Last week, we led off this roundup by celebrating the strong end of Spooky Season at our breweries. This week, we kick off with our own personal celebration of all the dark brews beginning to fill up those seasonal/specialty taplines at breweries across the metro area and beyond. Friday alone we snagged some of that exceptional Slow Burn Coffee Stout from Marble. Sure, we’re biased towards the blackest of brews, as our very group name implies, but we have to say this is one of our favorite packaged Marble seasonals in a long time. From there, we trekked over to Bow & Arrow for the return of an annual favorite, Buffalo Plaid Baltic Porter, also available in cans and on draft. To cap our day before we hit our limit, Sidetrack beckoned us over with Shadow Fleet Russian Imperial Stout. At only 8.5-percent ABV, it is fairly light for an imperial, but it certainly packs a flavorful punch and kept us nice and warm. Those are far from the only ones currently on draft. Bow & Arrow still has Proper Pumpkin Beer, a heftier (10%) imperial stout brewed with pumpkin, plus Seti Not Yeti, an oatmeal stout. Boxing Bear has Benny Bear Porter now and plans to release a plethora of big, dark brews on Black Friday. Canteen brought back Dark n Lusty Stout for the season. Flock of Moons still has their imperial pastry stout, The Bookhouse Boys, available, but if that one is too big at 10.1 percent, you can always head to nearby High and Dry for Unbalanced Breakfast (4.8%). Nexus tapped Lush American Stout last week.
Oh, and then there is the best news of all. La Negra returns in bottles and on draft this Friday at both La Cumbre locations. Bring on winter, bring on the long nights and short days, bring on the fire pits, and the bellowing of the great songs of yore to the night sky. It’s our time now.
New Draft:
Canteen will tap No Schwarz, No Shoes, No Service on Friday. Flock of Moons brought back their New Zealand pilsner, Maramataka. La Cumbre also tapped Roses for Nobody, a rye lager. Starr Brothers brought back Brown Chicken, Brown Cow. Tractor will release Heritage Barley Wine on Friday at all locations. Unhinged recently added Heydays Kolsch.
New Package:
So far, La Negra is the only one announced.
Notable Events:
Today (Wednesday) — Poetry & Beer returns to Tractor Wells Park at 7 p.m.
Friday — ArtWalk is back downtown with events at both Ex Novo at 5 p.m. and at Sidetrack at 6 p.m.
The First Fridays Comedy Contest is back at Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.
Saturday — The Lasso Round-Up Pop-Up Market runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (You can also come earlier at 7:30 to watch Bayern Munich play Mainz with New Mexico Roten.)
East Mountain Community Day will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Rumor Brewing as one of the host locations. They will have live music at 2 p.m., plus they will serve as the site of the East Mountain Food Pantry’s food drive.
Sunday — La Cumbre hosts Taps & Tags Vintage Pop-Up & Market from noon to 4 p.m.
Quick News Bits:
Kolsch Service is back at both Ex Novo locations Friday through Sunday.
Differential will host the Flood Relief for New Mexico Donation Drive all weekend. Check their social media for details on what specific items that they need. This will help families in the Four Corners.
Since we learned that Marble Brewery was closing the Heights Taproom in December, some asked us what would become of the property. Well, as it turns out, the original Marble owners are going to sell it for $4.5 million, per a report in Albuquerque Business First. Could it eventually lead to Marble going back there? Eh, probably not, since at that asking price it’s doubtful any buyer would lower the rent cost enough to make it work. We will keep an eye on things going forward.
Albuquerque metro area breweries
Boese Brothers Brewery — Featured seasonal: Drunk Astronaut (8.1% ABV), a double IPA with a hefty amount of Galaxy hops (get it?).
Bombs Away Beer Company — Featured seasonal: Keep It Simple Stout (4.1% ABV, 32 IBU), a perfectly sessionable dark beer.
Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Proper Pumpkin Beer (10% ABV), an imperial stout made with a whole lot of pumpkin, now available in cans and on draft.
Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Black Mesa Dunkel (5.2% ABV), a recent bronze medal winner at GABF, now available in cans and on draft.
Brekki Brekki/Cantina Craftworks — Featured seasonal: The beers made at Brekki Brekki are for the entire restaurant collective under the Cantina Hospitality Group banner. Contact each location for what’s on tap.
Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Company — Featured seasonal: Labtoberfest is back for the season.
Calavida Cantina — Featured seasonal: Celtic Hermano (6.1% ABV, 42 IBU), this stout (not this batch) was the first one they brewed on the system in the old Boxing Bear space.
Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Tiny Legs, Big Hearts (7.5% ABV, 61 IBU) is a West Coast IPA is on draft at both locations, but cans are only available at the taproom on Tramway.
Casa Vieja Brewery — Featured seasonal: Duke’s Red Irish Ale (5% ABV), a brewery original back on tap for a limited time.
Differential Brewing — Featured seasonal: Matcha Ginger Blonde (5% ABV) is the current seasonal on tap.
Dripline Brewery — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest, tis the season and all for this collaboration made with Painted Lady.
Ex Novo Brewing — Featured seasonal: German Overalls (5.8% ABV), the traditional märzen is back in cans and on draft.
Flix Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Flix Brühaus, their Oktoberfest lager, is back for the season.
Flock of Moons Brewing — Featured seasonal: The Bookhouse Boys (10.1% ABV, 39 IBU), that beautiful beast of an imperial pastry stout is back for a limited time.
FMV Brewing — Featured seasonal: Stage 10 American Amber, the first house beer is now on draft at this brewery located at 2500 Yale Blvd SE near the Sunport.
Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Pistola (7.2% ABV), the classic West Coast IPA is back on draft and in cans for a limited time.
High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Unbalanced Breakfast (4.8% ABV), an oatmeal stout with a low ABV that still boasts a lot of flavor.
Hops Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
JUNO Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
Kaktus Brewing — Featured seasonal: Woolly Slammoth IPA (7.3% ABV, 80 IBU), a quaffable English-style hoppy ale.
La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: Spectator Sport (7.2% ABV), a West Coast IPA made in collaboration with Colorado’s Cannonball Creek, available in cans and on draft.
Lasso Brewing — Featured seasonal: Kolsch, which has recently been released for the second time in cans and on draft.
Marble Brewery — Featured seasonal: Marblefest (6.5% ABV), back for the season in cans and on draft.
Nexus Brewery — Featured seasonal: Festbier (6.3% ABV, 20 IBU), described by the brewery as “Prost to the season! Festbier Oktoberfest is moderately malty, toasty, and dangerously easy to drink. Blink once and your stein will be empty!”
Painted Lady Bed and Brew — Featured seasonal: Wake the Dead, an Oktoberfest-style lager brewed in collaboration with Dripline.
Ponderosa Brewing Co. — Featured seasonal: The Last Dance (4.2% ABV, 19 IBU), a black Mexican lager brewed in collaboration with Thirsty Eye.
Quarter Celtic Brewpub— Featured seasonal: Step Drunkle, the recent silver medal winner in the German dunkel category at GABF.
Rio Bravo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Somos Brewnidos (5.2% ABV, 18 IBU), a New Mexican lager perfect for patio days or United games, with a portion of the proceeds from draft and can sales going to the Somos Unidos Foundation.
Rumor Brewing — Featured seasonal: La Madera Mild (5.5% ABV, 22 IBU), a chewy little biscuit of an English-style brew that is perfect before or after a day on the hiking trails around Cedar Crest.
Sidetrack Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (6% ABV), a delectable märzen available in cans and on draft.
Starr Brothers Brewing — Featured seasonal: Therewolf (6.5% ABV, 22 IBU), the annual Oktoberfest release is back on draft.
Steel Bender Brewyard — Featured seasonal: Ale Witch (8.7% ABV, 15 IBU), the fan favorite pumpkin ale is back in standard and barrel-aged versions, with the former on draft and in cans, and the latter in cans only.
The Tatted Bee Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: Shut the Front Dort, a good lager with one of our favorite beer names of all time.
The 377 Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
Tractor Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Heller Bock (4.7% ABV), the ultra-smooth recent release.
Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Nazgold (7.5% ABV, 75 IBU), an IPA made with New Zealand hops and pineapple.
Unhinged Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest, which they need your help to drink up as the season ends.
Santa Fe breweries
Beer Creek Brewing — Featured seasonal: Temporada (6.1% ABV), a Belgian saison brewed with 100-percent New Mexico-grown pilsner malt and Neomexicanus hops. Described by the brewery as “crisp and dry with hints of bubblegum. Not a Brett beer.”
Keeping Together — Featured seasonal: No Concept of Concept, a strawberry mild brown ale.
Nuckolls Brewing — Featured seasonal: Coal Car (5.5% ABV), an oatmeal stout that’s just one of 11 house beers now available.
Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Featured seasonal: Second-String Loser (9.6% ABV, 26 IBU), a Belgian golden strong ale.
Santa Fe Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (6% ABV), the classic German-style lager is back in cans and on draft.
Second Street Brewery — Featured seasonal: Brown Ale, which just won its second medal at the Great American Beer Festival, this time a bronze.
Travel Bug — Featured seasonal: A reader tipped us off that this brewery in a travel bookstore has started rotating beers now, and currently on tap are Suelo Red Ale, Flaxon Ale, and Pale Ale.
Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery — Featured seasonal: Festbier (6.6% ABV), a traditional German lager that was just tapped earlier this week.
Other breweries you need to visit
Bathtub Row Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oz’s Oatmeal Stout (5.4% ABV), a classic ode to the darkness.
Downshift Brewing — Featured seasonal: Gratitude Pale Ale (5.4% ABV, 40 IBU), brewed to support local charities, and right now $1 from every pint sold goes to helping in the recovery efforts from the South Fork and Salt fires.
Jemez Mountain Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Señor Lager, which as you may have guessed from the name is a Mexican-style lager.
Open Space Brewing — Featured seasonal: Mining District Märzen (6.3% ABV), an excellent Oktoberfest for the season.
Red River Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
Sierra Blanca Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.
Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: La Bete (15% ABV), a monstrous yet beautiful imperial brut saison.
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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.
Keep supporting local!
— Stoutmeister
