If you recall our multi-post series with Turtle Mountain owner Nico Ortiz from earlier this summer,  he talked to us about a semi-annual brew that consists of, well, all the remaining ingredients from their storage room. After hearing the history about this one-of-a-kind batch, we were left excited to try it.

Lo and behold the Yardsale, this year tagged as an amber, is back on tap at TMBC as of this week. So with Stoutmeister at the helm, we trekked over to Rio Rancho late Friday afternoon to snag a pint and grab a bite of food. After navigating our way through the usual mess that was Paseo del Norte, we got to TMBC, lucked into a close parking spot, and headed inside.

Like all of our tastings, we jumped right in, with a side of chips and guacamole.  The Yardsale, like many of the beers at Turtle, is on the lighter side.  The combination of various different malts and grains give the beer a bit of an English taste similar to a Newcastle, but more on the dry side.

Stoutmeister’s take: “I liked this one a little more than Shilling did. Yes, it was light, with little or no bite at first sip. The flavors come up in the mid- to back-palate. There a lot of them in there, as one would expect from a beer with so many varied ingredients. The flavors do not overwhelm the way many IPAs or DIPAs do, but instead just produce a solid back-bite. I could taste hints of caramel from the malts, and the hops were there, too, albeit in far less quantity than we come to expect from most ABQ-area breweries, Turtle included (for a better dose of hops, I recommend the Hybrid IPA that is still on tap). The weather is still hot and this beer is a good darker ale for the late summer.”

So if you’re in the neighborhood of Southern and 528, swing out and visit our boys at Turtle Mountain and give this one of a kind brew a try.

Cheers!

— Shilling