As far as out-of-state beer towns go, Durango is probably the one that New Mexico beer geeks visit the most often. Well, unless you are me, and then you find yourself there for the first time in 11 years and have to rely upon the other Crew members to guide you around the small town in Southwest Colorado.

That was the case a couple weekends ago when myself, Andrew, and Luke wrapped up our quick beercation through Northwest New Mexico and Southwest Colorado with a final stop in a town that those two snowboarders love to visit. It’s not like I ever intended to go a decade-plus-one without visiting Durango, but it just happened that way.

Anyway, a lot has changed, and yet, not much has changed. There are still Carver and Steamworks, and Ska is there, too, on the outskirts of town (time constraints kept us from visiting). New-to-me was Animas Brewing on the north side of the downtown stretch. Even newer was Anarchy Brewing, tucked away on the southeast side of town, the first brewery that feels like it’s more for the locals than the tourists.

In the order we visited them, here are some quick thoughts on those breweries.

Animas Brewing

Set next to Rotary Park and its namesake river, Animas is one of a handful of breweries to open in Durango since my last visit in 2012. The setting is certainly lovely, with a cozy little interior and patio, where we grabbed some seats to go with our beers.

Knowing that this was just the start of our little trek around town, I ordered a Riverside Kolsch (5.2% ABV). It was a perfectly pleasant kolsch, well balanced and not overly sweet.

Luke ordered a Boxcar Red (6,1% ABV, 37 IBU) on the recommendation of the beertender. He said it needed a little more of a malt backbone, as otherwise it just did not feel like a bridge beer between a sweeter Irish red and a hoppy red ale, like the kind Marble has made us all seek out.

Andrew went with a Class VI IPA (6.9% ABV, 62 IBU), with which he was not impressed.

It’s hard to get a full read on a brewery after one beer apiece. Animas had the feel of a starter brewery, where you go for your first pint before seeking out more complex beers later. Or, it might be more of an unwinding brewery, where you stop after spending time in the park or on the river (though not right now, the Animas was flowing fiercely).

Either way, it will likely require a more in-depth visit the next time we are in Durango. Which hopefully won’t be in 2034 for me.

Anarchy Brewing

The newest brewery in town, Anarchy was about to celebrate its second anniversary when we visited. It’s tucked into a small building, possibly a former garage, next to Ballet Durango, at 225 E 8th Ave. The distance between it and the tourist friendly part of town alone makes this a true spot for the locals. A mix of people, and dogs, inhabited the place, and it was clear that many of them knew each other.

In other words, it might be the first Durango brewery that really feels like a neighborhood pub, similar to places in Albuquerque like Sidetrack, Gravity Bound, and ReSource. The beer menu is constantly rotating and often features some very unusual, experimental styles.

I grabbed a Death by F.O.M.O. (5.2% ABV), a Vienna lager that was a little more dry than sweet. It was a solid if unspectacular lager, but I drove us over to Anarchy, so the higher ABV beers were off limits to me.

Luke thusly grabbed the one I really wanted, New Kids on the Bock (9.3% ABV), a big malty beast of a doppelbock. Andrew went with Old Leather Jacket (4.5% ABV), an ESB made with coffee. Normally, you would probably expect the coffee flavor to completely overwhelm a style like an ESB, but in this case, there was balance and a good mix of flavor throughout. Well done, Anarchy, well done.

The next time we visit, and there will definitely be a next time, the odds are we will be faced with a totally new lineup of brews. That is just fine, and should make for a fun adventure in the future.

Carver Brewing

Old reliable is still located smack dab near the middle of town at Main and 10th. The only (sad) change is that brunch is no longer served, a post-pandemic casualty. It was dinnertime, though, so we were happy to sit down and order some grub and a pint apiece.

As my last visit to Carver predated my Untappd usage, it basically meant I got to start over with a clean slate as far as the beers went. Wanting a stout that could put to rest that infected horror at Avalanche Brewing (see our previous story in this series), I ordered the Iron Horse Oatmeal Stout (5.4% ABV).

It was on nitro. They put an oatmeal stout on nitro. Apparently, this is a common thing in Southwest Colorado, so I would just like to say to all the breweries up there:

NITRO IS FOR DRY IRISH STOUTS, NOT OATMEAL STOUTS!!!

Please, oh please, let your stouts stand on their own. Let the CO2 bring out their full, robust flavors. A nitro stout is nice every now and again, but this is a trend that needs to be put aside. I have a feeling that Iron Horse could be a solid house beer, but the nitro version was completely overpowered by the barbecue bacon burger that I ordered.

Luke grabbed a Raspberry Wheat Ale (5.2% ABV) to see how it compared to the one he brewed at Hidden Mountain. He then snagged a Haunted History DIPA (9.1% ABV, 52 IBU), a huge hazy that he felt could stack right up there alongside Gravity Bound’s creations.

Time was growing short, as it was a Sunday, and like many mountain towns in Colorado and New Mexico, Durango closes down early. We finished our food and walked to our next and final stop.

Steamworks Brewing

I will admit, back in 2012, after having this place hyped up by a number of people, I was not kind to Steamworks in my review of the place. The food was good, but I found most of their beers to be pretty lacking outside their flagship Colorado Kolsch.

This time around, I ordered a flight and hoped for the best. The kolsch was on there, though I found it to be a little too sweet now. Perhaps I have just been spoiled by all the excellent, more balanced examples of the style here in Albuquerque.

The good news is the other beers stacked up well, much better than their 2012 counterparts.

Steam Engine Lager (5.2% ABV) was a good example of a California common, light and dry and perfectly sessionable. Lizard Head Red (5.3% ABV) hit the right notes for an Irish red. Backside Stout (5.8% ABV) had little hints of what it could be, but again, it was on nitro, robbing it of its full potential. The 26th Anniversary Barleywine (10.6% ABV) packed in plenty of flavor and some alcohol heat on the back end, but the mouthfeel was a tad light for such a hefty brew.

Much of the Steamworks menu is currently geared toward summer beers, with a lot of fruited offerings and IPAs. I would love to go back in the colder months and see if there are more lagers and bigger beers on tap. Just not on nitro. No more nitro, Southwest Colorado!

Overall, it was a good (if too short) trip to a few great beer towns. We did not drive each other too crazy, Andrew survived hours in a car listening to Nordic metal, and no one left behind any cell phone chargers or other key equipment.

A big thanks to all the beertenders and servers who we encountered. The service everywhere was quite good.

For anyone looking to escape the heat this summer, hopefully we have provided some good recommendations on where to go enjoy a quality pint just a few hours from Albuquerque. If you head up there and try any of these places, let us know what you think of the beers.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister