At Nimbus Brewing Company, you’re treated like family.

Found off of 44th Street and Dodge Road, the warehouse is home to 10 vats, a bar and a restaurant that serves up classic bar fare. The atmosphere is comfortable and the staff is incredibly friendly. Despite its massive parking lot and the building’s size, it’ll feel like you accidentally stumbled upon a small honky-tonk bar.

If you ask for a tour of the brewery, you’re given a beer to take with you and hopefully, you’re led by the brewmaster, Lija. At first, it’ll feel a little like walking into a secret government facility as you walk through a small gate that blocks off the brewery’s entrance. A sign above states, “Through these gates pass Arizona’s Finest Brewers … and ONLY their authorized guests.”

But while on the tour, you might get to sample beer directly from the vat. Kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the beer is crisp and refreshing.

Lija is an eccentric character, and he says he drinks all day on the job, but he is also one of the most insightful people at the brewery.

The beers take anywhere from five to 10 days to brew, “from grain to glass,” Lija said.

Nimbus brews eight different beers: pale ale, brown ale, red ale, blonde ale, oatmeal stout, pilsner, a dark beer called Old Monkeyshine Ale, and a seasonal peach ale. Each has its own flavor and the body of each beer drinks differently. The pale ale is Nimbus’ flagship beer; it’s hoppy but drinks smoothly.

The red ale seems more like a classic pale ale, while the brown ale has a much smoother taste to it.
The peach ale is a beer for people who don’t actually like to drink beer. It has a softer, milder taste. After taking the first sip, all you taste is peach and it smells just as good.

The Old Monkeyshine Ale is dark and heavy, contains 8.2 percent alcohol and could be one of Nimbus’s best beers.

The tour is nearly an hour long, but the experience is well worth putting down your PBR or your Miller Lite.