Stoutmeister and E-Rock spent the last day of March in the Taos area in Northern New Mexico, which is now home to four breweries with potentially more on the way.

The first stop on our Taos Beer Trek was Blue Heron Brewing Co., which is located along Highway 68 in the unincorporated community of Rinconada. The microbrewery sits just about 1.5 miles past the exit for Dixon/Highway 75, on the left (river) side of the road as you drive north to Taos. Owner/brewer Kristin Hennelly gave us a tour of the small establishment and, of course, some samples of the five beers she currently has on tap. Kristin’s father and brother own La Chiripada Winery, one of New Mexico’s finest (or so says the Professor Emeritus, who likes his fine wines as much as good beer), and even though she grew up around wine, Kristin said she married a beer drinker and decided to set out on her own and open a small brewery. Brandon Santos, the former head brewer at the (now-closed) Embudo Station and a friend of the family, also assists with beer production and coming up with new and old styles.

Blue Heron is located in a quaint, older building — Kristin said it was built in the 1940s — and it is still a work-in-progress for her and her husband in terms of fixing it up. From what we saw, they have already done a good job. There is a small main room where the taps are, with a handful of tables and just enough space for live music once or twice a week. There is also a nice back patio, enclosed by a wood fence, that should be a great place to enjoy a pint or two as the weather warms up. The brewing tanks and fermenters are back and to the left when you first walk in.

Kristin recently joined the Brewers’ Guild and is looking to obtain a wholesale license so she can begin selling Blue Heron at restaurants and other establishments in the area south of Taos. Blue Heron is on tap at one of the other breweries we visited on our trek, Taos Ale House, and Blue Heron does sell both 22-ounce bottles and growlers at their primary location. They usually keep their most popular styles bottled while also offering up specialty beers on tap only. The prices for pints, bottles, and growlers can vary depending on a beer’s popularity and availability.

Blue Heron made its Albuquerque debut at last year’s Septemberfest at Marble, where the La Llorona Scottish Ale was among the very best beers I had that day (the Professor and Shilling were with me and loved it as well). The Scottish is one of the brewery’s regular styles on tap, though from time to time it disappears to make room for other styles on a short-term basis. Also on tap when we visited were the Tarantula Trek Red Ale, Amber’s Folly Amber Ale, Winter Aurora Seasonal (IPA), and the Prieta Real Imperial Oatmeal Stout. They also frequently have a Pale Ale and a Pilsner on tap, though as Kristin pointed out to us, since they brew their Pilsner as a lager it takes a lot longer to properly ferment. By summer it should be back on tap as it is one of the brewery’s most popular styles.

To help with remembering exactly what we thought about each of the beers as we tried them, I brought along my trusty digital recorder that I also use for covering sports (Don Mattingly’s press gathering from Dodgers spring training is still on there, as I found out; his sense of humor is vastly underrated among Major League managers).

The Scottish was as good as I remembered. The dark red ale features strong, malty flavor with just a touch of hops. It is smooth from start to finish, but full of flavor and perfectly robust. It is a bit dry, but that is to be expected for the Scottish style. This beer is one of the finest in the state, in my humble opinion. It alone would be worth the trip to Blue Heron, but luckily it is far from alone on the menu.

E-Rock chose the Red Ale for his pint after we were done with our samples. “It’s got a little bit of hops in it, so just a really refreshing taste,” he said. “A good summer beer, something that would be nice to have on the patio.” Kristin noted that batch is a tad bit drier and hoppier than usual, but E-Rock maintained that it is still really good.

E-Rock also noted that the Imperial Oatmeal Stout “had some great flavors in there.”

I agreed on both counts. The Imperial’s quality was in how it did not beat you up, Stormtrooper-style, with an overwhelming amount of alcohol. It was instead just a classic oatmeal stout, albeit with a higher alcohol content than you find at Marble or La Cumbre, but with the flavor intact. Just be careful with this Imperial, since you can slip over to the dark side quickly without realizing it.

The Amber Ale was a solid entry in its genre. It was smooth, lighter than its Blue Heron brethren, but still with enough flavor from the malts, as opposed to the more hop-infused amber you find at Marble.

As for the Aurora, it is a seasonal, but at this point it might become the regular IPA due to its popularity. It is a darker IPA, not a black, but it is definitely a different interpretation. There is some bitterness, but the hops are held in check. It is reminiscent of the winter ales distributed by the larger microbreweries such as New Belgium and Sierra Nevada.

Blue Heron is also beginning to expand into the wine business, with a dry white wine now available in bottles at the brewery.

In summation, we were very impressed with our first stop on the Taos Trek. Blue Heron is well on its way to being one of the best small breweries in the state. If you are ever headed up to Taos, to escape the summer heat or to enjoy the winter skiing, make sure to stop by Blue Heron on the way. If you are not headed north for a while, do not despair, Blue Heron will be part of the IPA Challenge and will return to Septemberfest this fall.

Until next time, when we discuss our trip down a long dirt road to little gem of a brewery called Comanche Creek.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister and E-Rock