What do dwarves drink after slaying dragons all day? 

Tucson brewer Benjamin Vernon is pretty sure it would be his Dwarvish Ale, an earthy brew with a hefty oak finish that will be one of the debut beers when his Crooked Tooth Brewing Co. opens Downtown this fall.

Vernon has been working overtime—as in, every spare moment he has—to get the place cranking. First was the renovation of an old auto-service shop at 228 E. Sixth Street, near the corner of Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue. Then brewing tanks came in. Then kegs. 

Vernon has 15 years of brewing experience and beer is kind of elemental to his existence. He and his wife plan vacations around breweries—they visited 16 on a recent trip—and the guy is generally gonzo about beer in a variety of ways.

"I just love beer, man," said Vernon on a recent evening, popping a beer while power tools roared in the background. "Crooked Tooth is going to relish in what makes us different, in what makes a person unique and not a clone. We're going to make good beer and we're doing it our way."

Having talked to many Tucson beer people over the years I must say his approach to beer, and life in general, is equal parts thoughtfulness and intensity. This could get interesting. 

The Tucson Weekly will have a full story on the brewery just before the opening, but for the time being you can keep up with the progress here.