Stoutmeister here. To paraphrase Monty Python, “We’re not dead yet!” It’s been a while since any of the rest of us posted, save for E-Rock’s Week Ahead in Beer, so by golly, this is an overdue post. Think of it as a massive download of all the beer goodness I have sampled in the last couple of weeks.

Starting with the most recent …

With the Professor Emeritus of Beer in tow, I trekked over to Broken Bottle on Thursday to sample two new seasonals, “The Incident” Black IPA and the Black Star Stout.

The BIPA was a delicious entry into this popular category. It opens with a hoppy bite, but not too much of one. Like most BIPAs, the dark malts combine to mellow out the bite pretty quickly. It does not have the burly strength of a regular stout, but instead a smoothness that makes this one of the easiest-drinking, yet flavorful, IPAs that you can have. The return of the BIPA at breweries around town is something to be welcomed, not only by people who regularly enjoy standard IPAs but by all the folks who shy away from what they perceive as overly hoppy. Take a trip to the west side, or if you already live there, drive to BBB to enjoy “The Incident.” Just don’t ask what the actual incident was. It is a secret.

Following the BIPA, we tackled the Dark Star Stout, which is brewed with a healthy dose of star anise, giving it a very powerful, sweet flavor. Personally, I found it a little too sweet, while the Professor rather enjoyed it. There is a dry finish, but the black licorice flavor looms over everything, sitting heavily on the mid-palate. The Professor enjoyed this for what it was, but I longed for a second pint of the BIPA. Not every seasonal turns out perfectly for all tastes, but considering that this one had a 50-50 split between father and son, some of you will enjoy it, others will want something different. Take a taste at BBB and decide for yourselves.

In other news, we had to postpone the House IPA Challenge until September. We will wait until everything (getting all the necessary beers in growlers, finding a host site) is in place. In the meantime, E-Rock will continue his Monday posts (while also playing music all across the state, and even in some neighboring states), Franz Solo will be purchasing his first house, Shilling is heading back to school, Cryptogrind just moved into a new abode near Nob Hill, and yours truly will be wrapping up the Isotopes season online and starting the high school sports season for the Journal. So yeah, we will stay plenty busy, but darn it, we will do our best to keep on blogging about beer instead of just drinking it.

As for the rest:

• ABQ Brew Pub: We haven’t been by in quite a while. We will have to stop by soon, especially to try the seasonal Scottish ale that is now on tap.
• Bad Ass Brewery: E-Rock and I stopped in late one night and found that peat-smoked beers were in vogue. Of course, BAB is well-known for switching things up more often than any other local brewery, so we honestly expect that if any readers head up there, they will be in for a totally different experience.
• Chama River: And meet the other brewery we have been away from for far too long. A bunch of pop-culture junkies who have yet to try a beer called The Big Lebrewski? For shame.
• Il Vicino: E-Rock and I stopped by this past weekend to fill a growler full of Irish Red for a friend’s birthday party. While waiting, we each sampled a pint of the Galaxy IPA on cask. There is something about putting an IPA on cask that makes it that much better (says the non-IPA drinker). It mellows out the bite, ups the flavor in a way that does not overwhelm but instead smooths things out, and ultimately just produces a solid, flavorful beer for the summer months. One of these days I will have to head back and compare the non-cask version of the Galaxy.
• La Cumbre: With E-Rock, Derek, and several others in tow, we stopped by last week to sample the newest two seasonals, the Gracias Por Fumar (porter) and the No, You’re a Dort! (Dortmunder ale). They were two beers on the opposite ends of the style spectrum. The GPF is a smoky, but subtle creation, perfect for summer as far as darker beers go. It is light but flavorful. As for the beer with the funny name, the dort is sweet with a bit of a bite. If you are looking for mellow, stick to the Miles from Cologne (kolsch). Otherwise open with the dort, follow with the porter, and enjoy.
• Marble: We have yet to try the newest styles on tap, but a recent visit while E-Rock’s friends from Austin, The Lonesome Heroes, were performing turned into a fun evening. Someone at Marble saved some of the From the Wood, which unfortunately some of the band members were not quite ready for. I can report that everyone made it out safely. I cannot report on the state of everyone the morning after. I will try to snag a pint of The Other Red, a red-brown hybrid that has been screaming “come try me!” since E-Rock listed it in his weekly post.
• Tractor: So E-Rock turned a year older on Tuesday and “dragged” us all to the Nob Hill tap room. While I stuck to my favorite Tractor seasonal, the Mustachio Milk Stout, everybody else did their best to sample the rest of the seasonals. The Otter IPA and Chughole Double IPA were popular pints, though the latter is not for the faint of heart.
• Turtle Mountain: Back when we visited TMBC last month, owner Nico Ortiz told us about the rather awesome-sounding Yard Sale Ale. Well, guess what? It’s on tap again. Barring anything unexpected, Shilling and I will be heading out to Rio Rancho to dive into this one-of-a-kind concoction.

Well, that’s it for now. I will do my best to stay more on top of the beers I consume, while also encouraging the others to do the same. The Crew will be heading out to the various fall beer festivals as our schedules see fit and staying on top of everything.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister