La Cumbre Westside will open in grand fashion this Monday

Posted: August 17, 2018 by Franz Solo in News, Taproom Preview
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La Cumbre’s new taproom is ready to go!

Franz Solo here on the cusp of your weekend to announce the opening of La Cumbre’s taproom this coming Monday, the 20th of August. Located on Albuquerque’s west side at the new shopping center on the southeast corner of Coors and Montaño, this is quite a lovely addition to those of us who live in the Taylor Ranch neighborhood and surrounding areas.

The exterior is complete.

To say that I’m just a little excited for this is entirely an understatement. Since moving into Taylor Ranch in 2012, one of the few things that was missing from our neck of the woods was a stellar taproom, and we always hoped one would land right around Coors and Montaño. Our hopes have been answered, and man, I’m happy to have La Cumbre here. I had a few moments to chat with owner Jeff Erway and snap a few photos of the nearly completed space, so without further ado …

It’s mighty cozy inside.

Franz Solo: All right, so we finally got a taproom. So what does this mean for La Cumbre and how excited are you?

Jeff: You know, I wasn’t excited when we got started, but I’m pretty darn excited now, because it’s that feeling of accomplishment. Except this time, it wasn’t the vast majority of it just being my wife (Laura) and myself getting it all done. It has been a total team effort and the place looks really good because of that. Everybody came up with plenty of stupid ideas and amongst those stupid ideas a few really good ones rose to the top, and we took those and ran with them.

Owner Jeff Erway is one happy man with that beer menu in place.

Yeah, I’m really proud of the way it looks and how it came out. The general contractor did a great job and as much as anything I’m really excited to see — we know our clientele at our original taproom, it’s hardcore beer geeks — obviously we know that many of them will be coming here as well, but we also know that there will be a totally different group of people coming here as well, which I’m excited to see who that is.

Solo: Heck of a nice patio with the hop-themed metalwork.

Jeff: Thank you very much. We are really pleased with how it came out.

The hop design is quite fun outside.

Solo: I also like that this is quite modern, but you kind of kept the rustic look of the original alongside it.

Jeff: I did. I tried as much as I could. We used lots of recycled wood. We’ve got an arcade game over there with 1,100 different games or something, every single awesome game you played in the 80’s and 90’s we’ve got there. We have a shuffleboard table because it’s something I’ve always loved when I was up in Taos, playing late night shuffleboard. We found a woodworker at Real Woodworks, John, that we really wanted to partner with and I think he just did a killer job creating exactly what we were trying to go for.

Classic arcade games? Oh, the hours we will spend playing these!

Gonna be playing a lot of this as well.

* * * * *

So starting next week, we on the Westside have our own taproom at which to “Get Elevated” and I for one could not be more excited. From the start, there will be 18 distinct beers on tap and also of note, this is the first taproom I’ve seen that has incorporated outlets with USB ports at every booth, along the wall, and under the bar as well to suit our modern device needs for constant power, which is a very nice touch. Head over this coming week and check out the long awaited La Cumbre taproom in all its glory. 

Soon, all those tables and booths will be packed!

Skål!

— Franz Solo

Beer Creek Brewing Company: A story about beer

Posted: August 17, 2018 by Luke in Beer in Santa Fe
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Rich Headley, and his epic goatee, pours us a cold one.

Back in June, even we were feeling the sweltering heat all the way up here in Santa Fe, it was hard to escape the slow simmer of city life even in the Sangres. And, when it gets too hot in the city, us Santa Feans just gotta get out of town. Well, one Wednesday, I did just that. I headed down Highway 14, passing Tumbleroot’s new brewing/distilling/taproom on my left, and Santa Fe Brewing Company’s main complex on my right.

And, vowing not to pick up any hitchhikers, as requested by the signs preceding the state pen, that is, unless they showed the right amount of leg — with my windows rolled down, Iron Maiden screaming across the Bluetooth, I breezed down the two-lane road with a cool sense of freedom. I was getting out of town, and loving the gorgeous, greenish landscape that sprawled out before me.

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Dat vista, tho.

Before I knew it, and I truly mean that, I was there, missing the turn. It was exactly across the road from the Shell Station and Lone Butte General Store. How had I gotten here in 17 minutes from the middle of town? When I’d lived in Albuquerque, last year, it was 30 minutes to anywhere from my corner of the grid. But, here I was at 3810 State Highway 14 N, the exact location of Beer Creek Brewing Company. (For the reader who keeps calling me out on not giving exact addresses. You are not forgotten, ma’am.) Read the rest of this entry »

Second Street Brewery releases new cans for distribution

Posted: August 15, 2018 by Luke in Beer in Santa Fe, News
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That’s one sexy lineup, Second Street.

Since Second Street opened a third location on Rufina Street in 2017, their second brewing facility has acted as a testing-ground for the Rufina location flagship beers and what would be future Second Street can offerings. Back when I spoke with President/Brewmaster Rod Tweet for the Look Back/Look Ahead Series article for 2017-18, they were looking at releasing cans during the second quarter of 2018.

Well, here we are somewhere in the middle of the third, but, as promised, Second Street is currently labeling their cans and shipping them off to stores near you. That’s right, Second Street has cans at last! Again. Well, this time from their own canning line. And this time, for good. You might remember the short run with Mother Road Mobile Canning. Well, Second Street is doing its own thing now, and Dark Side’s got the scoop for you.

As La Cumbre, Marble, Santa Fe Brewing, Bosque, Canteen, Rio Bravo, etc., all well know, packaged goods are just another product on a shelf without a bold, eye-catching, and ultimately memorable design. The brewers work hard to put something excellent in cans and bottles that consumers can bring home from the store, but the brewery’s job is not finished there. The package has to hold its own against hundreds of other designs, especially to folks who don’t already know what they’re looking for, and indeed are judging a book by its cover. For example, Santa Fe Brewing and Marble have both majorly overhauled their packaging to ensure that what they put out there on the shelves would 1) stand out to the public in an ever-shrinking market, and 2) represent their brand to the fullest potential with a certain stylistic cohesiveness, so the consumer can not only return to what they know and love, but also be confident in trying another can or bottle from the same company. Read the rest of this entry »

The Week Ahead in Beer: The 377 dips into the cellar for our benefit

Posted: August 15, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

While I will miss Oregon for all its green and many new beers to try, there is work to be done here, so I am back in ABQ until the beer road calls again (e.g. GABF) next month. It’s a good thing I’m back, because there’s a lot to cover this week. First up, as we noted in our story about The 377 Brewery tying for third at the Great British Beer Festival, brewmaster Lyna Waggoner also has a cool new idea for all of you lovers of some of the more unique beers. The Basement Barrel Project will kick off today and then continue every Wednesday with a different special beer offering. Patrons can order 10-ounce pours of wild and spontaneously fermented beers. If folks like the beer enough, they can enter into a drawing for the chance to purchase a bottle of the beer (there will only be two bottles of each beer available). Two winners will be chosen for each beer. The BBP will start with the Belgian Sour Quad that just won a gold medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championship.

We also wanted to highlight a good charity event this week. Tractor Wells Park is hosting Beer for Boobs (no giggling) on Saturday night starting at 7. For every pint sold, $1 will go to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Albuquerque. The Porter Draw will provide the music starting at 8 p.m.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bombs Away brings back Short Fuze Blonde Ale and High Speed Low Drag Lager, while also adding the new All Clear!, an apple beer. Bosque is feeling patriotic with American Brown. Bow & Arrow has replaced a house beer, Sun Dagger, with a new year-round saison, Fringe Jacket. Boxing Bear takes a swing at more Red Knuckle Irish Red and Das Bear German Pilsner. Canteen has a new version of Social Capital made with plums, vanilla, and cardamom. La Cumbre rolls out bottles of Pina Quercus, a tequila-barrel-aged tart ale with pineapple, on Friday. Marble unveils Pomegranate Gose. Ponderosa has Blood Orange Double Wit back on tap in addition to being available in cans. Red Door rolls out Peach Berliner Weisse on Friday. Sidetrack has fresh batches of Turntable IPA Track 1, Guera, and our favorite, Buzz Bomb. Starr Brothers will have a new rose gose, Whole Lotta, by this weekend. Steel Bender debuts Harvest Pale Ale on Thursday. The 377 also debuts small batches of New Mexico Chile Lager and Ginger Beer. Tractor adds Simcoe Single-Hop Pale Ale to its lengthy beer list. Turtle Mountain goes big with Three Marks IPA and small with Sex in a Canoe (again, no giggling).

Up in Santa Fe, it’s quiet, which means all the brewers must have something awesome on deck.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of August 13.

Read the rest of this entry »

Weekend Beer-cap: The nocturnal edition from all us procrastinators

Posted: August 14, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
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The spoils of the best airport gift store in the world, which is naturally in Portland, Oregon.

What do you get when you mix a few procrastinators (AmyO excluded) and have them write a story together? Well, you get this weekly feature at night, that’s what you get.

Anyway, the Crew has been a bit scattered of late, with me (Stoutmeister) in Oregon and the others running amok all over New Mexico for various reasons. I have returned, and yes, I brought back a few goodies from Portland, though not quite in the normal way. Rather than borrow a hard-sided suitcase for my trip in which to store bottles/cans for the flight home, I took my old soft-sided bag. Even with copious amounts of bubble wrap, I wasn’t going to risk beer, or my clothes, for the trip home. So I forlornly traveled into the airport after checking my bag and … wait, what’s this? Beer bottles and cans for sale inside the airport?!

Bless you, Oregon liquor laws. Or just whatever genius moment occurred at a place called “Made in Oregon” that enabled someone to think, “Hey, would should sell some of our amazing craft beer at reasonable prices to travelers who still have room in the carry-ons!” And thus, I was able to stuff my backpack with four bombers — a barrel-aged barleywine from Buoy (Astoria), an imperial IPA from Gigantic (Portland), a pilsner from pFriem (Hood River), an export stout from Pelican (Pacific City) — and bring them home to New Mexico. There may not have been the biggest of the big beers there (sniff, no Great Notion), but it was a solid and varied selection (yes, there were Cascade sours) at about the same price one would pay at a brewery or liquor store.

Let us just imagine weary travelers being able to purchase some Elevated IPA to take back to New York, or Double White to Chicago, or Scotia to San Francisco, or Mustachio Milk Stout to Seattle, or … well, you get the point. Unless it is completely forbidden by state law, some enterprising soul should sell our best craft beers behind the TSA security check at the Sunport. Let’s start exporting New Mexico around the country and beyond!

After that, I wolfed down a Hopworks Pilsner and some chicken-infused mac-n-cheese at the Henry’s Tavern inside the airport, and I finally returned home. As for the rest of the Crew that was “stuck” here over the weekend, here are a couple of their reports.

Trekking to the City Different

After taking the Rail Runner to Santa Fe, if your first stop isn’t Second Street Railyards, you’re not doing it right.

This past Saturday afternoon we took the Railrunner from Los Ranchos to Santa Fe. The weather was perfect for strolling about town. It was mostly cloudy with a few light sprinkles, but not enough rain to interfere with any outdoor plans.

As per usual when we take the train up there, the first stop was Second Street at the Railyards. My pint of choice was a Rod’s Best Bitter.

We wandered around a bit and decided to call upon Desert Dogs Brewery and Cidery just off the plaza at 112 W. San Francisco. It was our first time there. It’s a nice, bright, and open space with a mini patio overlooking the street below. They have pool and shuffleboard as well as a good selection of beers and ciders. I had a mango cider that was quite tasty.

— AmyO

Someone let Luke name a real beer

Meet La Marcha Wedding Lager at Blue Corn. Yeah, Luke really got to name it.

This weekend my beer adventures took me to Second Street for their brand new can release. I won’t get into detail about them, as I have the full story for you coming today or tomorrow. On a separate beer adventure, one of the beers that happened to be on tap this past weekend at Blue Corn Brewery was La Marcha Wedding Lager. It’s an excellent crisp and refreshing lager, fish-bowl clear like an un-tinted vehicle driving through Espanola. This is an all-around solid lager that definitely makes for a great easy-drinking porch beer. And, as an added bonus, brewers Paul Mallory and Andy Lane were nice enough to let me name this one. To say that I have a large Hispanic family is an understatement, and I know that it’s pretty rare to have a Hispanic wedding without La Marcha. Hence, the name, and they did a great job. I’ll be back for a growler to satisfy my late-summer porch-drinking needs.

Cheers!

— Luke

The 377 Brewery ties for 3rd among American beers at the Great British Beer Festival

Posted: August 14, 2018 by cjax33 in Events, News
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As the NM Brewers Guild put it best, “How many times has earth-shattering news appeared on a Post-It note?” Congrats to The 377 on tying for third at GBBF. (Original photo courtesy of Carlos Garcia)

At this point in history, it is no longer a surprise to see a New Mexico brewery claiming one of the Michael Jackson Awards for Best American Cask Ale from the Great British Beer Festival. After all, in the previous six years, four local breweries combined for five medals.

It is, however, quite heartening to see one of the “little guys” in our local scene being the brewery to bring home a medal in 2018. The 377 Brewery added its name to the list of winners when it tied for third in this year’s edition of the American Cask Beer Bar over the weekend.

“What this win means for me is that my love and dedication to the art and science behind the brewing process is being recognized,” 377 brewmaster Lyna Waggoner said in an email. “My Schwartzbier had won medals in the homebrew scene. I believed in this beer and never changed the recipe. There is a secret to this beer, but I won’t tell.”

Whatever that secret is, it impressed the British judges. It is the third bronze medal for a New Mexico brewery after Canteen and Rio Bravo tied last year. Prior to that, Marble won gold in 2012 and silver in 2013, followed by La Cumbre taking gold in 2014.

“I’m proud to stand with the previous other NM winners and to continue to show the brewing world that we kick ass,” Lyna said.

Tucked away near the intersection of Yale and Gibson, The 377 has quietly been on a roll of late, earning a gold medal for its Belgian Sour Quad at the U.S. Beer Open Championship, in addition to a pair of past gold medals.

“What this win means to The 377 is the recognition of being chosen in such a large and diverse field of competitors,” Lyna said. “I know they (the owners and staff) are ecstatic.”

The good news is the Schwartzbier is available almost year-round at the brewery, so anyone who is curious about this award winner can head over to try it at almost any time. A limited amount of the Belgian Sour Quad will be available starting this Wednesday, and we will have more details on how that kicks off the Basement Barrel Project in The Week Ahead in Beer.

Overall, it is just part of a positive string of news and events for The 377.

“As far as momentum, it’s already building with our new kitchen opening up very, very soon,” Lyna said. “Possibly a pilot system for me to explore even more avenues of beer artistry is in the works. And, to finally get a chance to show off my sour side of beer making is finally here. And, I’m happy about that.”

Congratulations to Lyna and The 377 from all of us in the Crew.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

Two Santa Fe breweries team up for first-time collaboration

Posted: August 13, 2018 by Luke in Beer in Santa Fe, Events, News
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Recently I was attending a little meet-up of the Santa Fe brewers at Rowley Farmhouse Ales, and after many delicious beer samples from the local brewers, as well as some recent RFA collabs, RFA let me in on a little secret. Rowley Farmhouse Ales and recent IPA Challenge winner, Blue Corn Brewery, had a collaboration in the works. Seeing as there had never been a collaboration between these two breweries before, I wanted to get the story out to the public as soon as I could. During a very busy weekend, I caught up with both brewers to find out what exactly was going down in my town.

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RFA head brewer Wes Burbank at a recent collaboration with Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago.

First up, I met with Wes Burbank, the head brewer at Rowley Farmhouse Ales.

DSBC: I heard you guys are doing a collaboration with Blue Corn soon. Does Rowley Farmhouse Ales (RFA) have an official statement?

Burbank: Official Statement from RFA — Barleywine is dead, long live the new life, Pilsner! #PiL

DSBC: You guys are the kings of the collab over there at RFA. In one aspect or another RFA has been involved in at least six completed collaborations this year with many in the works. What do you feel collaborations bring to breweries and to the beer drinkers?

Burbank: Collabs are great because you get to see how other people brew on different systems. I’ve learned so much this way. It’s really great to be able to exchange little tips and tricks of the trade on brew days to make all our lives easier. There are lots of little things that pop up and you can say, “Oh, I have a clever trick for this!” I think specifically for us at RFA, we just think it’s fun, and we have the ability to do it. We don’t have a lot of core beers, and we love being able to brew new things when the (creative) spark hits. I think it’s great for the beer drinkers, because we’ll usually try stuff that we might not otherwise, either by combining things our breweries are known for, or just doing something crazy. I think it builds a sense of community, not just within the participating breweries, but sometimes with the consumers as well.

DSBC: Whose idea was the collaboration on this one? How’d it come about? Was it from the meeting?

Burbank: I’m not sure exactly where this originated, to be honest. We have been talking about doing one for a while, but usually it’s one of those several-beers-deep situations where it’s, “We should totally do a collab!” And, we finally found some time in our schedules to make it happen when we met for the first POETS (Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday) meeting. We are lucky at RFA to have a great Mayhem Coordinator (the fantastic Elissa Ritt), and she actually will follow up with this type of thing, which I think is a large part of why we do so many collabs.

DSBC: What are you looking forward to most about this collaboration?

Burbank: There are two things that really excite me about this. The first is we are going to do two versions of this beer — one traditionally at Blue Corn, then followed up by the same recipe at our place with our house culture, so with some added funk. It’ll be exciting to showcase both beers side-by-side!

The second thing I’m excited about is brewing with Paul (Mallory) and Andy (Lane). They both have been great to me since I moved here a couple months ago from Colorado, so I’m excited to work with them. I’ve recently been trying to get the Santa Fe brewing community together once a month to hang out and discuss beer. We just recently had our first get-together and I think it was a huge success. That actually started with Paul and I drinking on the patio at RFA, and we both thought it would be great for everyone to have a place each month where we can exchange ideas, talk shop, or just showcase our new beers. We brewers are a busy bunch, so having a planned time allows us the chance to schedule some time out to see what we’re all up to around town.

* * * * *

I also was able to get a statement from 2018 IPA Challenge winner, head brewer of Blue Corn Brewery, and all around good guy, Paul Mallory.

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Paul Mallory hoisting up the hardware at the 2018 IPA Challenge!

“I feel excited to be doing a collaboration with another brewery in Santa Fe,” Paul said. “I also am eager to see how things turn out, considering we’re doing something a little different in regards to collaboration.

“What inspired the collaboration was just running into John (Rowley) at his spot. We have both always enjoyed doing collaborations with other breweries. We got to talking and came up with a game plan.

“We are doing two different brews, one at Blue Corn, the other at Rowley. It’ll be the same malt bill, but we’ll pitch different cultures in each one. At Blue Corn we’ll be pitching a traditional Hefeweizen yeast, while at Rowley, they’ll be pitching their mixed house culture. It should make for two very different beers.”

When asked if Blue Corn will consider doing more collaborations in the future, Paul had this to say: “We are always looking for ways to make things more interesting for us as brewers, and for our customers. We enjoy doing collaborations with other breweries and local suppliers.”

* * * * *

Two Bavarian Hefeweizens from two different breweries — one thing’s for sure, whatever they do with them, whether it’s the more traditional handling or taking a bit of a more funkadelic approach, you can bet these beers will be well-brewed and delicious. These collaborations are good for our beer community, because we ARE a community. In times like these we have to remember that we’ve really got only one big enemy, and they have Super Bowl commercials and brewery-buying power. Through these collaborations we’re not so much worried about shelf space and sales figures. Instead, we declare that dilly dilly ain’t our dilly, yo. We’re one nation under a groove, gettin’ down just for the funk of it, and making good and interesting beer is all we need to focus on (from the beer-making side of things). To the independent craft beer community, we raise ‘em up!

Cheers!

— Luke

Also on tap for Rowley Farmhouse Ales:

Wednesday: In collaboration with metal band Veil of Maya, RFA is pouring their Ale of Maya at Anodyne.

“Ale of Maya is a double IPA brewed with Veil of Maya for the Summer Slaughter show on Weds 8/15 at the Sunshine Theater. Our friends at Anodyne are pouring the beer for us. It’ll be on tap Wednesday! Maybe you’ll see myself and some of the band there after the show having a couple. Ale of Maya is a West-Coast style DIPA, with lots of citrus notes. 9%ABV, and 66.6 IBU’s. \m/”  ~Wes Burbank

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Thursday: Join Rowley Farmhouse Ales at Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery for American Funk. They’ll be pouring Greyscale and Kaffeeklatsch alongside Tumbleroot’s Gose and brand new Sour Red! Get four 5-ounce pours for $13 and enjoy live music from Earle Poole & the Girls, and Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers! I’ll be there for the whole funk and nothing but the funk!

American Funk

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I would like to thank my mother. And Oprah. And the Crew. And Chuck Norris. And Pete! No one like you, but you still fly! This one’s for the ladies! Fine… You can have it back, Paul.

Follow me on Twitter @SantaFeCraftBro for Untappd Snaps and #DarkSideBrewCrew Shenanigans. Also, follow @lostgramsofluke on IG if you’re so inclined. Quality not assured.

Trio of local breweries bring home medals from US Open Beer Championship

Posted: August 10, 2018 by cjax33 in News
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Flix Brewhouse brewers Will Moorman and Marisa Bernal show off their bronze medal from the US Open Beer Championship. (Photo courtesy of Will Moorman)

A photo on the Facebook page of Flix Brewhouse lead brewer Will Moorman caught our eye earlier this week. It is the photo above, featuring a very happy Will and equally happy assistant brewer Marisa Bernal, holding aloft a medal from the recent US Open Beer Championship.

As it turns out, the Flix duo were not the only smiling folks around, as three New Mexico breweries brought home medals out of a field featuring 360-plus breweries and 6,300 entries.

Flix earned a bronze for its Baltic Porter, Darth Malt, which was its 10th medal earned from four competitions this year alone (Alltech Commonwealth Cup, Los Angeles International Beer Competition, Best of Craft Beer Awards). Flix has earned three golds, four silvers, and three bronzes, and it finished fifth overall at the Best of Craft Beer Awards.

The 377 brewmaster Lyna Waggoner displays all three of her gold medals. (Photo courtesy of The 377)

The 377 Brewery fared even better at the US Open, bringing home a gold for its Belgian Sour Quad in the Wood/Barrel-Aged Sour Beer category. Brewmaster Lyna Waggoner told us a while back that she was really into brewing the Belgian-style beers, and clearly she is making a name for herself and her brewery. It is The 377’s third gold medal in less than two years.

Santa Fe Brewing also picked up two bronze medals for its Pale Ale (in the ESB category) and 7K IPA (in the West Coast IPA category).

While these competitions may not have the cachet of the Great American Beer Festival or World Beer Cup, the feedback brewers receive can be immensely helpful as they seek to make their beer better and better. It can also open the eyes of potential customers who might otherwise overlook these breweries.

Congrats to all the winners. We will see you at GABF in September.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The proof is in the pictures for Cantero Brewing

Posted: August 9, 2018 by amyotravel in New Brewery Preview
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The long-awaited opening is finally in sight for Cantero.

The Crew was invited to come get a sneak peek at the upcoming Cantero Brewing Company at 3351 Columbia Dr. NE in Albuquerque. If the address sounds familiar, it is because that is the site of the former Firkin Brewhouse.

I was anxious to get in there and see how much it has changed, and boy, has it. There is much more (and much larger) brewing equipment installed in the back now. In fact, they already are looking at needing more space.

The new equipment is just about ready to go.

Space is already at a premium in the back.

The brewpub area has transformed into something more modern and sleek. I remarked how it kind of reminded me of the feel of Toltec Brewery on the Westside near Cottonwood Mall, although it is a different layout overall. I found out that some of the work was done by the same contractor. It is bizarre, considering I have no design or construction background that my crazy brain picked up on it somehow.

Booths line the wall near the door to the kitchen and brewery.

The stone work is beautiful, and that in fact goes along with the name. Although I do know some Spanish, my fairly limited vocabulary did not include the word Cantero, so I had to ask what it means. It turns out it means stone cutter. So, there you go.

The sleek-looking interior of the taproom.

Some quick items to note. The targeted opening date is September 15. The staff said they plan on doing four or five house beers — American ale styles — to start with, and then add seasonals to the rotation. Some guest taps and wine will be served as well. There is a kitchen and they will have a full menu. The taps are ready to be installed (probably this week).

The cozy patio should be a draw for patrons.

The beautiful patio out front on the east side of the building will have about seven tables with both four-tops and a couple of two-tops, as well as a built-in area that fits seven.

Please enjoy the pictures and look for more information soon on their opening.

Cheers!

— AmyO

The Week Ahead in Beer: Double up on specialty can releases

Posted: August 8, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Greetings from Oregon, again. While I am still up here, there is plenty going on around ABQ and the rest of New Mexico. The big theme this week is the ongoing popularity of specialty beer releases in four-pack, 16-ounce cans. La Cumbre has pretty much mastered the art of these releases, and another is coming out this Friday as Full Nelson DIPA makes the transition from 22-ounce bottles to cans. The beer will be the usual Nelson Sauvin hop bomb you have all come to respect and love, while the can design is more reminiscent of Ska than the traditional LC look. Another brewery, however, is jumping in on the fun as Bosque will be releasing its first specialty canned four-packs from the brewery at North in Bernalillo. Strawberry Sabotage, a big hit earlier this summer, will be making its way into package for the first time. Look for more details on the release via Bosque’s social media pages.

We also wanted to highlight the return of a special event to Marble downtown this Sunday from 2 to 7 p.m. Love Beer, Hate Cancer is a music festival with a raffle, live shirt printing, face painting, food trucks, and more. A portion of the proceeds benefits Camp Enchantment. There is also Tractor’s Sock Hop, which runs Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., and benefits Rio Grande Down System Network. There will be vintage tunes and dancing, and actual socks for sale, with all the money from each pair sold going to the charity.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bosque also has one of its classics, Summer in Hallertau, back on tap. Boxing Bear has a fresh batch of the award-winning Featherweight Session IPA. Canteen climbs high with Cloudview Wit. High and Dry brings back Humble Affair, its delicious coffee stout, and adds Mesita #5, a new sour. La Cumbre also has Regional Fetish IPA back on tap. Ponderosa resurrects Saphir Lager. Starr Brothers introduces a new single-hop beer, Azacadabra. Tractor brings back Azacca Single Hop Pale Ale, which might be worth comparing side-by-side with its Starr Brothers cousin.

Up in Santa Fe, Blue Corn has run out of Gatekeeper IPA, opening a tap for La Marcha Wedding Lager. Chili Line has several new beers available, including Hugo’s Hef, Tio Coco (Milk Stout), Que Picante (Dark Red Chile Lager), Fuego (Juniper and Honey Ale), and Brumoso (Hazy) IPA. Second Street has some fresh Rod’s Best Bitter, plus more Pivotal IPA, Tres Equis Lager, and Neo Mexicanus Pale Ale, made with fresh local hops.

Over in Moriarty, look for a limited amount of Barrel Aged Cherry Amber on tap this week.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of August 6.

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