I will never forget my first great beer. Not my first beer. You see, I started drinking beer when I was pretty young as the legal drinking age in Arizona at that time was only 19. To be honest I didn’t much like beer when I first tasted it.

My first great beer happened at one of the unlikeliest of places.

The PGA was in Tucson for its annual stop, this particular year with all the golf action taking place at Tucson National. I decided to follow one of my favorite golfers, Tom Watson, for the entire 18 holes. Although it was officially still wintertime in Tucson, the temperature had sweltered close to three digits. It was mid afternoon by the time Watson sank his last putt for the day and I headed for the concession stands.
I had fully intended to order a cola or maybe a lemonade but then I saw something that changed my mind. A man stepped away from the concession counter with a can of beer in his hand. He didn’t even bother to put the can to his lips. He just tilted his head back and started pouring the cold brew into his open mouth from about 8 inches above his face. It made everyone who saw him laugh.
“I’ll have a beer,” I told the clerk when it was my turn to order.
I guess that day, in a way, I crossed over to manhood. As I sipped that special brew I actually liked the taste. It was cold. It was refreshing. It liberally quenched a thirst that walking 18 holes of a golf course created.
Since that moment I have had an obsession with drinking only cold beer. In the past I have been known to put a few bottles of beer in the home freezer to be served to guests ice cold and slushy.

Now, there will be some so called beer experts who, in an effort to be trendy, will decry the serving of a beer as cold as possible as a sacrilege. Most of these people are snobby connoisseurs from across the pond. They also drink water and soft drinks without ice, serve their tea hot and splash malt vinegar on their deep fried potatoes. It's a matter of taste.

We Americans (including our neighbors in Canada and Mexico) like our beer cold, the colder the better, and we have the four stroke generator, tailgating recreational vehicle refrigerators to prove it. We like beer clean, crisp, COLD and refreshing. American beer is most often light in color and taste and is best served cold. I have found that the darker the beer is the warmer it should be served. If a beer is brewed so dark and heavy that it is best served at room temperature then...well...I would rather chew on tree bark.

It's a good metaphor for life as well as beer drinking advice–strive for good taste over trendiness and you will always come out ahead.

This website is an effort to find the coldest beer served in the restaurants, bars and golf courses of Tucson. And maybe help drop the city’s average beer temperature a few degrees. Each review will also take in consideration presentation, taste, food, decor, ambiance and service.

And remember, don’t drink and drive and use a designated driver. Please take the time to visit the responsibility page on this website for my thoughts on drinking responsibly.

I hope you enjoy the reviews and maybe find some interesting places to dine with your family or entertain guests. Keep a cool head because life is too short to drink warm beer.