Dragoon Brewery’s Crafty Suds

by Kelly Lewis

Think you know your beer? Dragoon Brewing Co., a craft brewery that opened just last month at 1859 W. Grant Rd. #111, is testing the talents of your taste buds.

Having just celebrated their May 18 grand opening, Dragoon Brewing Co. began with two brews, Dragoon IPA and Stronghold Session Ale, which were created, in part, to toy with our perception of beers, said Eric Greene, head of brewing.

“We wanted to play with peoples’ idea of what a light beer is and what a dark beer is,” Greene said. “IPA is a strong beer but it’s pale in color and it’s approached more easily, whereas Session is an easy drinking beer that’s darker, but it’s not going to flatten you.”

Dragoon Brewing Company is something of a family affair—brewing beer has been a shared hobby between company founder Bruce Greene and son Eric Greene for years.

“My dad has been brewing beer since way back when and it was always around when I was growing up,” Greene said. “When I was 22, I started really getting into it. We spent a couple of years putting up roots, and little by little this came together.”

Though they’ve only been in business a short time, Dragoon Brewing Company is already selling beer by the keg to local bars and businesses like Noble Hops, 1702, Wilko, The B-Line and Time Market, said Tristan White, director of sales and marketing.

“The support we’ve received so far has been unbelievable,” White said. “It’s been crazy, people have bought our beer without even trying it.”

White, who met the Greenes through the Tucson Homebrew Club, said the team is hoping to brew beer with a Southwestern kick in the near future.

“We will have two year-round beers and seasonal rotations,” White said. “For our upcoming brews, we want to try things like blue corn with agave and mesquite-smoked Porter.”

The brewery now has a taproom open to the public late afternoons from Thursday to Saturday. Though the hours aren’t finalized, Dragoon Brewing Co., hopes to have their taproom open for tasting from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday, 3-8 p.m. on Friday and 2-8 p.m. on Saturday—check their website for more details.

“We’re intentionally taking things slow because we want to make sure we know what our beer is,” Greene said. “But, it’s been really awesome the way things have gone and it’s really cool to have someone excited about what we’re doing. There’s a lot of Tucson, and everyone needs a bit of good beer.”

To find out more about Dragoon Brewing Co., visit DragoonBrewing.com or call 329-3606. For information on the Tucson Homebrew Club, check out TucsonHomebrewClub.com.

Category: FOOD & DRINK