It’s not the heat that makes Flagstaff so thirsty — it’s cooler here than much of the rest of the state — it’s the customer. According to Bunce, “Flagstaff has a more affluent, outdoorsy, educated population, and that’s a craft beer drinker. In smaller towns around here you still have people asking ”what’s an ‘eepah?’” (IPA)

Three of us flew in to Flagstaff to meet up with the nation-wide Beer Camp Tour bus as it rolled in from San Diego: Joey Redner and Justin Clark from Cigar City in Tampa, Florida, and Ed Ruble from Bell’s Brewing in Michigan. We got cosy at Bun Huggers for the night, which won “Best Burger in Flagstaff” as recently as 1989 – we were hoping that was still relevant. Rounds of Pale Ales, Fireball whiskey, and $10 in the jukebox helped us close down the joint while the bus rolled through the night to catch up with us.