Nimbus Brewing- Tucson, AZ

My parents live in Tucson in the winter and the several times I've been down to visit I've picked up the local brewing product, Nimbus Brewing. This time down, I finally was able to make it to the brewery/brew pub of Nimbus located in an industrial park in Southern Tucson. I've never been blown away by the products of Nimbus, but at the same time I have had a couple of their beers that have been pretty good. I was looking forward to checking out the brewery and sampling a larger selection.
The restaurant/tap room is attached to the brewery, which is part of an industrial park. Not your typical locale for a brewpub, but as you can see from the pics, the restaurant is connected to the brewery. In fact our table was separated from the bottling line by a tall gate. Usually a brew pub has a fancier seperation like glass of some kind, but a metal gate separates the warehouse with fermentation tanks and bottling line, from the restaurant. It works though, I liked the vibe.
I bought the sampler, which consisted of their six regular taps plus their seasonal, a Belgian Golden Ale. Here's the brief breakdown:
Pale Ale- A pretty decent pale ale, a nice hoppy nose, some nice bitterness. Fairly hoppy with some good citrusy/Northwest hop flavors.
Dirty Guera Blond Ale- I've had this beer before and didn't really drink it this time around. I'm not a big fan of blond ales, and this one is quite light. For the style its good, crisp and smooth, slightly sweet. I just find blond ales boring.
Red Ale- A nice amber ale, malty body, quite sweet with some faint bitterness that helps balance it out. Good example of an American Amber ale.
Oatmeal Stout- A good example of an oatmeal stout. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel with some nice roastiness, chocolate notes and a dry finish.
Belgian Golden Ale- This seasonal is a good Belgian Golden ale. Not overly fruity or funky, but nice spiceness and sweet. I thought it was more of a "gateway" Belgian than a golden ale in the vane of Duvel or something of that category. But not a bad alternative as a lighter ale with more character than their blond ale.
Old Monkeyshine- Described as an English Strong Ale, this beer was probably the best beer they offered. I thought this beer was a unique beer, not a style you find often. This beer poured dark brown and was all about the caramel sweetness. A great aroma of brown sugar and caramel, the beer is malty and sweet and lighter in body than the 8.3% ABV would suggest. An excellent ale.
Nut Brown Ale- I've had this beer several times before and think (along with Old Monkeyshine) it's the best beer they make. Almost closer to a porter than a brown ale, this beer is quite dark and roasty. It's nutty and chocolaty, but the use of black malt gives it a roastiness I don't usually associate with brown ales. Regardless, its a really great ale.

Overall, Nimbus has some good beers and a couple great ones. Arizona seems to only have a couple breweries, yet every year I find some new ones, so it seems to be a growing scene. I also picked up a fair share of beers from out West that I normally don't have access to, including the always outstanding Lost Coast, Deschuttes and Ska Brewing. I plan on reviewing those soon.

Salud!
Bearded Brewer