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It s easy to sense something has changed at Borderlands Brewing Company when walking through their doors these days. It s not that the brewing equipment moved to a new facility a few years back and created more space in their taproom or that they ve added a barbershop to the floor plan. It s not even that they ve redesigned their patio to create a more socially-distanced environment.
What has changedâand for the better, I might addâis the quality and consistency of their beer while building upon the brewery s brand.
Borderlands has always made a good product and had a loyal following for over the past decade, but in 2021 the beer and the brand are on another level. Just ask the folks at the Tucson City of Gastronomy who manages our city s UNESCO designation. The non-profit certified Borderlands as one of Tucson s beverage artisans earlier this month.
With this pandemic with us for nearly a year now, who couldn t use a cold beer? Unfortunately, fear of spreading COVID-19 has taken its toll on brewery tasting rooms (as well as restaurants where craft beers are sold), so it s been a tough year for local breweries. More people are drinking at home instead of going out and small-batch breweries don t always have the resources to can or bottle beer.
Ahead of Arizona Beer Week, managing editor Austin Counts takes a deep dive into what s happening with local breweries in this week s cover story. Counts taps into Rebuild the Guild, a new American IPA being crafted by multiple breweries (sometimes with their own twist) in support of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild; examines the challenges facing the breweries as they have fewer customers and an aluminum shortage that limits how much they able to expand their canning operations; and introduces you to the new management at Borderlands Brewing Company. We ll have more on the local activities