Wine-industry magazine Wines and Vines has a roundup of how Callaghan Vineyards, Canelo Hills Vineyard and Kief-Joshua Vineyard are dealing with the damage caused by last week’s hailstorm:

Elgin, Ariz. — A freak hailstorm stripped ripening grapes and foliage from winegrape vines in this high-elevation viticultural center south of Tucson last weekend. Growers in the affected area are struggling to salvage even a fraction of their 2010 vintage, already squeezed by an untimely freeze April 30.

Read the whole thing here.

The Tucson Weekly, the alternative to bland daily journalism in the Sonoran Desert, has partnered with GoTime.com to launch a definitive Tucson Happy-Hour Guide—on the Web (happyhours.tucsonweekly.com), on mobile Web (hh.tucsonweekly.com) and as apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

“This Weekly happy-hours app may just change my life,” said Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle. “Now, when I want to find the nearest cheap booze, all I need to do is click on the app on my smart phone, and it’ll tell me where to go using GPS technology—so I can get my drink on as quickly as possible!”

The Tucson Happy-Hour Guide has up-to-date listings of happy-hour offerings from bars, clubs and restaurants across the Old Pueblo. As of now, some 150 happy hours are listed—with more being added on a constant basis.

More good news: The Tucson Happy-Hour Guide apps and sites don’t only work in Tucson; they also work in 50 other cities around the country. GoTime.com’s extensive database currently includes more than 25,000 happy hours across the United States.

The Tucson Happy-Hour Guide is completely free for both users and the listed bars and restaurants. Businesses that are not listed, or that want to make changes to their happy-hour information, can e-mail [email protected] or contact the Tucson Weekly.

“We have amazing bars and restaurants in Tucson,” said Tucson Weekly advertising manager Jill A’Hearn. “This happy-hour guide does a fantastic job of showing off the great deals they’re offering.”

Brewers Connection, a Tempe-based store specializing in supplies needed for making beer and wine, has opened a Tucson location at 4500 E. Speedway Blvd., Suite 28.

Amie Blethen, general manager of the Tucson store, says the store is open for business even though it’s not completely stocked. She said a grand opening is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 21 and 22.

The store features a granary and a stock of kegs, bottles, bottling machines and other supplies needed for home brewing.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m., Sunday.

Call 881-0255 for more information.

The Wine Depot holds a tasting of Juliusspital wines from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 31. Juliusspital has been in operation since 1576, and I'll bet they've got the whole wine-making thing nailed by now. The tasting will feature everything from a 2006 Juliusspital Silvaner to a 2008 Juliusspital Bürgstädter Mainhölle Pinot Noir, and it’s free. RSVP is required. Call or visit their website to RSVP or for more information.

CataVinos features tastings of French wines from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday, July 30 through Aug. 1. $10 buys tastes of six wines, and the tasting on Sunday features a performance by Chuck Aubrey.

Down at Hotel Congress they’re holding a tasting of their new reserve beer selection from 5 to7 p.m., Saturday, July 31. Expect tastes of ales, lambics and rare brews from Belgium, France, Spain, and America for $15.

In related news, the rooms at Hotel Congress are now air-conditioned, and officials are holding an informal unveiling of the new and cooler (and, in some cases, redecorated) rooms at 7 p.m., tonight, Friday, July 30. It coincides with the hotel's Christmas in July celebration, and there will be music, drinking, a snow machine and mistletoe. Admission is a donation to the Tucson Community Food Bank.

Have you tried the Hooligan Punch at Lindy’s on Fourth yet? We have not, either, but if owner Lindy Reilly had anything to do with the recipe, there’s a good chance that it will kick your ass. We’ve seen it perched up on a shelf looking splendid with its flavor-infused liquor and fruit chunks, but we stick with the Pabst on draft.

Janos Wilder’s most recent signature drink is the 135 South Sixth Gin (that, incidentally, is the address of his up-and-coming restaurant Downtown Kitchen and Cocktails), which is made with muddled cucumber and basil, cardamon simple syrup and homemade ginger beer. Sounds refreshing, and it better be for $9.

And then there's Harvest Restaurant, which is currently ruling the happy-hour scene by offering deep discounts on drinks and appetizers from 3 to 6 p.m., every day. The eatery’s commitment to local and organic foods extends to the cocktails, which contain items like local honey and organic apple slices. Trust us: These cocktails are worth the paltry sum Harvest charges for them during happy hour.

The first taste of a beer that’s been aged for six months in a Kentucky bourbon barrel will be available this Friday.

Jason Schneider, the general manager of Thunder Canyon Brewery, says the first of two kegs of bourbon-barrel-aged Warhead Stout will be tapped at 4 p.m., Friday, July 2. He said the specialty beer is hotly anticipated by local beer connoisseurs.

“The beer-drinking demographic has developed and grown to where they want to drink and experience different things,” said Schneider. “Actually, they demand it.”

The brew boasts an alcohol content of 12 percent and a rich flavor imparted by the wooden cask that has been its home for the past half-year. It will only be served in 10-ounce glasses, which will sell for $5.50 each.

Schneider says the beer will soon be available on a regular basis.

What is a beer cocktail, you ask? Why, it’s a delicious mixture of beer and liquor that takes center stage at a tasting from 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, June 26, at Maynards Market and Kitchen. For $15, you get to learn about and taste a number of, yes, beer-based cocktails. Again, they mix liquor and beer in one drink and it is good.

One of the cocktails to be featured, the “Speech Therapy,” is on our short list of ultra-creative and mighty tasty cocktails to be had in this town. Come to think of it, I'm heading downtown for one right now. Cheers!

Delectables has half-price bottles of wine all day today and every Wednesday at their Wacky Wednesday event. Owner Donna DiFiore says she also offers a daily special where three select bottles are discounted $10, and three other wines are marked down to $6 a glass. Also worthy of note is the Nimbus beer-tasting scheduled for 5 p.m., Thursday, May 13, where you can try every Nimbus brew for $10.

Catavinos holds tastings from 4 to 8 p.m., daily, Thursday, May 6, through Saturday, May 8. $10 buys tastes of six different wines; it’s only $8 with a wine purchase of $10 or more. Catavinos is also holding a tasting of hard-to-find wines from around the world on Wednesday, May 12. It’ll only set you back a paltry $4 for tastes of four to six wines, and you get to vote to decide which wines stay in stock.

Janos Wilder will be at Catavinos from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 13, for a live taping of the radio show On the Menu Live. Wilder provides the finger food while tastes of six different wines are poured for $10. There’s also talk of some sort of strange ritual called “the annual burning of the basket” that may take place. Wine? Fire? Hooray!

The Wine Depot offers a free tasting of five old-world rosés from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 8. (Note: It’s actually worth checking in with Catavinos and the Wine Depot on a weekly basis due to the enormous number of tasting events they both offer).

And up at the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain they’re holding a three-course dinner at CORE Kitchen and Wine Bar with wine from Patz & Hall vineyard at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 7, for $125. Call 572-3000 for reservations.

Aaron DeFeo, who runs the beverage program at Hotel Congress, says more than 45 tequilas, mescals and other agave-based liquors will be featured, and tequila experts from several companies will be on hand to answer questions.

The first question I’d like to ask is how anyone is expected to get to work on Thursday when Hotel Congress holds awesome events like this on a Wednesday.

Samples of cocktails made with flavor-infused tequilas will also be featured, and there's an optional dinner being offered across the street at Maynards Market and Kitchen.

Click here for the full scoop.

UA School of Journalism student Sean O'Neill-Ryan gives us a look at The Shanty's Bill Nugent, owner and bartender.

When was the last time you got your tiki on? Get over to Kon Tiki Saturday, April 10, as they set fire to those great torches outside the restaurant for the first time in a quarter-century. Special guests: Flam Chen.

Trista Davis has the lowdown in City Week.