Posts Tagged ‘La Cumbre Brewing’

Local women in craft beer share their thoughts after fallout from Brewing News controversy sinks National IPA Challenge

Posted: February 18, 2019 by cjax33 in Commentary/Analysis, National IPA Challenge, News
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The reddish lettering in the upper left amounted to the totality of the initial announcement that the NIPAC was canceled for 2019.

The NIPAC is dead.

Over the weekend, in the quietest way possible, the Brewing News left a small note on the front page of the National IPA Challenge website that the annual competition was canceled for 2019. It was perhaps the final, inevitable outcome after last week’s national furor over a story by publisher/owner Bill Metzger that ran in the Great Lakes edition of Brewing News, a national publication with multiple regional editions that comes out every two months.

Metzger chose to resign over the controversy following the publication of his blatantly sexist/misogynistic story. He later claimed it was satire in a futile effort to save himself, but few in the national brewing community saw it that way. A number of New Mexico breweries withdrew from the NIPAC in protest, making public statements condemning Metzger.

From Bosque Brewing: “Hey, Bosque Family. It is with serious disappointment that, in light of a recent article published by Brewing News, we are writing to let you know that we are pulling our beers from the National IPA Challenge effective immediately.

“The sexist and racist remarks made by editor Bill Metzger were deeply upsetting and do not reflect our sincere belief that the brewing industry should be an inclusive community free of misogyny, racism, or any behavior of the like.

“This decision was a very obvious one to make, and we appreciate your understanding.”

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The Week Ahead in Beer: The darkness descends again this weekend

Posted: January 23, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Winter in New Mexico does not exactly behave in a normal fashion. It bounces back and forth between mild and frigid, not really adhering to the technical start and end dates for the season. In fact, we are only a little more than a third of the way through winter, and while it might not always feel like it, our breweries are sticking with the dark and decadent beers for a while longer. La Cumbre brings back its beloved Baltic Porter, Siberian Silk, on tap and in cans on Friday. It is just one of many Baltics on tap, with additional versions available on tap at Bosque (Grandfather Owl), Bow and Arrow (Buffalo Plaid), Toltec, and Turtle Mountain (Stockholm Syndrome). If we weren’t so close to our Stout Challenge on Super Bowl Sunday, the Crew might have done a mini-Baltic challenge. Speaking of stouts, Bow and Arrow is releasing the latest entry in its Bandit series, the Churro Bandito, on tap this Saturday. They threw actual churros into the imperial stout during the boil. Yeah, we cannot wait to try this one. There is also the T34 Imperial Russian Stout at Bombs Away. So much darkness, so little time. We will be cranking up the new Swallow the Sun album on Friday and trying to hit as many as we can.

Another cool event to highlight in Santa Fe is A Bitter Day on Saturday at Second Street Rufina. Anyone who has been to Second Street knows how much the brewery team there loves the bitter style of English beers, so now SSB has invited other breweries to make their own takes on the style and serve them all up at once. There will be live music from Fox White, a special menu, and more running all day.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out of the non-stout/porter variety. Boese Brothers recently brought back the popular Cascade Grenade IPA. Bombs Away also has S.A.F. Raspberry Sour and Oaked Claymore Scotch Ale. Canteen is feeling smooth with Vienna Lager, Smokin’ Joe Lager, and more Falconer’s Arm Pale Ale. Marble suffered no thorny injuries (we hope) making more Prickly Pear Gose. Quarter Celtic asks What’s the Wi-Fi Password? with its new Strata IPA. Rio Bravo is feeling saucy with Beer Against Humanity IPA. Sidetrack has brought back its American blonde ale, Güera, and this Saturday will have Second Side ESB, a collaboration with Second Street, on tap for the third anniversary party. Tractor resurrects an old favorite in Scotcholate, while also feeling sweet with the new Caramel Cider.

Up in Santa Fe, HoneyMoon will have Cidrucha available Friday. Tumbleroot had a big tap turnover, with everything from Double Brown to New School IPA to Captain SMASH, a rum barrel-aged barleywine, going on tap, plus there are new bottles of Dry Hopper Sour Golden Ale and Sour Red Ale with cherries.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of January 21.

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The Week Ahead in Beer: We can to stand up to the shutdown

Posted: January 16, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

The partial federal shutdown continues to wreak havoc upon the nation, including on local breweries, as we have mentioned in the past. So what can we, the beer-drinking public, do to help? Well, it’s actually fairly simple, we just have to keep buying more beer. The breweries that distribute out of state are taking the hardest hit, so they could use a little extra help. The good news is some are releasing new canned offerings this week. La Cumbre is releasing Altimeter IPA on Friday. This “brightly floral” IPA will debut in four-pack cans and on tap. Santa Fe is having a release party for its new Social Hour, a hazy wit-inspired beer with tropical fruit, at the ABQ Taproom on Saturday. There will be a Mario Kart Nintendo tournament from 4 to 7 p.m., followed by live music from 7 to 10.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bosque debuted EOP Tart at WinterBrew, and now it’s popping up at the taprooms, along with Surreal McCoy, a hoppy amber. Canteen saw some recent overturn with the return of Irish Red and the arrival of Mango Hussey IPA. Cantero unveils Brut IPA, Doughnut Stout, and Winter Warmer. Kilt Check has a new beer for the first time in quite a while with Black Sunshine Robust Porter. La Cumbre also added Strata IPA, Pimp Stout, and Friend Zone Golden Ale to its taps. Marble brings back Spruce Moose and also adds Coffee Porter. Nexus spices things up with Hot Chocolate Milk Stout. Quarter Celtic beckons us all to Come to the Dort Side. Sidetrack spins up more Turntable IPA, on draft and in cask. Steel Bender is up to Cider #5. Tractor hits the trail with more Cowboy Coffee Stout.

Up in Santa Fe, things are quiet again, but over in Red River, RRBC brings back Campfire Cream Ale after a short hiatus.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of January 14.

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The Week Ahead in Beer: Back to brewing business as usual

Posted: January 9, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

We made it through the holidays and the snow storms and all that fun. While things in Washington have not been resolved, elsewhere it is back to the usual business routine, with breweries no exception to that. La Cumbre will be releasing another canned beer. Marble will be having another guided tasting with one of its brewers. There will be live music, and other new beers on tap, and so on and so forth. It will be good to get back to normal for a change. So make sure to line up early Friday for those cans of In the Money Double Dry-Hopped IPA at La Cumbre. Make your reservations at Marble Westside to learn more about beer with Jeff Priddy tonight at 6. Then just sit back, enjoy some live tunes, and try some new beers. Hooray for the return to normalcy!

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Boxing Bear takes off with a new batch of Scotch Rocket Scotch Ale. Marble went out and smoked a märzen and named it Sympathy for the Pork Chop. Ponderosa’s Belgian Golden Strong should be on tap soon. Red Door teamed up with Beer Creek Brewing for the new Picture Rock Porter on Friday. Rio Bravo rides the hazy IPA train again with Freque Juice. Sidetrack checks in with the new Hobo King Lager and In-Crowd Pale Ale. Starr Brothers brings back There Gose Them Boyzz. Steel Bender has a double release on Thursday with Mango Dynamite and Ettu Brut IPA. Toltec goes the single-hop route with Cascade Pale Ale.

Up in Santa Fe, Rowley Farmhouse Ales adds a new version of Petit Blanche with Galaxy hops and apricots.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of January 7.

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The Crew’s brewery merchandise guide for 2018

Posted: December 17, 2018 by cjax33 in Beer Merch Guide
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Get festive with merch gifts from your favorite breweries, including Marble.

As we did the last four years, the Crew has put together a brewery merchandise guide for all of you just in time for your last-minute holiday shopping. Hey, it might be nice to just buy people beer, but sometimes they need more in life, like cool shirts, hoodies, growlers, and other specialty items carrying the logos of their favorite breweries. To make all of your lives easier and save you time in terms of searching the web or driving all over the place, we compiled the local breweries’ merch lists into one place. Now you can find out what is where, what is online, what it all costs, and any other additional info you might need.

The breweries are listed in alphabetical order, starting with the ABQ metro area breweries, then the breweries from outside the metro listed below that (those from both regions that sent us info, at least). We will be updating this list throughout the holiday season, so if you do not see a brewery here, once their info arrives, we will share it. Thank you to all the brewers, owners, and other key brewery staffers who helped us put this together. Whether via email or in person, it was greatly appreciated!

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Taos Brewmasters Festival returns for its 23rd edition

Posted: December 14, 2018 by cjax33 in Events
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Gazing down upon a Taos Brewmasters Festival from years past.

If there is such a thing as a white whale among New Mexico beer festivals, for me it is the Taos Brewmasters Festival. It has been around for 23 years counting this Saturday’s event, and yet I have never managed to time my own schedule to where I can thanks to either my day job or my other job as a freelance sportswriter.

Just because I cannot go, however, does not rule out the rest of you from visiting this classic beer festival nestled in the confines of the Taos Ski Valley. The fest runs from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, with $35 tickets available at the door. There will be 22 breweries present from around the country, including nine from New Mexico, plus one distillery and one place that focuses on kombucha.

The Blonde Bear Tavern, Bavarian, Common Fire, Rhoda’s, and more will provide the food to make sure no one is drinking on an empty stomach.

We asked all nine participating New Mexico breweries for their beer lists. Here are the ones who responded. If the others respond before the festival begins, we will update this list.

  • Bosque: IPA, Lager, Scotia Scotch Ale, Elephants on Parade, Pistol Pete’s 1888
  • La Cumbre: Big Door Prize, Project Dank, Ryeot IPA, Elevated IPA, A Slice of Hefen, Malpais Stout
  • Marble: Wildflower Wheat (in new cans), IPA, Desert Fog, Double White, Cholo Stout, Imperial Stout
  • Rio Bravo: TBA
  • Santa Fe: TBA
  • Sierra Blanca: Cherry Wheat, Vanilla Milk Stout, Alien Amber, Desert Pilsner, Bone Chiller Brown, Whiskey Stout
  • Steel Bender: Skull Bucket IPA, Raspberry Dynamite, Compa Los Ranchos Lager, Lloyd’s 3 O’Clock Kolsch, Gris-Gris, Ned’s Sour Pail (with and without boysenberry), Viejo Agrio
  • Taos Mesa: TBA
  • Tractor: Almanac IPA, Farmers Tan Red Ale, Delicious Red Hard Apple Cider, Milk Mustachio Stout

The other participating breweries from outside the state are 10 Barrel, Bell’s, Firestone Walker, Four Peaks, Full Sail, Heineken USA, Left Hand, New Belgium, Odell, Sierra Nevada, Steamworks, Stone, and Upslope.

Grab a brew and enjoy some time on the slopes! Just probably in the opposite order.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The Week Ahead in Beer: Make more room in the fridge for new can releases

Posted: December 12, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

They say giving is greater than receiving during the holiday season, but we rather enjoy receiving lots of new beers, especially the kind we can take home. In case anyone missed it, Second Street’s Jack Plane Porter, a wonderful cherrywood-smoked beer that was previously only available on tap, is now for sale in six packs. Joining this holiday treat on shelves this week and next are three more beers, with one hoppy/hazy favorite returning to break up the parade of beautiful darkness. First up, Marble is putting Imperial Stout in 12-ounce cans and selling them to all of us today. We will miss the bottles, but drinking one of those 22-ounce beasts tended to end our nights early unless we shared (and we never really wanted to share, it’s so good). It is also on tap, of course, at all three Marble locations, and there will be a food pairing around 5 p.m., if you can wait that long. Speaking of waiting, the lines should be back outside La Cumbre on Friday for the return of Big Door Prize, the tasty hazy double IPA that locals could not get enough of last year. In this case, show up at the brewery at noon, because it might not be there by sundown. Once those beers have gotten you through the weekend, make your way to Canteen on Tuesday for the release of six-packs of Panama Joe Coffee Stout. We already have a friend in North Carolina begging us to send her some, and we gotta imagine the local demand will be high for this award-winning elixir. Clear those beer fridges, people, for more delicious fresh beer has arrived!

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bosque leaves a little something on your pillow in the form of Chocolate Mint Stout. Dialogue keeps it light with Baby Wenzel Session IPA, while also teaming up with Rio Rancho’s 1933 Brewing on 70 Shilling Scottish Ale. Kaktus has a decadent Imperial Chocolate Stout available. Marble wants summer back with Raspberry Peach Pale Ale, while also getting tough with Vünderland, a Belgian strong. The 377 puckers up with Adalie, a strawberry sour aged 10 months in barrels. Toltec rolls out its first Double IPA on Thursday. Tractor brings back crowd favorite Blood Orange Cider, while also adding Belgian Winter White and bringing back Luna de Los Muertos in bottles. Turtle Mountain resurrects a classic in Mr. Hoover’s Steam, while also getting Darker Than Darkness, a new schwarzbier.

Up in Santa Fe, things are quiet, but likely not for long.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of December 10.

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Weekend Beer-cap: Finding time for brews amid pre-holiday madness

Posted: December 11, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
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It’s definitely not the best picture of our always-in-motion Metal Mayor, but we were happy to see him at a local brewery.

A long winter nap is becoming more and more tempting, but there are beers to drink, and the Crew kept after them this past weekend.

My weekend started early, as per usual, but it was more of a working weekend, with trips to Marble and Tractor to interview staffers for our Look Back/Look Ahead Series. After leaving Wells Park on Wednesday, I made my way to La Cumbre, as an old friend of the Crew tipped us off that Mayor Tim Keller would be making an appearance. I was not able to bend his ear, but I did still get to enjoy some Pecos Porter and catch up with some readers who were enjoying some afternoon beers. Though the Pecos does not get the hype of other LC beers, it remains a solid, sessionable dark beer that fits the winter chill.

There are two more special Brickie Stout casks to come at Steel Bender.

After a proper metal show with birthday boy Derek on Thursday night, I took it easy Friday night. By Saturday, it was time to head out again. Steel Bender has again had its 4 Casks of Christmas series every Saturday in December. They take the Brickie American Stout and infuse it with some other tasty elements, stick ’em in a cask, and watch everyone enjoy. This edition was special, as our own Franz Solo and old friend David Facey developed the French Toast Brickie. It was a delicious beer, with the sweetness of the maple syrup working in concert with the roasty malts. This Saturday will see another version, Fruity Chocolate Tart. Make sure to grab one or more of these wonderful brews while you still can this holiday season.

Speaking of the holiday season, Crew members found reasons for giving, and reasons to avoid the mass marketing rush and instead indulge in local beer and food.

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The Week Ahead in Beer: It’s a bold strategy for La Cumbre on the Ocho

Posted: December 5, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

My, how time flies in these parts. It seems like just the other day La Cumbre Brewing had opened its doors and introduced us to Elevated IPA and Malpais Stout. This week, the award-winning brewery celebrates its eighth anniversary, introducing us to Ocho Anniversary Ale on Saturday. The Ocho is red wine barrel-aged sour brewed with cherries, plus it is totally fair game to unleash every quotable line from Dodgeball while you are drinking it (or so we declare). The all-day party will also feature live screen printing from Screen Kings from 1 to 5 p.m., followed by the band Moonhat performing from 7 to 10. Other events include tap takeovers at Fire & Hops in Santa Fe today at 5 p.m. and at Tap That in ABQ on Friday at 5. La Cumbre will also be selling One Albuquerque T-shirts starting today, with the potential for a special appearance by a certain metalhead around 5 p.m. (no, not just me, someone a bit more famous and well-liked in these parts). Happy anniversary, and thanks for all the brews, La Cumbre!

UPDATE: We missed this initially, but Second Street is also celebrating its anniversary this Saturday. From 5 p.m. onward, a special menu from all three locations’ chefs will be available, featuring dishes like New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp as an appetizer, plus seared blackened scallops with green chile risotto, 24-hour pot roast, chicken piccata, stuffed poblano pepper, and New Orleans beignets for dessert. Check the Facebook page of the original location for more details. There will also be the tapping of the 2018 Anniversary Ale, plus Half Broke Horses play the original at 7 p.m.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bosque drops two new brews in Gone Crazy Hazy DIPA and Three Point No, a fruited wheat. Bow & Arrow has a fresh batch of Cosmic Arrow Brett Saison, plus the burly new Buffalo Plaid Baltic Porter debuts Friday. Boxing Bear throws a combo with Murkito Hazy Pale Ale and then the CeleBEARtion on Saturday, with the latter being a hoppy, bourbon barrel-aged ale being released on tap and in bottles. Canteen tunes it up with Radiohead IPA. Kaktus has a slew of new brews including One is the Loneliest IPA, Bock, Oatmeal Stout, Brown Porter, Paleo Pale Ale, and Thurvaytha. La Cumbre also has some Limon Quercus on tap, plus bottles of the Pina Quercus. Marble can’t be stopped with the Doppelator. Quarter Celtic plays it up with Xylophone Rock, an American pilsner. Sidetrack shines a little light on some more Sunburst Pale Ale. Starr Brothers stays up late with Rock ‘n Roll Hazy Nights IPA, plus Zombies in the Manger, the biscochito stout, returns later this week. Steel Bender, by popular demand, brings back a limited amount of Figgy Pudding on Thursday. The 377 gets a little crazy with The Duke, a vanilla graham cracker porter sour. Tractor rolls out more Chocolate Milk Stout and adds some Veruca Salt, a gose.

Up in Santa Fe, Blue Corn brings light to the dark with Whiteout Stout on Friday. Rowley Farmhouse Ales spaces out with The Petit Blanche – Galaxy. Second Street soars through the sky with Red Comet.

Out in Moriarty, Sierra Blanca sticks with tradition and goes dark with more Whiskey Stout.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of December 3.

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La Cumbre ascends to new heights with more specialty releases and maybe another taproom in 2019

Posted: November 12, 2018 by cjax33 in Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2018-19
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It was another banner year for La Cumbre, and more is yet to come for 2019.

It is tradition around these parts to start our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series, which focuses on the year gone by and the year to come at almost every New Mexico brewery, with La Cumbre Brewing. I managed to catch up with owner/master brewer Jeff Erway just before he left on a well-earned vacation to talk about another big year for his award-winning brewery.

“You know, it’s funny, we have seen really steady growth the last few years,” Jeff said. “We’re never trying to hit a home run with our yearly growth. We just keep on hitting singles and doubles. Some of our specials this year were home runs, our seasonal releases. I feel like we’ve continued to do probably a better job of that than anybody as far as getting things out there that the public gets really excited about.”

The specialty beers may have stirred the pot in 2018, but the biggest move of the year was the long-awaited opening of an off-site taproom. La Cumbre Westside opened in August to huge crowds and positive reviews.

“We opened up a new taproom,” Jeff said. “That was about as much ambition as I’ve put toward anything since we opened La Cumbre. It’s been a very good year for us as a company and I feel like it’s been a great year for our management team both professionally and personally.”

The La Cumbre taproom took a lot of hard work to get open back in August.

Of course, with such a recent opening, there is little chance that La Cumbre is eyeing a third location this soon. Right?

“I won’t lie, I am actively seeking out that next right taproom location,” Jeff said. “I know I move a little slower than some would on this, but I don’t like the idea of swinging and missing. I take my sweet time about things like that. When I find the right one, I’ll pursue that.”

Fire up the speculation engines, people! There is no pending license or anything like that, so we believe Jeff when he says he is looking, but has not yet set things in stone.

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