Our Interview with Matt & Marsha, Owner and Manager of Tombstone Brewing Company
“..they love the beer, the rustic atmosphere, the great weather, and the friendly staff. Everyone needs to try the brewery where it all started. It’s the OG, as the kids say.”
Why is it worth the drive to get some Tombstone brews at location / Tombstone Brewing Company?
Matt: You're never going to get a better selection or fresher beers than at the brewery, especially on canning days. We try to curate a really nice balance of styles for our Tombstone tap list (a few hoppy beers, at least one lager, something easy drinking and low ABV, something fruity and sour, something big and/or barrel-aged), and we sell our cans literally as the come off the line on canning days. Nothing is better than a 10-second-old IPA!
Marsha: For me personally, I live in Tucson and commute to work (a 1 hour 10 min drive) because the beers are worth it! They are THAT good. What I often hear from our customers is that they love the beer, the rustic atmosphere, the great weather, and the friendly staff. Everyone needs to try the brewery where it all started. It’s the OG, as the kids say.
What is your favorite beer on the menu?
Matt: Right now it's Tombstone Lite. It's perfect for a hot AZ day and strikes just the right balance between easy-drinking and flavorful.
Marsha- My all time favorite Tombstone is Beer Nerd. Matt shared a bottle with me during one of the barrel society parties the brewery had during the first two years. I had not started working at the brewery at that point but still made the drive for, you guessed it, the beer!
Could you list some awards / recognitions / pats on the back that you're particularly proud of?
Matt: For us, the best recognition is hearing good things from our customers. We don't do much formal competition, but it's awesome every time someone posts in an online beer group asking for best AZ breweries and we see fans throwing our name out there.
Want to share a story about the start-up of the brewery? How did this happen?
Matt: The brewery wouldn't have happened without my daughter Ada, who was not quite two years old when I started it. My wife and I wanted to be closer to family (she's fifth generation Cochise County, and her great-great grandfather - whose picture hangs in the brewery - was a judge in the courthouse a few properties down from the brewery back in the time of Wyatt Earp) and she came down for a job interview. While she did that I was toddler-wrangling Ada in the Bisbee Mercantile and saw the brewery property for sale as I chased her past a realty kiosk. I called, toured the property that same day, and within a few weeks owned it and started work. We brewed our first batch less than six months later. In the photo (below) you can see Ada in front of "Daddy Brewery" just after demolition but before the start of major construction back in 2016.
