Signature Series Southern Arizona: Beer Tour at the More-Than-OK Corral
Seven days, Six nights | one DEPARTURE A YEAR
• This tour is on-demand with a group of at least six travelers. Email stu@belgianbeerme.com to request dates.
Howdy, partner! Welcome to Southern Arizona, the land of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Cochise, Tombstone, saguaro cactus, the Dragoon Mountains, radiant sun and a thriving beer scene. This tour will begin in Tucson, spend three nights in Tombstone, where we’ll spend a day taking in this historical town, including a brewery tour, mine tour, tram tour and a ghost tour. Be sure to watch Tombstone on Amazon Prime to get a preview of this rough-and-tumble western town. You’ll be going back in time and staying in luxury in the modern-day Miners Cabins. All the fun of a miner’s life without the lice. From Tombstone, we’ll do a visit to the historic copper-mining town of Bisbee and visit some breweries there. Then we’ll spend three nights in Tucson exploring the beer scene, enjoying some good food and exploring the city. Our home for three nights will be the Sante Fe Style Lodge on the Desert. This is a perfect time of year to escape snowy regions and get some sun. Many of the places we go, we’ll be outside on the patio, enjoying the sun and fresh air. This is the Arizona lifestyle. I hope you’ll join us.
This tour is for hombres who yearn for the American southwest.
Here’s a map of some Arizona Breweries courtesy of the Arizona Beer Book, to further inspire you. For a complete list of Arizona breweries visit the Arizona Brewers Guild.
“‘Sergeant… there is a brewery here!’ shouted Private Lutje into the tent of his commanding officer. His regiment had just set up camp outside of Tucson. It was spring. The year was 1866. And the good private had reason to be shocked. How could anyone brew beer in the desert? The water was alkaline (when it was fit to drink at all), grains were scarce, bottles were in short supply, and refrigeration was nearly non-existent. But human ingenuity cannot be overestimated, especially when it comes to creating alcoholic beverages.” ”
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TOURS INCLUDE
Six nights accommodations.
Three breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners with gratuities.
Beer during brewery tours, taproom visits and company meals as listed on the itinerary.
Ground transportation. Leave the driving to us!
Professional and courteous BBM! guide services.
All tours and admissions.
Plenty of unstructured free time to relax, shop and explore on your own.
Souvenir BBM! luggage tags
Flexibility in the event you need to transfer or cancel your tour.
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NOT INCLUDED
Airfare
Airport transfers.
Some meals and beer on your own.
Free-time sightseeing. Our guides are available to provide suggestions.
Fine Print: You are responsible for the costs of your free-time sightseeing. Be sure to read our Terms & Conditions Agreement for important details.
Gratuities, at your discretion, for brewery tour guides and coach drivers.
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TOUR COST
Deadline to sign up is one month before departure. Sign up here!
$2295/per person + Air, Single supplement $395*
* Prices based on double room occupancy, per person, U.S. dollars, land only. If you are a solo traveler and would like to have a private room all to yourself there is a single supplement fee of $395 in addition to the base price of $2295 per person. We can also work with you to try to pair you with other single travelers of the same gender to avoid the single supplement. Better yet, recruit a friend to come, too! Unless, of course, like Rick Steves says, you prefer to “snore alone.”
We require a minimum number of travelers for a tour to be confirmed to go, so it’s important to sign up ASAP, as opposed to waiting until the deadline. Also, tours can fill suddenly, so signing up early guarantees your place and avoids disappointment.
PLEASE SHARE BBM! TOURS WITH YOUR REAL ALE ENTHUSIAST
FRIENDS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO JOIN THE FUN!
Southern Arizona: Beer Tour at the More-Than-OK Corral Itinerary
Day One • Tombstone Our tour begins as we meet at 12:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Lodge on the Desert in Tucson. We’ll depart for Kartchner Caverns for the “Big Room Tour.” The Kartchner Cavern story is amazing. Only discovered in 1974 and kept a secret until 1978, it is now available for you to experience. You’ll marvel at the many strange and colorful formations. Learn about the cave fauna, both living and ancient. Experience the wonder of the cave’s discovery and learn about new scientific research and discoveries as ongoing studies continue.
From there we continue on to Tombstone, our home for three nights, where you’ll stay in the centrally-located Miners Cabins, with an old west feel, but with modern comforts. You’ll be able to easily walk to all the attractions in Tombstone. Our welcome dinner will be at the famous Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, “the most famous cowboy bar in the West,” where you never know what might happen. It’s the Wild West, afterall. As some of you may know, Big Nose Kate, was the nickname of Doc Holliday’s longtime Hungarian companion. Her resume includes stints as a dance hall girl, prostitute and baker. The rest of the evening is free to belly-up to some of the other rustic western bars, such as my favorite the Four Deuces Saloon. Try to keep out of any dust-ups, will you, please. We have a big day tomorrow. (Dinner #1)
Day Two • Tombstone Today we’ll really get to know Tombstone with a trolly tour to give you the big historical picture, a mine tour to give you an appreciation for what built the town and a visit to the Tombstone Brewing Company to show you the only brewery in the “town too tough to die.” Founder and co-owner Matt Brown and brewer Weedy Weidenthal started the brewery in their historic building in 2017. Then this evening, we’ll have a ghost tour to scare the beer out of you. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on your own today. Evening is free to enjoy the local watering holes.
Day Three • Tombstone This morning we mosey down the road 25 miles to the historic copper-mining town of Bisbee, nestled in a long narrow canyon in the Mule Mountains. We’ll spend our day in the Old Town lined with well-preserved historical buildings from the 19th century. Mining ended in 1975, but what remains is a free-spirited town, with artists, musicians and as luck would have it, some breweries. Notorious Brewery Gulch in its heyday had nearly 50 saloons, numerous brothels and was one of the liveliest towns in the West. We’ll visit Old Bisbee Brewing Company for a tasting then turn you loose for lunch on your own in one of the many eclectic eateries in the canyon. After lunch we’ll visit the Electric Brewing Company. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore the town, shop and hold down a barstool in some of the historic taverns evocative of the boomtown days. Bisbee has been put on the map in more recent times by my old friend stand-up comedian/podcaster Doug Stanhope, who maintains his “compound” here, which includes his own private bar called the FunHouse that doubles as the studio for his raucous, booze-fueled Doug Stanhope Podcast. No promises, but I’ll see if we can stop by for a visit. If we do, you won’t soon forget it. Dinner is on your own in Bisbee before we return to Tombstone for the evening. Breakfast is on your own.
Day Four • Tucson This morning we saddle up and make our way toward Tucson, affectionately known to some locals as “The Dirty T.” On our way, we’ll visit the Copper Brothel Brewery for a company lunch and “Smooch the Hooch.” Afterward, in nearby Elgin, we’ll visit a hidden gem, the quirky Copper Hop Ranch Farm & Microbrewery. Think mellow and rustic. Our hosts will be Mel, Tom and their two pugs. Time permitting we’ll swing through Patagonia, and have a drink with the ghost of my old friend Jim Harrison at his favorite watering hole the Wagon Wheel Saloon. Patagonia was his winter home for many years and it’s where he died, pen-in-hand at his desk in 2016. From there shuffle on to Tucson and check into the very-inviting Santa Fe Style Lodge on the Desert, our home for three nights. You’ll have some free time to check out the property, sit by the pool, get some sun and freshen up before we have our private company dinner outside in the courtyard of the Lodge. Evening on your own in the Dirty T., which now has around 20 craft breweries, so that’s lots to discover, just a short Uber ride away. Here’s a Guide to Tucson Breweries. Breakfast is on your own. (Lunch #1)
Day Five • Tucson Today is mostly a free day to sleep in, relax at the lodge, explore Tucson, maybe hike up to the giant A on the mountain side, emblematic of the University of Arizona. Other suggestions are the Pima Air & Space Museum , Titan Missile Museum and San Xavier Mission. We will have been running pretty hard up until this point, so this day will be welcomed. Lunch and dinner are your own. This evening we’ll visit the road-trip themed Motosonora Brewing beer garden for a tasting as part of the tour. Be sure to try their GABF award-winning malt liquor named Gokart Mozart. (Breakfast)
Day Six • Tucson Enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the patio of the Lodge. Morning is free to do as you please. We’ll meet in the lobby at 11:30 and head to a company lunch at Firetruck Brewing Company. From there we visit the famous Tucson Hop Shop bar & bottleshop for a tasting in their comfortable beer garden. They have a wide selection of Arizona beers and otherwise. This is a good opportunity to buy beer to take back home in your suitcase. Afterward, you’ll have some free time this afternoon to enjoy the Lodge or explore Tucson some more. This evening, we’ll meet for our Farewell Dinner, which will once again be a private company dinner outside in the courtyard of the Lodge. (Breakfast, lunch #2 & Dinner #3)
Day Seven • Tucson Breakfast concludes this eventful beer tour of Southern Arizona. The Tucson International Airport is a short 15-minute ride from the Lodge. Thank you for cowboying-up on this tour. Now git!
* This itinerary is subject to change.
““...We both want to thank you again for doing such a good job putting this tour together and leading it. Insuring that everything runs smoothly and looks effortless takes a tremendous amount of work and a diverse skill set and you did an extraordinary job putting everything together. In the past Anne and I have always put our own trips together, and we were a little nervous about what it would be like to do a group tour. However, our fears turned out to be completely unfounded and we both agree that there is no way we could have come close to duplicating your tour on our own. We are already talking about what our next tour should be.” ”
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