Saddlebrooke Ranch opens first-ever active living community brewery

ORACLE, AZ (Tucson News Now) - It was a quiet afternoon outside at Saddlebrooke Ranch in Oracle, but inside is a new concept that has a lot of people talking.

“Jump in my golf cart. Head up to the brewery and we’re good to go,” said Don Hendricks, who lives in the community.

He frequents the bar three days a week or so, and loves a good craft beer. "The regular just blah beer wasn't doing anything."

He said this new brewery does, owned by Robson Resort Communities. Let's call it booze for boomers.

"They all grew up in the sixties and the seventies during a really fun time," said Joshua Johnson. He's the head brewer. Born and raised in Tucson, he started brewing beer in high school as a hobby. Now he's doing it professionally at Saddlebrooke Ranch all these years later.

It's the first of its kind nationwide. No other active living community has a brewery associated with it.

The entire Saddlebrooke Ranch community is filled with more than 700 homes and growing. Most people who live there are over the age of 55.

The perfect pour is now just a hop away for residents.

Johnson said, "Beer has been bringing people together for years. We wanted to keep it going out here." So he helped bring the idea to 'brew-ition.' It opened about a month ago, serving retired customers like Hendricks.

"I hung drywall for twenty years ... beer helps with the joints," said Hendricks. He's happy to have a place with a 'homebrew.' "To have one here is so convenient. After golf you can have a nice brew and I love when I have friends visiting."

There could be more breweries on tap for other Robson communities like this one, if Saddlebrooke Ranch continues to see success. There are plans in the works to distribute Johnson’s creations to their other communities already.

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