Greetings Burque beer lovers, this is E-Rock here to bring you another Monday installment of The Week Ahead in Beer. As always, this column is hand-crafted to keep you up to date on all of the seasonal beers, music, and events served up in and around the Duke City.

This week is a good one to make a trek up to Turtle Mountain Brewing Company in Rio Rancho to sample a wide range of tasty new brews. TMBC is serving up a Belgian IPA, an Imperial Pilsner, and their new Steam+, which is a dry-hopped version of Mr. Hoover’s Steam. If that wasn’t incentive enough to grab some pints in Rio Rancho, TMBC is also releasing an Irish Stout in conjunction with their St. Patrick’s Day party on Sunday, featuring bagpipers and everything. Nexus and Sandia Chile Grill will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day all weekend as well. Nexus will feature a Poor Man’s Lamb Stew special, a release of their Oak Aged Imperial Red, and live music starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Sandia Chile Grill will offer a free brat with the purchase of a $4 pint, and they will be serving Irish Red and Green Pilsen until they run out.

There are a few other beers making their way to taps around town this week. Back Alley Draft House is releasing three new beers this week including the Back Alley Belgian Pale Ale, Goat Head IPA, and Goat Head Red. Broken Bottle now has David Hasselheffe on tap, and they should have new batches of Rob Van Winkle Vanilla Stout and Nacho Brau on tap by the end of the week. La Cumbre is now serving their Where in the Helles Beer and Irish Red Lager. Sandia Chile Grill also has a new batch of their Amber on tap.

I would like to give a special thanks to Sandia Chile Grill for hosting me as I created this week’s column and for supplying me with my new favorite steak tacos and an amazingly smooth Milk Stout on nitro.

That is just a small sample of what is going on in and around the 505. Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of March 11.

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: Winter Saison, Monk’s Tripel Ale. ABP is now carrying Monk’s Tripel Ale. This heavy-hitting ale was reviewed by our very own Cryptogrind back in early January.

Back Alley Draft House — 766-6973 (NYPD)

(Hours 4 p.m.-11 p.m. daily)

Beers: Back Alley Belgian Pale Ale, Goat Head IPA, Goat Head Red, Back Alley Belgian White, Goat Head Java Stout, Goat Head Barley Wine. The Back Alley Belgian Pale Ale is a Belgian pale ale brewed with Belgian white yeast. Several members of the Brew Crew had a chance to sample Goat Head’s Barley Wine and Java Stout at our one-year anniversary party at BADH. Both beers had bold tastes that we have come to expect from Goat Head. If you are a fan of Marble beers, then you need to sample some of Goat Head’s beers, which have plenty of hops in recent hits like the Imperial Red. The Java Stout compares favorably with Santa Fe’s version. If you love coffee flavor, this beer packs a ton of it.

News: BADH will be open every day starting at 4 p.m. Also, celebrate Dollar off Tuesdays on your favorite beers. Industry people always get a dollar off; show your server certificate or some other proof that you work in the crazy restaurant/bar industry. (Kitchen peeps TOO!)

Music: Mon — Underground Etiquette featuring resident DJ Beatnick and Guest DJ Ian Evan 9 p.m.

Bosque Brewing Company — 750-7596

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun noon-8 p.m.)

Beers: Mellow Brit English Brown, Bosque’s Burning Red Rye, Brown, Greybeard Imperial Stout, Boss PA. Stoutmeister named the Greybeard Imperial Stout as his favorite imperial seasonal to come out in the month of February. He called it “a welcome departure from all the barrel-aged imperial stouts that have crowded the market.”

Music: Mon — Archabald 6-8 p.m.

Broken Bottle Brewery — 890-8777

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

Beers: David Hasselheff (Hefeweizen), Rob Van Winkle Vanilla Stout, Nacho Brau, Sol Rosenberg Ale, End of Days Tripel, Cracked Cork BarleyWine. B3’s website had this to say about their Glugg Porter, “Typically, the ingredients for glug are red wine, sugar, spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and bitter orange, but we said ‘let’s make it with beer!’ A perfect spiced winter porter while we wait for Spring to come.” (5% ABV)

News: The End of Days Tripel and Cracked Cork BarleyWine are on their last keg and should be out by the end of the week. Once they are tapped, B3 will replace them with the beloved Rob Van Winkle Vanilla Stout and Nacho Brau.

Events: B3 has $3 beers every Tuesday from open to close. On Wednesday, B3 will be hosting their open mic from 8-10 p.m., with signups starting at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, B3 will host World Tavern Poker (It’s free to play and you can earn points, prizes, and a shot at the World Series of Poker). On Sunday, B3 will have and NCAA Selection Show party. Drop be B3 wearing a college shirt on Sunday and get $1 dollar off your pint. As usual, B3 will also be showing the new episode of The Walking Dead on Sunday.

Music: Fri — Jon Michael Ruiz 8-9 p.m.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill — 994-9364

(Hours of operation are not yet posted.)

Beers: Chupacabra IPA (7.2% ABV), Cerveza Por Mis Cavallios Oatmeal Stout (5.5% ABV), Tomazula Brown (5.2% ABV), Tierra del Fuego Cream Ale (5.0% ABV), Alcapulco Gold Mexican Lager (4.8% ABV), and an ESB. Franz Solo and I gave high marks to Cerveza Por Mis Cavallios Oatmeal Stout during the NMDSBC’s Battle of the Beers II competition on Super Bowl Sunday.

News: Cazuela’s will be introducing a new Porter in two weeks and a new beer called the Inebriator in early April.

Chama River Brewing Company — 342-1800

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

Beers: Nobel Session PA, Rye PA, Big Head Imperial Ale, Cascade PA. The Cascade Pale Ale takes up where the Centennial, Cascade, and Chinook Pale Ales left off. For those who don’t know, Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, and Chinook are hops varieties with different flavor profiles. Chama River often brews pale ales based on a single hop variety. Simcoe hops are best known for adding especially bitter aromas and flavors to pale ales.

Farside Brew Pub — 918-2337

(Mon–Thurs 4 p.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 3 p.m.–11 p.m., Sun 4–8 p.m.)

Beers: C Squared (Kolsch), Cow Tipper Cream Stout, Anni-Oaky Imperial IPA, Torn Kilt, Double Headed Zombie, English Brown Smog, Feather Weight Ale. The Farside Brew Pub recently had their two-year anniversary. To celebrate, the folks at FBP brewed up one barrel of Anni-Oaky Imperial IPA. I’m told that Anni-Oaky was meant to be brewed in a limited quantity and it will not be brewed again until this time next year, so grab a pint while you can.

News: FBP is currently working on new batches of their Zombie IPA, Triple Chocolate Stout, and Irish Sunburn (Irish Red). Look for them on tap in the coming months.

Events: FBP is now hosting Monday Madness featuring all day happy hour pints and Thursday College Night (with a valid college ID) featuring a $7 Pizza and Pint Special, plus all night happy hour pints. FBP will be showing the new episode of The Walking Dead on Sunday.

Il Vicino Brewing Canteen — 881-2737

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

Beers: Mosaic IPA, Irish Red, Chainsaw Irish Lager, CRAP (Classic Real American Pilsner), The Donker (Belgian Dark Strong), Odin’s Imperial Red, Dark American Lager. Odin’s Imperial Red is a beer fit for the Norse god, made with five pounds of Simcoe hops per barrel (10.25% ABV, 100+ IBU). The Donker (10% ABV, 23 IBU) is a Belgian Strong Dark that was brewed with dark candy sugar. The Brew Crew had an opportunity to sample both beers, and we can say that they were worth the wait. The Chainsaw is a nice variation on the standard lager, offering up a drier flavor, yet with a hint of sweetness, or at least that’s how Stoutmeister described it to the rest of us.

Cask: The Motueka IPA is on tap for Cask Wednesday, while the selection for Saturday’s cask is to be announced.

Music: Tues — Next Three Miles 8-11 p.m., Sun — Blue Hornets 5-8 p.m.

La Cumbre Brewing — 872-0225

(Open every day at noon)

Beers: Where in the Helles Beer, Irish Red Lager, Munchner Dunkel, El Dorado PA, Noche de Paz, Hot Shots Rauch (Rauchbier). La Cumbre’s website had this to say about the El Dorado Pale Ale, “The new proprietary hop from Brewers Supply group was only released in 2012 and is already being widely heralded by many in the craft brewing industry. It displays a number of the more complex aromatics found in many of the newer Pacific Northwest hops without any of the garlic and cattiness that has been so prevalent. We kept a simple but firm malt backbone to let the subtle wood, earth, blueberry and lychee qualities of this hop play center stage.” (6.3 ABV, 55 IBU) LC’s website also described the Noche de Paz, “Tarting with our rich British ale malt, we blended in six different caramel and chocolate malts as well as a touch of corn to make this richly malty beer, just lightly balanced with a kiss of English hops. The finish is lightly sweet with a plethora of rich caramel and biscuit.” (7.9% ABV, 20 IBU)

Cask: La Cumbre features at least one beer on cask every week. This week’s cask beers are yet to be announced.

Food: The Rustic Food Truck parks at La Cumbre on Tuesday, and The Supper Truck parks there on Thursday.

Music: Wed — Chris Dracup 7-10 p.m., Sat — Odd Dog 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, Killa Bee, Stands with a Fist, Abbey Darkness, India Wheat Ale. Marble’s website had this to say about the Killa Bee, “Not a display of hop bitterness, rather, a subtle showcase of the power of the flower. Hops and Honey play to the finish! Who will win?” (8.5% ABV, $5/Pint) In addition, the website says of Stands with a Fist, “A super clean palate leads the way for German malts and American hops to finish dry and assertive. This beer stands with a fist.” (8.0% ABV, $5/Pint) Stoutmeister had this beer, both on cask and C02, when he recently interviewed brewer Josh Trujillo, and he highly recommends grabbing a pint while it is available.

Cask: Check out Marble’s cask (a.k.a. “real” ale) selection on tap every Friday at the Downtown Pub.

Food: The Supper Truck parks at Marble’s Downtown Pub every Saturday.

Music: Wed — Kimo, RJ Perez 6-9 p.m., Thurs — The Chuck Hawley Group 7-10 p.m.

Nexus Brewery — 242-4100

(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: Goat Head Hater Doppel Bock, Pilsner #15, Wild Wheat Belgian, Duchess (Imperial) Pale Ale, Tractor Hard Cider. Tractor had a post on their Facebook page that had this to say about the Goat Head Hater Doppel Bock, “a doppelbock is a German style bock (lager) that was traditionally brewed in the late fall, lagered (stored in the cellar) over the winter and served in late winter or early spring. We adhere to this tradition here at Tractor; this doppelbock was brewed in November and has been lagering until now.” The Tractor Hard Cider is sweeter than their usual cider.

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: Irish Stout, Belgian IPA, Imperial Pilsner, Steam+, Honey Wheat, White Knight (Belgian), Ol’ Brown Eyes, Yardsale Amber, Irish Coffee Stout, Triple Play PA, Hybrid IPA, Cabo Lager, Red Rye. TMBC’s web site has this to say about the White Knight, “This is a Belgian Strong Ale. With an ABV over 7%, you need to mind yourself as your enjoying this wonderful beer. If you’ve never had a Belgian dubbel or tripel, this is your opportunity to try one here without making the trip to Belgium. This is also the first of our Belgian style series of beers to close out winter. We have a Belgian IPA in the works and are looking forward to a Dubbel and a Blonde. Cheers!” (7.09% ABV, 30 IBU, 1.070 OG)

Cask: TMBC is currently featuring the Hybid IPA on cask.

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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