Danny's Baboquivari Lounge...Draft Beer served at 34-degrees
When Erik Hulten, also known as Chili the bartender, placed the frosted beer glass on the bar in front of me I knew I was in for one of the coldest beers in Tucson. The glass was frosted from brim to base, inside and out, and as the air in the room worked its magic, the frost became thicker and whiter.
“We take cold beer very seriously,” said Chili who is one of the new co owners of Danny’s Baboquivari Lounge. “It’s a matter of staging,” he said as he expertly filled my frosted glass with Budweiser from the tap. “We keep our stock in the back freezers as cold as possible. When we put the bottles and the beer glasses in the serving freezers behind the bar they go in cold. That is why people love this place, they can always count on being served a cold beer.”
My thermometer quickly confirmed Chili’s words. The frosty Bud registered an inviting thirty-four degrees. “That’s almost freezing,” said Chili with pride. “That’s perfect!”
Danny’s Baboquivari Lounge has been a landmark in Tucson for many years. Located at 2910 East Fort Lowell Road, it not only services the familiar Winterhaven area as a neighborhood bar but has become a favorite citywide watering hole for regulars in search of a cold brew.
“We also get a lot of seasoned college students,” said Chili “They usually start off the semester going to the trendy bars, but once they get tired of the latest novelty, they end up here at Danny’s.”
The long wooden bar is the centerpiece of the establishment, stretching from near the front entrance all along the entire length of the main room, it provides plenty of stools for partons to have a cold beer or mixed drink while discussing ways to solve all the problems of the world. There are also plenty of booths in the main room.
Extending out from the main bar is a room with pool tables and a doorway to a, newly remodeled outside smoking area for the patrons. A while ago, Danny’s Baboquivari Lounge took over the vacant barber shop adjacent to the bar and remodeled it with pinball machines, foosball tables and darts. Near the front door is a workhorse of a jukebox that is a favorite feature with the regulars. Danny's has just enough televisions hung strategically in the corners of the bar to see the game. Put all this together and you have a classic bar that balances fun times with comfortable surroundings.
“We are thinking about adding a couple of television sets right here on the wall behind the bar,” said Chili. The way he said it, I got the feeling that there wouldn’t be much major remodeling going on at Danny’s Baboquivari. Why change what is working?
As I sat drinking the cold Budweiser, I quickly became friends with my bar mates whom I had never met until that day. As we watched the Indianapolis Colts methodically take apart the New Orleans Saints in the season opener of the National Football League, my new friends tried to come up with bars in Tucson where they had a colder beer than those served at Danny’s Baboquivari Lounge. They didn’t have much luck. Most of their stories were about where they had been served a warm beer.
“I’ve got a beer you’ll like,” said Chili as he put another super frosted glass and a bottle of Skinny Dip beer on the bar in front of me. It turns out that Skinny Dip is a Belgian ale made by the New Belgium Brewing Company out of Fort Collins, Colorado. This is the same brewery that makes Fat Tire. I did enjoy the specialty brew especially at the super cold temperature at which it was served at Danny’s Baboquivari Lounge.
