants. Tap & Bottle is teaming up with Great Notion for this party.
The pop-up runs from 2 to 10 p.m., or until sold out.
“Last time, there was a huge line, and it was really fun,” she said. “There was pizza and beer all day long. Pizzicletta brings a whole crew down and puts the pizza oven outside of Tap & Bottle and sling pizzas forever until they sell out.”
On a sweet note, Pueblo Vida Brewing Co. is hosting a Girl Scout Cookie pairing from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16. Milk flights will be available as well.
Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. makes the drive south to Tap & Bottle Downtown for “Best Beer Buds with Arizona Wilderness,” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. The tap list includes Dirty Hop Water IPA Mixtape: East Coast! F*&% You!; Regenerative Desert Wheat; Wilderpils and AZ Creamsicle IPA.
Crafts take over Tap & Bottle North at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21. “Coozie Crafting with Everywhere.”
Finally, Sunday, Feb. 23, sees “S’mores with Slow Body” from 4 to 7 p.m. at Tap & Bottle Westbound.
The Saffords’ innate ability to choose beers that will please guests is a secret to their success.
“Having multiple locations helped us out, too,” said Safford, who studied education at the UA. “We get to build our customer base in three areas. I think the growth allowed us to take on new things, adding spirits and cocktails.
“All of that — and definitely having a bottle shop in addition to a bar — allowed us to do to-go relatively quickly during the pandemic. We diversified, not just doing the same thing over and over again.
“We try to bring in new breweries coming to the market. That allows us to keep it fun and interesting.”
Tap & Bottle
thetapandbottle.com
