Greetings, everyone, Stoutmeister here with our recap of the first New Mexico Cup. Saturday’s big event at the Albuquerque Convention Center had its ups and downs, like most first-time events, but overall felt like another successful beer festival that should take its place as an annual event.

The Crew — myself, E-Rock, Shilling, Brandon, and Derek — were invited to participate as celebrity judges. This entitled us to free entry (thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Marne Gaston, for inviting us) with the rest of the VIPs. As we have said many times before, if you get the chance, always buy VIP tickets to beer festivals. We had so much more freedom of movement to go from brewery to brewery and fill out most, if not all, of our judging sheets before the general admission crowd arrived.

When the bulk of the crowd did show up, it got crowded. Ridiculously crowded. Though there seemed to be plenty of space inside the CC’s Northwest Exhibition Hall, it filled up in the blink of an eye. The problem seemed to be in the fact there were so few breweries (only 11 of 12 showed up as ABQ Brew Pub was not present) and even fewer wineries (six). Hopfest and Blues & Brews each have 30 or more breweries to help divide up the crowd. My hat’s off to the brewery/winery staff members who were pouring; they did all they could to keep things moving and certainly earned their keep, but it was almost overwhelming. As usual at these events in Albuquerque, the crowd was full of positive, polite people despite the packed atmosphere. So hat’s off to you, too, Burque beer lovers (and wine lovers) once again.

Hopefully next year more breweries will be present (and they will bring all the beers they are supposed to have), though if that happens they will need to figure out how to increase overall space. And if they can do that, maybe they can set up more places to sit down besides over by the music stage. Proving that we all need to go to the gym more often, the Crew had some tired legs and sore feet after three-plus hours of standing. We might recommend shortening the six-hour event next year.

Anyway, enough of just me talking about things, here are the other Crew members’ thoughts on what they liked and what they would like to see improved for 2014.

E-Rock: I really enjoyed the NM Cup. Most of my biggest critiques of this event were already addressed by Marne when we interviewed her last week. She mentioned that since this was only the first year of the event, the NM Cup did not have enough name recognition to give incentives to many of the breweries outside of Albuquerque to make the trek to be part of the festival. In addition, some breweries were not able to bring enough beers to satisfy two days of professional and open judging. Hopefully these issues will be addressed before next year’s NM Cup. Even with those problems, it was fun to spend time hanging out with many of our favorite local brewers and drink multiple styles from breweries that I frequent and breweries that I should visit more often. I would love to see the NM Cup become a permanent fixture on calendars at breweries around the state.

Shilling: I was excited and very honored to even be considered to take part in the very first NM Cup. All of the staff was friendly and helpful and it was great to see such a big turnout. I was bummed that a lot of the beers that were in my judging categories were unavailable for whatever reasons and, after all was said and done, that the BJ’s beer booth was open for sampling after being told by security that they were only selling. I would’ve like to have seen more of the local breweries and even some of our great home brewers present for next year’s event. Either way, I had a blast and hope to be able to participate in future events.

Brandon: It was exciting to take part in the NM Cup, as it is a pretty unique event. This is the one event that the public can vote directly on who should win in each category, and I think that brings a more interactive quality to this fest. Instead of being a drinking fest like others might become, encouraging people to actually learn why they like a certain beer or look further into the characteristics of what makes their brew of choice an enjoyable one; a nice incentive to get more people drinking delicious craft beers. It was nice to see the variety of categories available for competition, but some of the beers entered into each category were noticeably absent from the competition, which thinned out a few of the categories; it was a bit disappointing to not be able to sample a few of the entries I was personally looking forward to. Also, the space of the Convention Center room made for somewhat cramped conditions at times after the crowd began to grow in size; this can only be considered a positive for next year, though. Beer festivals are popping up more and more these days, so breweries are sometimes forced to choose one event over another; with the crowd that was drawn this year, I can only imagine that more breweries will be in attendance next year. Overall, it was a great time to be had, I was honored to be participating as a celebrity judge, and perhaps they will have the Crew back again next year, as we are always up to lend our palates for such a cause.

Derek: (We waited and waited and waited for him to share his thoughts; whenever he does we’ll come back and post them here)

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All right, now onto the various awards in all the beer categories. We would list the wine categories, but this is not a wine blog. Take note that the professional judging, which took place on Friday, had a number of beers that were not available to the celebrity judges and the public.

Lagers

People’s choice: Tractor’s Mann der Damm; Celebrity: Mann der Damm; Professional: 1. Mann der Damm, 2. Nexus Cream Ale, 3. Il Vicino Dark American Lager

The Crew agrees: The pro judges got this one right, Mann der Damm was a pretty flavorful beer. This was the first beer that I sampled and out of all the other entries, it was by far one of the best lagers. Cheers, Dave! — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: While I agree with the Mann der Damm, the odd thing I found here was that the Cream Ale was in this category for the pros but the category below for the rest of us. Hopefully everyone gets the same beers in the same categories next year. — Stoutmeister

Pilsners, Kolsches, and Light Hybrids

People’s choice: Tractor’s Pilsner; Celebrity: Nexus’ Cream Ale; Professional: 1. Sandia Chile Grill’s German Pilsner, 2. Il Vicino’s Pigtail Pilsner, 3. Tractor’s Pilsner

The Crew agrees: Want to know how close this category was? I had the final scores for the three winners at 33-32-31 (out of 50) on my sheet, so it was hard to say anyone was wrong in their choices. All the ABQ-area breweries have gotten quite good at their slight variations in this style. Summer will be great with all of these beers on tap. — Stoutmeister

The Crew disagrees: Nexus’ Cream Ale should have gone further here, but a surprise win for a newbie from Sandia Chile Grill was cool to see. — Brandon

I was a big fan of Bosque’s Golden Kindling, so I thought it should get a nod. Almost all of the beers in this category were excellent. — E-Rock

Belgians & Wheats

People’s choice: Sierra Blanca’s Alien Wheat; Celebrity: Alien Wheat; Professional: 1. ABQ Brew Pub’s Summer Saison, 2. Marble’s Abbey Darkness, 3. Il Vicino’s 28M American Wheat

The Crew agrees: The Alien Wheat was a solid wheat beer. — E-Rock

The Crew disagrees: I’m not sure how Marble’s Abbey Darkness didn’t win more, it’s wonderful. — Brandon

Pale Ales & ESBs

People’s choice: Santa Fe’s Happy Camper; Celebrity: (tie) Tractor’s Sodbuster Pale Ale and Sierra Blanca Pale Ale; Professional: 1. Sierra Blanca’s Pale Ale, 2. Happy Camper, 3. Sandia Chile Grill’s ESB

The Crew agrees: The Sodbuster was worth the love here (and no, I have no idea why Santa Fe’s excellent Pale Ale was not entered; see below). It offered up that just-right mix of hops without crossing that fine line from PA to IPA. I have to give props to Sierra Blanca, too; I like their stout and brown, but they did a fine job with a style I only partake in once in a while. — Stoutmeister

The Crew disagrees: OK, first of all I would like to say the Happy Camper is a damn good beer. However, an IPA in a category of Pale Ales and ESBs just didn’t quite add up. Even the dudes at the SF booth were laughing about this when Stoutmeister and I were getting served. — Shilling

Others — Browns & Ambers

People’s choice: Il Vicino’s Dougie Style Amber; Celebrity: Dougie Style Amber; Professional: 1. Il Vicino’s Slow Down Brown, 2. Il Vicino’s Sasquatch Scotch, 3. Dougie Style Amber

The Crew agrees: The Dougie Style Amber, that one ruled. — Shilling

Dougie Style was delicious. I’m not usually a huge fan of ambers, but this is definitely something that has flavor and drinkability. I’d drink it again. — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Well, the problem with this category was that only two beers were even available of the five that were supposed to be available. Hopefully that doesn’t happen next year. Also, labeling them as “others” is a disservice to the underrated brown and amber styles. — Stoutmeister

Red Ales

People’s choice: Marble Red; Celebrity: Marble Red; Professional: 1. Il Vicino’s Irish Red, 2. Il Vicino’s Odin’s Imperial Red, 3. Tractor’s Farmer’s Tan Red Ale

The Crew agrees: I think the best reds in town were accurately represented in the wins here. Marble’s Red has been a personal standby of mine for a long time, but Il Vicino’s Irish Red has been threatening to change that. — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Wait, the pros got Il Vicino’s two reds and the rest of us didn’t? That’s not fair! I love me some Irish Red, and the Odin’s is a beautiful beast, but we were denied! Darn, I’ll have to go to Il Vicino instead. — Stoutmeister

Porters

People’s choice: (tie) Nexus’ Chocolate Porter and Bosque’s Olde Bosky; Celebrity: Olde Bosky; Professional: 1. Santa Fe’s State Pen Porter, 2. Il Vicino’s Baltic Porter

The Crew agrees: How about that porter from Bosque! Damn good beer! — Shilling

This was a brutally tough call between two different varieties of porter, Nexus and Bosque, that were both excellent. It was a worthy tie amongst the public. — Stoutmeister

The Crew disagrees: I actually agree with the People’s choice and Celebrity winners. That being said, I felt either Nexus or Bosque Brewing should have been up there for the Pro winner, too. Bosque’s Olde Bosky is a new favorite of mine. It hits me as a cross between a traditional porter and a Scottish ale, a wonderful medley of flavors. The Chocolate Porter from Nexus is also big and full-flavored, and has been one of my favorites of the season. Also, the general consensus from a lot of people was the Broken Bottle’s Glugg Porter didn’t seem like a porter at all; I could care less, it’s delicious. Although Derek kept throwing popcorn in my cup of it. — Brandon

Stouts

People’s choice: Il Vicino’s Dark & Lusty Stout; Celebrity: Tractor’s Double Plow Oatmeal Stout; Professional: 1. Marble’s Oatmeal Stout, 2. Il Vicino’s Oatmeal Stout, 3. Dark & Lusty Stout

The Crew agrees: No qualms here, all of the winners were worthy. At our Stout Challenge this year, Tractor’s Double Plow drew some surprisingly mediocre responses; they brought a new batch to the NM Cup that was back up to the rich and creamy standard they usually achieve. Il Vicino’s Dark & Lusty is great as well. — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Actually, I’m not as big of a fan of the Dark & Lusty. I wasn’t impressed at the last two Beer Battles that the Crew have held. The Double Plow was definitely improved from the batch we had earlier; Dave said this batch was better and he was not kidding. — Stoutmeister

IPAs

People’s choice: Il Vicino’s Wet Mountain IPA; Celebrity: (tie) Broken Bottle’s “The Incident” Black IPA and Wet Mountain; Professional: 1. Rio Grande’s IPA, 2. ABQ Brew Pub’s Experimental Hop IPA, 3. Bosque’s Ember IPA

The Crew agrees: IPAs in this town have traditionally been dominated by Marble and La Cumbre (which didn’t participate in the NM Cup, sadly). Il Vicino’s Wet Mountain is an very good choice, though. I was happy to see the guys at Broken Bottle get some recognition with a tie win in the celebrity category for The Incident BIPA, which is basically my favorite BIPA to come out in a long time. — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Where is the Santa Fe Happy Camper in this category? Oh, yeah, it’s in the pale ale section … — Shilling

Imperial Styles

People’s choice: Marble’s Imperial Red; Celebrity: Marble’s Imperial Stout; Professional: 1. Il Vicino’s St. Bob’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, 2. Marble Reserve, 3. Santa Fe’s Chicken Killer Barleywine

The Crew agrees: Marble has a knack for great imperial styles, no surprise that they took some wins there, and Il Vicino as well, it was a well-deserved win. But no Chicken Killer or Kickin’ Chicken from Santa Fe for the public or celerity judging? Bummer. — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Our collective complaint is that there were not enough imperials on tap outside the professional judging.

Specialty Brews

People’s choice: Marble’s Oaked DIPA; Celebrity: Santa Fe’s Java Stout; Professional: 1. Java Stout, 2. Il Vicino’s Milk Chocolate Cherry Stout, 3. Marble’s Old Brun

The Crew agrees: This was one of those categories where there were only two beers available to sample on Saturday. Both Marble’s Oaked DIPA and Santa Fe’s Java Stout were excellent beers. — E-Rock

More representation was definitely needed here. When it comes to Santa Fe’s Java Stout, I’ve had it plenty of times before; the batch that they brought to the Cup though, that was outstanding. Must have had a lot of love in that one! — Brandon

The Crew disagrees: Only two! And you can’t keep the MCCS from us mere plebes!

Best of Show

Il Vicino’s St. Bob’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

The Crew agrees: I have had St. Bob’s many times in the past and it is a powerful and tasty beer, but I don’t think there was any left for the festival on Saturday. — E-Rock

The Crew disagrees: Wait a minute, how can the best in show not be available to the public and us so-called celebrities?! We love that behemoth of a beer, yet it was not on hand. (Or if it was and we were somehow not aware, well, then, oops.) If I had to pick a personal favorite, out of those I judged, the highest score I gave out was a 45 out of 50 to Olde Bosky. — Stoutmeister

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Well, that wraps it up for us. If you want to share your opinion on the voting results or your personal experience at the NM Cup, leave a comment below or contact us via Facebook or Twitter.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister