Sunday 24th of January 2010 09:40:18 PM

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I never came here when it was still called Sonoran (the specifics of how it's no longer Sonoran are confusing to me) but, after tasting the Sun Up IPA at a bar here in Tucson, I looked the place up and made it a point to come here.
Sun Up sits at the edge of the fancier part of Camelback, but in a much more down-to-earth section of the strip. It's also, if you're ever open to it, walkable from the light rail, which is nice.
Really homey atmosphere. I mean, it is not a big place, even when you count the second building. Very neighborhood-like and very comfortable. Personally, I love brewpubs like this.
We had dinner plans, but were delighted to find that they had a 7-day-a-week happy hour from 3-6. Appetizers were half off so, just to prevent getting drunk because of an empty stomach, we ordered the Brewhouse Kettle Chips. Excellent. No, seriously, they were really good. The chipotle ketchup was too mild for me, but definitely tasted good with the chips.
We got a sampler, even though the pints were pretty cheap on the happy hour. I wanted to try everything. Most everything was really very good. I recall liking the red a lot. The IPA was, as I already knew, excellent. They were out of one of their regular sampler beers (the porter, which is what I really wanted to try), so I got a cask version of the IPA instead. Again, excellent. The stout wasn't on the sampler, but the server was nice enough to hand me a little taste. Good, but definitely heavy and high on the ABV.
I'll definitely be back here the next time I'm up there. To me, it's very encouraging with what's been happening with the local brew scene in Phoenix, and this place is just one example.

Monday 15th of December 2008 11:26:04 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

The Trooper IPA is good, Red Ale is getting tapped Thursday 12/18. The Atmosphere was great. I walked in the door and was welcomed by the bar tender, shouting out a hello, grab a seat any where. It was quiet for a Monday night, but the eagles and the browns were playing, and it was raining. But the brewers' burger was great. There is a IPA w/ crystal hops on cask. I didn't get to try this beer.

Sunday 9th of November 2008 12:06:29 PM

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This was our last stop of the day before heading to the airport. This is actually two buildings separated by a small courtyard. There is an arc shaped bar in each building with a good amount of table/booth seating in one and additional tables plus the brewroom in the other. I believe the latter is the Brewer’s Den but it was closed when we visited. There were six house brews on the printed menu and three seasonals on the chalk board. I enjoyed the cask Porter w/Columbus hops and the Oktoberfest from the seasonal list. One attractive feature of this location is the large number of colorful drawings of celebrities (and not) that add to the décor, both inside and out. There is a good size lot for off street parking.

Saturday 28th of June 2008 02:29:27 AM

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Rather small restaurant and bar in the main building. The brewery and a larger bar are located in the building next door after you walk through the patio. Usually about 6 beers on tap. Usually very good. Always have cask beer. Uwe, the brewer is a big friendly German guy. Food is typical pub grub but it is way above average. Beers are usually very good although some of his big monster beers are hard to drink more than one.