Adam and Allie Vath love home brewing. When they discovered What Ale's Ya, opened by Chuck Therio in 1996, they became regular customers. Their dream of opening a taproom was set for early 2020. Then the pandemic hit. The Vaths decided instead to purchase What Ale's Ya and haven't looked back.
Adam, born and raised in Tucson, is a helicopter pilot for an air medical transport company. He met single mom and mother of twins Allie and the couple married a decade ago. Allie went into direct sales so she could stay home with the twins and the couple's baby girl. Now, as the owners of What Ale's Ya, the entire family—from the 6-year-old to the 17-year-old twins—pitches in to make the brew store a success.
"Brewing was Adam's hobby," explains Allie. "He's been brewing for about 12 years now. He was home brewing before we met, and we started doing it together. Then we decided to make wine one year for Christmas as gifts. So, it's just kind of fun."
Adam says it felt right to buy the brew store. "Instead of a man cave, we bought the home-brew store," he laughs. "I love to brew here in the store with customers."
Customers most often shop at What Ale's Ya—coming in from across the Valley—to purchase one of the beer or wine kits. "It's really simple," explains Allie. "People can come in and pick up a kit and we'll help them."
What Ale's Ya originally sold everything for the home beer brewer, but now also has kits for making wine from high-quality varietal wine grapes. Those who prefer can work in the newly installed brew kitchen and get a lesson. Look for regular beer- and wine-making classes.
Allie enjoys the winemaking. "We have a lot of fun with it. There are a couple of private releases."
She enjoys the Bordeaux, a Double Noir, and Sangiovese Rosé kits. Sweet summer wines, including Muscato, and crisp Pinot Grigio kits are also popular.
Adam prefers the beer kits. "Honestly, it's really hard to screw up making beer when you use the kits," he explains. "You just need to be able to clean and sanitize. As long as you do that, you can make beer. I tell everyone that if you can follow a recipe to bake a cake, you can make beer."
Adam explains that it takes about $200 to get started making beer, but that includes the equipment. "The kit comes with everything you need to make five gallons of beer," explains Adam. Each kit includes detailed instructions, the hops, sugars, grains and yeast. Some even come with labels for your bottles.
Although Adam and Allie both still have their full-time jobs, the store is open 11 am to 5 pm daily at Bell Road and 51st Avenue. WhatAlesYa.com
Fun Facts
- Wine kits yield 27 to 30 bottles per kit at a cost of about $6 per bottle. Equivalent varietals sell for about $30 per bottle in stores.
- Wine kits include bags of unfermented grape juice sourced from top grape producers around the world.
- Beer kits yield about 5 gallons of beer, or about 48 to 50 bottles.
- If you prefer to brew from scratch, What Ale's Ya has a selection of grain malts milled on the premises.
- What Ale's Ya has a cooler full of various types of hops.
- The yeast you choose changes both beer and wine. Find an impressive assortment of both at the store.