First off, happy birthday to Franz Solo, who turns the big 3-0 today (Saturday), though the celebration began last night as he and E-Rock took in some more ABQ Beer Week events before I caught up to them to close the night out at Marble and Tractor. E-Rock recaps things below, since after all, we can’t force a man to work on his birthday. — Stoutmeister

I went to O’Niell’s Nob Hill to taste the latest offerings from Stone Brewery. I started with the Oaked Arrogant Bastard. This beer had the signature Arrogant Bastard hoppy taste, but it had a subtle finish from aging in oak. It really wasn’t a major departure from the Arrogant Bastard.

Next up was the Sublimely Self-Righteous. Although this was a good beer, I was a little disappointed by how similar it tasted to the Oaked Arrogant Bastard. Stone wasn’t straying far from their formula.

Luckily, my next beer, the India Pale Ale, had a hoppy bite but was much sweeter than I expected. I was a pleasant surprise.

The last beer I had at the sample table was the Smoked Porter. The dry, lightly smoked flavor was a radical departure from those of the other beers that were present.

Stone also had half pints of Arrogant Bastard and Cali-Belgique IPA on tap for purchase. I eschewed the Arrogant Bastard and went straight for the Cali-Belgique. This delicious concoction looks like an IPA but tastes like a Belgian Witbier. It is sweet with a subtle hoppy bite. It was so delicious, I had three.

That’s it for today. Due to scheduling conflicts, I will not be at any more events until Blues & Brews on Sunday. I hope to see you there.

Cheers!

— E-Rock

Saturday’s Beer Week events

• The penultimate day and night of Beer Week is fairly light on events, but that is OK since everybody should be prepping for the awesomeness that is Sunday’s Blues & Brews festival, which kicks off at 2 p.m. for VIPs and 3 p.m. for the rest. (Though one NMDSBC member will be arriving a little later thanks to a couple of rehabbing Dodgers — Matt Kemp and Juan Rivera — holding their only press conference in the afternoon hour.)
• Colorado’s Oskar Blues will offer up some of its finest creations for tastings at O’Niell’s Nob Hill from 6 to 8 p.m. Dale’s Deviant IPA, Dale’s Pale Ale, Ten Fiddy, and Old Chub will be available for tasting, while G’Knight will be for sale in pints.
• Another Colorado brewery, Odell, will have some of its top sellers on tap at Billy’s Long Bar all day and night. 90 Shilling, Red, IPA, Myrcenary, and Footprint will be available for $3 per pint. You can also order a flight of all five beers for $10, which comes with the bonus of a pint of your favorite and free Odell merchandise. Who knew good things could happen in the northeast heights?