If you’re looking for a new favorite bar in town, you’ll want to check out the R.O. Bar @ The Red Onion, downtown at Arnold Plaza. David Rome, bar manager, was quick to point out that this bar is unique: it’s not your typical loud bar, “We really wanted to go for a sophisticated, upscale bar: think your wine and cheese sort of thing. Owner Steve Van Ella is looking to emulate that classy downtown Scottsdale look and feel.” With upscale food from The Red Onion, combined with quality beers and liquors, the R.O. Bar has managed to add a touch of sophistication to the local bar scene.

Every last detail of the bar interior was designed and built by owner Van Ella—from the bar right down to the light fixtures—adding the owner’s touch and vision for revamping Arnold Plaza. The R.O. Bar provides at-the-bar and table seating. There’s also room for casual outside dining and drinking, taking advantage of the typically perfect Havasu weather. Add in planned art shows and events and it’s clear to see that Van Ella’s vision for the R.O. Bar is rapidly becoming a reality.

Already gaining a reputation for their famous Bloody Mary’s, the bar offers a variety of tap and bottle beers including local Mudshark brews, notably Full Moon and Scorpion. “A full line of Three Olive Vodka including Cake, Cherry, and OR-G, complimented by high-end Tequilas like Silver Cruz and Don Julio are sure to satisfy the most discriminating pallet”, noted Rome.

Happy Hour menus feature a variety of flavorful appetizers as well as ½ off drink specials. Meal specials include all-you-can-eat fish as well as mouth-watering prime rib. Fine dining and excellent drink selections all wrapped up in the upscale elegance that you won’t find anywhere else in town makes for a memorable night out at the R.O. Bar @ The Red Onion.

Great Food and Drinks, I’m There! The R.O. Bar @ The Red Onion features an upscale bar scene with excellent drink selections and fine dining at reasonable prices. Located at 2013 McCulloch Blvd. at Arnold Plaza, downtown Havasu. The R.O. Bar is open 4 p.m. to close Wed-Sat. The restaurant is open 7 days a week, 7 a.m. T o 2 p.m. And 4-8 p.m.

Lake Havasu City Indie Rock

We Sat down with Rob Hennings 3 and Ian Goold of local up and coming band Red Army Captains to ask them a few questions. If you were on main street for New Years, you had the opportunity to see these guys rock the night out and bring in the new year.

How do you handle the 7 – 10 split?
ROB: I usually just curse god for cursing me with such terribly low bowling averages.

So I heard you guys rocked Main Street on New Years. Care to comment?
IAN: We had fun and all thirty people that came to the stage we played seemed to enjoy it.

If you could play a show with any musician dead or alive who wold it be?
ROB: That is a really tough one, I am going to have to get back to you. After the interview rob came back in and said he would play with
John Taylor from Duran Duran. The next day he called in to say he would rather play with Paul Simonon from The Clash. (Someone has commitment issues I think)

IAN: Any artist would be iconic but if given the choice I would say Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation, John Lennon or Paul McCartney.

How long have you been playing together?
We have been playing together for around 3 or 4 years.

What can we look forward to in the future from you guys?
Right now we are just in writing mode. Then we will be working on some out of town shows.

Nipple clamps, good or bad?
ROB:probably bad, never tried them though
IAN: Bad news!

Who inspires you the most as far as influencing your writing?
ROB: People, places and things

IAN: I write my own stuff and don’t really listen to other music.

Where does the name come from?
IAN: The pre-occupation of the cold war, and what a farce it was.

By Rawley R. Macias: Do you appreciate good beer? Ever wonder if you could it make at home? If so, you are in luck; brewing beer at home can be as easy or complex as you want. A person can get into home brewing for as little as $100. Online homebrew stores like Morebeer.com make it easy by offering basic startup kits. They usually include a 3-5 gallon pot to heat the beer in, a 5 gallon glass or plastic vessel to ferment the beer in, a handheld hydrometer to measure alcohol content, bottling equipment, and a step-by-step instruction guide. Once you get going, home brewing kits can be upgraded to suit your own brewing style.

A delicious beer typically consists of five ingredients: grain to give the beer its malty backbone, hops to add some bitterness and aroma, yeast to convert the sugars to alcohol, water, and time. Homebrew supply shops offer kits for all styles of beer. Patience is also a virtue with homebrewing as a typical brew takes about three weeks before it is ready to enjoy. The process can be divided into three main events: the brew day, the fermentation period, and the bottling day. The process starts with the brew day which usually takes anywhere from 2-5 hours to make the wort. Wort is the sweet liquid produced from the malted grain which will later be fermented by the yeast. Once the wort is produced, it is cooled, transferred to a fermentation vessel, and brewer’s yeast is added. And then you wait…for approximately 2 weeks for the yeast to consume the sugar in the wort producing the alcohol. Once the fermentation period is complete, it is time to move onto the bottling day. Bottling day typically consists of transferring the fermented beer into individual bottles and introducing a small amount of corn sugar. The corn sugar provides a little food for the yeast to consume to create carbon dioxide which carbonates the beer. After about a week of sitting in the bottle, the beer is ready to refrigerate and enjoy. It is that easy!

Most homebrewers start off with a simple system but often upgrade and individualize it as time goes on. Brewing beer at home is a great way to impress your friends and tailor the beer to your taste buds. Cheers and happy brewing!

AZ Music

Barley Brothers

Beer, it’s happening at Barley Brothers! Brew Master Lon Weatherson is back at it again with a wide range of seasonal beers on tap. Whether you enjoy holiday Spice Ales, regional Framboise’s or even vanilla porter you’ll find a beer that is guarantee to tantalize your taste buds. Be on the look out for new Porters featuring blueberry, coconut, and hazelnut coming in the following months. Lon is also working very hard to ensure all of your favorite year round beers are on tap as well which include our Blond Ale, JennaGrace Hefeweizen, Big horn IPA, GABF Gold Medal winning Kick-start Stout, along with the local favorite Triple Berry. Can’t decide, try them all with a sampler platter. Barley Brothers also offers all of your favorite beers to go in 64-ounce growers, just make sure to bring it back on your next visit for a refill. – Brewer; Nicholas Macal

Mudshark

There is SOO much going on with Mudshark Brewery! We just put in our new Solar System! That’s right, our amazing beer is now being made with the sweet AZ sun! Can you taste the light? We are growing our brewery, AGAIN! A new 30 barrel bright tank was installed in January with 3 more on the way this month. Our newest club, the PMS Club (Pink Mugs Society) is a Woman only group which meets at our tasting room the 2nd Thursday of every month. The $5 donation benefits the OWLS, a chapter of the local Cancer Society. The original motor to our Double Decker English bus has been rebuilt and put back in! Another step closer to having the Mudshark Pub Crawl Party bus on the road! Awsome seasonal beers include the 2012, a Scotch Ale hitting 8.68% on the alcohol scale. The new Blueberry Vanilla is very refreshing and includes a coupe of blueberrys’. For those that love truffles in a red box, February inspires a silky smooth Chocolate Stout. Bring in your love and give it a taste. – Brewmaster; Guy Bartness

College Street

College Street Brewhouse & Pub opened in November. Brew-master and owner Lon Weatherson, along with brewers Nick Macal and Colby Hansen are focused on creating one-of-a-kind handcrafted, award-winning beers. Currently College Street produces a Pale Ale, American Wheat, Stout, and IPA. On top of the traditional micro-brew beers College Street is also producing exciting new beers. They have a blueberry and vanilla wheat beer called Big Blue Van that has quickly become a local favorite. Also, College Street produces Havasu’s first malt liquor called Jesse’s Malt Liquor, which is served in a paper bag! Another unique beer is the College Street Pilsner, which harkens back to what the traditional American pilsner tasted like pre-prohibition. The brewers are also working on starting a barrel-aging program. Be sure to stop by College Street  Brewhouse and Pub and order a few of these new Havasu made brews, or tease your pallet with the sampler so you get to try the whole line-up! – Brewer; Colby Hansen