New Mexico breweries head to the Great American Beer Festival

Every year around this time, breweries from all over the US bring their best and most interesting beers to a huge three-day gathering in Denver known as the Great American Beer Festival, or, as we beer dudes casually refer to it as the “GABF” (like we know the guy personally or something). (And some of us…

Shenanigans were aplenty at Hopfest

Well now, wasn’t that just a fun way to spend a Saturday? The seventh annual Hopfest went down at Isleta Casino, with a lot of beer choices (seriously, a lot) to sort through. For all four original Crew members, plus at least two from the Bullpen, and our assorted friends, we’re pretty sure we collectively…

Where to quench your hop thirst at Hopfest

Oh, Hopfest, you lovely giant beer festival, you have returned. It’s Lucky No. 7 for Hopfest, which returns to the Isleta Casino this Saturday. Tickets are still available online today (Friday). They go up in price at the door ($35 for general admission, $45 for Extra Hoppy Hour), so we highly recommend you get them…

Reviewing Red Door’s beers before the soft opening

Porter Pounder and I went over to Red Door Brewing’s sneak preview Tuesday afternoon and came away quite impressed. Much like Boxing Bear did earlier this summer, Red Door took the time to perfect their first batches of beer and it showed. We already talked about the general ambiance and setup for Red Door, so…

Best of the Septemberfest beers

One festival down, many to go. Marble’s Septemberfest kicked off festival season on Saturday afternoon. It was a fun, efficiently-run event with a good crowd. Kudos to Ted and Amberly Rice and the hard-working Leah Black for putting it all together. It was never overcrowded and the beer line moved quickly. Remarkably, even with all…

Time to get festive with Marble’s Septemberfest

Beer festival season is upon us, the official kickoff to fall in Albuquerque. First up is Marble’s Septemberfest, which will be held from noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday. Tickets are available online and at all three Marble locations. This year’s event will see some changes from previous formats, so to get the lowdown on…

The Week Ahead in Beer Metro Edition: Festival season is upon us

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with the Metro Edition of The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, giving you a list of their current beers on tap as well as any special events going on in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Bernalillo. Look for…

The Week Ahead in Beer Metro Edition: Marble-ous times are here again

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with the Metro Edition of The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, giving you a list of their current beers on tap as well as any special events going on in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Bernalillo. Look for…

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…