MotoSonora Brewing Company: Where Travel & Beer Meet in Tucson

No great story begins with, “Remember that salad we had?” Great stories start with great beer. And great beer starts at MotoSonora Brewing Company. Add a road trip to that, and great becomes epic.Welcome to MotoSonora Brewing Company, where not only can you enjoy a cool desert evening in Tucson on their expansive beer garden, drink in hand, but you can also park there overnight. 

History of MotoSonora Brewing Co

Born out of a combined love for travel and beer, two brothers began their epic journey far from their Tucson home, on another continent. Overlanding with friends through South Africa and Botswana in 2010, sampling beers along the way, one starlit, beery night around the campfire, a dream was born. And while many people dismiss fireside dreams as merely a wish to be made on a shooting star, these two brothers have never been ones to dismiss anything. Let alone something to do with beer. Intrepid sojourners and beer drinking enthusiasts, Jeff and Jeremy DeConcini couldn’t deny that this pairing needed a home.

“Beer is just an integral part of the landscape when traveling.” (Jeremy DeConcini)

In 2020, the dream that began around a campfire in South Africa became a reality. But they both knew a dream of this proportion that intermingled two passions together had to have a name as epic as the pairing of travel and beer.

The Story Behind the Name

Using the Italian/Spanish prefix “moto”, they attached that to the word “Sonora”. As much as travel plays a role in their lives, so does the culture of their hometown. Tucson is located in the Sonoran desert, not far from the Mexican state of Sonora. The name turned out to be exactly what it was meant to be when they realized that the literal translation for moto sonora in both Italian and Spanish means “the sound of engines.”

Meet Your Harvest Hosts: MotoSonora Brewing Co

Traveling for years, and recently taking his campervan from Arizona to Maine seeking out craft breweries along the way, Jeremy has long been fond of Harvest Hosts as a member. He knows that a place to call home for a night is just as important as the calling of the open road. So it made sense for MotoSonora to become a host for Harvest Hosts.

“As a brewery that was based on a concept of a road trip, Harvest Hosts is a perfect fit for us.” (Jeremy DeConcini)

Overnight Accommodations

Staying at MotoSonora is like staying with family in their driveway. Meant for rigs smaller than 30 feet, the space here is accommodating, but small. Your home for the night is the back parking area of the building that houses the brewery. While the scenery happens to be a fence, what makes MotoSonora a fantastic Host is their great beer and epic beer garden, of course, but their proximity to all that Tucson has to offer in addition to its beer scene.

The Space

Beer lover or not, staying the night at MotoSonora Brewing Company is a gateway to Tucson and the rest of the world. Walking in the door from the front entrance or the beer garden entrance in the back, you’re immediately greeted with images from the brothers’ travels across the globe. The beer garden and patio is expansive and welcoming with fire pits for chilly evenings and Adirondack chairs and community tables for gatherings. It’s an oasis in the desert. But that’s not all. The folks at MotoSonora love traveling, and they understand that with travel comes furry companions. There’s even a dog run where you can let your furry friend run free while you have a beer in hand.And with a wall of windows gazing out from the taproom onto the patio, sitting inside at the bar, you’ll swear you can still see the stars in the night sky.  

What’s on Tap?

From staples like their Victory or Death IPA and 32 Valve Foreign Export Stout to seasonal specialties such as fruited sours or saisons and more, you’ll find the beer your palate desires. Jeremy recommends them all, of course, but his current personal favorite is the Superleggera Italian Pilsner, inspired by Birrificio Italiano, a brewery in Italy. In his own words, “I drink this beer and I’m like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music going through the Alps.”Not ready for the Alps or maybe you’re not quite a beer fan? No worries. MotoSonora also pours unique cocktails made from blending their beers with sodas, along with a few non-alcoholic options, including specialty coffees from their onsite food truck partner.

Hungry?

Like most breweries, MotoSonora focuses on brewing the beer; they don’t operate their own kitchen. However, they have teamed up with a local food truck to bring you sustenance. Onsite, as though it is their own kitchen, Substance Diner and Coffee creates handcrafted vegan dishes and specialty coffee drinks. And this isn’t just any diner style food truck; this is a vintage style kitchen on wheels that fits perfectly with MotoSonora’s road trek vibe.

Beyond MotoSonora Brewing Co

And speaking of road treks, staying at MotoSonora makes it easy to wander the heart of Tucson. Congress Street District and Historic Fourth Avenue are less than two miles from MotoSonora. Both areas offer a plethora of dining and shopping opportunities, not to mention additional breweries to explore. Plus, Tucson’s neighborhoods are full of art complete with vibrant murals on buildings to quirky smaller pieces all along the streets.

Cheers from MotoSonora Brewing Co

That art continues at MotoSonora with its many images and memorabilia from overlanding trips across the globe. When you visit MotoSonora for a beer and an overnight stay, you’ll get that. But you’ll also get a trip around the world through the images and stories that resonate from within.At MotoSonora Brewing Company in Tucson, Arizona, the team creates a product that makes people happy. And they are happy doing that. Because with a good beer in hand, stories are told and adventures are planned.Cheers from Jeremy and the entire team at MotoSonora. May travel and beer always be hand in hand! “We welcome seekers of beer, people who love the road and want good beer. This place was built on the notion that road trips are one of the best ways to experience travel and find beer along the way.” (Jeremy Deconcini)

Ken and April Pishna are craft beer and travel lovers. Also Harvest Host members, they live and work in their 24 foot RV, while traveling to drink good beer and explore all that Mother Nature has to offer. Together they founded Living a Stout Life to guide others along on their own craft beer and travel adventures. You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.