Borderlands Brewing Company is holding a grand opening at 6 p.m., this Saturday, Dec. 10. The brewery has already hosted a few private and special events, but this will be the first chance the general public gets to check the place out.

People who love beer have been talking about this place nonstop. A chef friend who knows a thing or two about fermented beverages tried the vanilla porter and said it had a sweet essence reminiscent of root beer. Another friend got a taste test of a few beers as well and gave similar glowing reviews.

Meanwhile, I've been too busy to get down there, but I'll be there Saturday with pint in hand. Hooray!

There's more on the brewery here and here.

Colors Food and Spirits, the LGBT bar and restaurant at 5305 E. Speedway Blvd. reopens at 4 p.m. today, Thursday, Nov. 17.

We're not sure what caused the week-long closure it is emerging from - we sent an e-mail to management and haven't heard back yet - but the establishment's Facebook page says the lights will be back on tonight:

I talked to John and If you haven't heard the news here it goes... COLORS is REopening Thursday at 4pm... John will be on a quest by himself... And we will be there to back him up!!! Soooo excited!!!!

It's been an up-and-down year for local gay bars. Ain't Nobody's Bizness, the LGBT bar at 2900 E. Broadway Blvd., closed a a few weeks ago. Pulse Tucson, the LGBT bar at 915 W. Prince Road that was formerly Coyote Moon Pub, also closed for a minute or two before reopening as New Moon Tucson.

Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails continues with its series of Celebrity Happy Hours tonight, and this time the local Yelp.com coordinator and the executive director of Casa de los Niños will be serving the drinks.

So go have a few drinks between 4:30 and 6 p.m. tonight and lay down some big tips for Corey Dane and Susie Huhn, because it all benefits the great work Casa de los Niños does.

As a side note, I've been asked to get behind the bar for one of these events, which was flattering and a little shocking. I figure it must be slim pickings out there in celebrity land or that I am about to be punked, Ashton Kutcher-style.

In any event, I'm totally taking them up on the offer and I pour frighteningly strong drinks, so hope to see you down there once we get a date set.

Similar to the audience for O'Doul's, there are certainly people out there who can't or shouldn't drink but miss the taste of whiskey, but I'm not sure the world is ready for an artificial flavor laden alcohol-free whiskey-like drink that comes in a can:

The world’s first alcohol free whisky flavored drink ‘ArKay’ is been launched worldwide this month. ArKay, a unique innovation to the beverages industry has gained worldwide notoriety in the beverage community. ArKay, the world's first alcohol free whisky flavored drink is designed for the socialite to the construction worker. The exceptional taste of whisky without the alcohol making a perfect beverage that anyone can consume. The design of ArKay was to allow anyone with medical conditions or with religious beliefs to drink without guilt. ArKay tastes and looks exactly like traditional whisky. It is suitable for drinking straight up, on the rocks, or with soda or your favorite mixers.

ArKay is made with artificial ingredients and flavors in accordance with European Economic Community (EEC) regulations and within the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Both the flavor and ingredients are conformed to Halal guidelines. ArKay Beverages Inc. is the pioneer of this innovative concept. After 5 years of beverage industry research, surveys and tasting, ArKay was created and developed as a non-alcoholic whisky flavored drink for mass consumption.
Also known as ‘halal whisky’ this non-alcoholic drink can be considered as a soft drink and is suitable for any party occasions. Due to the overwhelming response for ArKay from customers and distributors from around the world, we promise to bring our flavored alcohol free beverage to a location near you.

[HT: Geekosystem]

If so, you should be keeping tabs on the new Catalina Brewing Company. The place is a true microbrewery - it will initially operate out of a small shed in one of the owner's backyards - and the guys teaming up to open it are awesome.

The company is owned and operated by local cycling fanatics who also happen to love beer. People who've participated in the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo bike race may have already sampled the beer they brew - they tested a few kegs at last year's event - and the rest of us might get a taste of it sometime around the end of the year.

You can follow along with the brewery's progress over yonder.

Last night's 2011 World Margarita Competition got the Tucson Culinary Festival rolling in style. It was a packed house with all of the usual foodie elite in attendance. I was there, too.

Margarita samples were consumed en masse as attendees cooed over gourmet food and drink brought in by Tucson Original restaurants. Kudos to the organizers of this event and to all of the participants. It was a great night and I will definitely be back next year.

I do have one suggestion, however, for the judge who called Bushi's drink "Like something a teenage boy would serve to a girl to try to get her into bed" and "... like something Hello Kitty would make. I can't wait to see the Hello Kitty taco!" Lay off the American Idol reruns; Simon Cowell you are not. Teenage boys are not serving young ladies drinks garnished with edible flowers and shortbread. It was a mean and confusing thing to say.

The rest of the event was an absolute blast though, and tons of money was made for local charities. If you ever get the chance, this is one of the best annual events to check out what numerous Tucson restaurants have to offer.

• Those limes are actually Jell-o shots.

• These were topped with egg cream and ginger-snap crumbs.

• The competitors board.

• "I need light! Spilling tequila is a sin!" said Maria Mazon while pouring killer margaritas in low light.

• All but one of the judges were great.

• Rimmed with chile salt, which was wonderful.

• The competitors from the Cup at Hotel Congress wowed the judges with a purist recipe.

• Bushi's entry.

As part of our Secrets of Tucson Bartenders series, we went to Fourth Avenue German-inspired restaurant Café Passe to learn to make a cocktail with Spanish wine Cava.

For more on Tucson bartenders, check out Adam Borowitz's feature story this week on the formation of a bartender's guild.

I keep having the strangest experiences at Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails. The last time I was there the only seat at the bar was next to the mean woman who lives next door to me. Just weeks earlier she'd almost run me over while I was jogging, and there we were, sitting next to each other enjoying fine cocktails and snacking on peanuts and cheese and such, and not making eye contact.

If you go to Downtown tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 26, you'll notice Alex Miranda from The Morning Blend behind the bar. All the tips he makes will benefit Wingspan. Miranda will be there from 4 to 6 p.m. You know what to do.

Local firefighters will duke it out to see who makes the best homebrew at the second annual Homebrew Challenge at Thunder Canyon Brewery this Saturday.

The event works like this: You pay $25 at the door (or $20 in advance), which entitles you to tastes of tons of different beers. Everybody drinks their beer-loving buts off until the winner is selected, and that person gets to mass brew a batch of the winning beer at Thunder Canyon Brewery. The proceeds from the sales of that beer will then be donated to Northwest Firefighters Charities.

There will be food, too. While the event focuses on home-brewed beers, many breweries are sending beer and representatives. I'll post a list of the participating breweries after the jump.

Game on Sports Grille at 6453 N. Oracle Road is no more and a new bar called the Parish is shaping up there.

The word is that Travis Peters, formerly of the Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress, is involved. There is also word of gumbo being served via somebody who used to either own or work at the French Quarter. We've put in calls; they haven't been returned. We'll be heading up there soon to take a look for ourselves.

I almost forgot to mention that there are apparently three kinds of deviled eggs being served there, too. This will definitely hasten our efforts to get up there to see what's going on.