We Sturms made our yearly pilgrimage to Pagosa Springs for what we like to call “decomposition time,” where all of your cares and troubles are melted away in the sulfurous waters and wonderful craft brews in a mountain town that screams of the freedom to relax and enjoy the finer things in life. Last year…
Author: Franz Solo
Beer is the game, and it is awesome.
All hail the Land of Hopchantment!
As the member of the Brew Crew who adores hops probably the most of all, I have made it my mission of late to try each and every double IPA and high-IBU standard IPA to come out of our local breweries in the past couple of months. I was inspired by how well New Mexico…
Lo, the imperial reds doth battle for Burque supremacy
So I finally had a chance to try two ridiculously good imperial red ales from our good ol’ Duke City, and man, are they just straight out-spaced, out-awesome! I procured several bombers of Marble’s gold medal-winning Imperial Red and then a brace of La Cumbre’s Imperial Red Ryeot to do a proper review, well aged…
A new star of epic proportions is born: The Full Nelson
As a definite afficionado of all things hopped to infinity, I loved La Cumbre’s Father Nelson. It was for me the natural progression from the ground broken by Elevated IPA and our beloved Project Dank. Full Nelson is the fourth level in my humble opinion, a fully armed and completed Death Star Mark II to…
Hefeweizen Challenge ’14 — A tournament of refreshment
The Dark Side Brew Crew gathered last weekend for a blind taste test to determine the best hefeweizen in the ABQ metro area. Mrs. Solo and I hosted the event with Stoutmeister, E-Rock, Porter Pounder, and Brandon present from the original Crew. Only Shilling was absent due to his job. Brandon’s awesome girlfriend Taylor handled…
Storm and Brews — A (Taos) trek to the north
So the day after we saw Stoutmeister hit 1000 distinct brews on Untappd with a bomber of 2009 vintage imperial stout from Stone, he and we (the Solos) headed up north for a few Taos-brewed ales. From the start it looked like a lovely Sunday drive, but as we neared Santa Fe we were greeted…
IPA Challenge: Brace yourselves for an onslaught of hops at the finale
The final round of the New Mexico IPA Challenge is nearly upon us! Out of the 16 entries to the tasters’ choice competition there are currently five available for tasting in the Duke City. My mission over the past few days has been to try each one in turn and bask in the glory of…
Il Vicino turns 20 years old in style
It was actually rather a miracle that I was able to attend this wonderful proceeding at all; my work schedule changed at the last minute (the beer gods be praised) which allowed me to enjoy this great event! This week has been quite hot in the afternoons, pushing into the upper echelon of heat in…
Stone at the Steer — We’re not worthy!
Editor’s note: Franz Solo has been battling a hell of a virus recently, so this belated story from ABQ Beer Week has been on the back burner for a while. But we figured it’s still a good story about delicious beer and food, so we’re running it as a timeless feature. Because beer is timeless….
Storm’s a brewin’ at Blues and Brews ’14
Owing to the fact that I (Franz Solo) had a birthday on Monday, my review of 2014’s ABQ Blues and Brews was a tad delayed (This is Brew Crew-speak for “I was really, really hungover” — Stoutmeister), so without further ado: On a rainy Sunday (perfect beer weather, in my opinion), Mrs. Solo and I…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 