Inspiring Conversations with Brian Vance of Catalina Brewing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Vance. They and their team shared their story with us below:

The idea of Catalina Brewing started 10 years ago around a campfire at a local weekend bike event. Brian and Hank were drinking Hank’s homemade IPA out of a bottle (cans weren’t yet back in favor) and when Brian commented on its flavor (IPAs weren’t yet hot) Hank mentioned he’d love to open a brewery. That turned into brainstorming, a business plan, and a business loan.

That IPA is still made today; we call it 0200 as it was 2 am when this discussion happened. Now we are a nano-brewery with a bicycle theme. We have a bike-filled taproom, and a patio, and recently added a game room with several pinball machines, a pool table, foosball, darts, and shuffleboard. We host weekly events including trivia, live music, pinball tournaments, bike rides, and much more.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been the total opposite of smooth. The first couple of years were pretty good, mostly because we were the first craft beer available on the NW side of Tucson.

We had people waiting at the door when we opened for the first few months. While we were working out our start-up recipes and vibe another brewery, several gastropubs, and four tap rooms opened up. But our biggest challenge was in the middle of all this the Ina road exits closed for construction for two years – which is where we are located! When they reopened we were feeling great again, so much so that we expanded into another bay and built a game room.

Then three months later this thing called COVID showed up. Everyone knows that story, but most don’t realize it impacted businesses like ours for over two years. We worked hard with to-go orders and survived somehow. To the point that we didn’t qualify for any grants because our previous year was worse with the freeway being closed.

Now we have a quality product, dedicated staff, and an incredibly fun environment that is a huge source of pride and something to see!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
See “Your Story”. Plus – We offer local flavors of microbeer; for example our Prickly Pear “La Rosa” cream ale uses locally picked prickly pear fruit. We have some of the best (if not only) local craft seltzers in many flavors and a whole range of other beer types. We are known for our friendly and fun vibe. It’s a family in CBC. We were one of the first in Tucson to buy and install our own permanent food truck in lieu of a kitchen.

We will bring in rotating food trucks, but this allows us to offer food at any time. The truck is called The Jersey Grill and its menu has become just as popular as our beers. The Jersey-style sandwiches and sausages, as well as the locally inspired street tacos, Sonoran dogs, elote, and guac, are an amazing compliment to the beer.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Brian grew up in TX on a cattle ranch, then moved to Kearny during high school. Kearny is a small copper mining town surrounded by a beautiful desert and the Gila river. He moved to Tucson in 1985 where he worked as an engineer. He enjoys mountain biking, family, hard work, and beer.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.catalinabrewingco.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatalinaBrewingCo