Local Dough, Tucson, AZ

I wish more of our readers were located in Tucson, so that I could encourage you all to go to Local Dough en masse.

Local Dough opened up on Wednesday, after nearly a year of buzz among the beer-loving community in Tucson (which, as far as I can tell, consists mostly of myself and other patrons of Plaza Liquors and Brew Your Own Brew). They are on the south side of Speedway, between Campbell and Cherry (in the space that used to be occupied by Eric's).

Go there. Now. There is no other place like it in Tucson, and it MUST succeed.

The owners are young guys--still students--who clearly have a great appreciation for fine beer. There are 24 beers on tap, virtually all of which are American micros. Good ones, including: several from Dogfish Head (60 and 90-minute IPAs, Raison d'Etre, and a pumpkin ale), Speedway Stout, and several from Left Hand and Deschutes. I'm positive I'm leaving something out. The bottle selection is even better.

Prices are very reasonable--$4 pints of everything except high-alcohol beers (which are $4 for 10oz.), $3.50 for most bottles, with a few exceptions on really premium stuff (mosly Trappist Ales).

The lunch special is a slice of pizza and an pint for $6.50--a great deal considering the pints are all good and the slices are HUGE (approximately equal to 2 slices of NY-style thin crust). Other items on the menu include sandwiches, finger food, and burgers. I had the lunch special, and the pizza was very good.

Tucson needs a place like this. There have always been places here to get good beer here, but never so many in one place. If you are in town, do not miss it.

Sudspundit is my neglected stepchild

So I doubt if anyone is still bothering to check. But if you are, then thank you.

I have been more than a little busy lately. After our trip to the OBF a couple of weeks ago (I will post about that this weekend I promise) Marsha and I were home for a week, then flew to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to go house hunting (I am starting a job there next month). This will be our first home that we own, and we are moving ourselves, our cars, our stuff, and our dog 2300 miles to get there. Like I said--busy.

The great news about that is that the house we are buying sits atop a full basement that is more than big enough to serve as M's studio space with room to spare as a brewery/beer cellar. Year-round production and long-term storage simply aren't viable options if you are renting in Tucson, AZ, so this is very exciting for me. (The job promises to be pretty cool, too.)

As if that weren't enough, we also had a (long-planned and now more necessary than we realized) short vacation to Mexico this past week. The beer-related highlight of that trip was the blind taste test of Mexican lagers conducted among our housemates. I am proud to say that I was the only one who could tell the difference between Pacifico, Dos Equis Lager, Tecate, and Corona without error or hesitation. (If you're wondering--Pacifico has the most well-balanced and full flavor, Dos Equis is nearly as good as Pacifico but with a slight citrusy/carbonic "bite", Tecate has a much thinner body but a pretty strong aftertaste, and Corona tastes the most like water. Everyone has a talent and apparently this is mine.)

That's all for now. Aside from the OBF post promised, I anticipate that blogging will be extremely sparse until at least the end of September. Again, I do appreciate the readership of this humble corner of the Beer 'Sphere, and hope to "see" you all again very soon.