WinterBrew: The (tentative) list of beers on hand

Stoutmeister here with our official preview of WinterBrew, set for Friday at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. This is the one beer festival none of us managed to get to last year, so this time around I will head up alone and make sure to cross it off the old beer-bucket list of life. I…

GABF 2012: The road to Valhalla

Stoutmeister here, some 24 hours away from Denver and the Great American Beer Festival. Upon learning of this annual event a few years ago, my dear father, whom we call the Professor Emeritus of Beer, decided he just had to go sometime. That time became this year, so with the click of a mouse we…

NM Brew Fest: A sensory overload of joyous beer

Well folks, the first week of October has come and gone, and that means the New Mexico Brew Fest has come and gone.  This year’s Brew Fest, again held at Villa Hispana at Expo New Mexico, had a great turnout for the third installment of this annual event which is quickly becoming a staple of the…

Beer Notes: Septemberfest kicks off the weekend

Stoutmeister here, trying to clear out the mental notebook of beer (sure, I could write stuff down, but instead I prefer using my hands to lift pints) before trekking down to Marble’s Septemberfest on Saturday. Speaking of Septemberfest, this year’s edition kicks off at noon, features the added bonus of Red Light Cameras on stage,…

IPA Challenge: Il Vicino makes it a 4-peat

The IPA Challenge came to a close with a resounding finish on Saturday afternoon. Resounding for host Il Vicino, at least. With the annual blind taste-test competition heading into its final round, the three-time defending champion unleashed its Exodus IPA for the home crowd and came away with an overwhelming victory. The final-round results (number…

IPA Challenge: Il Vicino overtakes Marble

Round three of the 2012 IPA Challenge is in the books, with Il Vicino claiming first place with one round remaining. Thursday’s competition at Blue Corn in Santa Fe saw the defending champions collect the most votes to leap ahead of Marble. The two breweries were tied after the first round at Nexus, with Marble…

IPA Challenge: Marble takes lead after two rounds

The second round of the IPA Challenge was held at 3 Rivers Brewery in Farmington on Tuesday night, with results coming out this morning from the New Mexico Brewers Guild. After tying Il Vicino with 28 votes apiece in Sunday’s opening round at Nexus, Marble moved into sole possession of first place, picking up a…

IPA Challenge all tied up after round one

None of the Crew could make it over to Nexus for round one of the 2012 IPA Challenge on Sunday (I know, I know, bad beer bloggers putting work/life ahead of beer). But thankfully the good folks at the New Mexico Brewers Guild posted the results on Facebook when all the votes were tallied. A…

Beer Week: Colorado and Oregon invade, we approve

E-Rock and Franz Solo each made trips out for Thursday’s ABQ Beer Week events in Nob Hill. They offer up their thoughts on all the great beers that were available. Once again, I found myself at beer tastings on Nob Hill. I started the day’s tastings at Two Fools where I ran into the ABQ…

ABQ Beer Week arrives at long last

Today is like Christmas Eve for craft beer lovers. Yes, here on May 16, an otherwise average Wednesday, the community braces itself for the start of ABQ Beer Week on Thursday. The NMDSBC is preparing for the onslaught of flavorful delights that are coming our way over the next 11 days (which, yes, I realize…