Folks here in Albuquerque like to make fun of Rio Rancho. They tend to use the famous quote “there’s no there there” when describing the sprawling suburb (which, by all accounts, hates to be called a suburb). RR residents probably snipe away at ABQ every chance they get, probably while stuck in traffic on Coors…
Category: Brewery Reviews
The Belgian Invasion Begins
Well, it’s that tough time of year for dark beer lovers. The invasion of the white ales has begun. Those super-sweet, high ABV beers, usually just called Belgians, have begun to arrive at local breweries. The Professor Emeritus and I were hanging out at La Cumbre on Thursday afternoon when the first arrived. The Professor…
Marble’s Imperial Porter is a beast
A snowy hump day here in the Duke City — slow times at the job, overcast skies, and the world’s worst drivers all add up to the perfect recipe to use a sick day and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on Netflix Well, I didn’t get to do that, but it sure sounded…
Lazy afternoons at Il Vicino
Stopped by the Il Vicino Brewery Canteen with E-Rock, Shilling, and the Professor Emeritus of Beer on a quiet Monday afternoon. There is something about the Canteen that just lends itself to a slow-down-and-enjoy-a-pint kind of day. Located at 2381 Aztec Rd. NE, the Canteen sits just about a block north and then a block…
E-Rock’s Lab: SanTan Winter Brews in Chandler, AZ
I will not profess to have the most discriminating palate when it comes to craft beers, but what I lack in refined tastes I more than make up for in curiosity. And so it is that, when faced with a weekend in the Phoenix area, I passed at a chance to revisit the well-established Four…
Beer Battle: The Stoutest Stout of All Is…
Marble’s Oatmeal Stout, or at least that was how we ended up voting after the first NM Dark Side Brew Crew Beer Battle. The battle took place during halftime of the Super Bowl (if anybody out there expected us to watch Madonna, then clearly something is amiss in your knowledge of the Crew). We brought…
Tractor: Back in Black
Black IPAs are rare creatures who only come out at night. Well, not really, but whenever a brewery manages to obtain the rare hops needed to make such a concoction, it is not merely the right but the duty of beer lovers to jump at the chance to indulge themselves. Tractor has cranked out its…
La Cumbre: American Torpedoes
Dinner: Until this past Saturday evening, I had not had a decent American ale since the bomber of Rogue some months ago. Enter La Cumbre’s Barley’s Wine! A glorious combination of hops and a multiplicity of flavors all harmonized together in a crisp finish. This is a beer lover’s beer. The abundance of alcohol, as…
Nexus Brewery: Where Malt is Good
It is nice to take a detour from the Hoplandia that Albuquerque-area brewing has become over the last few years. While there is nothing wrong with the strong, flavorful beers elsewhere in town (La Cumbre has been kicking us all in the face for over a year now, and we keep going back, begging for…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 