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Those ingredients include pecans, alfalfa, honey, chilies, grain and hops. Every beer has a story, and Alex is happy to share the tales while you’re tasting beer at the tiny bar. The Redneck Rodeo, a Belgian-style beer, was named after a song written by a local songwriter while Zander’s Chili Porter is named for the friend who grows the chilies used in the beer.
The entire brewery has been a local effort: Alex raised the startup money through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Donors’ names are painted on bricks on the wall behind the taps. If you’re a local resident, most likely you’ll recognize at least one of the people who helped make Alex’s dream a reality. And Alex is only getting started. “We have 13 different styles of beer right now, and I’d like to narrow that down to five or six that are always available,” he says.
THAT Brewery, 300 E. Cherry St. in Cottonwood (928-202-3013); www.thatbrewery.com
Verde Brewing Company, 348 S. Main St. in Camp Verde (703-969-5047); www.verdebrewing.com
Club 52 at Cliff Castle Casino Hotel
Like a wise man once said, you have to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Gamblers of all levels can do both at Club 52, the poker room at Cliff Castle Casino Hotel. The club holds about 80 players with five or six tables open most of the time, says Red Wootan,
the casino’s director of gaming. Grab the boys and head to Club 52 for one of its popular tournaments, which take place Monday through Saturday. The 7 p.m. Shootout Tournaments on Friday (a $25 buy-in gets you $2,000 in chips) and the noon No Limit Hold ’Em Tournament on Saturday (a $90 buy-in gets you $7,500 in chips) draws the largest number of players and spectators.
“The poker room at Cliff Castle is intimate and relaxed,” says Red. “Players order food and drinks and have it delivered right to the club. We have regulars, mostly people from the Verde Valley and Prescott, who play here all the time. People are friendly and give out lessons to newcomers every day. Everyone thinks they are a pro.”
Club 52 at Cliff Castle Casino Hotel, 555 W. Middle Verde Road in Camp Verde (928-567-7999); www.cliffcastlecasinohotel.com
Racing Adventures
Admit it: You have a need for speed. So does David Zubick, former professional race-car driver and owner of Racing Adventures, a traveling race-car-driving experience based out of Scottsdale. Racing Adventures is a high-performance driving school, exotic supercar racetrack experience and guided supercar touring company all in one. Programs range from multiday race-car driving lessons to a few laps around a racetrack and, starting in January, exotic supercar tours through the red rocks of Sedona. Prices range from $250 for a few laps in a Corvette to $600 for a three-hour tour of Sedona to $1,400 for one day of schooling.
David started the company in Canada, and he operates on tracks in Edmonton, Toronto, Houston, Los Angeles and Phoenix. (The next Phoenix experiences take place Nov. 14-15 and Nov. 29 at Arizona Motorsports Park, a privately owned track in Litchfield Park in the shadow of Luke Air Force Base.) Racing Adventure’s fleet includes Corvettes, Cobras, a Porsche 911 Carrera, an Aston Martin Vanquish, a Ferrari Modena, a Ford GT40 and a Lamborghini Gallardo (a McLaren and a few American muscle cars will soon be added). All of the cars have been modified for safety and performance.
“We are an independent school, which means we have all different cars,” says David, a sports psychologist by education. “This is a one-on-one, personable experience – not a production school.”
With F-16 fighter jets flying overhead, David and his instructors give safety instructions and driving tips at the Arizona racetrack. After a few braking exercises (David’s cars need new tires and brakes every 15 days), it’s time for laps around the track in a Porsche 911 Carrera and a Ferrari Modena – wearing a helmet, of course. You’ll drive solo and with your instructor in the passenger seat, giving you pointers and egging you on. Racing Adventures also offers ride-alongs ($199) so you can strap yourself into the passenger’s seat while a professional driver takes you around the track and shows you what the cars can really do. And before you ask, David says no one has been injured in the 25 years he’s been operating the school. No one has asked for their money back, either.
