Greetings and salutations beer aficionados! My name is E-Rock, and I’m here this Monday, as I am every Monday, to tell you what seasonal beers, musical acts, and other assorted events can be found this week at breweries in and around The Duke City.

With summer quickly disappearing in the rearview mirror and autumn looming in the horizon, now is a great time to sample a great variety of different types of beers around town. Many local breweries are making it easy to try something new this week with some exciting experimental styles. Back Alley Draft House is now serving the Goathead Stout, Bad Ass Brewery is unleashing their new Dragons Blood IPA, while the Hop X Pale Ale returns to the Il Vicino Canteen and is joined by a new Belgian Pale Ale. La Cumbre has two new brews on tap this week with the Half Nelson Pale Ale and the Fievre D’Abricot (apricot saison), and Turtle Mountain collected their semi-annual grab bag of hops, malts, and whatever else they have on hand to create the Yardsale Amber. In other news, ABQ Hopfest will be held this Saturday at the Hard Rock Casino. Stoutmeister and Shilling will be in attendance.

Also, my good friends, the Lonesome Heroes from Austin, Texas, will be coming back through town to play at Marble on Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. It’s a shameless personal plug, but they are a great band that put on a great show, and there will be Marble beer at the show, which is also great. So there you have it.

That is just a taste of what is going on in and around the Duke City. Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of August 20.

To break down each “capsule,” I listed the brewery (with Web page linked), its phone number (all are area code 505, for out-of-state readers) and hours of operation. Under “Beers” are the new or seasonal beers on tap for this week. And for those breweries that play host to musicians, I made sure to list who’s on the week’s set list.

ABQ Brew Pub — 884-1116

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–2 a.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Rick’s Scottish Ale, Ben Miller’s Pomegranate Wheat. The Scottish Ale is back on tap at ABP (Stoutmeister wants to sample the the Scottish Ale soon, though hopefully he’ll leave the kilt and bagpipes at home). Ben Miller’s newest creation is an exotic mixture of cranberry, pomegranate, and prickly pear.

Back Alley Draft House — 766-6973 (NYPD)

(Hours 5 p.m.-11 p.m. daily)

Beers: “Cali Girl” Cherry Wheat, “The Streets” Saison, Goathead Stout, Goathead IPA. The Goathead Stout is Goathead’s first new offering at Back Alley since they opened, and “The Streets” Saison is a sweet Belgian-style beer with a touch of hops.

Bad Ass Brewery — 918-2337

(Mon–Thurs 4 p.m.–10:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 3 p.m.–midnight, Sun noon–8 p.m.)

Beers: Zombie IPA, Torn Kilt, English Brown Smog, C Squared, Naked Euphoria, Utter Insanity, Dragons Blood IPA, Half Dressed, Charlies Old Red, 3 Way IPA, Matt’s Smoked Ale, Hefe Rojo, Irish Sunburn, 66 Pinup Porter, Triple Chocolate Stout, Bitter Black. The Dragons Blood IPA is full-bodied with a malty profile and is aggressively hopped with Warrior hops (5.4% ABV, 100+ IBU).

Events: Bad Ass is hosting their biweekly open mic on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and they are continuing their Sunday evening dart tournament at 4 p.m.

Broken Bottle Brewery — 890-8777

(Mon–Fri 4 p.m.–midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: “The Incident” Black IPA, Black Star Stout, Fat Willy’s Smoke Stout. The Black Star Stout is brewed with star anise and is described as having “dark, roasty flavors of the stout mixed with a nice shot of licoricey goodness. It’s not overpowering, but a nice complementary flavor.” Stoutmeister said the Black IPA “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. ”

Events: Geeks Who Drink are back at Broken Bottle this Wednesday, and B.B.B. will have their weekly Breaking Bad viewing party on Sunday at 8 p.m. The viewing party is very popular, so arrive early for the good seats!

News: B.B.B. is going to be at Hopfest at the Hard Rock Casino on Saturday. Also, Broken Bottle is launching their own Fantasy Football League. Visit their Facebook page for more info.

Chama River Brewing Company — 342-1800

(Sun–Thurs 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Liquid Schwartz (5.4% ABV), Hopricot Pale Ale (6.5%), Big Labrewski (8.9%), Nobel Session. The Hopricot PA is brewed with apricot, peach purée and American hops. I had the Hopricot at Back Alley Draft House last week. It was sweet with a hoppy bite that one normally finds in an IPA. The Big Labrewski is a beer fit for The Dude. This bad boy has a tropical aroma with a bitter punch.

Il Vicino Brewing Canteen — 881-2737

(Sun–Thurs noon–10 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–midnight)

Beers: Hop X PA, Belgian PA, Saison D’Gaul, Raspberry Wheat, Irish Red, Galaxy IPA, Motueka IPA. The Hop X Pale Ale is back on tap this week. The last time this one was brewed, it was orange in color with a piny flavor that had hints of grapefruit.

News: A Brown with cocoa nibs and cascade hops is on tap for Cask Wednesday and the Galaxy IPA is on cask on Saturday. I had a pint of the Cask Galaxy IPA last week. This is incredibly smooth and tasty for an IPA. I highly recommend it.

Music: Tues — Man No Sober (Rock/Folk) 6-9 p.m., Sun — Keith Sanchez (Songwriter) 3-6 p.m.

La Cumbre Brewing — 872-0225

(Open every day at noon)

Beers: Half Nelson PA, Fievre D’Abricot (apricot saison), Gracias Por Fumar (smoked porter), Blanche Burque (Begian white), No, You’re a Dort! (Dortmunder ale), Pale 32 (low gravity ale), Miles from Cologne (Kolsch). The Half Nelson Pale Ale is a brand new tap, and there is no write up available on it yet. Gracias Por Fumar, Spanish for “thank you for smoking” mixes British pale malts with the traditional Rauch Malt of Bamberg, Germany, and chocolate and black patent malts to create a palate of smoke, chocolate, caramel, and burnt toast. Stoutmeister and I both tried and enjoyed this variation on the standard smoked porter. (30 IBU, 7.4% ABV)

Music: Weds — The Attitudes 7-10 p.m., Sat — The Porter Draw 7-10 p.m.

Marble Brewery — 243-2739

(Mon–Sat 1 p.m.–midnight, Sun 1 p.m.–10:30 p.m.)

Beers: Imperial Red (9.0% ABV), Abbey Darkness (8.8% ABV), The Other Red (7.4% ABV). The Other Red is something of a red and brown hybrid. The Abbey Darkness is a Belgian-inspired strong, dark ale with fruity aromatics and a dried fruit and caramelized sugar palate.

News: Marble IPA can now be found in cans, the Double White will be back on tap sometime within the next two weeks, and Marble will have a Fiesta on the Patio on Sunday with a lot of music and food by Dia de los Takos.

Music: Weds — Seth Hoffman Acoustic 5-7 p.m., Lonesome Heroes 8-11 p.m., Thurs — Mystic Vic 8-11 p.m., Fri —Mondo Vibrations 8-11 p.m., Sat — Group Therapy 8-11 p.m., Sun — Rumelia, Jade Masque, Wagogo, Baracutanga, Le Chat Lunatique 2-9 p.m.

Nexus Brewery — 242-4100

(Mon–Thurs 2 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sun 11 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Brown Ale, Imperial Cream Ale. When it comes to smooth beers, no one beats Nexus Brewery. The Brown and Imperial Cream Ales are perfect examples. Stoutmeister highly recommends the Brown: “It’s a little sweet and definitely full-bodied, with a crisp finish. It rivals Il Vicino’s Slow Down Brown as the best of its genre on tap in town.”

News: A couple of new specialty beers are in the works at Nexus. Expect to see them on tap in the coming weeks.

Events: Nexus plays host to the Young, Dumb, and Full of Comedy open mic on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sunroom.

Music: Thurs — JPR 6 p.m., Sat — Chava & the Paid My Dues Band 6 p.m., Sun — Smooth Jazz 12 p.m.

Tractor Brewing Company — 433-5654 (Nob Hill Tap Room)

(The tap room opens most days around 3 p.m. and stays open as late as 2 a.m.; it opens earlier on weekends)

Beers: Dry Cider, Chug Hole Double IPA, Otter IPA, “Nut” What You Think Brown Ale, Pilsner, Mustachio Milk Stout. The Otter IPA is made from unfiltered British otter malts. Stoutmeister visited Tractor last week and tried the “Nut” What You Think Brown Ale. He had this to say: “It is another unique offering from Tractor. Much like the holiday favorite, Turkey Drool, this beer wallops you with a dozen different flavors in every sip. Try it and let us know what you think!”

News: Traktoberfest, Black IPA, Black Lager, and Beer Noir Month are coming soon.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — 994-9497

(Kitchen hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.)

Beers: Yardsale Amber, Cherry Wheat, 80/80, Milkshake Stout, Challenge IPA (100 IBU), Rye IPA (over 100 IBU, 6.8% ABV), Hybrid IPA, Hop Duster IPA, Red Rye, Big Toe Barley Wine, 80/80 IPA (9.1% ABV) on cask. The Yardsale Amber is TMBC’s semi-annual brew of all the remaining ingredients from their storage room. Shilling said of the Yardsale Amber, “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.” Look for an in-depth review of the Yardsale Amber elsewhere on our blog.

News: Look for TMBC’s End of Summer Smoke Out on Wednesday, Aug. 29, where you can find smoked pulled pork and beer brats straight off the grill.

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That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Cheers!

— E-Rock