Television personality and AZfoothills.com columnist Nadine Toren is scouring the area, finding savvy Valley features, bringing readers “on the scene.”  Every day she’ll introduce you to celebrities, athletes, and give you an inside look into local events and hot spots.  She'll touch on topical issues, and keep AZ fans posted on all the big talkers around town.

Think of it as a wine tour in Napa—but this one all about beer in the Valley.  We’re showing you the VIP way to taste-test local brews.

When the BF’s b-day rolled around, I wanted to plan a unique day-time activity.  After doing some googling, I came across a company that definitely caught my eye.  It’s called Tours on Tap (www.toursontap.com), and I instantly knew it would make for quite a creative (and tasty!) trip.

Who would have thought Arizona is a hot hub for beer?  In fact, the Valley showcases five homegrown breweries…tap that.

I instantly booked a tour; a behind-the-scenes look at beer.  Starting at about $75 a person, a beer-guide takes you on a 4-6 hour expedition, bringing you to 2-4 Valley breweries—transportation, beer tasting, and food included.

How could any guy pass that up?

So on a sunny Saturday this past March, the BF, his sis, a couple of his buddies, and me got brew-ready.

At 10:45am sharp a VIP bus pulled up in the BF’s driveway, and out came Felipe Carreras, owner and guide of Tours on Tap.  Carreras is a certified Cicerone, a term I was not aware of. He’s actually only one of the eight certified Cicerones in the state, and considering there are about 150 in the world, it’s quite an elite title.  Basically, it means he reached a high degree of beer knowledge, after passing a very intense program.

He launched Tours on Tap in September 2010, after graduating from Arizona State University.  Carreras wanted to create a party-bus-type of feel that would unite food, travel and beer, while promoting local businesses.

Our personal Cicerone led the five of us inside the 30-person bus; it was very spacious, and we made ourselves quite comfy.   He gave us a brief rundown of our itinerary for the day—our first stop would be Four Peaks.  However, our ride to Tempe would include a mini lesson on brewing, courtesy of Mr. Carreras.

He did a show and tell of beer’s four main ingredients-- barley, water, hops, and yeast.  This, as the each of us cracked open a cold one to kick things off—yes; in this case, drinking is allowed while driving.  (A big thanks to our bus driver for dealing with us boozing.)